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.
Tag: Gaming
Roll the Dice: Get Outside Your Comfort Zone with School Aged Programs and Services!
As librarians serving school-aged children, it can be easy to stick to our comfort zone with the tried and true programs that we have done in the past or with programs that are on topics that we personally know a lot about. It is also tempting to stick with programs that have all the pieces in place to run smoothly instead of introducing new programs. I am here to encourage you to get outside your comfort zone with new programming, to stretch yourself into new areas, and to try an “everything is beta” approach to programming! I will share about an after-school program that has caused me to stretch outside my comfort zone with my middle school students and offer some tips for making such programs work. When I began working at my middle school, a small group of parents were running an afterschool program for Dungeons & Dragons players. …
Virtual Playtime with GameRT at #alamw21
GameRT presented examples for virtual gaming, as well as resources and tips for introducing them to patrons. Our presenters were Dan Major of Orion Township Public Library (adult services), Erica Ruscio of Ventress Memorial Library (teen services), Rebecca Strang of Naperville Public Library (children’s services), and Jeff Pinsker of AMIGO Games (CEO).
Nintendo for the Win

If your library circulates video games you may also have a collection that gives DVDs a run for their money. Over the past few years we have witnessed a growing increase in the circulation of kid’s, teen, and adult games. Nearing the end of the library’s fiscal year I glanced at the top circulating games in the Children’s Library and wasn’t surprised to see that Mario dominated the list.
Why Pokemon Go and The Library is a perfect partnership

Sunday evening my family took a walk to our neighborhood park. It’s not unusual to see families out and about riding bikes or walking dogs, but this past weekend the parks have been full of people staring at their phones. Pokemon Go has taken over my community. I’ve never seen our park so busy! There were around 300 people out walking around the park and playing this game. If you’ve been on social media at all in the past few days, you have most likely seen many mentions of Pokemon Go from the good – it’s getting people out and walking, to the bad – people are spending a lot of time staring at screens and not paying attention to their surroundings. So what is Pokemon Go?