Library & Digital Resources

• Learn360 Webinar on November 12
• Information Literacy Strategy Handbook, High School Edition
• TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing
• 10 Critical Thinking Skills Middle School Students Should Master
  
• Storytelling and Animating Student Art with AI
• What!?
• AI in the Classroom: What's Cheating? What's OK?
• Mackin VIA Usage
• Professional Reading
• Follow-up to Notebook LM

Direct link to the newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/xu3q5

In the last newsletter you might have noticed that Learn360 had lower usage than other resources. There is a webinar on November 12 at 1:00 called Elevate Your Instruction with Learn360 that might be a nice re-introduction to the content that is available. If you can’t make it, Learn360 will email you the recording. Register here.

Infobase (who brings you Learn360) created the Information Literacy Strategy Handbook, High School Edition, based on years of working with hundreds of schools and libraries, research into current best practices and technology, and insight from customers. It's a guide to creating a successful high school information literacy program. Pick and choose what works for your school. Download here.

Includes:

• Information on artificial intelligence
• How to scaffold instruction so students build on existing learning
• How to market your program to various audiences
• How to assess and refine your work to keep your program fresh and successful.
• How to use inquiry-led learning to meet AASL, Common Core Standards, and ISTE Standards.

Have you looked at TED-Ed recently? You can access some interesting lessons and discussion-starters. You can also register for a daily email of lesson plans by age group and subject:

The Arts

Business & Economics

Design, Engineering & Technology

Health

Literature & Language

Mathematics

Philosophy & Religion

Psychology

Science & Technology

Social Studies

Teaching & Education

Thinking and Learning

And more...

These engaging activities are designed to emphasize top critical thinking skills to set these students up for success. The high-quality digital resources provided by Heartland AEA will be excellent supports as you plan units with teachers.

Activities teach:

• Group problem-solving
• Debate
• Current events analysis
• Character analysis
• Collaboration
• Project-based learning groups
• Group design challenge
• Fishbowl discussions
• Communication games
• Creative marketing campaign
• Visual journals
• Digital research projects
• Research scavenger hunt

Step 1. Draw a figure that has a head and four limbs.

Step 2. Upload the drawing to Animated Drawings. https://sketch.metademolab.com/

Step 3. Step back and watch the kindergarteners animate their character and tell the story.

Learn more here.

Here’s another tool to help us all explore the exciting and sometimes puzzling world of artificial intelligence in education. What!? is meant to raise awareness and provide some examples that teacher librarians and teachers can explore on their own.

This is about TeachAid. It uses AI and the UDL framework to create unit and lesson plans, engaging presentations, interactive activities with personalized learning options, and assessments with student choice. When you go to the link, scroll down for the short how-it-works video.

Texas Computer Education Association wrote a blog about it here.

Take a look at this Ditch that Textbook article by Matt Miller. It discusses 12 examples of AI-assisted homework shown in this graphic including pros and cons, student transparency, ethics, and more. Great discussion starter for your next PLC! Great examples to use when talking with students about information literacy, copyright, and plagiarism.

There are 4,000+ ebooks in Mackin VIA. Students opened 1,211 of those ebooks and audiobooks in September and read them 8,600 times. Here are the top titles:

• 13th Floor / Scott Welvaert
• Amulet, Firelight / Kazu Kibuishi
• River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams / Jennifer Bryant
• Wings on Fire: The Hidden Kingdom (graphic novel) / Barry Deutsch
• Amulet, The Stonekeeper / Kazu Kibuishi
• Amulet. Escape from Lucien / Kazu Kibuishi
• Battling Extinction / Tamra Orr
• Amulet, Supernova / Kazu Kibuishi
• Lost Heir / Tui Sutherland
• Dungeon Crawl! / Nick Eliopulos
• 12 Birds Back from the Brink / Nancy Furstinger

Why mention this?

• Ebooks are great resources to recommend to students.
• VIA ebooks include personalization and accessibility features.
• VIA is a platform where schools can house the ebooks they purchase.
• VIA is a platform where schools can subscribe to 30-, 60-, or 90-day access to classroom sets of titles from Mackin. Students are encouraged to mark in the book!

Parents’ Perception of School Libraries and Librarians 2023

Most Teen Believe Conspiracy Theories, See News as Biased. What Can Schools Do? Education Week, October 21, 2024.

From Engagement to Learning: Closing the Gap Between Student Aspirations and Classroom Practices, October 2024.

Chapter 1: Active vs. Passive Learning Using Digital Tools and Resources – Key student question: How effective is the use of technology for learning?

Chapter 2: The Value Proposition for Technology-Enabled Active Learning – Key student question: Why does effective use of technology for learning matter?

Chapter 3: Closing the Gap between Aspirations and Practices to Create More Active Learning Experiences – Key student question: How could the more effective use of technology improve your learning environment?

An earlier issue of this newsletter introduced NotebookLM. The deep-dive podcast format isn’t going to replace the newsletter, but the artificial intelligence does create some “that’s interesting, let me think about that” moments. Can I share my learning with you?

• The Learn 360 comment about how it must be important enough to have a webinar creates interest.
• TED Ed had an interesting intro.
• The TeachAid articles uses the initials "UDL" and the podcast expands on universal design for learning.
• The summary connection with parents, teaching and learning is interesting.

Here's the audio podcast of this newsletter generated by uploading the PDF.

Here's a Study Guide Q & A to this newsletter.

Click here.