To keep people updated with Library news and events. To try to encourage and foster a love of reading and learning in the Barkly District. To promote and support our school and our Library.
Digital Citizenship Week is coming up in Term 4 - so I have added a few links that may (or may not) be of some use.
The first one is a quiz about digital citizenship - are your students good digital citizens? This quiz may help you find out.
The second one is an updated version of a Digital Citizenship Survival Kit, as sometimes a visual thing can have more impact than any words you can say. I have blogged about this one before - but the teacher has now put up an updated/improved version with his reasons for each item. What do you think?
And the last one is from Commonsense.org, with information and ideas.
Something to think about on a Monday morning - Is Google (and FaceBook, Twitter and all the rest) making us stupid? Is the Internet changing our brains? How many of us can remember information any more? Or is it just that there is SO much information available that we cannot process it as we used to?
And, are we all becoming trapped in a filter bubble of our own making? Some experts have been warning about this for at least the last 10 years or so, and with all the talk about Fake News, it does seem more topical than ever.
Maybe the real question is - does it really matter? This is the reality that our students live in so can we change it? Do we need to?
When you have some spare time, maybe check out the websites below and see what you think.
If you get a chance, take a moment and check out this infographic from Teacher magazine about students reading habits.
I was interested by the point made that most students who read paper style books usually score at least 30 points higher on most standard tests, and those who read digital books usually only score about 15 points higher.
It has been found that text learning was less effective on screen than on paper - mainly because the brain will process digital reading differently to how it does with reading from print.
Every month of the year - there are always special days to celebrate, or to support something. Below are a few for August and the start of September. There are plenty more - maybe something to generate a conversation?
August is the month for the MS Readathon - and the period of August to October is the Great Northern Cleanup - like Clean Up Australia Day - but at a better time of year for those of us living up here.
The Great Northern Clean Up, an event of Clean Up Australia, takes place during the months of August, September and October - a time of year which is more suitable for communities living in the tropical North. Since the campaign started in 2009 more than 30,000 volunteers have removed the equivalent of 1,800 ute loads of rubbish from 813 sites north of the Tropic of Capricorn.
This year the event is taking place during the months of August-October when an estimated 3,851 volunteers have already removed around 277 ute loads of rubbish from 126 sites across northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
The MS Readathon is a reading-based fundraiser run by Multiple Sclerosis Australia (MSA). It encourages people of all ages to read and improve their literacy whilst at the same time raising their community awareness and empowering them to make a difference in the lives of people living with MS.
Fight Cancer Foundation's Footy Colours Day is a national community fundraising campaign that helps kids with cancer keep up with school. Join thousands of Australians by wearing your favourite team's colours and hosting an event at your school, organisation, group or club to raise much needed funds!
A discussion has been happening on the TL listserv just recently about collective nouns - and what would be the best suggestion for a group of Librarians. Yes, I know ... the things we do!
Below are some of the suggestions that have been made - what do you think? Personally, I like the idea of a community of librariansor a web of librarians.... however does anyone have any other suggestions?
A catalogue of
A web of A gripe of A genius of A Dewey of A Google of A database of A collaboration of A community of A full text of A Boolean of A shoosh of A hush of A coven of
For anyone that likes words, especially collective nouns - check out this site:
While we are talking words... A couple I came across a fair while ago are meant to describe the feeling you get when you enter a search into Google and find yourself faced with millions of pages to troll through. What do you think of the words gazillionised and info-whelmed? Descriptive? Or otherwise?
Please take a look below for a few links that may be of some interest to you. The GameMaker one could possibly be used in the Digital Tech Electives, was my thought?
Anyway - have a browse, see what you think. These are a cut n paste from the Common Sense Education website, which has lots more ideas on it as well.
Here are a few of our newest Common Sense Selections for Learning:
Buncee (Free and Paid): This presentation tool perfectly
blends top-notch learning content—including great pre-made SEL
lessons—with a friendly design that makes it a delight to use every
day.
GameMaker (Free): This tool makes it easy for kids to go from
playing games to making them. What's more: It can work equally well for
novices and experts—even some pros use it to create and publish their
games!
iCivics (Free): This classic collection of social studies and
civics-related games comes with a ton of teacher materials. And while the
games vary in style and depth, they all bring to life topics that can seem
abstract at first.
Kialo
Edu (Free): If you're looking to
help students fight against their biases and consider all sides of a
debatable issue, then Kialo Edu is worth a look. It offers a collaborative
and pretty neat visual system for how to break down a tough topic.
Quizizz (Free and Paid):
This one's been on our radar for years and has steadily climbed the ranks. Now,
among the dozens of other options for quizzing,
Quizizz stands alone. We love its customizability, and how it can now function
as a quiz tool or a lesson delivery platform. It's even got video and audio
responses.
