1. BadgerLink website redesign survey for educators
2. Summer library reading program kicks-off with the Green Bay Packers and Edvest
3. NTIA Broadband Adoption Toolkit released
4. Bad River Public Tribal Library wins Ezra Jack Keats Foundation mini-grant
5. Just a few spots left for GLS Playful Learning Summit on June 11
6. BadgerLink Resource of the Week: News Resources in BadgerLink
7. Website of the Week
8. Calendar
=================================================
1. BADGERLINK WEBSITE REDESIGN SURVEY FOR EDUCATORS
The BadgerLink team wants your help redesigning the BadgerLink website (http://www.badgerlink.net/). BadgerLink provides access to credible standards-based online resources for all ages in math, social studies, English, and science that are available for home use. We've put together a brief survey to get your feedback: http://bit.ly/BLRedesign.
Please take a few minutes to complete the short survey. Your feedback will help uncover flaws and pinpoint areas of improvement. Your thoughts and suggestions will be incorporated into our new site as we continue to refine it.
Please Note: This survey will remain open until Tuesday, June 11. Please respond at your earliest convenience.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the BadgerLink Team at (888) 542-5543 or http://rl3.dpi.wi.gov/badgerlink-contact.
2. SUMMER LIBRARY READING PROGRAM KICKS-OFF WITH THE GREEN BAY PACKERS AND EDVEST
“Leap into Reading,” a reading promotion sponsored by the Green Bay Packers, Edvest, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, launched this week at Lambeau Field. The program encourages children to read during the summer while giving parents and grandparents a chance to win one of 20 Edvest college savings accounts valued at $1,000 each along with prizes from the Green Bay Packers.
“Leap into Reading” promotes participation in summer reading programs at Wisconsin public libraries in an effort to prevent “summer reading loss,” a cumulative condition that can put students two years behind their classmates by the end of sixth grade. Summer library reading programs provide extensive enrichment activities related to literature that are not often included in schools because of time constraints. Summer reading also helps keep kids entertained during the summer months by providing supervised activities that are free, safe, and educational.
Read the full press release at http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Packers-Edvest-offer-Leap-Into-Reading-at-more-than-200-Wisconsin-public-libraries/6f3d4ffa-08ce-41d3-b900-13bf990c3146.
3. NTIA BROADBAND ADOPTION TOOLKIT RELEASED
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its Broadband Adoption Toolkit, a document aimed at sharing best practices developed from broadband adoption and digital literacy projects funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Leveraging the experience of about 100 communities served by BTOP to benefit the entire nation, the Toolkit gives practical ideas and tools for overcoming barriers to getting more Americans online access.
Through BTOP, NTIA awarded nearly half a billion dollars in grants to improve public computer centers and increase broadband adoption. Each project was designed to meet local needs, engage specific audiences and demographic groups, and demonstrate the power of being connected. Understanding and documenting what is working has been a vital component of these pilot programs. BTOP funds have provided millions of training hours and supported communications and outreach campaigns nationwide. The projects also have unleashed a tremendous wave of innovation, such as new curricula for learning how to be “digitally literate” and applying those skills to find a job, start a business, or complete a degree. This Broadband Adoption Toolkit harvests the early results of this innovation so that the many organizations and government agencies that have a stake in America’s online future can use this information to reach, educate, and support people who are not yet online.
This Toolkit highlights adoption activities in four areas:
- Awareness and outreach
- Home computers and broadband service
- Training planning and delivery
- Curriculum and relevant content
Each activity is closely tuned to the needs of a specific group or community: low-income immigrants, parents of school-age children, seniors, and many others. The examples in each section are intended to spur ideas and highlight ways that a program can overcome local barriers to broadband adoption. Additionally, the section on “Starting a Broadband Adoption Program” contains information and tools to help plan and implement a new program.
As more services and information migrate to online-only formats, the human and social costs of not being online are amplified, reinforcing existing patterns of isolation and disadvantage. Institutions such as libraries, workforce centers, nonprofit organizations, and community colleges are establishing programs to help address this digital gap. The hope is that the many other emerging initiatives to bring people online, including Connect2Compete, EveryoneOn, Building Digital Communities, state- or citywide programs, and local initiatives, can use the ideas in this Toolkit to learn from what has worked, help jump-start programs, and benefit from the nation’s investment in BTOP.
A complete listing of projects funded under BTOP, along with extensive reporting data, can be found at http://www2.ntia.doc.gov.
Link to Toolkit: http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/files/toolkit_042913.pdf (23MB).
