To use technology or not to use technology? I feel it is no longer a matter of “not” to use. The pandemic has shown us that technology is a part of everyone’s daily life, and we need to be there for our young patrons and their caregivers to guide them, just as we do when helping patrons find the right information and books. As with any media, we are here for our patrons to advise, program, and curate. “student_ipad_school – 038” by flickingerbrad is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Training takeaways Recently, I attended a virtual training session on Media Mentorship where youth librarians from Maryland and Indiana learned about the use of digital media and our roles as digital media mentors. Prior to the training, attendees read A Guide to Media Mentorship by Lisa Guernsey of New America. During the morning session, presenters examined the basics of media mentorship—old…
Category: Blogger Children and Technology Committee
The Digital Tools of an ALSC Virtual Committee
Hello! Manuela Aronofsky and Tina Bartholoma here. We’re the current co-chairs of the ALSC Children and Technology Committee. The ALSC C&T Committee is a virtual committee, so to stay connected and collaborate with members across time zones, we have adopted a handful of favorite digital tools. Today we will share what they are and how we use them for our committee work.
Bridging Technology and the Middle School Library
This past year, I had the opportunity to attend the annual NYSAIS Education and Information Technology Conference (NEIT) for New York Independent School Librarians and Technologists. During the conference, I realized that while there is some understanding of what connects librarians and technologists (it is one conference after all), I work in a unique learning environment that genuinely sees my position as a bridge between the two roles. With my “technologist” hat on at the conference, I connected with technology integrators and EdTech professionals who often feel frustrated by confusion around their job descriptions, a lack of awareness in schools on how best to utilize a tech integrator’s unique skill set, and requests from administration to start teaching skills beyond what we think of as technology integration. Substitute “technology integrator” for “school librarian” and these frustrations might start to sound familiar. Most surprisingly, I was often the only educator with…
Music and Story time Programs
“Music baby.” by cross-eyed doll is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. How do you incorporate music into your story time programs? Has this gotten more difficult as more music has gone in the direction of streaming? This was a recent and interesting discussion on ALA Connect. In the past, we used CDs, but some of us moved on to streaming. This may be great for listening – but problematic for story time programs. What works best—Spotify? YouTube? Apple Music? Amazon? Dropbox? CDs? To pay or not to pay? We polled ALSC’s Childrens and Technology committee members to see how each of our systems tackle this issue. The solutions are varied and work for those of us who use them, but they may not work for all. With CDs, availability is the issue as they are neither being produced nor purchased as much. If you still have CDs, one option is…
Encouraging Guilt-Free Screen Time
I’ve heard plenty of parents express guilt over letting their children watch videos or play games on their phones – “I know I shouldn’t, but it’s just so I can get the dishes done.” It doesn’t help that it seems like recommendations are changing constantly and parents don’t always know where to look for the most up-to-date information. The last two years have been even harder – video chats and schooling have moved online and our children are getting more screen time than ever.
Digital Media Resources updated for 2022
Hello Friends! We have some exciting news to share. The ALSC Digital Media Resources page has been updated. This list, created and updated annually by the ALSC Children and Technology Committee, curates current digital and tech articles, blog posts, and websites impacting the youth services field. This year we’ve added some new categories–media mentorship and podcast advisory–and updated recommendations on the familiar topics of children’s eBooks and apps, early learning, and research. Each section’s resources are selected with focused attention on the interactions of children and technology.
Serving Students and Families: A Collaborative Literacy Model in Support of Student Achievement
Much of my work as a public librarian centered on collaborating with school districts in an effort to connect with literacy and technology initiatives. This work was rewarding when we were able to center the needs of students and families, but building capacity to improve student success could also prove elusive. When I joined ALSC’s Children and Technology Committee one of my aims was to lift up stories of collaboration and achievement, so when I had the privilege of hearing about the efforts of the library and technology services staff at Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and how they utilized their infrastructure support systems with the Nashville Public Library (NPL) during the pandemic, I knew it was a story worth sharing.
Virtual Field Trips for School-Age Children
As the pandemic continues and children are increasingly required to stay home for a week or more, many school and public libraries are sharing a fresh round of digital learning resources with their communities. If you are looking for new recommendations to send families and caregivers during this time, virtual field trips can be a particularly good fit for children to enjoy while they are stuck indoors.