Did you receive money during the holidays and are itching to buy yourself a laptop? Are you part of a tech team in your setting and just trying to better understand the justifications for what is being bought? As the author of this piece points out, buying laptops can be tricky business.
This article will break down the ins and outs of your computer purchase. Need a refresher on key words, concepts, and specifications? It’s almost like asking all these questions of that really intelligent person at Office Max or Best Buy, but in the comfort of your own home so you can refer back to the information again. As a bonus, the author gives you three top recommendations for a laptop around $600 or less.
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) came out with their 25 Best Apps for Teaching & Learning. The apps were chosen because they foster innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration.
The Touch Van Gogh app reveals the secrets in and behind the paint on Vincent van Gogh’s canvases. While exploring “the location, history, style and composition of the paintings, students will enjoy rubbing the screen to reveal art hidden under some of the paintings as they discover that Van Gogh recycled his canvases.” AASL recommends using this app for art classes studying composition, color, style, media and Van Gogh’s works.
This award-winning app is FREE for iOS devices and on Google Play. AASL recommends it for Upper Elementary, Middle, and High School students.
Wondering why I have not been giving you more updates on eBooks? I admit it, I have become overwhelmed and could only wonder how to do so in the best way. In the past, I relied on eBook guru Sue Polanka and her No Shelf Required site. However, just recently, when I visited her site, I was delighted to see that she has started publishing Paul Biba’s weekly news compilation on eBooks, eLibraries, and ePublishing. As these topics swirl and morph at a rapid pace, it is a lot to keep up on in a timely fashion and Paul’s diligence on these fronts is most welcome!
Paul is the former Editor-in-Chief of TeleRead, the Internet’s first blog devoted to ebooks. He now runs a curated Twitter feed on these subjects. Check out his listing of those tweets for the week ending January 24th. Pick and choose what is of most interest to you same as you do with our Weekly Review, which is a recap of CMLE blog posts for the week.
If you are interested in following the feed in real time, follow Paul on Twitter: @paulkbiba
Image credit: https://unsplash.com/ (Matt Jones), licensed under CC0 1.0
We had a wonderful time at our Snippets & Sneak Peeks: Winter Edition event on Tuesday, January 12th. Attendees braved the sub-zero windchill to listen to the staff from Barnes & Noble in St. Cloud share their favorite children’s and young adult books. Three authors also shared about their books: Ryan Jacobson, Aimee Bissonette, and Kristin D. Van Risseghem. Librarians and media center staff heard snippets from 57 books – some of which were just officially published that day! We had tasty treats, coffee, and warm conversation to make this a fantastic event for all who attended. Thank you to ITEM for partnering with us on this and also to the Barnes & Noble staff: Jennie, Andy, Katie, and Amy for all the work you did.
The annual Spotlight on Books conference will be held on April 8-9, 2016 at Chase on the Lake in Walker, Minnesota. This is the 28th year for this wonderful conference focusing on children’s and youth literature. This is a perfect get-a-way for teachers, librarians, parents or college students who have an interest in this topic.
The conference will have a variety of presenters including Anton Treuer, Candace Fleming, Eric Rohmann, Carrie Ehlert Newman, and a special Skype lecture with Debbie Reese on how to “Indigenize your Library”. For more details and registration click here for the conference website.
Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(Dishan Lathiya), licensed under CC0 1.0
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Did you receive money during the holidays and are itching to buy yourself a laptop? Are you part of a tech team in your setting and just trying to better understand the justifications for what is being bought? As the author of this piece points out, buying laptops can be tricky business.
