| Read. Write. Tech. Volume 1 January 2024 |
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| A photo I took on a walk around this time of year, a few years back. |
| Happy New Year from gray, cold Michigan, where everything feels…dormant. That’s what I love about early January, to me everything also feels possible. It’s a perfect time to curl up with a book, a warm beverage and have a little space to think. I hope that’s how you feel too. I hope you get a chance to slow down, and some headspace to recalibrate. Some time to be cozy, warm and perhaps even daydream a bit. This is the very first of a monthly (or so) newsletter of my thoughts and resources related to librarianship, writing, making, reading and technology. Probably not all at the same time (although you never know)! If you have ideas for books and resources I should consider including in my upcoming newsletters, or just want to say hello, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at authorjuliedarling@gmail.com |
| January Resources |
| Resources to celebrate MLK Day Freedom’s Ring, King’s I Have a Dream Speech – Animated From Standford.edu. This scrolling text features animated extras, including a spoken recording of the I Have a Dream speech, contextual images, and song. 17 minutes and 8 seconds (although you can skip through it if you’d like). Kid Explorer: Who Was MLK, Martin Luther King, Jr.? Presented by a kid, this video covers a lot of ground in 4 minutes and 15 seconds. This would likely work well for upper elementary school and older students. Make sure to preview first, to determine if it will work for your learner(s). University of Michigan’s MLK Symposium 2024 In-person and live streamed events from the University of Michigan, for their annual MLK Symposium. Tech Tools to Try Common Sense Education has developed free lessons for K-12 to effectively teach about Internet safety, digital citizenship and more. The lessons are grade-banded, age-appropriate and comprehensive. Alice is a free download for 3D worldbuilding. It can be used to teach the fundamentals of computer science and/or an introduction to the Java programming language. This one is SUPER engaging and fun (includes a full The Sims™ character builder). Since it’s image rich, the download takes up space (i.e. this won’t work on a phone or Chromebook). |
| Speaking Events |
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| Image credit: MACUL, Bill Van Loo. Pictured: Bill Van Loo, Sarah Van Loo and Myself |
| MACUL 2024 Conference March 13th-15th Grand Rapids, MI. I’ll be speaking on Friday 3/15 at 11:30 a.m. EST ISTE 2024 Conference June 22nd-26th Denver, CO. I’ll be speaking at Monday 6/24 at 3 p.m. EST I’ll be speaking at both conferences about teaching the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) K-2 standards using books, games and songs. These talks are based on my 3 book series (forthcoming – Summer 2024); Little Hackers, Little Computer Scientists and Supporting the Development of Computer Science Concepts in Early Childhood: A Practical Guide for Parents and Educators. |
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| As a Gen Xer who enjoys reading books featuring technology, I loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. It’s the story of two video game designers and how friendship can change and evolve over the course of decades. It also touches a little on the experience of women in male-dominated industries. Have you read it? Maybe we should start a book club?! |
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| I recently received an exciting package in the mail. It came all the way from Japan! Yotsuba&! Is one of my favorite all-ages graphic novels. This copy is written in the original Japanese format (which I bought for a friend). The English-language version is readily available here. The whole series is really lovely. |
| Books My Students Loved |
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| Some stuffies spent the night at our school and got up to shenanigans. |
| Just before Winter break we completed our district-wide Great Lakes Great Books competition (a Michigan-based, student choice award). K-5 students got to vote across the district (organized by one of my fabulous colleagues!) and were able to vote for their favorite selection for the actual award, regardless of the bracket winners. We’ll find out who won the official award in the Spring! In the meantime, we also voted as a district. Students learn about our district-level winners next week. Since you’re getting this sneak peek, please keep it a secret until this Friday (when all students will have heard who won during their library classes)! |
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| District Winner for K-2nd Grades: Knight Owl by Christopher Denise A whimsical, delightful book about bravery and unlikely friendship. Knight Owl also won a Caldecott Honor for the fabulous illustrations. |
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| District Winner for 3rd-5th Grades: The Sweetest Scoop: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Revolution by Lisa Robinson and Stacy Innerst A picture book biography about the founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. This book is entertaining, engaging and will make you want to eat ice cream…even when there’s snow on the ground. |
| Interested in More From Me? |
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| Want an autographed copy of my book Social-Emotional Learning Using Makerspaces and Passion Project? You can order one here through Booksweet! Never want to miss a book release? Follow me on my Amazon author page for updates. A cumulative list of books mentioned in the Read. Write. Tech. newsletters can be found here. |