Kassidy Schad

GooseChase is an interactive platform that allows educators to create digital scavenger hunts that encourage students to complete challenges through photos, videos, text responses, and GPS check-ins. Experiences can be completed individually or in teams. GooseChase promotes collaboration, problem-solving, and learning both inside and outside the classroom.

One feature that stood out to me is how customizable the scavenger hunts are. Librarians can create missions that align with information with curriculum while incorporating creativity and movement. I also like that students submit evidence of completing each challenge, allowing teachers and librarians to review responses and provide feedback. This makes learning more interactive than a traditional worksheet while giving educators a simple way to monitor participation and perform assessment.

There is also a template library that saves librarians time when creating these scavenger hunts.

Would I implement this in my library? Yes! I think GooseChase would be a fun way to introduce students to the library at the beginning of the school year or reinforce research and information literacy skills through gameifying instruction. I could also see it being used for recognizing the elements of a book, digital citizenship lessons, or schoolwide reading events to increase student engagement.

Rating: 5/5

References

Biblionasium is a free reading platform designed to encourage independent reading through a safe, social environment. Students can build virtual bookshelves, write book reviews, create reading wish lists, participate in reading challenges, and receive personalized book recommendations based on their interests. Teachers and librarians can create classes, assign reading, monitor student progress, and recommend titles without students needing to use public social media platforms.

The feature that stood out to me most is that it provides a safe space for students to share recommendations while giving educators oversight of student activity. Instead of simply tracking the number of books students read, Biblionasium encourages students to reflect on what they have read through ratings, reviews, and recommendations. The personalized book suggestions and reading challenges could help students discover new genres and authors while giving librarians valuable insight into students' reading interests. This information could be useful when planning book displays, purchasing new materials, or recommending books to individual students.

Would I implement this in my library? Yes! I think Biblionasium would be an excellent tool for promoting independent reading and helping students build a reading community. I would use it during reading challenges, book clubs, or independent reading units to encourage students to talk about books and discover new titles through their classmates' recommendations.

Rating: 5/5

References

EarSketch is a free online platform where students create music by writing Python or JavaScript code to arrange loops and samples into songs. EarSketch includes thousands of royalty-free sounds for students to experiment with. Students get immediate feedback with the ability to playback what their written code is doing, so they can listen to it and make creative decisions based on what they hear.

Another feature I appreciate is the ability to collaborate in real time. In a classroom or library setting, students could work in pairs or small groups, with one person experimenting with code while another focuses on the musical arrangement. They could also remix one another’s projects, compare different approaches, and talk about how small code changes affect the final track. Students can access the platform from any computer by logging into their account. It is accessible because no software is needed.

Would I implement this? I think there could be a learning curve, especially for students who are new to both coding and music production. It might take some guidance to help them understand the interface, the sound library, and the structure of the code. I’d probably introduce it with a structured, guided project and direct instruction before giving students complete creative freedom. I do think that the creative payoff seems worth the extra support, so I would consider using it with the right group of upper grade students.

Rating: 4/5

Smore is an interactive newsletter builder. The platform allows for collaborative work and simple sharing to email, website, social media, and mass notification systems. Smore makes newsletters accessible to all students and families by offering auto translations in 130+ languages.

Smore also offers hundreds of customizable newsletter templates so that busy teachers and librarians have a starting point.

The feature that most drew me to Smore is the analytics provided. Smore provides educators with easy to understand analytic data that shows how readers are engaging with the content. This allows educators to see if their newsletters are actually reaching their colleagues, students and families and gives them the opportunity to make adjustments that better fit their community.

Would I use this in my classroom? Yes! What sets Smore apart from other graphic design applications like Canva are the elements created specifically to benefit educators, school leaders and their communities.

Rating: 5/5

We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) is a nonprofit organization created to not only showcase books featuring diverse characters, but assist authors and illustrators in publishing their diverse books and then donating and distributing those titles.

