While the common belief is that teens don’t read anymore, they are in fact reading–just not books. In her article, “Using Social Networking to Connect Teens with Young Adult Literature” in the May/June Public Libraries, Janet Hilbun states that “In fact, research shows that teens read constantly–text messages, e-mail, MySpace and Facebook, magazines, instant messages, websites, required school reading, and books. Even teens who say they are non-readers or do not like to read spend a great deal of each day actually reading.” So, connecting teens to books they might really enjoy means giving them the information in a way that best suites their reading style.Continue reading
How Private Is Your Facebook Page?
With Facebook as probably the biggest social networking site today, it is hard not to become a part of this community. However, many people do not want to share everything with everyone; and Facebook’s privacy settings can be hard to figure out. eWeek.com recently posted a simple guide to navigate privacy settings on Facebook, Facebook Privacy: A How-To Guide For Taking Back Control. This guide is a nice step-by-step tutorial with screenshots that show how to set up your Facebook account with the level of privacy restrictions to best suit your individual needs. This is something to share family, friends, and your library patrons!
iPad and iPod as Assistive Technologies
A recent Pacesetter article discussed the value of the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone as assistive technologies for children with disabilities. The touch screens, built-in accessibility features and variety of apps make them great educational and communication tools. Some of the assistive technology that comes standard on the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone include screen magnification and VoiceOver. Pacer has created a resource for families looking into using an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone as an assistive technology device called “There’s an App for That: iPod/iPad 101”. This document gives in-depth information to help determine which device will be most helpful and links directly to sites listing special needs apps, as well as accessories that can be purchased to make the devices more compatible with the user.