OASL Libraries Resources

Interesting article, Pinterest is popping up everywhere...

Pinterest's inspiration boards have a lot of potential for libraries and other organizations for creating visual displays of resources and services. All of Pinterest's boards and posts can be shared on Facebook and Twitter. Here are some ideas for how you can make the most of this popular social network for your library:

"We need to continue reinventing because this is the one place that all the students have in common, more than the cafeteria or the dorms or any other social place on campus," she said. "It's where they learn. It's an extension of the classroom."

Every school library needs an Amy Hamrick. She works at Westerville Central High School in Westerville, Ohio. The educator who nominated this teacher-librarian as a "Down the Hall" candidate pointed out that she not only is an adept media specialist but also puts social-justice issues at the forefront of her work.

The other day I got into an "argument" with a student about whether or not I was really a librarian. His position was that I wasn't a librarian--I was actually a teacher who happened to have an office in the library.

iPAD apps matched against Blooms Taxonomy.

find links to free iPad applications that target the various levels of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy.

Here are 17 tried-and-true tips for recharging your creativity. We hope you'll enjoy trying some of these today!

APPitic is a directory of apps for education by Apple Distinguished Educators (ADEs) to help you transform teaching and learning. These apps have been tested in a variety of different grade levels, instructional strategies and classroom settings.

We recently put up a book display that has books flying off of the shelves! Flying, I tell you! It seems that as soon as we fill it up, it is empty again.

The Digital Textbook Playbook is a guide to help K-12 educators and administrators begin building rich digital learning experiences for students in districts across the country. The playbook offers information about determining broadband infrastructure for schools and classrooms, leveraging home and community broadband to extend the digital learning environment, and understanding necessary device considerations. It also provides lessons learned from school districts that have engaged in successful transitions to digital learning

Great article.

Free Poetry Month Posters!

Though Twitter's contribution to the world of social media and progressive society was at one time a strongly argued point, there is no doubt today that the popular social media platform has become a valuable tool for various aspects of education. Sure, Twitter can be the perfect place to waste hours on mundane details about people's lives or worthless celebrity gossip. But, the microblogging platform also enables us to create and participate in meaningful conversations concerning education, technology, and society.

The Battle Commander and the Commentator read furiously throughout 2011, reread, looked at what others were admiring, read more, argued, reread, agreed, disagreed, read some more, and by early December (in order to give time for our SLJ man-behind-the-curtain to begin recruiting judges) came up with our contenders. Then we had to keep it a secret from all of you for weeks and weeks!  So here we are mighty chuffed (using last year's winner's lovely term) at last to be announcing this year's list. (The brackets can be viewed here with a downloadable version available here.)

One of the things that has surprised me lately is the number of emails I get with questions about Pinterest. I thought it might be handy to put some tips together. I know I am not the first librarian to write about Pinterest, by any means! I hope this helps someone out there though.

How do I use Pinterest? 
There is a pretty good help page. You can email me if you want an invite, and I'll try to send one on. If you have any questions, I will try to answer them, but I am a librarian not a Pinterest staffer. It is also important to remember that Pinterest is still a start-up and is somewhat prone to crashing. A victim of its own popularity, if you will.

To mark Digital Learning Day, we'd like to spotlight the work of librarians who are making a difference, leveraging technology and digital content to enhance learning. Below you'll find examples of their work covered in School Library Journal and here on The Digital Shift, along with links on topics of particular interest to our users: ebooks and apps.

Terrific copyright lesson! Purely by chance, Danita Cahill discovered she was a victim of a kind of theft.
A few weeks ago, the freelance writer and photographer in Lebanon was told by her daughter Alyssa St. Clair that one of her photographs was being used by someone. So Cahill turned detective to track down who pirated her work.