I will be sharing learning and library ideas, books and songs, digital tools and apps, maker resources and lots of fun for Shannon's Favorite Finds each Friday.

And each week, I will be sharing extra special Collections by Destiny with all of you. You will find these Collections directly below under each week.

The 5 Weeks 'Til New Year's Include:

Week 1, December 1: Coding and Robotics as we get ready for Hour of Code with the Coding for Students Collection AND Coding and Robotics Collections with Sites, Apps, Games, Robots and More Collection.

Week 2, December 8: Virtual and Augmented Reality with the Virtual Reality Collection AND Augmented Reality Collection.

Week 3, December 15: LEGO's, Building and Engineering with the Lego, Building and Engineering Collection.

Week 4, December 22: Arts and Crafts...low tech and high tech with the Arts and Crafts Collection.

Week 5, December 29: Gaming...Board Games, Online Games, and Game Design with the Gaming Collection.

And for a little bonus, I have put together 6 New Favorite Collections For Holidays Around the World and the New Year. You will find all 6 of these very special collections here.

You will be able to use these tools, ideas, resources, and Collections with your students, in your libraries and classrooms, and share them with your school families as they get ready for the holiday break too.

I will also include several awesome Titlewave Lists focused on each weeks theme. These will contain books, online resources and Makerspace materials.

And as always, please share your ideas and resources using #FavoriteFindsFriday and to my Twitter @shannonmmiller. Also, I created the Padlet below for you to share your holiday ideas, resources and fun too.

Happy Holidays, friends. I can't wait for this holiday season with you.

Shannon

Here we are...it's almost a new year!

As we get ready to go back to school after the wonderful holiday, think about how you could integrate gaming, game design resources, gaming activities and projects, and games (online and board) into your library, classroom and school community.

You will find a few of my favorites; a Collection by Destiny and a Padlet full of ideas too.

I hope these resources will bring a lot of creativity, inspiration and fun to you and your students in 2018!

Happy New Year, friends!

Shannon

As we are all on holiday break, share these special arts and crafts resources with your students, teachers and school community to do with family and friends at home in your online spaces and online.

And as you get back to the new year, kick it off with wonderful creating in the library and classroom too!

These arts and crafts resources will bring your curriculum, library and classroom to life by empowering your students to find something to create that interests them.

By giving our students access to these books, materials and resources in our classrooms, libraries, Makerspaces and homes, we are opening up their world to their creativity, imagination and passions they have now and into the future.

You will find a few of my favorites; a Collection by Destiny and a Symbaloo too. I have also included the Sing and Draw Series from Cantata Learning which is available on TItlewave.

I hope these resources will bring great job to you and your students.....and your family at home this holiday season.

Happy Holidays, friends,

Shannon

Everyone loves LEGO's.

Everyone loves to build and engineer things.

So, what better for the third week before New Years' to focus on LEGO's, literacy, apps, websites, tools, an awesome new Collection and more!

By giving our students access to these books, materials and resources in our classrooms, libraries, Makerspaces and homes, we are opening up their world to exploration, trial-and-error, creativity, imagination and passions they have now and into the future.

You will find a few of my favorites; a Collection by Destiny full of books, resources, tools and fun; and a glimpse into what Follett has to offer including the awesome Digital eXploration Engineering Bundle.

Follett's Digital eXploration Bundles are an exclusive K-6 offering with interactive, hands-on learning materials. Each bundle supports NGSS and C3 Framework and includes a Lightbox title, Follett eBook titles and some also include a Makerspace kit (US Only).

Oh...and did you know that Follett now sells LEGO Education solutions to U.S. school libraries? How awesome is that! For more information about Follett’s Makerspace resources, visit titlewave.com, or contact a sales representative.

I hope these resources will bring lots of special movements to your library and classroom during this holiday month too.

Shannon

A lot of you have used VR and AR in your libraries and classrooms, but some might be asking, What exactly is virtual and augmented reality?

Let me start by sharing the definitions from Merriam-Webster with you.

Virtual Reality is an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one's actions partially determine what happens in the environment; also it is the technology used to create or access a virtual reality.

Augmented Reality is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device (such as a smartphone camera); also, it is the technology used to create augmented reality.

By using VR and AR in education, we are changing the way our students interact and see the subject matter being taught to them and the world around them. These tools engage and excite them in wonderful ways and bring learning to life.

I love using VR and AR with young people. To see eyes light up when putting these tools and resources into their hands makes it so rewarding for me, as a librarian and educator too.

I hope they will bring something special to your library and classroom during this holiday month too.

When I first starting coding at my school, I brought Hour of Code to our library for the week. It was a meaningful and important introduction to an essential skill that we must teach our students.

It was such a success that we used all of the coding resources throughout the year and never missed another Hour of Code again.

As we do this, I want to share two Coding and Robotics Collections I put together for you and your students to use at school and home. They can be found below....including the links to each.

The Coding and Robotics Collections can be shared with librarians, teachers and of course students. There is something for all age levels.

You will also find a terrific Titlewave List below for Computers and Coding Makerspace Elements...and a few more in the Coding and Robotics Collection. You can also get to that list here.

Coding is a wonderful and important skill to be practiced and discussed at home so this Collection would be the perfect thing to send to families too.

I hope this Collection will bring you the resources you need. Please reach out if I can answer questions and let me know what I need to add to the Coding and Robotics Collection too.

Happy Coding, Friends.

You can read about and find all of the resources for Hour of Code here.