Technology news and how-to's including Google Game, blogs in schools, social networking and more 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
Twitter, Texting Enhance Writing Skills, Says Expert Lauren Barack - 12/14/2009
If renowned author Ernest Hemingway could write a full story in just six words (“For sale: baby shoes, never worn”), then teachers and librarians should actually encourage their students to use Twitter and text messages as part of their literacy lessons. So says Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who believes the constraints built into Twitter could help students learn to be more inventive in their schoolwork.
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Winter Wonderland Lessons Gail Junion-Metz - 12/09/2009
It’s difficult to keep kids focused on school right before the holidays, what with all the parties, TV specials, and anticipation of presents. “Winter Wonderland,” just updated for 2010, is the perfect site to help kids focus on learning. More
Gates Foundation Boosts Library Broadband Efforts By Norman Oder - 12/02/2009
As demand for library Internet access continues to grow, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announcedtwo plans to help libraries improve broadband connections: one involves state broadband improvement plans; the other offers help with getting federal broadband stimulus funds.More
Winter Whimsy Gail Junion-Metz - 12/02/2009
Winter Bells is engaging, kid-appropriate, visually stunning, and has wonderful original music. The premise of this charming online game is simple: use your mouse to make the rabbit jump and land on top of bells as they fall from the sky like big snowflakes.
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An Open Source Tool for Every Task By Steve Hargadon - 12/01/2009
For the last several years, I’ve organized sessions on open source software (OSS) at ed-tech conferences. But this year was markedly different, with an awareness of these tools among educators that I’d never seen—a result, perhaps, of restrictive school budgets (there are no licensing fees with OSS).
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School Librarians Lead in Social Networking Lauren Barack - 12/01/2009
Media specialists are more likely to join social networking sites than teachers and principals—and they’re more likely to adopt a variety of content-sharing tools for personal, professional, and classroom use, says a new report. “A Survey of K–12 Educators on Social Networking and Content-Sharing Tools” (bit.
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Fun and Games: National Gaming Day Kathy Ishizuka - 12/01/2009
National Gaming Day (NGD) drew players of all ages to the library last month, though judging from the Twitter stream, organizers enjoyed themselves, too. “We had a pretty good turnout at our local library. VERY fun!” tweeted Michael Sanchez, who volunteers at the Lake Wales (FL) Public Library.
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2009 National Book Awards On the red carpet with nominees in the Young People's Literature category.
Photos by Rocco Staino.
SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
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
GALLOWAY, Priscilla, with Dawn Hunter. Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road. 164p. maps. photos. reprods. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. Annick, dist. by Firefly. Dec. 2009. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-198-3; pap. $14.95. ISBN 978-1-55451-197-6. LC C2009-902473-X.
Gr 6-8–The monk Xuanzang, the conqueror Genghis Khan, and the merchant Marco Polo each traveled the Silk Road, years apart.
Surrounded! On tour for her book 14 Cows for America (Peachtree, 2009), Carmen Deedy stopped by to talk with third-grade students at the Bank Street College of Education, School for Children in New York City.