It is important to give students access to diverse literature because building a well-rounded sense of self is dependent on seeing representations of ourselves and of others we may be unfamiliar with. Children’s author and WNDB Advisory Board member Grace Lin uses the terms mirrors and windows to describe these two kinds of representation in media. Without one or the other, children develop a narrow worldview and, as a result of that, have an inflated sense of self or a negative sense of self (TEDx, 2016).  

We Need Diverse Books also offers several resource guides on their website including information on how to diversify your bookshelves, fight book bans, and writing and publishing resources.

Rating: 5/5

Would I implement this in my library? Yes, I would absolutely use the resource guides about where to find diverse books, especially the guides that address specific groups of people or cultures to fit the needs of my students.

References

TEDx. (2016, March 18). The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf | Grace Lin | TEDxNatick [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_wQ8wiV3FVo?si=EOx8Zx7jeY6eD-Wx

RumorGuard is a platform created by the News Literacy Project dedicated to teaching news literacy by fact-checking viral rumors. This platform works best for students in grades 8-12.

In addition to telling users if a claim is true or false, RumorGuard evaluates the claim based on five credibility factors, source, evidence, context, reasoning and authenticity.

Additionally, each claim presented has related news literacy resources available in the platform, including virtual lessons, infographics, video tutorials and written guides, so that students can replicate the fact-checking process.

Rating: 5/5

Would I implement this in my library classroom? Yes! I think this is a great resource that not only informs students of "fake news," but helps them to build skills to spot misinformation on their own.

Sooth is an internet search engine for students. The search engine is focused on providing students with credible and diverse sources, filtering out less reputable sites and distractions like ads or AI chatbots.

Sooth has several features beneficial to students including the ability to add resources directly to research collections for later, generating citations, and taking notes. Sooth allows students to fine tune search results as if they were using a database.

My hesitations regarding Sooth are that it may limit students from learning about how to safely and effectively navigate the internet and conduct research on their own without the platform. However, I think that is a useful tool for younger grades who are not quite yet learning these skills. I also think it could be used as a tool when conducting research, rather than the sole search engine utilized by the school.

Rating: 3/5

Would I implement this? I am not sure! I can see use for it, but depending on school budget it may not be worth it compared to how much I would use it in the classroom.

Home. (n.d.). Sooth. https://sooth.fyi/

Pixton is a digital comic maker for students in grades 1-12. This resource can be used across multiple grades, subjects, and abilities. Students create comics by selecting a background for the scene, adding characters chosen from literary characters, real people, or customized characters, changing outfits, expressions and poses, and by adding elements, captions and dialogue to the scene. Every piece of the comic is customizable and open for the student to explore.

Pixton also offers ready-to-go lesson ideas for each subject that teachers can add to their account and make changes to. In the example below, teachers can keep track of student reading by instructing students to create a comic reading log. Students would create a scene encompassing each book they've read and include a caption with description and rating.

One thing that stood out to me about the Pixton website was the focus on research and evidence backing the impact on student learning. Several reports, studies, and certificates are liked on the website.

Pixton would be a great addition to library resources because it helps build strong literacy skills through the development of storytelling skills and reading comprehension, enhances writing and visual communication, increases engagement and motivation, and demonstrates student learning.

Rating: 5/5

Would I implement this? Yes.

This week I explored the educational webtool BookBreak. BookBreak is a virtual K-12 author talk program that connects students with best-selling authors once a month via recorded livestream. Each month, a new author talk will be geared toward each grade level in cohorts such as K-2nd, 3rd-5th, 6th-8th, and 9th-12th. The program asserts it's commitment to featuring authors with a wide variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.

The webtool features a heavy focus on cultivating a school-wide reading culture. In the fall, the platform plans to build on this and introduce new features with tools and resources to support students, teachers, and parents.

This is a tool I can easily see becoming a part of my library curriculum. Since recordings of the livestreams are available on the platform, it would be easy to implement by dedicating one class period each month to watching the author talk and exploring the author with the accompanying mini-lessons. This would be a great opportunity to introduce students to new viewpoints and voices, as well as engaging new readers who may have not be previously interested.

Rating: 5/5

Would I implement this? Yes!!