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This spring, BiblioLabs, the Charleston, SC–based developer of the free multimedia anthology production platform BiblioBoard Creator, began offering a subscription service that will allow users to download and view anthologies created by libraries and other third parties.
RRKidz has announced that its flagship brand Reading Rainbow is partnering with publisher National Geographic Kids to expand its interactive reading subscription app, available exclusively on the iPad. The company is also expanding its library with a new branded island featuring dozens of books as well as videos hosted and narrated by RRKidz co-founder LeVar Burton.
In a shift occurring nationwide, libraries are conducting “digital storytime,” using apps in kids’ programs for education, entertainment, and involving parents in the learning process. But not everyone’s sold on the use of iPads, especially with very young children.
The Global Education Conference, held around the clock November 12–16, offered a wide range of sessions by and for educators. In particular, “Appls Galore” emphasized a variety of ways to use this technology with young students.
The Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP) this week settled the lawsuit filed against it in May by four blind patrons assisted by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Under the terms of the settlement, FLP has agreed to supplement its collection of more than 60 NOOKs with ten accessible devices, according to a press announcement from the NFB. Within four years, the library will transition to a collection of e-readers that are all accessible to the blind, and will begin incorporating an accessibility requirement into its technology procurement contracts.
Ereaders and iPads are becoming integral parts of the school library because they foster creativity and encourage flexibility in learning. But are students using this technology effectively? Panelists from SLJ’s session, “Tablets in the Classroom: New Strategies, New Solutions,” discussed how to ensure that students are relying on these devices to truly make the most of their educational experiences.
While the vast majority of parents who own an iPad use it to read ebooks with their children, moms and dads like some aspects of the digital reading experience more than others, according to a new study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center.
Talking apps at ALA: Gretchen Caserotti, Amy Graves, Travis Jonker, and John Schumacher hosted a session on using apps with kids in the context of library services, both in public libraries and schools.
From Keynote to Penultimate, the must-have productivity apps SLJ columnist Christopher Harris puts to use while on the road.
Amazon’s iPad and Cloud Reader apps now support more than 1,000 children’s books, comic books, and graphic novels in full color. Titles include Ian Falconer’s Olivia (Atheneum, 2000), Donald Crews’s Freight Train (Greenwillow, 1993), the popular “Sesame Street” and “Curious George” series, Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” series, and comics featuring DC superheroes such as Batman, […]