4. BAD RIVER PUBLIC TRIBAL LIBRARY WINS EZRA JACK KEATS FOUNDATION MINI-GRANT
The Bad River Public Tribal Library in Odanah, Wisconsin, a member of the Northern Waters Library System, has been awarded a mini-grant by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. This is the 25th year that the Foundation has awarded mini-grants to teachers and librarians at public schools and libraries across the United States. This year, a total of 59 grants were awarded to educators in 29 states with each recipient receiving up to $500 for specific programs that they have planned for the next academic year.
The Bad River Public Tribal Library’s mini-grant will help fund the Bad River Traditional Outfit Creation Program, in which young adults and children at the library will design and make their own traditional dance outfits as part of an effort to learn more about the Ojibwe culture. Specifically, they will come to understand what each color they select for their outfits represents as well as explore the different clans of the Ojibwe Nation.
Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, founded by the late Caldecott award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats, has provided more than $800,000 in support of programs spanning the 50 states and the U.S. Commonwealth. To receive an award, educators must have applied for funding for a specific program that fosters the love of learning, enhances creative expression and optimizes interaction between educators and students.
To read the full press release and learn more about the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant program, follow this link: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/press-release-minigrant-2013/.
5. JUST A FEW SPOTS LEFT FOR GLS PLAYFUL LEARNING SUMMIT ON TUESDAY, JUNE 11
Are you an educator or librarian passionate or curious about game-based learning and digital media? If so, you are invited to register early for the 2013 Games+Learning+Society Playful Learning Summit (formerly GLS Educators Symposium, or GLSES). The inaugural Playful Learning Summit at the GLS 9.0 Conference will take place on Tuesday, June 11, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Memorial Union on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
The Playful Learning Summit, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, will feature:
What’s this Playful Learning Initiative anyway?
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s GLS Center works closely with teachers, education leaders, and schools throughout Wisconsin, the nation, and the world. Over the past four years, GLSES emerged as one of the nation’s eminent professional development events celebrating and strengthening educators’ use of games and digital media, and fostering collaboration among teachers, researchers, and designers. The transformation of GLSES into the Playful Learning Summit coincides with the national Playful Learning Initiative, a movement facilitated by theLearning Games Networkand theGLS Centerto connect teachers around the country and build a community that uses games for learning through national and regional events, collaborative play, and the production of learning tools. Read more about the GLSES to Playful Learning Summit transition.
K-12 educators have multiple registration options to attend both the Playful Learning Summit on Tuesday, June 11, and the GLS 9.0 Conference, Wednesday, June 12 through Friday, June 14. Like previous years, registration for the Playful Learning Summit on Tuesday, June 11, is $50 and includes breakfast, lunch, and a happy hour reception. Additionally, the educator registration rate for the GLS 9.0 Conference is $150; for $200 educators may attend both the Playful Learning Summit and GLS 9.0. Information about hotel accommodation and discounted lodging options with University of Wisconsin Housing are available for those attending multiple days – additional lodging information may bedownloaded here.
For additional information and to register visithttps://www.regonline.com/gls9. Additional questions may be directed to GLS Playful Learning Summit Chair Remi Holden atremi.holden@gmail.com.
6. BADGERLINK RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
Looking or near real-time world-wide news? Look no farther than BadgerLink! The database News (AP, UPI, etc.) includes content from top providers such as the Associated Press, UPI, and CNN on a continuous basis! Begin your search at http://ow.ly/jyARf!
7. Website of the Week
Purdue OWL: Resume Workshop -- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/719/01/ -- From the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), this online workshop provides detailed explanations, as well step-by-step processes, for creating an effective resume. The Purdue OWL also maintains resume quick tips resources and a resume PowerPoint slide presentation. (Website reference courtesy of refdesk.com)
8. CALENDAR
June 27-July 2, 2013 – American Librarian Association (ALA) Annual Conference, Chicago
July 12, 2013 – Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) meeting, Black River Falls
September 25-28, 2013—Association for Rural & Small Libraries Annual Conference, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2013 – Public Library Youth Services Liaisons annual meeting, DeForest
October 4, 2013 – Continuing Education and Certification Consultants annual meeting, DeForest
October 22-25, 2013 – Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) annual conference, Green Bay
==================================================
To access previous issues of Channel Weekly, or to subscribe or unsubscribe,
go to: http://channel.dpi.wi.gov/
==================================================
Roslyn M. Wise
Editor, Channel Weekly
Department of Public Instruction
Division for Libraries and Technology
PO Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841
Phone: (608) 266-6439
FAX: (608) 267-9207
2. Summer library reading program kicks-off with the Green Bay Packers and Edvest
3. NTIA Broadband Adoption Toolkit released
4. Bad River Public Tribal Library wins Ezra Jack Keats Foundation mini-grant
5. Just a few spots left for GLS Playful Learning Summit on June 11
6. BadgerLink Resource of the Week: News Resources in BadgerLink
7. Website of the Week
8. Calendar
=================================================
1. BADGERLINK WEBSITE REDESIGN SURVEY FOR EDUCATORS
The BadgerLink team wants your help redesigning the BadgerLink website (http://www.badgerlink.net/). BadgerLink provides access to credible standards-based online resources for all ages in math, social studies, English, and science that are available for home use. We've put together a brief survey to get your feedback: http://bit.ly/BLRedesign.
