2012 Stars of Alberta Volunteer Awards! deadline for nominations is Friday, September 25, 2012

 

Do you know local heroes who are making a difference in your community? Consider putting their names forward for the 2012 Stars of Alberta Volunteer Awards!

 

The search is on for Alberta's outstanding volunteers as nominations for the Stars of Alberta Volunteer Awards are now open.  From students to seniors, volunteers are the backbone of our communities and you can help to recognize their selfless generosity.

 

This year marks the 13th edition of the annual awards program recognizing Albertans whose volunteer efforts and contributions have made a significant difference in their community and helped to improve the lives of community members. Six awards, two each for youth, adult and seniors, are presented annually on December 5 International Volunteer Day.

 

For more information, please visitwww.culture.alberta.ca/voluntarysector/stars

 

The deadline for nominations is Friday, September 25, 2012

'Popchilla' Robot Could Help Autistic Kids

Teaching children with autism spectrum disorders how to interact with others can be hard –- usually one learns that with other people, but it's difficult to quantify.

Seema Patel, CEO of Interbots, thinks she has a solution. It's a toy stuffed animal called Popchilla that is connected to an app called Popchilla's World that runs from a mobile device. The toy, a small robot stuffed animal (it looks like a chinchilla) moves and shows facial expressions. The app is a game that rewards children when they get the right answer as to what feeling the robot is showing. 

Popchilla's World, for instance, walks a child through the process of brushing teeth (using the touch screen). The stuffed animal -– a "digital puppet" -- that goes with it will have expressions that show it is happy or unhappy. Patel told Discovery News the idea is to get children with autism spectrum disorders to move from practicing on a touch screen to interacting with people in the real world.

 

http://news.discovery.com/tech/robot-toys-could-help-autistic-kids-120629.html

Toddlers Are Happier to Give Than Receive: Study

The team of three psychologists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, gave toddlers some treats and a few minutes later asked the toddlers to give one of their treats to a puppet. The children were also given an extra treat and asked to give this to the puppet too.

The toddlers' reactions to these requests were videotaped and then rated for happiness. The researchers concluded that the toddlers showed greater happiness when they shared their own treat than when they shared the extra treat. This suggests that this behavior is emotionally rewarding for the children.

"People tend to assume that toddlers are naturally selfish," study lead author Lara Aknin said in a university news release. "These findings show that children are actually happier giving than receiving."

The study was published June 14 in the online journal PLoS One.

 

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/29/toddlers-are-happier-to-give-than-receive-study

Library Day in the Life

 The Library Day in the Life Project is a semi-annual event coordinated by Bobbi Newman of Librarian by Day. Twice a year librarians, library staff and library students from all over the globe share a day (or week) in their life through blog posts, photos, video and Twitter updates.

Any one who works in a library can participate. You may share your day (or week) on your blog, Twitter, Flickr and/or YouTube (or any other way you choose). If you have none of these don't worry, just create a new page in the wiki and post your day there. Once you decided on your format(s)

1. Create a PB works account (it's free)!

 

http://librarydayinthelife.pbworks.com/w/page/48173078/Round%208%2C%20January%2030th%20through%20February%205th%202012

Reading for Social Peace

Inspired by the National Library of Maldives reading campaign "Reading for Social Peace", Yarra Plenty Library has teamed up with children's book publishers Wilkins Farago to encourage Australian kids to read with a questioning and open mind, and to use their reading to stimulate thought and discussion about social peace.

By joining this project, you too can discover the power of books, writing and art to help us think about the world around us, and imagine how we can make it a better, more peaceful place.

Read. Imagine. Create.

- What does 'social peace' mean to you?

- What does social peace mean within your school, in your family, and among your friends?

- How does social peace relate to your local community, town or city?

- How does social peace effect the environment?

- What does social peace mean in world politics?

‍The focus book for the launch of the Reading for Social Peace project is The Bear with the Sword by Davide Cali and Gianluca Foli...

 

 

http://readingforsocialpeace.wikispaces.com/

Magic Food Bus delivers books and healthy foods for children

The popular program delivering local vegetables and library books in Sedgwick will return in July. Every Friday from July 6-August 24, the Magic Food Bus will make five stops in Sedgwick to deliver library books and locally grown vegetables for children and adults. Sedgwick Elementary School librarian Margaret Bixby will be driving the Magic Food Bus again, but this year it will be a rented, maroon cargo van.   

