PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators
PBS LearningMedia has launched its Digital Innovators Program to recognize tech-savvy K–12 educators who are incorporating digital media in the classrooms nationwide. The program will recognize 100 applicants, who will receive a full year of professional development focused on teaching in a digital classroom. The top 15 applicants will also attend a two-day summit in Washington, D.C. To apply, educators must submit a 60–120 second video and complete two essay questions that describe their leadership in digital learning. Applications can be completed online; the deadline for submissions is February 14, 2014. Those selected for the program will be announced in March.
Join the 2014 Latin@s in Kid Lit Reading Challenge
The creators of the Latin@s in Kid Lit blog encourage educators, librarians, and all readers of children’s literature to diversify their reading lists in the new year and support already established and emerging writers who include Latin@s in their books. The Challenge will run from January 1 to December 31. Participants can sign up on the blog’s comments section, and spread the word via social media. Prizes will be given to those who stick with it through the year. Any format, level (children’s, middle grade, or young adult), or genre is welcome. The books, however, must be written by a Latin@ author and/or include Latin@ characters, settings, and themes. For more info, see http://ow.ly/rRBRK.
Urban Librarians Conference Needs Presenters
The second Urban Librarians Conference, which will be held April 11, 2014 at the Brooklyn Public Library in New York, is seeking speakers from the library and information science fields. Sponsored by Urban Librarians Unite and the New York Library Association (NYLA), the conference brings together students and professionals for a day of learning and inspiration. Presentations should be about 60 minutes in length, and focus on best practices and practical advice as well as current trends or themes specifically targeted at urban libraries. Past presentations have discussed maker spaces, service to LGBTQ youth, programming, community engagement, and other professional development topics. Slideshows and other multimedia elements are not required but encouraged. Interested presenters should send an abstract and bio to urbanlibrariansunite@gmail.com by December 31st 2013. Selected speakers will be notified by January 15, 2014. Conference registration begins January 31.
Nominate 2013 Books for Américas Award
The national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) is still accepting nominations for the 2013 Américas Award in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The award aims to acknowledge authors, illustrators, and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States, and to provide teachers with recommendations for classroom use.
CLASP will award two top honors—in the primary and secondary reading levels—and will also produce a list of recommended titles for the year. Eligible works include fiction, poetry, folklore, and selected non-fiction that reach beyond geographic borders and multicultural-international boundaries to focus on cultural heritages within the hemisphere. Publishers invited to submit review copies by January 18, 2014. The awards will be presented during Hispanic Heritage Month 2014 at the Library of Congress. Earlier this fall, Gary Schmidt and Sesame Street’s Sonia Manzano were recognized for their 2012 titles.
Common Core and Literacy
Author Sharron L. McElmeel, director of the McBookwords literacy organization and a University of Wisconsin – Stout instructor, is inviting graduate students, media specialists, library teachers, and other educators to sign up for two winter courses focusing on children’s and young adult literature. They are Children’s Literature in the Reading Program (grades K–5) and Young Adult Literature in the Reading Program (grades 6–12). Both courses address the connection between literacy and the Common Core State Standards, with the emphasis on in-depth reading of the books. The courses begin January 6, 2014 and continue through March 28, 2014.