There are many portable photo printers to choose from and today I'm going to talk about three of them. Each devise has their advantages and disadvantages and having tried them all, I break it down for you. The three devices I will be reviewing today include the Fuji Instax Square 10 photo printer, the Polaroid Zip Pocket Printer and the Canon Selphy 1300.
As educators, we’ve learned to count on the research-based wisdom and guidance of Common Sense Media. Its a destination, always fresh with reviews of apps, video, books and more as well as advice for teaching with technology and outstanding curriculum. I recently sat down with Kelly Mendoza, Senior Director of Education Programs at Common Sense Education, […]
Videogames provide a memorable way to present storytelling to students, offering visual and tactile experiences that leave them eager to explore related books and activities.
Visual literacy demands increasingly sophisticated tools to expand kids' critical skills.
Educating kids on how lighting, camera movement, sound, body language, and other film strategies convey meaning.
At Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, NJ, the Popkin Innovation Lab has brought a new curriculum and problem-solving approach, along with a different culture, to school this year.
Make a cool DIY neon sign with teens or for your teen space.
For an upcoming feature article, School Library Journal wants to profile school librarians who are leading the way in technology use at their school or district.
These titles jump-start important conversations about online conduct, safety, and ethics.
Focus on the individuals rather than the devices, and more strategies to address the causes of bad behavior online.
This Potter-themed kit combines the beloved fictional world with coding in a magical way for students, who can use the wand as more than just a glorified remote.
On behalf of my library/educator colleagues, thank you, John Green. Thank you, John, for offering us a new tool in introducing media literacy and credibility awareness with our learning communities. Thank you for lending your honest voice and passion to this mission. John recently introduced a new 10-episode Crash Course series, Navigating Digital Information, developed […]
Students can study the science of baseball—and the sport can help teach the kids key STEM concepts—thanks to this new multi-year content collaboration.
This Brothers Grimm folktale is elaborately illustrated in a traditional, yet interactive manner.
Each semester I think about how I might create more engagement in both my online and on-campus courses. I want more students thinking. I want more students talking. Across the years, I’ve gathered a number of go-to websites I visit for inspiration and I revisit a few old favorite discussion techniques. I’ve found that these strategies […]
An interative, dystopian-themed program lets middle schoolers have fun while developing their knowledge of rhetoric, style, language, and more.
The creator of a mobile library serving children in Afghanistan, a middle school teacher-designer of a social justice course in West Philadelphia, and #1000BlackGirlBooks founder Marley Dias were named to the International Literacy Association’s “30 Under 30” list.
Fans of Eric Carle will rejoice in this well-presented, comprehensive app.
While I suspect some of you are quite sick of them, for me a truly fun part of the new year is stopping to look back at the bounty of the past year’s discoveries in the form of best lists. Many of our friends–reviewers, publishers, bloggers, etc.–have been hard at work collecting their picks for […]
While I suspect some of you are quite sick of them, for me a truly fun part of the new year is stopping to look back at the bounty of the past year’s discoveries in the form of best lists. Many of our friends–reviewers, publishers, bloggers, etc.–have been hard at work collecting their picks for […]
It’s the season for getting together with family and friends. This year, I’ve found myself giving many of them a rather unintentional gift–an introduction to their public libraries’ digital media collections. While most of my friends and relatives have library cards, I am discovering, among the people I know who are not librarians, a surprising […]
It’s the season for getting together with family and friends. This year, I’ve found myself giving many of them a rather unintentional gift–an introduction to their public libraries’ digital media collections. While most of my friends and relatives have library cards, I am discovering, among the people I know who are not librarians, a surprising […]
Lunar themes, storytelling, STEAM initiatives, and more ideas for summer activities at the library.
I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking about the high school/college transition these days and the differences we see among members of the freshman class. Such thinking leads naturally to a consideration of more profound issues of social justice and equity, issues supported by our Common Beliefs and standards. Access to an effective school library program […]
The government's education report focuses on partnerships and literacy, but no cost was included.
SLJ's 2018 School Librarian of the Year is one of the 250 school and public librarians who received $500 in microfunding.
