For Schools With No Books, A Digital Collection So They Can Have A Real Library | Co.Exist #education #digital #libraries #literacy

Posted on April 6, 2015 by infophile

Library for All is now working in impoverished places around the world on a simple mission with a major impact. Rebecca McDonald came up with the idea for Library for All after visiting Haiti in 2010. The country had just experienced a major earthquake, and the schools there were having a tough time getting back to normal—even more so, because they lacked basic education materials.

“The reason we started the library was that, everywhere I went, they didn’t have any books. And if they did, they were in English when people either speak Haitian Creole or French. They were good paperweights, and that was about it,” McDonald says.

Library for All now works with 10 schools on the island, with plans to partner with nine more. The model is simple. The nonprofit assembles a highly curated local-language collection of books that schools access through Android tablets.

Device & Conquer: SLJ’s 2013 Tech Survey | The Digital Shift

Posted on December 5, 2013 by infophile

As education technology has evolved, so, too, have the kinds of digital tools that school librarians use with their students, as shown in School Library Journal’s 2013 School Technology Survey. Handheld tablets and devices are coveted items for classroom and instructional use, along with access to online sites and apps that school librarians believe can revolutionize the way they instruct—and the way students learn. More than 750 school librarians responded to SLJ’s survey, representing K–12 public and private schools across the country. According to the data, school librarians make the most of what they have, learning one day and sharing that knowledge the next. They not only make tech tools available for students and teachers, but teach them how to use the tools as well.

Tradecraft Launches A School For Teaching Non-Technical Skills To Tech Workers | TechCrunch

Posted on November 17, 2013 by infophile

For many companies in Silicon Valley, it’s fairly easy to find, train, and evaluate technical talent — for the most part, it’s easy to determine and quantify how well a person codes. But evaluating and training non-technical personnel is something many struggle with. To help change this, a new school called Tradecraft has emerged to help teach those seeking UX, growth, and sales positions the skills they need to succeed in the tech world.

Tradecraft was founded by Russ Klusas and Misha Chellam, who believe it (or something like it) is necessary to teach necessary skills to non-technical tech workers.

Read: Tradecraft Launches A School For Teaching Non-Technical Skills To Tech Workers | TechCrunch.

Classrooms Go High-Tech With Google Play for Education | PCMag.com

Posted on November 14, 2013 by infophile

Google is making it more convenient for schools around the country to integrate tablets and educational apps into the classroom.

The search giant on Wednesday officially launched tablets running Google Play for Education, a version of the Google Play app store specifically designed for K-12 schools in the U.S.

Read: Classrooms Go High-Tech With Google Play for Education | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.

Pakistani schools ban teenage activist Malala’s book from libraries | The Globe and Mail

Posted on November 10, 2013 by infophile

Officials say they have banned teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai’s book from private schools across Pakistan, calling her a tool of the West.

Malala attracted global attention last year when the Taliban shot her in the head northwest Pakistan for criticizing the group. She released a memoir in October, “I Am Malala,” that was co-written with British journalist Christina Lamb.

Adeeb Javedani, president of the All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, said Sunday his group banned Malala’s book from the libraries of its 40,000 affiliated schools. He said Malala was representing the West, not Pakistan.

Malala has become an international hero for opposing the Taliban and standing up for girls’ education. But conspiracy theories have flourished in Pakistan that her shooting was staged to create a hero for the West.

via Pakistani schools ban teenage activist Malala’s book from libraries | The Globe and Mail.

Why Kids Need to Tinker to Learn | MindShift

Posted on October 24, 2013 by infophile

The Maker Movement has inspired progressive educators to bring more hands-on learning and tinkering into classrooms, and educator Gary Stager would like to see formal schooling be influenced by the Maker Movement, which has inspired young learners to tinker, to learn by doing, and take agency for their learning.

Read: Why Kids Need to Tinker to Learn | MindShift.

Digital Comic Books Offer Students New Ways of Learning | Mashable

Posted on October 11, 2013 by infophile

Comic book lovers and educators got on stage for two different panels at New York Comic Con yesterday to talk both about how comic books can ignite classroom discussion and how librarians can digitally bring those beloved books into schools.

Common Core, a new set of national curriculum standards that teachers nationwide are advised to follow, accepts graphic novels as a medium that instructors can use to teach students. But Nathan Tubbs, a sixth grade science teacher in Brooklyn, is excited by how comic books can turn kids who would otherwise never pick up a book into avid readers, even if that reading isn’t directly associated with class.

Read the full story: Digital Comic Books Offer Students New Ways of Learning | Mashable.

Video Games in School [Infographic] | bestmastersineducation.com

Posted on October 8, 2013 by infophile

Image source: www.bestmastersineducation.com

via Video Games in School.

Principal sues students over parody Facebook, Twitter accounts | CNET News

Posted on October 1, 2013 by infophile

An Oregon middle school educator tries to paint his mocking students as hackers in order to bring an action against them under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Read: Principal sues students over parody Facebook, Twitter accounts | CNET News.

U.S. Banned Books Week News Links

Posted on September 25, 2013 by infophile

Curated links of banned books news stories from the U.S. that you should read if you are concerned about intellectual freedom and the freedom to read. Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye challenge is of particular interest, as the author is from Ohio and the challenge to her novel originated from an official at the Ohio State Board of Education.

Practice of Banning Books Still Going Strong | Future Librarians for Intellectual Freedom

Banned Books Week: ‘Captain Underpants’ tops list of challenged books; 10 most challenged books of 2012 | CNN.com

Banned Books Week 2013: Books about LGBT Families Remain Targets of Censorship | ACLU

America’s most surprising banned books | The Week

10 Surprising Books That Parents Have Tried To Ban From Schools | Business Insider

Beauty is Truth: The Case Against Banning The Bluest Eye | The Millions AND Controversy Brews Over Official Comments About Author [Toni Morrison] | nbc4i.com

Freedom to Read Under Fire as Attempts to Ban Books Continue | HuffPost Books

7 Reasons Your Favorite Books Were Banned | HuffPost Books