May 1, 2024

Libraries Play A Central Role in Connected Learning | The Digital Shift 2013

The Internet offers today’s youth unprecedented opportunities to connect with peers and seek knowledge in almost any area of interest—and libraries are uniquely positioned to play a central role in this learning, according to Mimi Ito, professor and cultural anthropologist at the University of California, Irvine, and principal investigator for the new education model Connected Learning.

Libraries Play A Central Role in Connected Learning | The Digital Shift 2013

The Internet offers today’s youth unprecedented opportunities to connect with peers and seek knowledge in almost any area of interest—and libraries are uniquely positioned to play a central role in this learning, according to Mimi Ito, professor and cultural anthropologist at the University of California, Irvine, and principal investigator for the new education model Connected Learning.

Low Tech, High Gains: Starting a Maker Program Is Easier Than You Think

Has the maker movement taken hold in your library yet? Starting a maker space is easier—and less costly—than you may think. Technologies such as robotics, digital video production, computer coding, and 3-D printing may garner the most attention, but traditional activities instill the same spirit of invention, collaboration, and critical thinking of the maker phenomenon.

Updated ClassDojo App Lets Teachers Collectively Respond to Student Behavior

ClassDojo, the free application for recording and managing student behavior, has been updated. As of today, ClassDojo sports a new “Class Sharing” feature, allowing multiple teachers to communicate more easily about their students’ behavior and collectively foster behavioral development.

Pew Study: Technology Aids Students’ Writing Skills Though Challenges Remain

Digital technologies are impacting American middle and high school students’ writing in many ways, both good and bad, a new national report from the Pew Research Center shows. According to the survey, tech tools provide significant advantages to learning—although students are still having trouble with informal grammar and navigating the issues of plagiarism, citation, and fair use.

‘Here Be Fiction’ Site Launches with 500+ Ebooks

The School Library System of the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (GVEP) has announced the launch this week of “Here Be Fiction,” a site devoted to the discovery of fiction ebooks available with school library friendly licensing terms, with over 500 ebooks from 17 participating publishers.

StarWalk Kids Media Offers Free July Access to eBook Collection

StarWalk Kids Media has announced that it has made all 160-plus ebooks in its collection available free of charge to children, families, and educators during the entire month of July. In just the first three days after the initiative was launched via Twitter (#PopUpLibrary), nearly 3,000 ebooks have been read, the company says.

Pew Study: Why Parents Love Libraries

The vast majority of parents with children younger than 18 feel libraries are very important for their kids, leading to higher-than-average use of a wide range of library services, a new national report from the Pew Research Center shows.

ISTE Calls on Obama to Support Broadband for Education

The International Society for Technology in Education has initiated an online petition urging the White House to take action to invest in school broadband connectivity to bridge the digital divide in education.

Pew Study: 37% of Teens Now Have Smartphones

Smartphone adoption among American teens has increased substantially in the past year, and one in four teens now connects to the internet primarily on mobile devices, according to a national technology-based report from the Pew Research Center.