All posts by Angie

General, School Media Specialist

AASL Recommended Apps: STEM: The Everything Machine

everything_machineIn June 2016, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their 25 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. The apps encourage qualities such as innovation and active participation, and are user-friendly.

The Everything Machine is an app that allows young students to explore coding concepts by programming the different sensors on their device. Creations include a light switch and a color-sensing musical instrument. Students can use the camera, speaker, mic, and more to incorporate into their inventions. The app allows multiple users and features built-in tutorials.

Check out this article from Wired that features a conversation with the founder of The Everything Machine, Raul Gutierrez, about how his son helped him come up with the idea for the app. Common Sense Education has a review of the app, which includes information on how well it works in a classroom environment.

Cost: $2.99
Level: Elementary
Platforms: iOS

Watch their video here:

Academic, Resources

Western Sydney University and ProQuest team up for free digital textbooks

Digital textbooks can encourage learning

Textbooks have long been a source of financial strain on college students, and can sometimes interfere with the accessibility of higher education as a whole.

To try and help with this issue, Western Sydney University and ProQuest teamed up to provide free digital textbooks to incoming university students through the University’s library. This article from No Shelf Required includes statements from both the University and ProQuest regarding the collaboration. Some of the goals for collaboration include making the cost of college more affordable, and textbooks more accessible, particularly to students with disabilities. The digital textbooks come from 60 academic publishers and can be accessed by students via Ebook Central which is ProQuest’s ebook platform. Continue reading Western Sydney University and ProQuest team up for free digital textbooks →

General, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist

Notable Date to Celebrate: Tell a Fairy Tale Day is Feb. 26th!

You probably already know that at CMLE, we offer a service called “Notable Dates for your Noggin” which feature special holidays and birthdays of authors, as well as publications of well-known books. In an effort to help you get more from this service, we’ve decided to select one “Notable Date” each month to feature. We will include a few fun programming and activity ideas too, all for you to use!

Celebrate Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

Feb. 26th is Tell a Fairy Tale Day!

You can celebrate by reading from the classic fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm, but why not get a little more creative? Continue reading Notable Date to Celebrate: Tell a Fairy Tale Day is Feb. 26th! →

Books, General

Ben & Jerry’s Book Pairings

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Sounds good!

While books on their own are great, books plus snacks definitely equals a happier experience!

This article from Book Riot has an impressive list of Ben & Jerry’s flavors that the author has tried, and then she matches the flavor with a fitting book.

For example:

Empower Mint – I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

Chocolate Therapy – Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

Triple Caramel Chunk – The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Spectacular Speculoos Cookie Core – Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

If you’re more of a dessert beverage person, check out this article from Abe Books that features several different book and wine pairings – and then the author’s favorite books about wine, too! And not to leave out beer drinkers – enjoy this list from Buzzfeed that recommends books to go with your beer.

Books, Public, Resources, School Media Specialist

Looking for historical fiction picture books?

Reading about fictional characters in a historical setting can be interesting and education for young readers. If you are looking for suggestions of fiction books in a historical setting, here are a few to try:

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
This book was inspired by actual plantation documents that detailed the monetary value of a slave. This book examines that topic while sharing values that cannot be sold, which are each slaves’ dreams and lived experiences.

Locomotive by Brian Floca
This book takes a look at the early days of America’s transcontinental railroad. The train’s journey comes alive with the sounds, sights, passengers, and workers that all witness the changing landscape of the country.

 

Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
This story is about a farm girl that has discovered a runaway slave hiding in her family’s barn. To help the slave, she must act with courage and compassion.

Do you have a favorite historical fiction picture book? Share with us in the comments, we’d love to check it out!