According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, women are underrepresented in the technology industry – comprising just 25% of the workforce. These careers are often higher-paid, and technology skills are in high demand, so it should be an important mission of libraries to help ensure that young girls have opportunities to explore technology-related careers. (In this article, “girls” refers to all who identify as girls and is inclusive of gender-nonconforming children.) Many librarians are intimidated by the prospect of creating STEM programming for young children, but it can be an exciting and rewarding endeavor, with benefits that go beyond simply learning how to code.
Category: Blogger Children and Technology Committee
Free Learning Apps & Games for Families at Home
As a children’s librarian at a public library, I was delighted recently when a parent brought in two kids for a play date. The friends spent the afternoon giggling and playing educational games side by side on our computers. We all know that libraries are about so much more than just books; in this case, the library provided a fun and welcoming space, as well as free access to a suite of learning games that the families would otherwise have to pay for on their own. However, this visit also reminded me that some of these library benefits don’t extend to at-home use. When the parent asked if the kids could access these same games at home, I had to say no because our library’s subscription is only good on-site. In the moment, I recommended a few alternatives for free learning games that the parent could check out at home—reliable…
Integrating Technology into Public Library Programs with Bedtime Math
For many public libraries, 2022 saw a slow but gradual return to in-person programming after two years of services altered or disrupted by the pandemic. This past summer was the closest my branch has been to “normal” programming, and we finally hosted our first big school night since 2019 in December. Like other libraries, the long pause has forced us to reassess needs and rethink the programming and services we invest in. Finding ways to expand access to out-of-school learning and creating opportunities for families to engage with each other? are both priorities for my team. So, when a librarian on my staff proposed the idea of creating a series of math enrichment programs last summer, I was all in. The six-week program was very well-received, and we saw high family engagement throughout. Each session featured a math-themed book and a related hands-on activity. One of the most successful…
Roblox and Kids: What you need to know
During a recent tech lesson, a first-grade student exclaimed, “I play Roblox, and they can scam you!”. And as I listened, she and many of her six-year-old classmates shared their experiences in the game, describing pop-ups and chat boxes, currency and avatars. It was passionate, energetic, and enlightening. As class ended, I began to wonder more about Roblox’s creation and how it could integrate into a teaching and programming moment.
Media Mentorship
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…
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…