Image by Berlin Career College. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Have you ever been listening to the radio, heard a great song, and wondered about the title and/or artist? CMLE recommends using Shazam or SoundHound. Both of these apps identify songs and other media utilizing special sound recognition software. Results can be made available in under a minute, allowing the user to view lyrics with an option to purchase the song. Interested in learning more about a song that you can’t seem to stop singing? SoundHound has an added feature in which the user is able to hum or sing the lyrics to initiate a search.
Note: Both of these products have a free version compatible with Apple, Android and Windows operating systems.
Tip: If you receive a device for the holidays, this is a quick and fun app to kick-start your learning. Incorporate this technology into a mini research/trivia activity to engage your library users.
Information in this post was provided by the Minnesota Department of Education (Released December 16, 2013.)
MDE logo retrieved online 12/17/13..
ROSEVILLE – Today, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) announced that 48 schools are being designated as Celebration Schools. This year, 166 schools were eligible and applied for the honor.
“I want to congratulate these schools for this incredible accomplishment,” said Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “Minnesotans should be proud of the work going on in our schools. I look forward to continue learning about their successful efforts to ensure all students succeed and share that work with other schools across the state.”
The Celebration school designation is part of Minnesota’s federal accountability system that replaces No Child Left Behind. Under Minnesota’s program, schools are assigned a Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR) based on students’ proficiency and growth, as well as a school’s progress towards reducing achievement gaps and increasing graduation rates. The state’s Title I schools—those serving racially and ethnically diverse student populations with high levels of poverty—qualify for designations if they are top performers.
Celebration-eligible schools are the 25 percent of schools directly below those designated as Reward schools (the top 15 percent of Title I schools). These schools are then able to apply for Celebration status by documenting what efforts they are using to increase student achievement. MDE selects schools based on their ability to effectively document best practices that have led to student success to receive the Celebration school recognition. Celebration-eligible schools are identified annually.
The schools chosen as Celebration schools this year are:
School Name/District Name (CMLE schools are highlighted in red)
Adelante College Preparatory Academy/Hiawatha Academies
Anthony Middle School/Minneapolis Public School District
Aurora Middle School/Aurora Charter School
Cokato Elementary/Dassel-Cokato Public School District
Comfrey Elementary/Comfrey Public School District
Dover-Eyota Elementary/Dover-Eyota Public School District
Fieldstone Elementary School/St. Michael-Albertville School District
Forest Hills Elementary/Eden Prairie Public School District
Garden City Elementary/Osseo Public Schools
Garlough Environmental Magnet/West St. Paul-Mendota Hts-Eagan
Global Academy
Harding Senior High/St. Paul Public School District
Hayfield Elementary/Hayfield Public School District
Hiawatha Leadership Academy/Hiawatha Academies
Karlstad Elementary/Tri-County School District
Kennedy Elementary/Mankato Public School District
Kenny Elementary/Minneapolis Public School District
KIPP Minnesota Charter School
Lancaster Elementary/Lancaster Public School District
Lincoln International School
Linwood Elementary/Forest Lake Public School District
Linwood Monroe Arts Plus Upper/St. Paul Public School District
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Elementary/Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial
Long Prairie Elementary/Long Prairie-Grey Eagle School District
Magelssen Elementary/Fosston Public School District
Marcy Open Elementary/Minneapolis Public School District
Memorial High School/Ely Public School District
Minnehaha Elementary/Lake Superior Public School District
Naytahwaush Community School
New Millennium Academy Charter School
Northrop Elementary/Minneapolis Public School District
Oak Grove Elementary/Bloomington Public School District
Oak Hills Elementary/Lakeville Public School District
Oak Point Intermediate Elementary/Eden Prairie Public School District
Park Brook Elementary/Osseo Public School District
Partnership Academy, Inc.
Pine Island Middle/Pine Island Public School District
Pratt Elementary/Minneapolis Public School District
Raven Stream Elementary/New Prague Area Schools
Riverside Elementary/Brainerd Public School District
Rossman Elementary/Detroit Lakes Public School District
Solway Elementary/Bemidji Public School District
St. Charles Elementary/St. Charles Public School District
Swanville Elementary/Swanville Public School District
Taylors Falls Elementary/Chisago Lakes School District
Twin Cities International Elementary School
Waite Park Elementary/Minneapolis Public School District
Washington Tech Secondary Magnet/St. Paul Public School District
Image by cannelle-vanille. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
On December 5th, Library Journal (LJ) released their top picks for Best Books: 2013 Craft and Do-It-Yourself (DIY), just in time for the holidays. Don’t forget to check out another post this week with bookish craft projects-just for fun. However, if crafting books are not in high demand with your users, perhaps they would rather be in the kitchen? Consider LJ’s Best Books: 2013 Cookbooks to keep your collection current.
Image by nic519. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Looking ahead to 2014, YALSA (ALA) has exciting news about Teen Tech Week which will be March 9-15, 2014. The theme this year is DIY @ Your Library and it presents a chance to showcase your non-print resources available to youth. The purpose of this week is to demonstrate to teens and their families, the positive influence of libraries in their communities.
Free monthly webinars will begin in December, but you need to register.
YALSA, Young Adult Library Services Association’s mission is to feature resources for youth ages 12-18 by, “… offering teens a space to extend learning beyond the classroom where they can explore, create and share content.”
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
