Easy Way to Find Educational Apps

EdShelf on the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest offers help with finding great applications for you and your students. For example, this week's recommendations from EdShelf include AlgebraGenie (gaming with algebra problems), Eyes on the Solar System (NASA tool), Stencyl (creates games), Tynker (teaches students computer science and programming), Sketchometry (practice in geometry), and MaKey MaKey (electronics kit). Some of the latest trending tools listed are: Mystery Math Town, Word Wonders Project, and Basker's Presidents. You can search for what you need by topic and/or receive email messages from EdShelf. Use the video intro to learn more about this site and its abundance of resources.

Teacher Core for PBS Learning Media

Twenty-eight K-12 educators and library media specialists comprise the PBS LearningMedia Teacher Core. These are teachers who work with their local PBS stations to promote digital learning in their communities. Teacher Core members take part in a two-day Digital Education Summit at PBS, which helps them with  learning about tools and techniques designed to enhance learning.  Current Core members come from Washington, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Wyoming, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, California, and Michigan. If you are interested in promoting online media in schools and homes, you might want to become a Teacher Core member.

Are Libraries Going Away?

The look of the library is changing, but not its purpose. Maybe we are not ordering printed encyclopedia sets, teaching students about the card catalog, or insisting that silence be maintained; but libraries continue to be an essential part of education. Like our classrooms, they are evolving into more active environments where students learn, collaborate, experiment, and create. According to Laura Devaney’s article in eSchool News, some of the challenges for us as libraries change include: funding, parent reaction to non-traditional libraries, providing accessibility for students with disabilities and those who do not speak English, having enough technology resources, providing security related to student use of online resources, and dealing with problems of methodology and content.

Grants for School Libraries

The Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries provides grants of up to $5000 to help school libraries improve and diversify their collections of books and magazines. The grants are for low-income schools in which 80% or more of their students qualify for the free or reduced lunch programs.  The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2012.

Librarians: Speak at Internet@Schools

Library and media specialists are invited to apply to speak at Internet@Schools, Computers in Libraries 2013, April 8-9, at the Hilton in Washington, D.C. The two-day conference will cover information about tools, trends, and practical topics. If you are interested in sharing your ideas with other library and media specialists, please submit your proposal by October 12, 2012.

Study Blue Best for Mobile Studying

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) selected Study Blue, a free mobile study service, as the Best Website for Teaching and Learning. With Study Blue, students use a Digital Backpack, which helps them store, study, share, compare, and master coursework. The program features “digital flashcards with images and audio, cloud storage for notes, personalized practice quizzes, crowd-sourced study guides and more.”  According to one librarian, “Study Blue has brought an interactive and fun way to study to our young people.” So, if you are looking for help with student study skills, why not recommend Study Blue to students 13 and up? It fits their lifestyles, because they can access it from their computers, iPods, iPhones, and Androids. Coming soon is an iPad app.

Wonderful Wanderful Interactive Storybooks

If you remember Broderbund’s delightful Living Books, then Wanderful Interactive Storybooks will be familiar to you. These enchanting children’s favorites have been brought back with heightened interaction ready for iPad use. Soon the first three titles: Little Monster at School, The Tortoise and the Hare, and Arthur’s Teacher Trouble will be available at the App Store. They are perfect for children, and I am sure educators and parents will rush to order them. The Wanderful books were one of the highlights for me at the 2012 International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) exhibition. You can see a sample on the Wanderful site, but look for them this fall in the App Store. When they are available, I’ll be sure to announce it to you.

Media Center Leaders & Librarians: Share Your Ideas at Internet@Schools

Internet@Schools invites school library or technology and media center leaders to share innovative ideas, techniques and tips at the Internet Librarian 2012 Conference to be held October 22-23 at the Portola Hotel & Spa, Monterey Marriott, in Monterey California.  If you would like to apply to be a speaker at the conference, you’ll need to send in your information by 04/12/12. Speakers will receive complimentary registration.

Sign Up for Resource Shelf

The Resource Shelf combs the Web for useful resources you might miss. Not all of them will work with your courses, but there are many resources that you’ll find of interest. You can sign up for the Resource Shelf Newsletter, which offers a weekly selection of content and links from the ResourceBlog or look for the Resource Shelf on Facebook. One of the links in the 11/17/11 Newsletter was to a report on Computer and Internet Use at Home and another was about librarians voting to make an alliance with the Internet Archives Open Library.    

If You Love Learning

Not Retired from Learning! is a unique site developed by dynamic teacher and librarian Mim Bizic. Bizic, before her retirement after 40 years in education, was the winner of many local and national awards for her work with children and technologies. You’ll want to browse through the information she provides about technology and social media. The site includes education news, innovation and business ideas, motivational quotes, and more. Bizic is always teaching and her enthusiasm for learning is available 24/7 on her site.