I spend a lot of time visiting other libraries and talking to my fellow librarians. I like to see what other libraries are doing and find new and creative ways to provide services, organize spaces, decorate, merchandise and more. I recently was visiting a smaller branch where the librarian was talking about how they wanted […]
It may not be the typical white glove or laboratory experience, but students of history and science can find multiple opportunities to volunteer as citizen archivists or citizen scientists in a few important crowdsourcing efforts. The Library of Congress, the National Archives and the Smithsonian offer parts of their collections to be organized and made accessible by employing the […]
The best part about working with teens, but also sometimes the hardest, is that every few years you get a whole new crop of teens to work with. This means that you can repeat programs, expanding on what you learned the first time(s) you did a program. With a new set of a teens an […]
Here’s how to get young people to explore creative writing and the arts with a zine-making workshop at your library.
Wondering what happened in Texas, where they wanted to bump Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller from the curriculum? Still waiting for the AR Harry Potter game we wrote about months ago? We've got you covered with news about past articles.
Train-loving children get a coding primer as they play.
A trio of challenging games that reward curiousity, strategic thinking, and in some cases, speed.
This coming week is Media Literacy Week. One way to celebrate is to join the free Media Literacy Community of Practice on Participate.com. Community leader, Michael Hernandez will host two weeks of in-community activities as well as a Media Literacy Webinar on November 6th at 8:30 PM Eastern. Michael Hernandez is an award-winning cinema and journalism teacher in Los Angeles whose […]
MERGE is on a mission to make virtual reality "easy, safe, and fun for everyone” and offers an array of experiences to kids 10 and up.
If you’re like me, every once in a while you need some inspiration for your next makerspace or program idea. In the year 2018 it seems like our first impulse is to go to Pinterest, which is a great resource that can in fact be inspiring. It is not, however, the only and it is […]
For this generation, news is social, visual, and fast. News is often overwhelming, and it can be difficult for students to tell what news is true and what is false. While most students think news is important to democracy, they do not define news by traditional standards, nor do they necessarily assign authority based on the […]
Famed actor and activist George Takei will kick off School Library Journal’s annual Summit. This year’s theme: Making “good trouble.”
Liz Kolb, presenter at the upcoming SLJ/ISTE webcast Digital Citizenship for Tweens and Teens, created a curriculum for Michigan middle schoolers to adopt safe, responsible, and respectful online behavior.
The new ISTE Standards for Educational Leaders broaden the scope of digital citizenship education for students. Here are up-to-date resources to help librarians promote these skills.
Attention book clubs or aspiring book clubs or book club fans. John Green shares a very cool idea–and we may want to gear up to support it. John and Rosianna Halse Rojas (London-based writer, video blogger, and John’s personal assistant) are launching and curating Life’s Library a new kind of book club. Life’s Library Book Club hopes to introduce readers to great […]
Educators can play a key role in helping these students move forward with resilience.
At its core, Mixerpiece is for lovers of art and visual expression who delight in creative play and the endless possibilities of collage.
Using social media platforms in classroom settings to engage students while enhancing digital writing and communication skills.
When it comes to ensuring the right for all to read, we face a challenging journey: According to the latest data from UNESCO, there remain 750 million people around the world who cannot read and write. Two thirds of them are female. And while we’ve made solid strides in increasing basic literacy for youth—91% in 2016 […]
Abundant visuals, enticing sidebars, and solid material mark the online database Q-Files.
Nosy Crow's last app in its "Flip-Flap" series spotlights those perennial favorite creatures: dinosaurs.
Nearly 300 motion picture treasures representing a century of cinema history are now available through the Library of Congress’s new National Screening Room.
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Neuroscience provides excellent reasons for supporting making and makerspaces, and can help guide educators offering these exciting opportunities for our students.
Here are some ideas to bring your Teen Read Week programs up a notch.
These new applications transport students through primary sources to some of the most dramatic turning points in U.S. history and immerse them in the related debates.
A search engine for lovers (and seekers) of colors.
For these authors, visits to school libraries are all about the interaction with students.
The search tool allows you to locate datasets stored across thousands of repositories in the context of their hosted sites in a single interface.
SLJ test drives Tour Creator, a free tool that enables anyone with access to a 360-degree camera or Google Street View to create professional-level VR experiences.
How can educators incorporate materials that explore empathy and encourage social and emotional development? An educator has some suggestions.
Crafty ideas for using the Instax Mini instant camera in projects related to Teen Read Week, Banned Books Week, and more.
Common Sense Media finds that when it comes to social media and teens, there are no easy or definitive answers.
A screen-free coding robot that had to be tried to be believed.
A stunning addition to a series of truly immersive games, for players who aren’t afraid of the dark.
AASL has launched two eagerly anticipated crosswalk documents on the new page of AASL's National School Library Standards Web Portal.
