Technology

Rachel G. Payne, coordinator of early childhood services at Brooklyn Public Library, offers advice for parents.

ClassDojo, the free application for recording and managing student behavior, has been updated. As of today, ClassDojo sports a new “Class Sharing” feature, allowing multiple teachers to communicate more easily about their students’ behavior and collectively foster behavioral development.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has just launched an updated version of its free Teen Book Finder app—which debuted in June, 2012—to include all of the books the association honored in 2013. The first of its kind, Teen Book Finder gives teens, librarians, parents, and young adult literature aficionados access to YALSA’s recommended reading and award-winning titles from the past three years.

What child can resist a book or app about animals? Incorporating vocabulary-rich texts and gentle environmental lessons, these apps will also find favor with teachers and parents.

A new age of scribe is emerging, notes Joyce Valenza, who, in her latest blog post, considers the craft of sketchnoting and its role in enhancing the conference - and classroom - experience.

Our favorite apps this month include a tribute to Ludwig Van Beethoven’s 'Ninth Symphony,' and a rhyme based on a classic children's song. If summer's lovely weather hasn't got you humming, these productions will.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Great Websites for Kids (GWS) committee announced the inclusion of 10 additions to its compilation of exemplary websites for children on July 29. These online resources are geared to children from birth to age 14, and range in subjects as diverse as animals and dinosaurs; games and entertainment; history and science; art and music; and resources for teachers and parents.

A screencast tour of four free applications to help kids learn how to code: Daisy the Dinosaur, Hopscotch, Scratch, and Tynker.

Shilpa, Roya, Ahran, and Karan Mission: Club Academia strives to organize existing knowledge in ways that make learning easily accessible while simultaneously inspiring people to discover and innovate. Sometimes you meet a group of kids for whom being college and career ready is simple not enough.   As a high school librarian, I am often honored to work with [...]