Please take a few minutes to complete the short survey. Your feedback will help uncover flaws and pinpoint areas of improvement. Your thoughts and suggestions will be incorporated into our new site as we continue to refine it.
Please Note: This survey will remain open until Tuesday, June 11. Please respond at your earliest convenience.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the BadgerLink Team at (888) 542-5543 or http://rl3.dpi.wi.gov/badgerlink-contact.
2. SUMMER LIBRARY READING PROGRAM KICKS-OFF WITH THE GREEN BAY PACKERS AND EDVEST
“Leap into Reading,” a reading promotion sponsored by the Green Bay Packers, Edvest, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, launched this week at Lambeau Field. The program encourages children to read during the summer while giving parents and grandparents a chance to win one of 20 Edvest college savings accounts valued at $1,000 each along with prizes from the Green Bay Packers.
“Leap into Reading” promotes participation in summer reading programs at Wisconsin public libraries in an effort to prevent “summer reading loss,” a cumulative condition that can put students two years behind their classmates by the end of sixth grade. Summer library reading programs provide extensive enrichment activities related to literature that are not often included in schools because of time constraints. Summer reading also helps keep kids entertained during the summer months by providing supervised activities that are free, safe, and educational.
Read the full press release at http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Packers-Edvest-offer-Leap-Into-Reading-at-more-than-200-Wisconsin-public-libraries/6f3d4ffa-08ce-41d3-b900-13bf990c3146.
3. NTIA BROADBAND ADOPTION TOOLKIT RELEASED
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released its Broadband Adoption Toolkit, a document aimed at sharing best practices developed from broadband adoption and digital literacy projects funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Leveraging the experience of about 100 communities served by BTOP to benefit the entire nation, the Toolkit gives practical ideas and tools for overcoming barriers to getting more Americans online access.
Through BTOP, NTIA awarded nearly half a billion dollars in grants to improve public computer centers and increase broadband adoption. Each project was designed to meet local needs, engage specific audiences and demographic groups, and demonstrate the power of being connected. Understanding and documenting what is working has been a vital component of these pilot programs. BTOP funds have provided millions of training hours and supported communications and outreach campaigns nationwide. The projects also have unleashed a tremendous wave of innovation, such as new curricula for learning how to be “digitally literate” and applying those skills to find a job, start a business, or complete a degree. This Broadband Adoption Toolkit harvests the early results of this innovation so that the many organizations and government agencies that have a stake in America’s online future can use this information to reach, educate, and support people who are not yet online.
This Toolkit highlights adoption activities in four areas:
- Awareness and outreach
- Home computers and broadband service
- Training planning and delivery
- Curriculum and relevant content
Each activity is closely tuned to the needs of a specific group or community: low-income immigrants, parents of school-age children, seniors, and many others. The examples in each section are intended to spur ideas and highlight ways that a program can overcome local barriers to broadband adoption. Additionally, the section on “Starting a Broadband Adoption Program” contains information and tools to help plan and implement a new program.
As more services and information migrate to online-only formats, the human and social costs of not being online are amplified, reinforcing existing patterns of isolation and disadvantage. Institutions such as libraries, workforce centers, nonprofit organizations, and community colleges are establishing programs to help address this digital gap. The hope is that the many other emerging initiatives to bring people online, including Connect2Compete, EveryoneOn, Building Digital Communities, state- or citywide programs, and local initiatives, can use the ideas in this Toolkit to learn from what has worked, help jump-start programs, and benefit from the nation’s investment in BTOP.
A complete listing of projects funded under BTOP, along with extensive reporting data, can be found at http://www2.ntia.doc.gov.
Link to Toolkit: http://www2.ntia.doc.gov/files/toolkit_042913.pdf (23MB).
4. BAD RIVER PUBLIC TRIBAL LIBRARY WINS EZRA JACK KEATS FOUNDATION MINI-GRANT
The Bad River Public Tribal Library in Odanah, Wisconsin, a member of the Northern Waters Library System, has been awarded a mini-grant by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. This is the 25th year that the Foundation has awarded mini-grants to teachers and librarians at public schools and libraries across the United States. This year, a total of 59 grants were awarded to educators in 29 states with each recipient receiving up to $500 for specific programs that they have planned for the next academic year.
