Tag Archives: AASL Best Digital Tools

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Tools 2020: KidLit TV

he American Association of School Librarians (AASL)  has announced their top choices for “electronic resources that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and their educator collaborators.” These resources were formerly separated into the Best Apps and Best Websites for Teaching and Learning and are now combined into the Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning.

“KidLitTV offers in depth interviews with authors and illustrators.  On this website you will find book trailers, how to draw videos and other literacy related activities.  This website offers curated resources for books geared toward PK-3rd grade.”

Shared foundations-: Curate, Explore, Engage, Include

The KidLitTV site is full of fantastic resources like this compiled list of the best kidlit videos from 2019! This article from Publisher’s Weekly describes the new initiative KidLit TV At Home, a free resource created specifically for this time of increased virtual learning. Read Across America has this great page with several videos from the program ready to watch! Finally, this page from the Children’s Book Council links to many other activities available from KidLit TV, like recipes, songs, and drawing instructions!

KitLit TV has an incredible YouTube page. Even grownups will find things to enjoy! Tutorials, interviews, music, and of course books being read aloud!

Here’s a quick video of Susan Verde reading her book I Am Peace (2 min video, very soothing!!)

School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Tools 2020: codespark

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL)  has announced their top choices for “electronic resources that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and their educator collaborators.” These resources were formerly separated into the Best Apps and Best Websites for Teaching and Learning and are now combined into the Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning.

This awesome coding app is FREE for teachers and librarians! “CodeSpark Academy is an app and website that wordlessly introduces young users to the world of coding through games. Parents and children can use it on their own, and educators can create classes to manage student use.”

Shared foundations: Explore, Engage, Inquire

Common Sense Education has this review of the app, along with instruction ideas for teachers. Class Tech Tips has this article about the app, and the University of Pittsburgh included the app on their page of STEM learning resources.

This quick video shows how the app works:

Watch this 3 min video on getting started with CodeSpark for educators:

Check it Out:, Communication

AASL Best Digital Tools 2020: Talking Points

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL)  has announced their top choices for “electronic resources that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and their educator collaborators.” These resources were formerly separated into the Best Apps and Best Websites for Teaching and Learning and are now combined into the Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning.

This FREE resource can be especially useful during virtual and distance learning! “TalkingPoints is a free messenger tool for educators that helps remove barriers in language communication. The TalkingPoints app creates easier connections with parents via text messages directly to mobile devices and in their native languages.”

Shared foundations: Collaborate, Include, Engage

The Talking Points site has a Getting Started Guide as well as 5 Tips to Jump Start Connections. Read a review of this app from Common Sense Education or this one from Ed Surge.

Hear from educators and parents (2 min video) about how they use this app to communicate:

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Tools 2020: World 101

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL)  has announced their top choices for “electronic resources that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and their educator collaborators.” These resources were formerly separated into the Best Apps and Best Websites for Teaching and Learning and are now combined into the Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning.

 World 101 is a program that “offers information from an independent non-partisan sources about international relations. The world is divided into regions and information is provided for each region on politics, economics, etc. From essays and discussion questions to glossaries and up-to-date reading lists, World101 provides comprehensive teaching resources for each of our modules.”

Shared foundations: Inquire, Curate, Explore

World 101 has this page full of resources for educators. It has a searchable list of topics and each one includes discussion questions, reading materials, and other teaching resources. EconEdLink has this interactive lesson on Globalization that uses the program.

This one minute video shows how this program works:

You can check out our archive of past recommended apps here.

Check it Out:, School Media Specialist, Tech

AASL Best Digital Tools 2020: Parlay Ideas

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL)  has announced their top choices for “electronic resources that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and their educator collaborators.” These resources were formerly separated into the Best Apps and Best Websites for Teaching and Learning and are now combined into the Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning.

You can check out our archive of past recommended apps here.

Parlay Ideas “is a robust discussion tool, fostering deep understanding, equitable collaboration, and mindful reflection, in both live and asynchronous learning environments.”

Shared foundations: Collaborate, Inquire

EdSurge has this review of the app, and Common Sense Education has this review specifically for teachers. HundrED has this great article about Parlay which includes several videos that show how the app works in the classroom. Parlay is also included in this article from Mud and Ink Teaching that lists several other apps and tech ideas that can be especially helpful during remote learning.

Watch this one minute video to see how Parlay Ideas works: