Top Shelf

Curious about Apple’s new iPad? Here’s an 8 minute video of Apple’s design and development team discussing and demonstrating the device. I can see many applications for a device like this in education. What do you think? Watch the video and leave your thoughts in the comments.

The Pirates Read Book Club at Poteet High School meets every month to discuss a book that all the members have read. At last month’s meeting, instead of having their regular verbal discussion, the students wrote blog entries about the January book selection, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Librarians Sandy Eckstein and Lou Faling worked with their High School Technology Facilitator, Tonya Cox to get the kids blogging!

Club members also participated in an OFYP parade that was held in Poteet’s hallways at the end of January. OFYP stands for Optional Flexible Year Program. This new program allows high school students who are successful on TAKS and in their classes to get out of school on May 21 this year – a full 8 days early. Teachers and administrators are working hard to let kids know about this option and encourage them to be able to participate. The parade was just one of many activities Mesquite high schools are having to promote the program. Pirates Read members are all planning on taking advantage of the opportunity!

In tight economic times, raising funds for an author visit can be a daunting task. It could take years of Book Fairs to save enough money to have a really popular and well-known author. This is where technology can really come to our rescue. The web offers a couple of options for cash-strapped librarians who want to connect kids with authors.

Skype an Author Network – If you’ve watched The Oprah Winfrey Show in the past year or so, you have seen Skype in action. Skype is free software that you can download to your computer and use to make free video calls to anyone else in the world who also has Skype. The Skype an Author Network is growing a list of authors who will do FREE (15-20 minutes) video chats with students. Longer in-depth visits are also available for a low cost fee. Read more about how the Network started in Joyce Valenza’s post about the site.

Teachingbooks.net – Librarians in MISD have another option for exposing students to the authors whose books they are reading. Teachingbooks.net is a subscription service that is available to all MISD teachers and students at school and at home. This fabulous resource offers original movies that allow students to see and hear award-winning writers and illustrators at work in their studios. Although these presentations aren’t interactive like a virtual visit would be, students can learn writing tips directly from their favorite author.

I’m sure there are other ways that librarians are using technology to promote literature and writing. Leave yours in the comments!

Image citation: Brainstorming. Uploaded on July 1, 2007 by MikeOliveri.

The Beasley Elementary Library hosted an open house recently to celebrate their newly renovated library. The renovation took in the classroom next door to the library and doubled its size. Their Friday evening event featured a preview of new materials purchased with a Mesquite Education Foundation grant, an opportunity to visit Santa in the library, and a performance by Elvis tribute artist, David Allen. There was a great turnout and students, teachers, parents and staff all had a rockin’ time!

An administrator called last week looking for a new picture book to share with all the little ones who will be at her house this Christmas Eve. She was ready for something other than old favorites like The Polar Express and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. These are the titles (in no particular order) that MISD elementary librarians recommended.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus Birth by Dandi Daley Mackall

That’s Good! That’s Bad! on Santa’s Journey by Margery Cuyler

A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg

Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco

Santa Claustrophobia by Mike Reiss

Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson

Bear’s First Christmas by Robert Kinerk

The Little Drummer Mouse by Mercer Mayer

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

What are your new Christmas favorites?

If you’re thinking of putting an e-reader like the Amazon Kindle or the Barnes & Noble Nook on your Christmas list, you might want to wait. Google is about to enter the e-book game, possibly rendering both of those devices obsolete.

Live Science reports:

On Oct. 15 Google announced plans to open an electronic book store. Unlike Amazon’s strategy with the Kindle-only format, Google plans to deliver eBooks to any device with a web browser. Google has not announced a format, but it is likely Google book downloads will only require a browser plug-in to read books on any device with a screen.

If Google is successful, hardware will be moot, any screen will do, and the largest collection of reading material in the world will be available to anyone and any institution with a screen.

Read the full article here.

Thanks to Dangerously Irrelevant and Hey Jude for this video.

What do you think?

Kimbrough Middle School library workers deck the halls each year at an after school decorating party. This year, with inspiration from a picture they saw on Flickr, librarian Cheri’ Toogood and her students used discarded books, encyclopedias and a few books from the shelves to create a festive “book tree” as part of the library’s holiday decor. Students and teachers enjoy the Christmas spirit on display in the library!

Several MISD high school libraries hosted after school parties to celebrate the opening of Twilight: New Moon right before the Thanksgiving break. The parties featured activities such as photo ops with Edward and Jacob, art projects, refreshments and of course a viewing of the trailer! Enjoy pictures of the festivities below:

Partygoers at MHS can’t decide between Edward and Jacob!

Even the principal at MHS couldn’t resist a photo op!

NMHS Library displays new signage for the party.

Even refreshments went along with the Twilight theme.

NMHS students take online quizzes on New Moon trivia and which character they are most like.

A Twilight jigsaw puzzle!

New Moon grafitti wall at NMHS

Such fun in the library!

The Texas Library Association now has an official YouTube channel. Currently featured is the presentation of the 2010-2011 Texas Bluebonnet Award master list by authors Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett at the Texas Book Festival. They are hilarious! Part I is embedded below.

Part Two

Part Three