All posts by John

Academic, General, School Media Specialist

Manage your courses with Classroom for GitHub

GitHub_LogoGitHub, the code sharing platform, recently announced its “Classroom for GitHub” tool aimed to help teachers “automate repository creation and access control, making it easy to distribute starter code and collect assignments on GitHub.” Teachers can easily create an assignment and even distribute it to students using a private invitation URL.

Need even more? Check out GitHub Education. Their classroom guide is a quick way to see if you might want to use GitHub in a classroom or activity.

Check out the Classroom for GitHub tool now!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

New Minnesota Library CE Calendar

mn_lib_wordmark_color_png.png-image2993-280There is a new statewide Library Continuing Education (CE) Calendar sponsored by the seven Minnesota Multitype Library Systems. Its goal is to make it easy for library staff seeking CE opportunities & for planners of MN events to see what is already scheduled. Events on the calendar are open to all staff, although there may be some registration restrictions. Libraries & systems are invited to submit library CE opportunities to the calendar at calendar@mnlibs.info. Comments on the calendar are welcome at that address, too.
General, School Media Specialist

Recommended App: Buncee for Edu

bunceeRecently, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) came out with their 25 Best Apps for Teaching & Learning for 2015. The apps were chosen because they foster innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration.

With the Buncee for Edu app, creating stories is even easier for students. Using audio recordings and libraries of background and stickers, students can create and share anywhere. Also, make sure you check out the buncee blog for loads of ideas for integrating “buncees” into curriculum.

The app is FREE for iOS devices. AASL recommends it for Early Elementary and Middle School students. Check out the “How to create your educational buncee” video below:

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Notable Dates for your Noggin: October 2015

Calendar BannerEach month we’ll bring you a compiled list of fun national holidays, birthdays of authors, and publication dates of favorite books.  You can use these for your own personal use or for some library inspiration!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and National Pizza Month!

Other things to celebrate in October. . .

October
3  Techies Day
 200px-The_Giving_Tree 6  Mad Hatter Day
7  The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein) published in 1964
11 Star Wars Read Day
11  Peter and Wendy (JM Barrie) published in 1911
12  Farmers Day
13  Train Your Brain Day
16  Dictionary Day
 Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) published in 1847
 The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (CS Lewis)  published in 1950
18-24 Teen Read Week
18-24 National Friends of Library Week
18-24 Digital Citizenship Week
22  National Nut Day
24  A Room of One’s Own (Virginia Woolf) published in 1929
26  Pumpkin Day
29  Cat Day

Did we miss anything?  Let us know if we did!

For our calendar of library events, including conferences and library days, check out our Events/Initiatives page.

And for more Notable Dates for Your Noggin, check out our Notable Dates page.

General

Turn Textbooks into Art With Upcycling

Need a great way to combine hands-on Makerspace activities with getting rid of some textbooks? Check out Edudemic’s post about Textbook Upcycling! From fedoras to planters the ideas are limitless.

Take the activities beyond upcycling and talk to them about product life-cycles. Check out the 21-minute documentary, The Story of Stuff. In it, students trace the life of a product and see the impact of each item they buy.