Tag Archives: White House

General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

National Week of Making

computer and notesGet ready to create! On June 17-23rd, the White House will celebrate the National Week of Making. Across the country, libraries, museums, schools, and other community spaces are encouraged to host events that promote new ideas and creations. The White House supports opportunities for students to learn through making, especially about STEM related topics. During the National Week of Making, the National Maker Faire also takes place at the University of District of Columbia on June 18th and 19th. The event will include federal agencies, departments, as well as makers from across the country.

Know someone who is empowering others to be makers and innovators? Nominate them to be selected as a Champion of Change!

You can also submit your new activities and suggestions to promote making in your community. Check out the Maker Map to find makerspaces in your area. You can contribute to the map and explore their maker resources.

Join the fun by using the hashtags #NationOfMakers and #WeekofMaking and connect with others!

Interested in makerspaces? Remember, CMLE has put together a wealth of information on the topic! Check it out here.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/(William Iven), licensed under CC0 1.0

General, Public, School Media Specialist

ConnectED Library Challenge touches Minnesota

15854128181_5c4ec55106_kWe all perk up when the White House gets involved with libraries! Have you heard of the ConnectED Library Challenge?  Apparently, this is old news, but I just heard about it in two places! According to the Initiative page, this is a way for communities throughout the country to create or strengthen partnerships so that every child enrolled in school can receive a library card. Sounds good, right? The initiative calls upon library directors to work with their mayors, school leaders, and school librarians, to provide wider access to the learning resources and books of America’s libraries.  OK so far. Here in Minnesota, Hennepin County Public Libraries and Hopkins Public Schools were chosen to partner up with the goal of increased learning in the classroom. Go to the Hopkins site for more background, and a short video too about Power Up: Libraries.

In addition, the White House website provides details of all of the partners and contributions toward this effort. Major publishers are announcing they will make over $250 million in free eBooks available to low-income students. This is the tip of the iceberg….all Initiative contributions total $10 billion dollars. I wonder if funds could ever be used to get public libraries “over the hump” of undertaking this serious task of getting cards in the hands of each student. The struggle is real! This all seems like a big deal; it will be curious to see how it all plays out, stay tuned….

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/l92kuy3, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0