All posts by Angie

School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Recommended Apps: Humanities and Arts: Google Arts and Culture

Last summer, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2017. The apps encourage qualities such as creativity and collaboration, and encourage discovery and curiosity.

The app Google Arts and Culture “offers a smorgasbord of art related topics for the “culturally curious”. From art stories to art exhibits, users can explore the world of art by reading the latest feature stories, or by going on a 3D tour of a museum.” You are able to zoom up close for a detailed look at artwork, browse the art by time period or color, or filter your search by artist or medium. To generate classroom discussion, use the “Experiments” feature.

Level: High School +
Platform iOS and Android
Cost: Free

School Library Journal has this review of the app that describes it as a “versatile tool that can be integrated into many classroom activities.” And Business Insider has a detailed description and how-to for the app that you can read here.

Watch a trailer of the app below:

CMLE, Communication

Coming up soon: CMLE’s Fall Social Event!

 

Join us for a delicious dinner and casual library talk, find out what is happening in other libraries that may be different from yours, and share any success stories or challenges of your own!

We are looking forward to our next social event, coming up on Monday, October 23rd at 5:30pm at Old Chicago in St. Cloud! 

RSVP below (and thank you to all of you that have already done so, we can’t wait to see you! 🙂 )

 

Communication, Special

Learning About Library Associations: Special Libraries Association MN Chapter

Library science is an enormous field, home to every interest you could imagine! This means that there are many organizations out there for you to join, in order to connect with other people who share your professional interests.

So even if you work alone in your library, there are other people out there doing work similar to yours! Each week we will highlight a different library association for you to learn more about, and depending on your work, potentially join! You can also check out our page dedicated to Library Associations.

At CMLE we have some special libraries in our membership, and this organization is for them! (One of our special members is the Stearns History Museum and their archive. Read about our visit here!) Special libraries are an important part of our membership, and if you work in one, definitely check out the Special Libraries Association Minnesota Chapter!

From their site: “The Special Libraries Association Minnesota Chapter (SLA-MN) was founded in 1943 to share expertise and interests and to build a community to support the special librarians of Minnesota and the surrounding area. The chapter exists to provide these same opportunities and services to our members and partners.”

The SLA MN Chapter offers many programs, including several awards, professional development opportunities, and a mentorship program to encourage students and early-career professionals.

For information on membership, to read their Strategic Plan, or learn about the organization’s history, visit the SLA MN Chapter’s website.

 

School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Recommended Apps: STEM: Cosmic Watch

Last summer, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2017. The apps encourage qualities such as creativity and collaboration, and encourage discovery and curiosity.

This app is a celestial watch based on a 3D model of the solar system as experienced from earth, and is a world and astronomical clock.
“It shows time as what it really is – our position and motion in the cosmos. Students can learn more about astronomy and our solar system, watch the real time movement of sun, moon and stars or simply enjoy the beautiful design of the celestial sphere.” The app’s website features tutorials as well as some educational resources that  feature images from NASA missions.

Level: Middle School +
Platform: iOS/Android
Cost: $4.49

Read this review from PC Mag for a detailed description of the app as well as pro/con items. You can also read a review by a teacher here, from EducationalAppStore.com.

 

Books

Book Suggestion Series: Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

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Books are just great, aren’t they? At CMLE Headquarters, we love books!

On our weekly podcast, Linking Our Libraries, we always have a book segment so we can share some of the books we read. This is always popular with our listeners, so we are expanding that into other formats including a second podcast, Books and Beverages, coming out this fall (in just a few weeks, to be exact!)

We are also building this series of Book Suggestions. You can submit books that you like! Just write up a few reasons you liked a book and send it in to us; we will edit and add links – and we can all enjoy it! Don’t be shy, share your favorites!

 Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Instead of sharing a book I’m currently reading or recently finished (they are all good books but a little on the sad side) I’d like to suggest a great series I am excited to continue reading! This series is about a young woman named Maisie Dobbs who is a private investigator in London after the first World War. The first book tells the story of Maisie’s early life as a maid who managed to attend Cambridge, and then became a nurse during the war. Maisie is easy to root for because she’s intelligent, hardworking, and brave, especially when she becomes a nurse in the field during the war. Through flashbacks we learn about her lost love and how she was trained to become a private investigator. I really enjoy historical fiction because you get to experience life in a different time and place from what you are used to. Plus, there’s mystery and a little romance involved, which is always welcome! Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the fourteen book series, and I am excited to read more of them!

Check out the next several books in the series: