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A list of ideas about how educators, who are interested in the idea of connecting their classes to other classes or individuals, can approach the task of creating connections. There are many reasons why students benefit from these interactions and this post makes it a little easier to get started.

A reflection about one school library faculty's goal of creating a positive learning environment with space that would help students and teachers develop real-world connections and the approach they took to creating it. The ideas for the space included housing the collection, helping students and teachers collaborate, being a hub for learning with a flexible floor plan and supporting newly developing areas in educational technology. The school decided to create a learning commons to move beyond traditional thinking about libraries and respond to what the kids and teachers really needed. The faculty envisioned their environment to be developmentally appropriate for their young students, as well as to foster a sense of creativity, inspiration, and encourage dialogue and a sense of community. The new learning commons library offered more space for stacks, added conference rooms and a lounge area, but the learning commons concept informed more than the library. These design changes increase opportunities to be inspired by student work and performances and create stronger interpersonal connections among students and faculty.

"Below is a curated bibliography, mirrored from the University of Minnesota Digital Video Collections Guide, consisting of quality licensed and open digital video collections that has been inspired largely with support from Arizona State University (deg farrely) and some resources culled from various institutions in the LibGuides Community.  This resource is being shared on ALA Connect as an Online Doc with the hope that a community of media interested professionals will contribute further links/descriptions of quality licensed or open digital video collections, and repurposed as they see fit to meet the needs of their constituents.  Attribution is greatly appreciated, but please repurpose regardless."

"After reading a novel, actual changes linger in the brain, at least for a few days, report researchers. Their findings, that reading a novel may cause changes in resting-state connectivity of the brain that persist, appear in the journal Brain Connectivity."

First cooperative library management systems for libraries. Based on WorldCat. 300+ million records. Trove resources - WorldCat - Worldshare. Works through single search Discovery layer. Connect to free and purchased records. Integrate from Overdrive and other digital resource products.

First cooperative library management systems for libraries. Based on WorldCat. 300+ million records. Trove resources - WorldCat - Worldshare. Works through single search Discovery layer. Connect to free and purchased records. Integrate from Overdrive and other digital resource products.

"An anchor chart that shows the progression from a 1-star Post-it note to a 4-star Post-it note for upper elementary students based on the Say Something Post-it Note reading strategy."

"Social media is here to stay. Never before have people been able to connect, share, and learn from one another as we do now. As a result, our students need skills to win at life in a digital world. The ability to use social media to support life goals and possibilities can be a game-changer. I know it has been very powerful for me in my professional life." & reasons are discussed by the author.

"The latest version of Google Forms, for instance, can not only simplify administrative tasks but also give teachers new outlets for connecting with parents and students. Jennifer Carey, the director of educational technology at the Ransom Everglades School in Miami, Fla., offers a glimpse of recently added features in a post on Daily Genius. She writes that Google Form users can now: View responses as they are submitted. Insert videos and images into survey questions. Create multiple choice grids that prevent respondents from selecting the same column twice. Publish Forms with pre-filled responses. Insert useful add-ons, such as formLimiter and Choice Eliminator 2. As educators begin to master these new capabilities, they can also explore a few of the tried-and-true ways teachers already use Google Forms in the classroom:"

From the Overdrive blog - Five simple suggestions that anyone could follow to engage students and help boost the e-book circulation, .

"This collection of blogs, articles, and videos aims to help educators deploy social-media tools to develop professionally, connect with parents and communities, and engage students in 21st-century learning. By Ashley Cronin, Edutopia. originally published Feb 12, 2013. Updated: Feb 19, 2015"

"From writing advice to reading recommendations, we get up close and personal with some of the finest creators of Young Adult (YA) literature in the country. The Centre for Youth Literature connects Australia's young adults with books, stories and writing. Creatively produced by the Centre for Youth Literature in partnership with the Melbourne Writers Festival. YA Writers: Myke Bartlett, AJ Betts, Isobelle Carmody, Cath Crowley, Ellie Marney, Richard Newsome, Alice Pung, Penny Tangey, Carole Wilkinson, Lili Wilkinson, and Claire Zorn"

Many are askin "What's the best way promote the library's digital collection to patrons visiting the physical branch?   This post shares some ideas used by staff members at Sacramento Public Library who came up with a clever way to connect its physical and digital collections. " The Electronic resources librarian Amy Calhoun explains how Sacramento PL has improved discovery of eBook titles among patrons visiting the library branches"

A comprehensive post about how you could approach the 2014 theme "Connect to reading"

"Social media can be an incredibly useful teaching tool. The social networks students use are conducive to so many facets of modern learning such as collaborative planning, data and resource sharing, and progress updates concerning group work. It appeals to our digital natives, and social media is very easy to use. The prospect of teaching with social media can be alluring or repulsive, depending on your understanding of it, and your experience with it. The truth is, it doesn't need to be difficult or stressful. For any teacher wanting to broaden connections with students through different teaching strategies, social media is a terrific choice. That said, it pays to do a bit of homework on the subject before diving in. Let's look at some of the things that are worth considering before making the move to teaching with social media in a classroom environment."

"Our students are living their lives online. They can share everything and anything with the world with just a tap of a button and with it comes a new way to connect. It's nearly impossible to keep up. With technology changing constantly it can be difficult to know where to begin teaching digital citizenship. Fortunately for us, there are many apps, tools, and resources available to educators to help our students navigate the digital world safely. In a recent #Ditchbook chat, educators shared over 15 incredible resources to get you started teaching digital citizenship and take it farther than just a one-off lesson or unit."

"Critical thinking is when the brain is active, making connections to the material and applying original thought to the concept. It's the difference between struggling to remember ("ugh!") and struggling to solve ("yeah!")." Whilst all kids think, not all activities trigger critical thinking. There are some ideas here that use targeted approaches and strategies to cause those young brains to work.

The graphic is titled the Inquiry Process and offers a visual representation (a map) of the inquiry journey together. "At its essence, inquiry takes learners on personalized learning pathways that are often unique in their details as well as when they meet particular benchmarks phases.  This map allows learners to visualize where we will go and understand that although our individual journeys may be unique, we are all in a similar landscape that provides connections across topics and questions in the processes we all follow."

"There are lots of ways to incorporate video into the classroom. From capturing students' attention as you kick off a lesson, to providing context for a new learning experience, teachers use videos in lots of different ways. Whether you are looking for a clip to send home to students via Google Classroom or want to connect a video link for a QR code scavenger hunt, educational 360 videos are worth exploring. 360 video gives students the power to explore a space from every angle. YouTube hosts a range of 360 video content and one of my favorites is from the BBC. On the BBC's YouTube channel you'll find different types of video options for a virtual visit to places around the world. As you search through their content you'll see that they've tagged their videos as 360 to make it especially easy to find."