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"I've just been brainstorming digital skills that I believe are required by teachers in the 21st Century. So far I've come up with 45 of them. "

I've just been brainstorming digital skills that I believe are required by teachers in the 21st Century. So far I've come up with 45 of them.

"I have been thinking a lot about the topic of literacy as I review iPad books at Digital Storytime. As the mother of a preschooler who is just now learning to read, the idea of digital books both delights and terrifies me. When I first read an iPad book to my son, back in April of 2010, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. What did these new picture books, with their instant appeal, mean for print books and more importantly, for reading as a pastime? Would my son 'read' or would he instead be distracted by books he could passively watch, or even worse, books that were more like toys and less like educational tools for literacy?"

The mission of the International Children's Digital Library Foundation is to excite and inspire the world's children to become members of the global community - children who understand the value of tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas -- by making the best in children's literature available online.

Our Mission The mission of the International Children's Digital Library Foundation is to excite and inspire the world's children to become members of the global community - children who understand the value of tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas -- by making the best in children's literature available online.

Sync up with the new generation of connected learners. The Digital Generation Project presents video portraits of the lives of young students from around the country who are using digital media to learn, communicate, and socialize in new and exciting ways.

"Games are being used much more widely in schools than they were when I first started writing about them 2 or 3 years ago. As of fall 2013, 74% of K-8 teachers were using digital games. 55% of these teachers have students playing digital games at least weekly, 9% daily. The games they are using are mostly designed to be educational, with only 5% playing commercial games, and 8% playing hybrids (commercial games adapted for education like MincraftEDU or SimCityEdu). These insights come from Joan Ganz Cooney Center at the Sesame Workshop, who recently released a study surveying K-8 teachers in order to understand how they are implementing digital games in their classrooms."

"Digital Student Portfolios are becoming more important now than ever! Students are creating and remixing information like never before - and where is all that amazing work going? At my old school it was wiped off the devices at the end of the year - a heart-wrenching idea that I was personally against. This is why we need to publish student work in one place and let it serve as a home of student reflection, and a become a destination to unleash student pride and curiosity. There are many reasons to begin the journey to digital portfolios - here are just a few."

"Teacher collaboration is among the cornerstones of school improvement. When teachers connect-for the right reasons-good things happen. The ability to connect is increased exponentially through technology. Digital collaboration by teachers has an infinite numbers out possible outcomes, from formal teacher improvement, to informal connecting for people that get you. A global teacher's lounge, if you will. Social media-based professional development is another possible outcome when teachers connect. In contrast to sit-and-get, impersonal training, self-selected and self-directed PD has the potential for just in time, just enough, just for me qualities. The following infographic Mia MacMeekin takes these kinds of ideas and itemizes them, coming up with thirteen strategies for digital collaboration by teachers. She has a few ideas on the graphic, and we've added our own below."

"We've talked before about some of the newer skills necessary for students and teachers in the 21st century. Digital literacy - and all the elements contained within that term-  is probably the buzzword you hear most often. And for good reason: today's young students are living in a largely digital, quickly evolving world that their teachers did not have. And their world will likely become even more digital as time goes on."

"Applications of Digital Literacy"

"Libraries have existed since approximately 2600 BCE as an archive of recorded knowledge. From tablets and scrolls to bound books, they have cataloged resources and served as a locus of knowledge. Today, with the digitization of content and the ubiquity of the internet, information is no longer confined to printed materials accessible only in a single, physical location. Consider this: Project Gutenberg and its affiliates make over 100,000 public domain works available digitally, and Google has scanned over 30 million books through its library project. Libraries are reinventing themselves as content becomes more accessible online and their role becomes less about housing tomes and more about connecting learners and constructing knowledge. Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts has been in the vanguard of this transition since 2009, when it announced its plans for a "bookless" library. A database of millions of digital resources superseded their 20,000-volume collection of books, and a café replaced the circulation desk. With this transition, not only did the way in which students consumed content change, but also how they utilized the library space. Rather than maintain a quiet location for individual study, the school wanted to create an environment for "collaboration and knowledge co-construction.""

"Digital learning tools are seen by many people as those tools that are in some way different to other learning tools and need to be treated and discussed as such. "Let's go to the digital learning zone" or "Now it's time for class to use their iPads" are common announcements in many schools. Maybe we should stop saying digital, 21st Century and modern. I wonder if this mindset might be damaging to learning."

"If there is one digital tool that's become our go-to this school year, it's been Book Creator.  Last summer we were researching ways to incorporate digital interactive notebooks into our literacy blocks.  All of our research kept pointing us back to Book Creator!"

"How can you place learning goals front and center in a tech-rich classroom? Let the phrase "tasks before apps" be your reminder to focus on technology's purpose for learning, even when bright and shiny digital tools grab your attention. As a teacher in a one-to-one iPad classroom, I strove to make the most of the tablets in my students' hands. From screencasting and moviemaking to reading activities and skill practice, these devices elevated and energized my students' learning experiences. Digital platforms can give children access to learning experiences that meet their individual needs, such as when a student uses the free Microsoft Learning Tool Immersive Reader to hear a passage read aloud. Digital tools can open up the world to students, such as virtual-reality videos from the New York Times that showcase a place they may never have the chance to visit. In my current role as a professional development facilitator, I spend time in other teachers' classrooms in schools across the country. The phrase "tasks before apps" was born out of my coaching conversations and presentations to educators. It is a reminder that, even as we consider how technology helps students do new and amazing things with their learning, we must always place learning goals at the forefront. Here are four strategies to make the most of technology and embrace a "tasks before apps" mindset this school year."

"Being a good digital citizen is more than knowing your way around the web. It's about connecting and collaborating in ways you didn't even know were possible. "

"Libraries are essential in a process of giving citizens access to knowledge. In digital times they are needed more than ever before. Get your library card, and you'll be able to borrow a print or electronic book, use free internet, or attend a course improving your digital skills. See also: 12 most talked-about ebook bestsellers of fall 2017 11 exciting ways you can celebrate Read an Ebook Day 2017 Most importantly, however, libraries are the places where you can expect smart and clear answers to even most difficult questions. Neil Gaiman perfectly describes what's happening in digital times: "Google can bring you back 100,000 answers, a librarian can bring you back the right one." In times of the internet, everyone can visit a library without leaving home. It's just a matter of opening a library website, and you can not only borrow an ebook but also ask the librarian an online question."