Technology

Missouri library patrons can now rest assured that their library records for checkout of digital materials will remain private, thanks to a new state law.

It's never too early to encourage reading. Richard Byrne shares his picks for tools that young readers and writers can use with or without an adult. Includes screencasts demoing three applications: Building Language for Literacy, Reading Bear, and Maily, an iOS app for letter writing.

Tell me if you’ve seen this happen. A classroom teacher or a teacher librarian friend attends a workshop or a webinar about a certain app, masters it and tries to use it, a lot.  There are likely better tools for the various tasks at hand, but they aren’t easily discoverable. Pre-service training does not prepare [...]

Describing the service as a potentially “disruptive challenge to libraries,” Jamie LaRue, principal of LaRue and Associates Consulting, told LJ that “even in rural areas now, a lot of folks have ereaders, and find that they prefer ebooks. This kind of service, at that price point, will probably result in another market shift. $9.99 is a pretty good deal.”

Tablets are wonderful devices, providing unbelievable computing power in a simple-to-use package. But they aren’t good for developing technology problem-solvers.

Confession: I love my iPhone and I thought I knew how to use it, until I attended Michelle Luhtala’s latest edWeb webinar. I couldn’t make the session live, but I am actually kinda glad I watched it first in archived form.  The recording allowed me to pause and take a good look at the features [...]

Inspired by the recent Innovative Education in Colorado Conference, teacher librarian Phil Goerner set out to become a certified Google Educator this summer. Here's what he learned.

Using our hands is critical to learning, and the rise of digital devices in early childhood learning potentially limits children's opportunities to learn about the world around them through touch. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers founds young children have trouble using toys and blocks because of their overuse of touch-screen devices. So, the digital industry is coming up with ways to use interactive touch and tools with the digital screen.

Lately when I think about how I am going to accomplish a digital task, I find that I automatically consider the task as a creative process, a process that makes me dig into my digital toolkit or examine my digital palette, usually more than once, to discover new synergies. I’ve come to discover what I’ve [...]