What's new, what's hot and what's not in Education Technology including Google Game, web based tools, wikis, blogs in schools and more from School Library Journal en-us http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/community/Education+Technology/47063.html?nid=3253 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/info/260304.html Terms of Use. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:08:32 MST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6703704.html?nid=3253 Conference season is upon us. But school and library budgets being what they are, funding for travel is scarce these days. But a growing trend toward bringing these events online makes it easier than ever to attend sessions virtually and even join in the rich conversations that make conferences so valuable. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6703702.html?nid=3253 Windows 7, Microsoft’s answer to the ill-received Vista operating system, was released on October 22, just days before this review was due. I started using Windows 7 in beta last winter and was impressed by how well it performed on my old Thinkpad T40. Since then, I’ve been eager to see if Windows 7 would perform equally well on a more Spartan device: the typical netbook. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6703701.html?nid=3253 Children, especially girls, are finding supporters across the globe—some their own age—who are engaging with virtual education programs, an online game, and books that promote social justice and a better world. “Education seems like a simple thing,” says Greg Mortenson, coauthor of Three Cups of Tea (Viking, 2006) and founder of the nonprofit Pennies for Peace. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6703690.html?nid=3253 Props for the iPod Another day, another stylish gizmo for the Apple line. Portable stand iBend props up an iPhone or iPod Touch for viewing a movie or video. There’s a basic model ($4.99 for two) and three colorful artists’ versions. Increasingly, schools are adopting iPods for the classroom and on a larger scale. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699112.html?nid=3253 If a pandemic or other significant event made it difficult or impossible for your students, staff, or teachers to physically attend school, how would you make sure that communication and education still take place? This is the question looming for educational institutions nationwide, given the potential of the H1N1 virus to disrupt or even close schools this year. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699107.html?nid=3253 The Diggiditto is a unique little document camera, so let me begin by highlighting its most prominent quirk: it doesn’t provide display output so that you can connect it directly to a digital projector. Since many teachers use document cameras as an overhead unit—for projecting the material they’re working with in real time—it’s important to know that this one conn... Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699096.html?nid=3253 Copyright, the Video Some concepts inherently lend themselves toward fun visuals. That’s not exactly the case when it comes to copyright law. Nevertheless, this video, created by the Copyright Clearance Center, is a lively production, animated in a retro style that makes you think you’re watching a ’50s-era commercial à la Mad Men—all the while absorbing the ins and... Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6685552.html?nid=3253 Libraries of the future will primarily manage digital repositories of information rather than warehouse physical books. A more functional method geared toward easy browsing will replace the Dewey Decimal system. And computers will surpass human librarians in the ability to answer even the most complex reference questions. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6685551.html?nid=3253 Though the burgeoning netbook class of computers arguably began with the One Laptop per Child educational initiative, look around and you’ll see just how far the little laptops have come. You’ll find them serving as second computers in urban cyber-cafes and suburban kitchens, tucked in the briefcases and gloveboxes of mobile professionals—even connected to park-based WiFi in r... Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6685550.html?nid=3253 School librarians searching for a better way to broaden their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) resources for K–12 students may soon have some innovative help. Marcia Mardis, an assistant professor at Florida State University, is embarking on a three-year project to build an RSS-like feed that she says will search Web sites and online libraries, pluck specific images and o... Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6685549.html?nid=3253 www.teachersfirst.com/firstday.cfm Ah, the first day of school. For students, educators, and parents alike, it’s a remarkable occasion, loaded with excitement, anticipation, and, yes, sometimes even a tear or two. To help get things off to a good start, the Web site TeachersFirst has created “First Day of School Icebreakers. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6685546.html?nid=3253 Kathleen Kohl was penning 2,000-word short stories at 12 years old and by 13 set her sights on writing a novel. In a move gutsy enough for any would-be writer, much less a teenaged one, Kohl last year signed on for National Novel Writing Month, an online contest, of sorts, that challenges all comers each November to complete a 50,000-word piece of fiction over 30 days. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6685538.html?nid=3253 Open Content for the Win Ten free digital textbooks on high school math and science met at least 90 percent of California’s academic standards, according to a recent report by the state’s free digital textbook initiative, a first-in-the-nation project launched by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in May 2009 to ensure access to quality, cost-effective options. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6674058.html?nid=3253 Regardless of the subscription databases that are available in your library, there's always a sense of professional satisfaction when you're able to access and utilize free software programs to create an entirely new way to engage your users or fulfill a need. For some librarians, 2.0 tools have become a major component of their instructional day, virtually a "must-have" within their profession... Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673582.html?nid=3253 Every year, right before NECC, I hold a free, one-day event for educators interested in using 2.0 tools called EduBloggerCon. This unique conference is organized by the attendees (the 2009 class pictured), who, using a wiki, sign up to lead a discussion of their choice. Sound like chaos? It’s not. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673581.html?nid=3253 The American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) decision to require permission—and potentially a fee—to commercially use its Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (bit.ly/lWd9B) has generated ire among its members. “At first I was annoyed, but now getting mad,” posted librarian Beth Frise on Twitter. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673580.html?nid=3253 Over the past few years, Google has changed the way we search. Later this year, the search giant is going to reinvent how we communicate and share online with its new Google Wave application. To get a good feeling for what Google Wave’s about, imagine that your email program got a bit hungry and ate your instant-messaging client. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673579.html?nid=3253 Among the scads of curious new computing permutations out there, the MSI Wind Top is among the most interesting multitasking mongrels I’ve tested to date. Reminiscent of the second gen Apple iMac, the Wind Top is a beautiful machine with its PC innards neatly hidden behind a stylish, 18.5-inch diagonal, 6:9 widescreen WXGA display that’s under two inches thick. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673578.html?nid=3253 NECC, the big National Educational Computing Conference, has come and gone, but attendees, both in person and virtual, are still basking in the glow of all that sharing (bit.ly/dbGY5). School librarians Keisa Williams of Monarch Academy, a K–5 charter school in Oakland, CA, and Melissa Techman of Broadus Wood Elementary School in Albemarle Co. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6673565.html?nid=3253 HP Mini Notebooks Sized to Go Ready for another mini PC? Hewlett-Packard (HP) has expanded its line with the HP Mini 5101. Weighing 2.6 pounds, the HP 5101 features a two-megapixel webcam, an anodized aluminum finish, and a spill-resistant keyboard that's 95 percent of a full-sized Qwerty keyboard. $329. Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EST