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Transmedia storytelling: narratives like real life
By Martin Gray
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
gral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience.' http://www.pil-network.ie/blog/transmedia-storytelling/ In 2012, the show I watched more than any other on free-to-air televis
Computational thinking as the 'new literacy': professional development opportunities
By Associate Professor Katrina Falkner
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
ool, to support the future generation of digital creators and increase international competitiveness. This is a significant milestone, yet it also raises a number of challenges, including the preparation of teachers and development of resources to support the success of implementation at a nationa
From the desk of a SCIS cataloguer
By Mavis Heffernan
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
ue a range of print and electronic resources suitable for use in school libraries. Electronic resources include websites, apps, and ebooks, and are available for SCIS subscribers as easily downloadable files using the Special Order Files page of our website. We often receive questions about how webs
Let's talk about literacy
By John Parsons
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
a, New Zealand, and the UK haven't declined significantly in the last twenty years. Despite decades of adapting our policies and practices, they remain relatively unchanged. The real slide, I suggest, is not in literacy competency but in the level of engagement today's young readers have with
The relationship between SCIS Subject Headings and ScOT
By Les Kneebone
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
ScOT)(2) when adding resources to the SCIS database. ScOT is a relatively later addition to the SCIS arsenal of cataloguing tools, introduced and explained in Connections Issue 60(3). This article evaluates this two-vocabulary approach with a view to distinguishing the strengths and roles of the
SCIS is more
By Dr Ben Chadwick
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
r you as it has for us? We spoke at the SLAV and SLANZA conferences in August and September, and attended ASLA; we've run workshops in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Christchurch, and as usual, have thoroughly enjoyed meeting and catching up with our subscribers. August also saw a series of SCIS webinars
Website and app reviews
By Nigel Paull
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
The 68th United Nations General Assembly has declared that 2016 is the International Year of Pulses, recognising the vital importance of these sustainable food crops. Pulse crops include lentils, chickpeas, beans, and peas. Additional material is being added to the website periodically. SCIS no.
Save time and effort with Scootle learning paths
By Daniel Hughes
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
made one before, try this: Once you have found a resource you would like to add to a learning path, select the small box to the left of the thumbnail. Click on the green 'Add 1 item(s) to my learning paths' button towards the top of the page. You will be prompted to create a new folder. For
Supporting Australian book creators
By Laura Armstrong, Toni Jordan
Issue 95, Term 4 2015
chool libraries are the cornerstone of the Educational Lending Rights (ELR), and in the coming weeks 600 schools will receive invitations, either by mail or email, requesting their participation in this year's survey. School library staff play a critical part in the data collection process – without
The new librarian: leaders in the digital age
By Digital Promise staff
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
As school districts confront budget constraints and cuts, one of the first places administrators often look to for savings is the school library. Numerous districts, large and small, have cut librarian staffing to part-time or eliminated positions entirely. These cuts can impact both students and
The importance of multicultural literature
By Marianne Grasso
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
multicultural literature add to the school library fiction collection? Multicultural literature serves as a powerful tool in enabling students to gain a better understanding of both their own culture and the cultures of others. Through this deeper knowledge, relationships can be strengthened, bri
Information and critical literacy on the web
By Kay Oddone
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
The democratisation of content creation is a wonderful thing. Thanks to thousands of content creation and distribution platforms available, including WordPress, Scribd, Weebly, Storify, and YouTube, millions of voices which might have never been heard now have a channel to communicate their message
The value of social history
By Sandra Watkins
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
Who is your hero? Mine is Andy Thomas, an Australian astronaut. How did a boy from Adelaide talk his way into the US Space Program? I would have to say that I am less interested in where or when he did his training, or what degrees he has, as to how he managed to teach himself enough Russian in o
Architecture of genre
By Les Kneebone
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
orks assume that any business can be thought of as comprising four or five conceptual layers, depending on the flavour of your architecture model. A fairly typical stack of layers looks like this: Business Data Applications Technology Your library already contains all of these layers.
Demystifying barcodes
By Julie Styles
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
s cataloguers, we understand that it can sometimes be difficult to match the exact resource you have in your hand to one of the 1.4 million records available in the SCIS catalogue. This article will look at the identifying numbers many resources are assigned, what they mean, and how each number can
Supporting Australian book creators
By Nicole Richardson, Simmone Howell
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
If we are interested in reading a particular book, whether for leisure or for information needs, we are able to head to the library to see if it is available. For every book accessed via educational and public libraries rather than a bookshop, the chances of book creators and publishers receiving we
SCIS is more
By Ben Chadwick
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
‘I have been here all the time,’ said he, ‘but you have just made me visible.’ ‘Aslan!’ said Lucy almost a little reproachfully. ‘Don’t make fun of me. As if anything I could do would make you visible!’ ‘It did,’ said Aslan. ‘Do you think I wouldn’t obey my own rules?’ – C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of th
Website and app reviews
By Nigel Paull
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
book apps for infants and students in pre-school, primary, and secondary school. Examples include e-books, interactive books, and graphic novels. Details and device compatibility are listed for each app; however, as this is a US website, teachers are recommended to check individual apps to see if t
Filters in Scootle
By Daniel Hughes
Issue 96, Term 1 2016
In the last edition of Connections , we investigated learning paths and how they work. At the end of the article I promised to explore collaborative activities and filters in this edition; however, as Scootle’s collaborative activities will soon be revamped, this article will instead focus on S
Lending an ear for literacy
By Leah Sheldon, Janine Sigley
Issue 94, Term 3 2015
am will see the same four or five students each week. A relationship is initially sparked, and grows throughout the year giving students a chance to gain confidence and increase skill in reading. The owner of the dog, or handler, is trained to make the reading sessions fun, interesting, non-threaten