News, Features and best practices in technology for the k-12 classroom and media center from wikis and podcasts to the latest gadgets from School Library Journal
Social Networking Guru danah boyd By Debra Lau Whelan - 03/25/2009
When danah boyd talks, people listen. The academic, blogger, and rock star of social networking research has just completed her PhD dissertation, “Taken Out of Context: American Teen Sociality in Networked Publics." SLJ caught up with her to talk about the way American teens socialize on sites like MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal, Xanga, and YouTube. More
NYC Kids’ Homework Help Goes Web 2.0 By Lauren Barack - 06/23/2009
New York City educators will soon have new tech tools at their disposal to entice students to use the local library—without ever having to travel there.
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Mind the Time: Apps for Managing a Busy Schedule By Steve Hargadon - 06/01/2009
Web-based telephony, desktop video conferencing, and other digital tools make it easy to connect with people in real time. Virtual meetings have become standard fare, and the once arcane task of calculating time zones is now regularly performed in classrooms, where students and teachers collaborate with distant peers or welcome guest experts from around the globe.
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Social Media Specialists?: The use—or nonuse—of social tools sparks Twitterstorm By Lauren Barack - 06/01/2009
A recent firestorm on Twitter involved media specialists and education technology experts who considered whether librarians who don’t engage in social media are jeopardizing their careers not to mention student learning. “Can a media specialist do their job now if they are not also a social media specialist? I’m not sure,” Karl Fisch (on Twitter: karlfisch), director of ...
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Site of the Month: Facebook Book Clubs By Debra Lau Whelan - 06/01/2009
bit.ly/42jjOe What better way to get kids talking about books than on one of their favorite pastimes—Facebook. A recent application on the social networking site, Book Clubs offers students a free and convenient place to share ideas about books, authors, and related interests. With it, Facebook members can create or join a reading group devoted to any category, region, interest, or author.
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You Are There: No budget for travel? Try video chat. By Eric Langhorst - 06/01/2009
It was the sort of exchange that could only happen on a field trip. One of my students, noticing the unusual bow attached to Alexander Hamilton’s ponytail, asked our guide about the odd accessory. “That’s a bag wig,” replied Eli Lesser, director of education at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
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School Library Journal’s 10 Best Digital Resources for 2009 By Shonda Brisco - 06/01/2009
Our second annual “best of” list looks at products reviewed between June 2008 and the present. The past year saw many excellent and innovative projects—and narrowing them down to a top-10 list wasn’t easy. As we prepare for the next school year—or as public libraries develop the budget for a new fiscal year—these are the products for children and teens you sh...
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Moore of Everything: Thanks to Technology, the One Thing We Can Count on Is Change By Marc Aronson - 06/01/2009
I was driving along a muddy road in the English countryside last fall in a brown jeep that was probably used by the English army several wars ago. It was raining, and the only way to get the windshield wipers to work was to reach out and use my hand. The gear shift seemed like something out of an Erector Set.
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BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
2008 National Book Awards Nominees in the young people's literature category graced the red carpet on Awards night Nov. 20, 2008.
The Buzz Nov. 2008 So the economy’s gone south, you still need your gadgets.
Folktales from Around the World: The Bear Prince. DVD. 11:56 min. with tchr’s. guide. Prod. by Colman Communications. Dist. by 100% Educational Media (schoolvideos.com). 2008. $39.95.
K-Gr 4–While this animated Mexican fairy tale will be new to most viewers, the story contains familiar elements from such popular tales as “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Puss in Boots.”
Let them eat cake! Library aide Shanta Ramkhelawan (left), librarian Camina Raphael, and Colleen McCrea, head of the children's library, served delectable dessert to more than 130 people celebrating the 85th anniversary of the historic Robert Bacon Memorial Children's Library in Westbury, NY. Upon opening its doors in 1924 it was only the third children's library in the world.
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