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"Links to quite a few simple library-related, online games are in linked to this post.  They are primary level but might be useful for lower secondary as well. You simply click on the flower signs to go to the games.

Teach Your Monster to Read is a great series of online games designed to help students improve the speed and accuracy with which they recognize letters and sounds. The website gets its name from the friendly monster avatars that students help learn to read through the course of the games.

"Digital Compass is a choose-your-own adventure, interactive game developed with 6th to 9th graders in mind, in which students step into the shoes of one of eight characters to experience the twists and turns of daily digital life. Invite students to explore digital dilemmas, make good (and not-so-good) decisions, and try out possible solutions through stories and mini-games â€" all without risking their real-world reputations. Discover how Common Sense Educational's award-winning digital literacy and citizenship curriculum seamlessly integrates into blended-learning environments."

Many games and quizzes, all based around literature including those about: authors, genres, opening lines, last lines, particular novels, poets and poetry, nursery rhymes and even words used in novels.

Factitious is a game that is designed to help students practice identifying real and fake news stories. It has been around fro a little while but the 2020 version of the game features stories about COVID-19.

"Our project is designed for kids aged 4-16yrs who are interested in gaining digital media skills, exploring their creativity and developing online social skills. We are currently using the video game Minecraft to support a safe, whitelisted server and a range of activities which encourage kids to choose their own playful learning pathways and adventures."

"Our project is designed for kids aged 4-16yrs who are interested in gaining digital media skills, exploring their creativity and developing online social skills. We are currently using the video game Minecraft to support a safe, whitelisted server and a range of activities which encourage kids to choose their own playful learning pathways and adventures."

This Scrabble Wall is one of nine done by an artist. It is beautiful, large and expensive. The idea offers us a very cool "word wall" application. I wonder if a project for our VCAL boys would be to create something that offers similar play/word opportunities for our library. A game board that could be used for play or for messages.

Some options for creating some on-line educational games based on well-known quiz show formats

An interesting article that looks at teaching critical thinking but in a way that shifts the ownership for the questioning to the students. The ap[proach empowers them to think at higher levels but at the same time there is support provided with the question stems

A free service from the terrific Common Sense Education site that makes it easy to discover the best apps, games, and websites for classroom use.

"The list here offers some options for some popular eBook libraries where parents and teachers can access a wide variety of reading materials designed specifically for young readers. From storybooks to comics and interactive games, these websites will absolutely help you curate the best reading materials for younger readers. "

"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.

"By focusing on Global Digital Citizenship every day for 15 minutes, you can instil in your students a strong basis for Internet-savvy skills for the 21st Century. This is the first in a series of templates for lesson plans on the 21st Century Fluencies. You take this lesson in parts; one part each day. You can spread this out over a couple weeks time or however you wish. The premise for our 15 minutes comes in the form of flipped videos or material that students will examine at home, or at the very least to be highlighted and watched in class for 15 minutes or less. So it all begins with your PBL plan. We here at the Global Digital Citizen Foundation believe that PBL is one of the best ways to get students engaged in their own learning. PBL is the name-Solution Fluency is the game."

"PBS LearningMedia now offers more than 100,000 digital resources, including common core-aligned videos, interactive learning games, and tools for teachers. The site is a partnership between PBS and WGBH Educational Foundation and includes tools to help teachers make storyboards, build lessons, and create quizzes using PBS's digital content. There's also a student view, which teachers can set up so that students can access class materials from their own devices. Many resources are also labeled with standards information so that teachers can determine how a potential lesson might line up with the common core. Though some parts of the site are available only to paid users, the majority are free."

The library now also has reading lounge areas with comfortable modular seating, as well as tables with chairs and stools that students are free to move around; two music studios; a HackerSpace (with high-tech equipment such as a microscope, 3D printer, gaming hardware and software, and a green screen for filming) and a Maker Space that also houses a 3D printer and serves as a "hands-on" craft room where old technology can be disassembled and re-configured with other materials. In short, the Monticello Library Media Center has become a "Learning Commons."

"Today's school library uses an increasing number of digital resources to supplement a print collection that is moving more toward fiction and literary non-fiction. Supplemental resources, including streaming video, online resources, subscription databases, audiobooks, e-books, and even games, round out the new collections. Despite the best efforts of even the hardest-working librarians in the best-funded libraries, there are many challenges to going digital." Links to free, full text and PDF versions

It you are teaching digital literacy skills this is a fun way to reinforce your points. A free game that tests your ability to spot FALSE or MISLEADING News. Offers different levels (6) depending on educational level of students

Another idea offers us a different way for our students to play chess in the library. Could it be a project for our students to build something along similar lines. .