The Bad River Public Tribal Library’s mini-grant will help fund the Bad River Traditional Outfit Creation Program, in which young adults and children at the library will design and make their own traditional dance outfits as part of an effort to learn more about the Ojibwe culture. Specifically, they will come to understand what each color they select for their outfits represents as well as explore the different clans of the Ojibwe Nation.
Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, founded by the late Caldecott award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats, has provided more than $800,000 in support of programs spanning the 50 states and the U.S. Commonwealth. To receive an award, educators must have applied for funding for a specific program that fosters the love of learning, enhances creative expression and optimizes interaction between educators and students.
To read the full press release and learn more about the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant program, follow this link: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/press-release-minigrant-2013/.
5. JUST A FEW SPOTS LEFT FOR GLS PLAYFUL LEARNING SUMMIT ON TUESDAY, JUNE 11
Are you an educator or librarian passionate or curious about game-based learning and digital media? If so, you are invited to register early for the 2013 Games+Learning+Society Playful Learning Summit (formerly GLS Educators Symposium, or GLSES). The inaugural Playful Learning Summit at the GLS 9.0 Conference will take place on Tuesday, June 11, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Memorial Union on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.
The Playful Learning Summit, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, will feature:
- A keynote address on “Connected Learning” by Dani Herro, Assistant Professor for Digital Media and Learning, Clemson University.
- Over a dozen hands-on workshops relevant to educators and librarians across grade levels and content areas.
- Playful Learning Lunch Expo for networking with designers, researchers, and organizations whose innovations are transforming teaching and learning.
What’s this Playful Learning Initiative anyway?
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s GLS Center works closely with teachers, education leaders, and schools throughout Wisconsin, the nation, and the world. Over the past four years, GLSES emerged as one of the nation’s eminent professional development events celebrating and strengthening educators’ use of games and digital media, and fostering collaboration among teachers, researchers, and designers. The transformation of GLSES into the Playful Learning Summit coincides with the national Playful Learning Initiative, a movement facilitated by theLearning Games Networkand theGLS Centerto connect teachers around the country and build a community that uses games for learning through national and regional events, collaborative play, and the production of learning tools. Read more about the GLSES to Playful Learning Summit transition.
K-12 educators have multiple registration options to attend both the Playful Learning Summit on Tuesday, June 11, and the GLS 9.0 Conference, Wednesday, June 12 through Friday, June 14. Like previous years, registration for the Playful Learning Summit on Tuesday, June 11, is $50 and includes breakfast, lunch, and a happy hour reception. Additionally, the educator registration rate for the GLS 9.0 Conference is $150; for $200 educators may attend both the Playful Learning Summit and GLS 9.0. Information about hotel accommodation and discounted lodging options with University of Wisconsin Housing are available for those attending multiple days – additional lodging information may bedownloaded here.
For additional information and to register visithttps://www.regonline.com/gls9. Additional questions may be directed to GLS Playful Learning Summit Chair Remi Holden atremi.holden@gmail.com.
6. BADGERLINK RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
Looking or near real-time world-wide news? Look no farther than BadgerLink! The database News (AP, UPI, etc.) includes content from top providers such as the Associated Press, UPI, and CNN on a continuous basis! Begin your search at http://ow.ly/jyARf!
7. Website of the Week
Purdue OWL: Resume Workshop -- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/719/01/ -- From the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), this online workshop provides detailed explanations, as well step-by-step processes, for creating an effective resume. The Purdue OWL also maintains resume quick tips resources and a resume PowerPoint slide presentation. (Website reference courtesy of refdesk.com)
8. CALENDAR
June 27-July 2, 2013 – American Librarian Association (ALA) Annual Conference, Chicago
July 12, 2013 – Council on Library and Network Development (COLAND) meeting, Black River Falls
September 25-28, 2013—Association for Rural & Small Libraries Annual Conference, Omaha, NE
October 3, 2013 – Public Library Youth Services Liaisons annual meeting, DeForest
October 4, 2013 – Continuing Education and Certification Consultants annual meeting, DeForest
October 22-25, 2013 – Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) annual conference, Green Bay
==================================================
To access previous issues of Channel Weekly, or to subscribe or unsubscribe,
go to: http://channel.dpi.wi.gov/
==================================================
Roslyn M. Wise
Editor, Channel Weekly
Department of Public Instruction
Division for Libraries and Technology
PO Box 7841
Madison, WI 53707-7841
Phone: (608) 266-6439
FAX: (608) 267-9207
For questions about this information, contact Roslyn Wise (608) 266-6439