Teen-tested projects from the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County.
An elementary school librarian’s suggestions for projects related to animal habitats, natural disasters, bridge building, recycled fashion, and more.
Makey Makey, Hummingbird Duo, and Scratch can turn an ordinary poster or diorama into a talking, moving educational presentation.
SLJ reviews 3Doodler's new line of 3-D printing pen products designed for classroom use.
Bandimal will not disappoint Yatatoy fans.
Try these projects and games with your students on Banned Websites Awareness Day (September 26), which seeks to raise awareness of overly restrictive filtering of educational websites and to explore the impact on intellectual freedom.
Podcasts, books, and more news in Jonker's Morning Notes.
Michelle Carton builds a global education at the Tudor Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska.
Learning playlists are a thing, and they can be powerful and address multiple purposes.
Overhauling library systems, forging alliances, finding communities, weathering suspicion, and weeding—sometimes thousands of titles. It’s all in the first year’s work for many librarians starting at a new school.
Open Library is an Internet Archive project developed to present one web page for every book ever published. Recent enhancements allow for even more openness.
Parents and young children will discover engaging curricular content, a library of interactive books to teach early academic skills, as well as a focus on social-emotional development and healthy habits.
Here, experts pick their favorites for the preschool set (children aged three to five) and highlight key concepts explored in these notable apps.
I was excited to attend the release party for the beta version of ALA’s Ready to Code Collection at Annual a few weeks back.
I was excited to attend the release party for the beta version of ALA’s Ready to Code Collection at Annual a few weeks back. The beta site is based on the experiences of the 30 participating school and public librarians who have been developing and piloting strategies for creating and facilitating programs that build problem-solving and […]
News and announcements from the annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference.
Nosy Crow, known for its rollicking fairy tale retellings has announced it will no longer be producing apps. Hansel and Gretel is its penultimate production.
Public libraries and middle and high schools can apply for the grants. But hurry, the deadline is July 9.
I am just back from ISTE in Chicago where I shared in some very interesting developments and experiences. 1. Following input and feedback from more than 1300 educators from the US and around the world, ISTE released its new Standards for Education Leaders, formerly known as the ISTE Standards for Administrators. According to the official press release, These […]
A few things to note from ALA Annual in New Orleans.
The video game Fortnite is officially a full-blown craze—and gaming events are a great way to bring teens into the library this summer.
From Academy Award winners to new discoveries, here are titles to enhance or jump-start anime collections.
New framework connects to ISTE standards and a guide helps librarians work in a collaborative, practical way.
Joyce Valenza covers the top picks among the annual list.
Behold, I have found a new photo app! As I mentioned last week, a friend fell into a button maker group and they talk a lot about two things: 1) The Canon Selphy printer, which I reviewed last week and 2) The Rhonna Designs app, which a lot of people in the button making community […]
Free lesson plans combine digital fabrication with an exploration of cultural symbols inspired by the hit Marvel film.
This game, which offers opportunities for cooperative play and team problem solving, will be appreciated for its design and deceptively simple, thought-provoking puzzles.
Looking for short-term use of cake tins, camping equipment, or bikes? These libraries lend out all of those items and a lot more.
Explore Chicago Collections, a free online portal, lets users search the digital collections of the Chicago Public Library, the Chicago History Museum, and other member institutions.
This learn-to-code robot with a passing resemblance to Mr. Potato Head can be built and re-built.
A hands-on STEM learning center at Colonial High School (CHS) in Grindstone, PA, provides needed skills, an emotional outlet, and a lifeline to many teens.
Joyce Valenza covers Story Maps, which feature a bounty of primary sources, including period newspapers, images, photographs, quotes as well as innovative, narrative approaches to mapping data.
From biographies of real-life makers to activity books, these selections are the perfect way to get students engaged in making.
Shake Fest is a blow-out event Bard-related activities, crafts, and games in Alisha Wilson's school library.
Making is having a positive impact on how kids learn and transforming how they feel about the world around them.
Imagine the possibilities. of immersive virtual field trips–a walk through the solar system, the experience of a tornado, a tour around a refugee camp of a science lab with the opportunity to fully explore, rotate and dissect a 3D model of the human body. of your students designing their own 360-degree, interactive, immersive stories with augmented […]
Four customized vans bring makerspace programming and spark education and partnerships in Southern California.
SLJ's 2016 School Librarian of the Year Todd Burleson’s quest for the ultimate LEGO storage solution.
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