COLLECT + CONNECT

I use Pearltrees to curate digital resource collections specifically for school librarians and teachers. These collections are not static. I'm constantly editing based on many factors such as relevance, age, relatability to each other, use, content, authority, etc... The process of curating a digital collection is similar to the process you'd use when developing a school library collection.  There are several handy and free curation tools that live on the Web like Symbaloo , Wakelet , Pearltrees , Diigo , Padlet , and Pinterest . I've tried all of these, and for this purpose, I prefer Pearltrees. For other purposes, I use other tools. These collections are also linked on the School Libraries page  of the State Library website. There are  14 collections  right now. Some are more library-related. Some are more classroom-related. Some are professional development-related. Here are the top four by page views: Digital Books Native American Resources for...

Each summer the American Association of School Librarians puts out its annual list of Best Apps for Teaching & Learning and its Best Websites for Teaching & Learning . This is a good opportunity to share with your staff via a quick email series or via a PD session or staff meeting. By sharing, you're not only promoting technology as a teaching resource and learning tool, but you're also promoting the library and the work you do. These opportunities to share resources absolutely count as collaboration! All apps and websites on the lists are 'crosswalked' with the AASL Shared Foundations - helpful to librarians and classroom teachers alike when selecting the digital tool/resource but also when lesson planning. I've already shared in a past post  my five picks from the Best Websites list , so now I'll share my five picks from the Best Apps list. Be sure, though, to check out the entire list; you're sure to find your own favorites too! doi...

Each year at the ALA Annual Conference, the American Association of School Librarians puts out its annual lists of Best Apps for Teaching & Learning and Best Websites for Teaching & Learning... and the lists are out! Apps and websites on the lists are 'crosswalked' with the AASL Shared Foundations - helpful when selecting the digital tool/resource but also when lesson planning. I'll use this post to share my five favorites from the  Best Websites for Teaching & Learning  list but be sure to check out the entire list of quality educational websites for use in the library - spaces where teaching and learning happen just as they do in the classroom. Of the five I've listed below, three are ones that I've used extensively; in fact, they were already on my curated resource lists here  and  here . These five resources are spot-on when it comes to beefing up library services in terms of inclusive and global curriculum as well as curation ...

Let's face it, so much of our high school students' world is digital. LIKE. SO. MUCH. Sometimes we need to lean away from that and sometimes we need to lean into that. An online book club is a way to lean in when it comes to library programming. We all know when students get to high school they tend to have less time for the "extras."  And... book clubs often fall in that category. So let's make it more convenient for students and reach them where they're at. Imagine being able to encourage your student readers from home. Even better, imagine your student readers encouraging other student readers from home. One tool you can use to lean in is  GoodReads . This digital resource may make it more convenient for your students to participate in that 'extra' book club. https://www.goodreads.com/ Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog. GoodReads is a m...

It's a reality of today's culture: videos are king (or queen, thank you very much!). YouTube is the most popular social media platform in America . And, guess what, it's the most popular for adults too - even surpassing the Facebook. It stands to reason that students are motivated by video consumption AND video creation. So let's share a few video creation tools. Flipgrid  is a simple-to-use tool that sparks conversation topics and discussion with students. Simply post a topic and your audience responds via video in 90 seconds, from anywhere, using just about any device. Appropriate for kindergarten and up. Can be used to showcase learning, evaluate progress, or even for professional development to enhance discussion and collaboration. Wanna see how easy FlipGrid is to use. Ready? Simply follow this link https://flipgrid.com/sdslschoollibs and use the FlipCode sdslschoollibs to create a short video to test out FlipGrid as if you were a student. ...

I hope you find this list useful in your professional life:  THE LIST: Collect+Connect In it, you'll find a chronological listing of posts from this blog in addition to all of the  Tech Roundups!   I'll update and share this document regularly on this blog and via  the SDSL school library listserv.   Content on the Collect+Connect blog is for all types of educators, not just school librarians so feel free to share! Don't forget, you can always search the  Collect+Connect blog  itself by label/tag, keyword, or date. And you can certainly save this document or star it in your Google Drive too. THE LIST: Collect+Connect Here are some of the topics from 2018's Tech Roundups!  Tech Roundup! EduPodcast Network Tech Roundup! Be Internet Awesome & Common Sense Media Tech Roundup! Love Those Free Chrome Extensions Tech Roundup! Last Pass & YouTube Kids Tech Roundup! Book Creator Tech Roundup! Library Websit...