Travels Afield

Explore the Worlds:

Summer is your chance to find out, especially if you are on a "staycation" this year, what's going on in the real and virtual worlds; have a look at the world of:

... Libraries, programs, and holdings

The British Library Amazing! Primary source documents are digitized for exhibition. I just read Jane Austen's History of England written when she was 13 ... well, I actually listened to it being read. You can find virtual books for studies of literature or documents and source materials for the Victorian era or e-cards to send. Yes, amazing. Here's a link to check out the highlights of this virtual library collection.

ALA Add It Up! Research and statistics to help make the case for libraries at every stage of youth development and education.

AASL recommends a new document that looks at re-designing learning, P21 Releases New White Paper on Learning Environments: The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) recently released a new white paper, 21st Century Learning Environments, which suggests that the term "learning environments" may refer to something other than a physical space. Traditional understanding may need to be revised to include virtual, online, and remote learning environments, as well as the support of positive human relationships, especially in a more diverse and complex world.

SOS for Information Literacy: This Virtual Idea "factory" for Information Literacy is a dynamic web-based multimedia resource for educators that promises to make a significant contribution to enhancing the teaching of information literacy skills to students in K-16. The project is currently in its final stage of development for use by high school and college level educators. The abilities to locate, organize, evaluate, manage and use information have never been more critical than they are for today's learners. These IL skills enable every student to succeed both in and out of school.

New Internationalist - Check out this magazine for its perspective on global and social justice issues. See the May 2009 back issue for the article on multiculturalism in Canada. See also the resources you can buy for school libraries, such as the One World Global Anthology of Short Stories. Or read the blog. With local/global writer Hadani Ditmars (Dancing in the No Fly Zone) on NI staff, look for the more from a Canadian perspective.

Edutopia's How to Go Global in your Classroom -- Imagine if author/educator Bob Lenz had worked with a teacher-librarian to take his project global. How might you be able to support colleagues in going global throug the school library program? What more, besides technology, would a school library have to offer?

... technology

How To Become More Tech-Savvy This Summer -- Edutopia Blogger Jim Moulton provides a short list of just ten things to play with, including listening to audio books for road trips, geocaching, reading the world of news at Newseum, creating wikis and Picassa photo storage files, and more.

AASL's Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning -- These free, user-friendly websites focus on building the capacity for innovation, creativity, participation, collaboration, inquiry, and community-building.

Maximizing the Impact: The pivotal role of technology in a 21st century education system

... your brain:

Your Brain at Work: "Changing technology and a challenging economy mean that
learning on the job is more important than ever for people of all ages."

... and beyond:

We Choose the Moon: Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing here on earth!