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3 Weeks Left for Submissions for the 13th Annual Digies Digital Media Arts Festival

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We are very excited for another year of celebrating student achievements in digital media arts. Submissions are open until April 1st and are online at http://digies.org. If you need an account to submit on behalf of a student, please contact Brian Mayer at bmayer@gvboces.org.

As a reminder, the DIGIES is a FREE, digital arts festival that celebrates youth achievements in digital arts, media and production. Submissions are open to school age children and young adults, from Pre-Kindergarten until 12th grade and are accepted through schools, arts councils or public libraries.

If you are in a school district, please take a moment to share the attached materials with your arts and technology teachers as well as students who you know are doing work on their own.

Submissions are open to both school projects and personal work. If you have digital artists, photographers, musicians or content creators then this is a great way to recognize and celebrate the work they are doing.

Submissions do not need to have been created special for the Digies and anything made from April 2nd of last year until April 1st of this year are welcome. The Digies will be celebrated on the evening of May 16th.

March Madness Book Bracket

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The school year is FLYING by and we are already in the beginning of March. Don’t worry though. There is still time to do your March Madness Book Bracket if you haven’t already set it up! The NCAA March Madness dates this year are March 19 – April 8 (Slightly overlapping National School Library Month).

If you’re not sure how to set up a book bracket, check this article out showing how one teacher chose the books, and made the board.

Weeding Worries

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Embarking on a weeding project? Worried about how your community may perceive it?

American Libraries Magazine published an article in 2016, which is still relevant and helps you to ask yourself important questions when deciding whether a book is a candidate for weeding.

Click here to read the article.

It’s very important to weed your collection. Remember, if your students can’t find the books they want to read because your shelves are too full, they just won’t read.

Makey Makey and Accessibility

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While doing some research for the Makey Makey workshop, which was ultimately canceled due to the weather, I came across an interesting post from Perkins School for the Blind. It introduces the Makey Makey, and reports that it can be used as a tool for students with visual impairments. The article is brief and not very in depth, but if you’d like to read it you can read it here: Click here to read the Perkins article.

This article sent me down a path looking for more information on how this tool can be used specifically as an assistive device. This article from EdCan Network out of Canada, explains further: https://www.edcan.ca/articles/makey-makey-assistive-resource/

The video above is a quick clip of an assistive technology prototype built during one of the full-day workshops (like the one being offered here on the 14th of March). The opportunities are endless!

We are considering rescheduling the hour-long Makey Makey workshop, however as there is already a full-day workshop being offered on March 14th, it likely will not be held until April or May. If you are not registered or cannot make it to the workshop being held on March 14th, and would like some instruction on Makey Makey, please contact me. I will reschedule the shorter one if there is enough interest.

Even More SAFARI Montage Content

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For those districts participating in the Multimedia Service, SAFARI Montage has frequently been adding new content. The packages listed below are already now available to you in our SAFARI Montage system.

Grade K-5

  • SciShow Kids Web Links Content Package: 18 new web streaming links for Grades K-5. Topics include: earth science, space science, animal science and more. New titles include: How Do Computers Work? and The Power of Circuits. Web links to fun and engaging videos which explain elementary science concepts.

Grades 3+

  • Mathispower4u Web Links: 11 new web streaming links for Grades 3-Adult. Contains web links access to arithmetic, pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus video mini-lessons. Topics include basic operations, integers, exponents, ratio and proportion, area, volumne, linear equations, quadratic equations, rational equations, radical equations, trigonometric functions, probability, statistics, limits, derivatives and integrals. Hosted on YouTube.

Grades 6+

  • Khan Academy Web Links Content Package: 185 new web streaming links for Grades 6-12. Includes web links to Pixar in a Box computer animation videos and lessons, and computer programming and computer science videos and lessons. Other topics include: physics, biology, elementary math, geometry, trigonometry, American civics, finance, art, architecture and sample SAT reading, writing and math questions. All Khan Academy content is available for free at www.khanacademy.org.
  • The Numberphile Web Links Content Package: 12 new web streaming titles for Grades 7 – 12. Provides access to math videos in which innovative teachers explore math applications in the real world. Topics include: prime numbers, pi, probability, algorithms and more.
  • TED-Ed Web Links Content Package: 85 new web streaming links to fascinating TED Talks and TED-Ed videos spanning all subjects, hosted on YouTube. Grades 7-Adult.
  • The New York Times Video Web Links Content Package: 71 new web streaming titles for Grades 7 – Adult. Includes web links to videos which combine cutting-edge research from the world of science with stunning footage of the natural world in action.
  • Oyez Supreme Court Web Links – 125 web links to information about notable Supreme Court cases. Grades 9-Adult.
  • Crash Course Web Links Content Package: 303 new web streaming titles for Grades 9 – Adult. Topics includes: astronomy, anatomy & physiology, biology, chemistry, ecology, big history, psychology, U.S. government & politics, U.S. history, world history and literature. New series includes: computer science, world mythology, study skills, sociology and philosophy. Links to irreverent, fast-paced and humorous videos presented by John Green, Hank Green and more.

We will keep you updated with any further additions they make!

Library Advocacy Day

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TODAY IS LIBRARY ADVOCACY DAY!

If you are in Albany today, thank you for standing up for our profession. If you are unable to make it to Albany, you can still participate! How?

  • Call your legislator’s office, either at his or her district  office, or in Albany and tell him or her how important libraries are to communities and schools. Explain that increased funding is essential and critical to serving our communities.
  • Join virtually by posting to your Facebook wall or tweeting about Library aid.
  • Follow the effort at #NYLALAD19
  • Visit the NYLA Virtual Advocacy Day Activities page at: NYLA.org/advocacy

 

Arts in Ed News

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It’s that time again, to start letting Wendy Petry know of any authors you would like to pursue for school visits through Celebrities in the Schools for next year.  The deadline for 2018-19 purchase orders to Monroe One BOCES is mid-April.  Please have all Arts in Education purchase orders to her by then at the latest for new requests.  Please let your teachers know of this deadline.

Also, a reminder to teachers and librarians to fill out evaluations on-line after an event at the AIE website, Arts in Education Evaluation (link).

 

New Safari Content

BlogPosts Multimedia

For those districts participating in the Multimedia Service, Safari has been adding new content. The packages listed below are already available to you in our SAFARI Montage system.

  • Simple History Video Links – 58 Web streaming links to animated history videos. Topics include: the Industrial Revolution, California Gold Rush, Berlin Wall, Space Race, Thanksgiving and more. Grades 7-12.
  • Osmosis Video Links – 39 web streaming links to videos exploring a variety of medical concepts including: asthma, concussion, HIV & AIDS, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bulimia nervosa and more. Grades 9-Adult.
  • Basho and Friends Video Links – 62 web streaming links to Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese instructional music videos. Grades PreK-4.
  • NUMBEROCK Video Links – 70 web streaming links to musical animated math videos. Topics include: angles, order of operations, addition, subtraction, fractions and more. Grades PreK-6.

We will keep you updated as they add content!

The Power of Reading

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Good morning! There’s one week left to go before February break. Let’s start our week by re-invigorating our love of librarianship with this beautifully written article by Maria Popova published on her blog, brainpickings.org about the power of reading.

“We read to remember. We read to forget. We read to make ourselves and remake ourselves and save ourselves. … Most of all, we read to become selves.” Popova’s brief article contains some of the most beautiful language I have read about what it means to read and how it affects our human experience.

Enjoy!