Category Archives: Special

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

The New iPad Mini and 4th Generation iPad

On Tuesday (10/23), Apple unveiled their new iPad Mini with comes in at a mere 7.9 inches and is expected to be a major player in the growing mini tablet market. Additionally, the new iPad 4 will soon be available. It boasts a new A6X chip that “delivers up to twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the A5X chip, all while delivering an incredible 10 hours of battery life in the same thin and light iPad design.”

A word of caution: Due to its small screen size, the new iPad Mini does not meet the minimum specifications issued by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) for the next-generation Common Core State Standards assessments coming in 2014.

Read more about the new iPad Mini and the 4th Gen iPad at THE Journal, 10/23/12

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Register for the Lake Superior Libraries Mid-Winter UnSymposium

Register now for the Lake Superior Libraries UnSymposium, where you determine the conversation!

At your typical conference, the sessions have been planned months, if not years in advance, so the most current, pressing concerns in Library Land are relegated to informal conversations that pop up along the sidelines.

At the Lake Superior Libraries UnSymposium, the sidelines are the conference. Topics and agendas are determined in a bottom-up, democratic manner, rather than being handed down from on high. Everyone wants to talk about how publishers are handling e-books? Done. You’re the only one who wants to talk about the classification of old-timey radio programs? Too bad. Join your brethren in informative conversation and don’t forget to check out the tech petting zoo. This is an event for folks who want to actively participate (see: unconference). Interested in facilitating a discussion? Read this first: How to run a great unconference session.

You’ll come away from the UnSymposium invigorated by lively discussions and ready to take new ideas and excitement back to your library.

Register now!

Kim Pittman

Reference & Instruction Librarian

University of Minnesota Duluth Library, L270

kpittman@d.umn.edu | 218-726-7829

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Twitter’s Educational Benefits

As teenagers’ use of the social-networking website, Twitter, increases, Michigan State University education professor, Christine Greenhow, suggests the site may have educational benefits as well. Greenhow found that students who used Twitter as part of academic lessons earned higher grades and were more engaged in lessons than their peers. Read the full article at  United Press International (10/17)

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

ALA Digital Literacy Series

News from the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP)….

“Our digital literacy task force is planning two virtual conversations around libraries and digital literacy.  Because we’re hoping to reach a wide audience, I wanted to share the blog post which describes the programs and a save the date email that we are sending out.  If you have colleagues in your networks that might be interested we would very much appreciate your help in getting the word out”

The series will explore the role of libraries in supporting and deepening digital literacy skills development for students, the general public and colleagues in other professions.

November 14: Creating a Culture of Learning: How Librarians Keep up with Digital Media and Technology

December 11: Assessing Digital Literacy: Outcomes and Impact

This looks fairly interesting, and it sounds like a Google Hangout will even be utilized for some of the programming!  Get all the necessary details including registration information  at http://tinyurl.com/8azwp6z

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Non-Profit Works to Find Key to Blended-Learning Programs

There’s still a lot to learn about different types of blended learning models, and a new nonprofit called Silicon Schools will raise and invest $25 million toward that effort. So far, they have raised $12 million, and they aim to fund new and innovative approaches in existing blended learning programs with grants to schools.

Blended learning is a relatively new concept with a mixed track record. Integrating certain types of technology into the classroom gives teachers and students real-time feedback so that each student can work at his or her own pace, and can give teachers accurate information that can help them better group students according to comprehension levels on specific subjects. But, educators point out that too often, ed-tech focuses on improving test scores rather than on building creative thinking and a passion for learning in students and that schools still need passionate, innovative and dedicated teachers, no matter how kids absorb the content.

Read the full article at Mind/Shift, October 17,2012