The science of reading is one of the fastest growing topics in librarianship. At my library, patrons want to know more about the science of reading, and how they can use it to help their children learn to read. Over the years, we’ve tried to meet this in different ways. For example, we created a Science of Reading kit to help patrons access the tools they need. As patron demand continued to grow, we realized we needed a way to help many patrons at the same time. To that end, my library created a Help Your Child Learn to Read website so patrons could access library resources whenever they needed them.
Category: Web site
Libros for Language: Texts to Support Translanguaging in the Classroom
More and more, children bring additional languages to the contexts where they live, learn, and play. The vast majority of the books available to them in their schools and local libraries, however, continue to privilege the monolingual use of English. This striking discrepancy ignores the ways in which multilingualism provides children with rich opportunities to participate productively in a global society, as well as the valuable resource that stems from students’ experiences with multilingualism. In the field of bilingual education, the concept of translanguaging highlights how in reality, rather than keep languages separate, multilingual people mix and mingle all of their linguistic skills and knowledge in various contexts. Additionally, scholarship in translanguaging has demonstrated bilingual children’s unique ability to strategically use their full linguistic repertoire to make meaning, and has also supported teachers in developing pedagogies to support such fluid language practices.
Strong Dose of Back to School
Summer Reading is Over! So, pat yourself on the back! It’s been a long road to hoe, but you’re just the Joe to hoe it. It’s time to don the oven mitts and grab the red hot throat of back-to-school! You’re going to need a strong dose of resources to help this season’s batch of students succeed this fall, winter – and beyond! National Library of Medicine No, I’m not going to ask you to visit the National Library of Medicine (NLM) for remedies for your upcoming stresses. This month, we’re talking about their AMAZING resources for kids! They’ve got something for every age group and every electronic device. So let’s getting digging! Free Stuff! So, let’s start with the cool NLM swag. Bet you never thought you’d hear that in the same sentence. Tox Town Tox Town is a portion of the NLM site that focuses on toxins, the…
AASL 2018 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning #ALAAC18
What a great session from the AASL! While many librarians may be aware of the AASL’s annual listing of the best websites for teaching and learning, this session delved into each website giving information about the site, age levels, the standards the site addresses, and even showed short video clips about each site and its application. It was a fun way to learn about new resources, and I plan to experiment with a lot of these and hope to use them in my elementary school library curriculum next year. To check out the AASL’s best websites, here is the list… https://standards.aasl.org/project/bw18/ Past recommended websites can be found at: http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/best/websites And now, I am signing off to build my own code using Pencil Code!!! This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competencies: II. Reference and User Services and IV. Knowledge, Curation, and Management of Materials.
Everyday Advocacy Has Lots to Offer
With National Library Legislative Day (May 7-8) just about a month away, this seems an appropriate time to remind everyone about Everyday Advocacy (EA)! Are you familiar with EA? According to ALSC’s EA website, Everyday Advocacy is “a grassroots effort that starts with you and the incredible things you’re already doing for the youth and families you serve.” Consider Everyday Advocacy an antidote to the advocacy intimidation factor! Need more convincing? Just take another (or first) look at the site. It truly is filled with resources compiled to help you get comfortable in the role of advocate or to get inspired to do more in the way of advocacy. Here’s just a small sampling of what you will find at the Everyday Advocacy site: Be Informed | The Power of Stories Human beings learn through stories. A well-told story is an extremely compelling way to convey your message, which will…
Website Transition Is in Progress!
ALSC is happy to announce that transition is in progress to the newly designed website (as of Wednesday afternoon, 10/4)! You may experience some temporary service interruptions during the move, and we do apologize for the inconvenience. We anticipate work on the site to be complete within 48 hours or so. Site visitors then will enjoy a user-friendly experience, as the new responsive design resizes webpages based on the device in use. And, as a result, ALSC webpages will not be downgraded in search results for being “mobile-unfriendly.” The newly designed site continues to provide the same trusted resources, news, and award information, but pages display a fresh look. The homepage design displays clear, bright “blocks” of information that point visitors to prime resources on the site, such as awards, book lists, and eLearning opportunities. ALSC news, blog, and twitter feeds, also on the main page, allow users to quickly browse…
Coming Soon: New Design for Website
A new design for the ALSC website will go live soon. Site visitors will enjoy a user-friendly experience, as the new responsive design resizes pages based on the device in use. As a result of this responsiveness, ALSC webpages will not be downgraded in search results for being “mobile-unfriendly.” While the new site continues to provide the same trusted resources, news, and award information, webpages will display a fresh look. The homepage displays clear, bright “blocks” of information that point visitors to prime resources on the site, such as awards, book lists, and eLearning opportunities. ALSC news, blog, and twitter feeds, also on the main page, allow users to quickly browse the latest announcements, posts, and tweets coming out of the association. The actual date for the transition is not yet set, but it will be very soon. For a sneak peek of the new homepage (still under construction), visit…
ALSC Website Under Construction; Improvements Coming Soon!
We are excited to share that ALA’s new responsive design website is coming! Visitors to ala.org and ala.org/alsc will find that the new site resizes to fit their device screen, whether desktop or mobile! That means a more user-friendly experience for everyone. In preparation for this exciting update, ALSC staff is streamlining the ala.org/alsc site structure to fit the new format. We are revising some top-level navigation terminology (e.g., “Communications & Publications” on the left-hand navigation menu is now “Publications & Resources”) and moving from 13 top-level navigation sections to 8. This latter change requires some web content reorganization and movement, but redirects are being created to provide continuity and help users find the content they need. The updates already have begun and will continue for the next week or two. We thank you in advance for your patience as we work towards the improved design. If you can’t find…