The Next Big Thing: Is Your Library up to 21st-Century Speed? By Christopher Harris - 09/01/2009
Libraries of the future will primarily manage digital repositories of information rather than warehouse physical books. A more functional method geared toward easy browsing will replace the Dewey Decimal system. And computers will surpass human librarians in the ability to answer even the most complex reference questions.
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SLJ Reviews the Dell Latitude 2100/Netbook By Jeffrey Hastings - 09/01/2009
Though the burgeoning netbook class of computers arguably began with the One Laptop per Child educational initiative, look around and you’ll see just how far the little laptops have come. You’ll find them serving as second computers in urban cyber-cafes and suburban kitchens, tucked in the briefcases and gloveboxes of mobile professionals—even connected to park-based WiFi in r...
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STEM to Grow in Libraries: Research project to get science content into media centers Lauren Barack - 09/01/2009
School librarians searching for a better way to broaden their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) resources for K–12 students may soon have some innovative help. Marcia Mardis, an assistant professor at Florida State University, is embarking on a three-year project to build an RSS-like feed that she says will search Web sites and online libraries, pluck specific images and o...
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Site of the Month: First Day of School Icebreakers By Kathy Ishizuka - 09/01/2009
www.teachersfirst.com/firstday.cfm Ah, the first day of school. For students, educators, and parents alike, it’s a remarkable occasion, loaded with excitement, anticipation, and, yes, sometimes even a tear or two. To help get things off to a good start, the Web site TeachersFirst has created “First Day of School Icebreakers.
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Pen Ultimate: For kids who take part in National Novel Writing Month—the acid test for would-be authors—it's no guts, no glory By Lauren Barack - 09/01/2009
Kathleen Kohl was penning 2,000-word short stories at 12 years old and by 13 set her sights on writing a novel. In a move gutsy enough for any would-be writer, much less a teenaged one, Kohl last year signed on for National Novel Writing Month, an online contest, of sorts, that challenges all comers each November to complete a 50,000-word piece of fiction over 30 days.
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The Buzz: Tools, Trends, and Gizmos 09/01/2009
Open Content for the Win Ten free digital textbooks on high school math and science met at least 90 percent of California’s academic standards, according to a recent report by the state’s free digital textbook initiative, a first-in-the-nation project launched by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in May 2009 to ensure access to quality, cost-effective options.
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A 2.0 Toolkit: A hand-picked set of free Web programs to take to school this fall By Shonda Brisco - 08/01/2009
Regardless of the subscription databases that are available in your library, there's always a sense of professional satisfaction when you're able to access and utilize free software programs to create an entirely new way to engage your users or fulfill a need. For some librarians, 2.0 tools have become a major component of their instructional day, virtually a "must-have" within their profession...
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Face-to-Face Goes Web 2.0: Enhance in-person events with these social tools By Steve Hargadon - 08/01/2009
Every year, right before NECC, I hold a free, one-day event for educators interested in using 2.0 tools called EduBloggerCon. This unique conference is organized by the attendees (the 2009 class pictured), who, using a wiki, sign up to lead a discussion of their choice. Sound like chaos? It’s not.
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Sticky Standards: AASL requires permission to use 21st-C standards sparking backlash Lauren Barack - 08/01/2009
The American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) decision to require permission—and potentially a fee—to commercially use its Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (bit.ly/lWd9B) has generated ire among its members. “At first I was annoyed, but now getting mad,” posted librarian Beth Frise on Twitter.
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Get Ready for Google Wave By Christopher Harris - 08/01/2009
Over the past few years, Google has changed the way we search. Later this year, the search giant is going to reinvent how we communicate and share online with its new Google Wave application. To get a good feeling for what Google Wave’s about, imagine that your email program got a bit hungry and ate your instant-messaging client.
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SLJ Reviews the MSI Wind Top All-in-one touchscreen PC By Jeffrey Hastings - 08/01/2009
Among the scads of curious new computing permutations out there, the MSI Wind Top is among the most interesting multitasking mongrels I’ve tested to date. Reminiscent of the second gen Apple iMac, the Wind Top is a beautiful machine with its PC innards neatly hidden behind a stylish, 18.5-inch diagonal, 6:9 widescreen WXGA display that’s under two inches thick.
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My First NECC: The big tech show still resonates for two first-timers Kathy Ishizuka - 08/01/2009
NECC, the big National Educational Computing Conference, has come and gone, but attendees, both in person and virtual, are still basking in the glow of all that sharing (bit.ly/dbGY5). School librarians Keisa Williams of Monarch Academy, a K–5 charter school in Oakland, CA, and Melissa Techman of Broadus Wood Elementary School in Albemarle Co.
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The Buzz: Tools, Trends, and Gizmos 08/01/2009
HP Mini Notebooks Sized to Go Ready for another mini PC? Hewlett-Packard (HP) has expanded its line with the HP Mini 5101. Weighing 2.6 pounds, the HP 5101 features a two-megapixel webcam, an anodized aluminum finish, and a spill-resistant keyboard that's 95 percent of a full-sized Qwerty keyboard. $329.
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Library Media Specialists Represent at NECC Kathy Ishizuka - 07/10/2009
NECC, the National Educational Computing Conference, drew more than 13,500 attendees despite a depressed economy, including many library media specialists, who continue to have a presence at the largest ed-tech event in the country.
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Test Drive: SLJ reviews the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58p Desktop PC By Jeffrey Hastings - 07/01/2009
Wow, I can’t believe I’m kicking it old school and actually reviewing a desktop PC. It seems like years since I’ve looked at any computing device that wasn’t a mini-netbook or some eco-friendly, Webcentric, Linux-based thingy. So what’s been going on with desktop computing while my eyes have been off the ball? Apparently, the same evolutionary forces that have spaw...
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YALSA Offers Opportunities for Virtual Participation By Lauren Barack - 07/01/2009
Facing drastically reduced budgets, teen librarians explored options for attending conferences in person during a recent online chat sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). “Obviously, YALSA can’t solve the economy problem,” says Sarah Debraski (above), the organization’s president, who hosted the June conversation with members.
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The Buzz: Tools, Trends, and Gizmos 07/01/2009
Bringing Up the Rear at BEA BEA (BookExpo America) has come and gone, but there are still goodies to be had. A hint of things to come in publishing, namely digital delivery of content, HarperCollins offered downloadable ARCs (advance reading copies), including nine kids’ books on cards containing a pin number.
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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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SLJ Reviews the Amazon Kindle 2 Ebook Reader By Jeffrey Hastings - 06/01/2009
Remember how the original Apple iPod suddenly made the MP3 player a must-have for music fans back in 2001? The Amazon Kindle 2 just might be the device that finally has ebook readership exploding in similar atomic fashion. While the first incarnation was undeniably impressive, the original Kindle was still a bit rough around the edges.
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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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