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…
Tag: STEM/STEAM
STEAM Programs for the Scientifically Uncertain
I love doing STEAM programs, but I have never been a science person. Don’t get me wrong – I like certain elements of science. But like anyone, I have my strengths and my weaknesses, and explaining elementary level physics or chemistry is definitely not a strength of mine. I’m also not a great instruction follower, and science experiments often have very specific instructions. Paper circuits? I have no idea why the battery only works one way despite having read an explanation approximately one thousand times. Growing crystals? I’m too impatient for that kind of work. Simple machines? To me, they are Deeply Complicated machines. There are many places online to find great STEAM projects planned by experts, but if you’d like some so-simple-they-cannot-go-wrong STEAM projects, I’m here for you.
Día! El día de los niños – El día de los libros – Children’s Book Day
Día! is upon us! So, you’re reading this and thinking OMG, this is not so LOL when Día! is upon us! Don’t panic! There’s still time left to make this a meaningful Día! Sure, you may have somehow missed out on REFORMA’s March 31st deadline for applying for its Día! grants, but with a little planning, and some great resources, you can do this! Do YOU Día? But, I hear you say, Jonathan, I’m not Hispanic and I don’t speak Spanish above the “hola me llamo [insert name]” level. Let’s review what Día is all about! El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), commonly known as Día, is a celebration every day of children, families, and reading that culminates yearly on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of ALL linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Thus, you see that it’s not just about Spanish speakers. Indeed, I…
Women’s History: A Universe of Stories
Women’s History: A Universe of Stories I’m not going to state the obvious. You know…It’s March…It’s Women’s History Month. I refuse and I resist. INSTEAD! We’re looking forward to summer reading. Any writer of summer reading guides will tell you, while pulling their hair, these themes can go all. year. round! So why not adapt your WHM line-up and do some prep for summer at the same time? Breaking news, folks! 29 years after Sally Ride broke the astronaut gender mold: ‘For the first time in history, an all-female crew will conduct a spacewalk at the International Space Station, NASA confirmed to CNN. As part of Expedition 59, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will carry out the spacewalk on March 29. They’ll be supported on the ground by Canadian Space Agency flight controller Kristen Facciol, who will be on the console at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston….
STEAM Programming: Coding with Character(s)
Some of you may remember my first post for ALSC, published just a few months ago, entitled An Old-School Spin on STEAM Programming. It’s focus was an at-that-time recent program a colleague and I had run at 53rd Street, where school-age children were presented with a series of Choose Your Own Adventure-style challenges. Each week followed a different theme (pirates, space, etc.), and participants were asked to complete a series of STEAM projects, from pattern matching to coding, to aid them in their quests. A dear friend of mine (who is one of the best librarians I know) took this concept to the next level by creating a Super Mario-themed adventure that far surpassed the original programming. (No, I’m not putting myself down. Her programming is just so beyond what I could have created, it’s unbelievable.) To get an idea of how this program came together, I sent some interview…
Tips for Circulating Technology Kits
Someone in our library had the idea: why not allow children to bring home a piece of our makerspace, the TEA Room (Technology, Engineering, and Art). Thus the TEA kit, our circulating technology kit was born.
Register for Spring 2017 ALSC Online Courses
ALSC encourages participants to sign up for Spring 2017 ALSC online courses. Registration is open for all courses. Classes begin Monday, April 3, 2017. Two of the courses being offered this semester are eligible for continuing education units (CEUs). The American Library Association (ALA) has been certified to provide CEUs by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). ALSC online courses are designed to fit the needs of working professionals. Courses are taught by experienced librarians and academics. As participants frequently noted in post-course surveys, ALSC stresses quality and caring in its online education options. Learn more about online courses at the ALSC Online Education site. Demonstrating ALSC Competencies 6 weeks, April 3 – May 12, 2017 Instructor: Rachel Reinwald, Youth Services Librarian/School Liaison, Lake Villa District Library Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy 4 weeks, April 3 – 28, 2017, 1.2 CEUs Instructor: Angela Young,…
alamw17 Maker Break
After walking the beat in the exhibit hall (and making two trips to the Post Office area), I sat in on the Maker Break from DK Publishing. I love their maker books – Maker Lab was the handbook that guided a lot of my STEM and Summer Reading programming last year – and I’m excited that they’ve got a new book coming this Spring that will have “cardboard engineering projects”. If there’s one thing I have a surplus of both at home and work, it’s cardboard, so Out of the Box is my kind of book! There were snacks and drinks, and goodies at the table, including a cool DK maker backpack and calendar for each attendee. One surprise maker at each table got a copy of Maker Lab to take home, so that library is going to experience the joy of making awesome slime, too. Allison Davis from Make Media…