Along with a variety of in-season vegetables, the Magic Food Bus will distribute recipes, general storage and preparation tips, and information on local farms. The vegetables are provided free of charge (donations are accepted, but not required). This year the Sargentville Public Library is supplying library books for adults in addition to the children's books provided by the Sedgwick Elementary School. This summer the Magic Food Bus will be closely tied to the new Ready by 21 Summer Math and Reading Challenge, with age appropriate math games and supplies for a fun summer reading program available at every stop. The Magic Food Bus is expanding.

http://weeklypacket.com/news/2012/jun/28/magic-food-bus-returns-to-sedgwick/

 

Dumbarton Elementary School and their Indian tribe presentation

Last year, students in Rebecca Kelley's fourth grade class at Dumbarton Elementary School (outside Richmond, Virginia) delivered a presentation seeking state recognition for the Gv-he American Indian tribe. The project was supervised by Kelley and school librarian Suzanna L. Panter.

The goal was for the students to demonstrate how their fictitious Gv-he tribe—gv-he is Cherokee for Wildcats, the school's mascot—had maintained its Indian identity throughout history, proved their direct descent and met the Virginia state requirements of social distinction.

According to Panter, the project started by attempting to follow the criteria for state recognition as mandated by the commonwealth of Virginia. "Following these guidelines, the students began to make their own documents and other related materials. Then we got to see the actual items and documents when Chief Lynette Allston met with the students." Students made their case to a mock Virginia Council on Indians (VCI) in front of approximately 21 fellow students, a few parents and school officials, and Chief Allston of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, which was awarded Virginia state recognition in February 2010.

The students reviewed hundreds of pages and documents of the Nottoway Indian tribe of Virginia's submission for state recognition, which had been presented to the VCI. "We hoped to show different perspectives of history," says Panter. "The students learned about American Indians of the past for state requirements. We also integrated fluency skills throughout the project and taught students language-art skills, how to use search engines, access and evaluate resources. It was a bonus [that] Lynette became involved. We blew the state standards of learning out of the water."

In March 2012, Dumbarton Elementary School was given two Henrico 21 awards, a school district–level award for exceptional lesson plans that incorporate 21st century skills, and the school's library was named School Library of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Librarians. This was the first time an elementary school won the award.

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/06/27/fourth-graders-follow-virginia%e2%80%99s-process-for-tribe-certification-get-lesson-in-injustice-120647#ixzz1z3Pfuz67

 

Casino and lottery grants

Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission

Government of Alberta agency responsible for administering the Gaming and Liquor Act, Regulation and related policy.

 

Business focuses on:

• ensuring the gaming and liquor activities in Alberta are conducted honestly, openly and with integrity, and
• maximizing the economic benefits of gaming and liquor activities in the province to benefit all Albertans.

                   

http://aglc.ca/default.asp

Alberta Lottery Fund grants

Applying for a Grant

Each year thousands of non-profit/volunteer organizations in Alberta require funding for a variety of projects and initiatives. This year, the Alberta Lottery Fund will re-invest $1.5 billion in communities across the province. Some of this funding is available to these organizations through various lottery-funded grant programs.

The Ministry of Culture oversees funding for the following granting programs and foundations:

• Community Spirit Program (CSP)
• Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP)
• Community Initiatives Program (CIP)
• Other Initiatives Program (OIP)
• Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA)
• Alberta Historical Resources Foundation (AHRA)
• Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund (HREMF)

The Ministry of Tourism, Parks, and Recreation oversees funding for the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation (ASRPWF) and its granting programs.

To see examples of projects and organizations who have received funding, visit our searchable database.

 

 

http://albertalotteryfund.ca/applyingforagrant/default.asp

Learner Lesson Plan Database

Welcome to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database, a tool to support school librarians and other educators in teaching the essential learning skills defined in the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner.

 

Users can search the database for lesson plans by learning standards and indicators, content topic, grade-level, resources used, type of lesson or schedule, keyword and much more. In addition, registered users can bookmark lesson plans in a portfolio for future use, rate and comment on lesson plans in the community, print to PDF and socially share lesson plans on the web, and create and publish their own lesson plans in the database.

 

The American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database is a tool to support school librarians and other educators in teaching the essential learning skills defined in the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. To register and begin using the Lesson Plan Database, visit http://aasl.jesandco.org.

http://aasl.jesandco.org/content/passport-through-library

http://aasl.jesandco.org/content/researching-favorite-author

 

The AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database is a part of Learning4Life – a national implementation plan to supports states, school systems, and individual schools preparing to implement the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs.

Find other Learning4Life resources on the AASL website at www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards. For more information on AASL's plan for implementing the new learning standards and program guidelines, visit www.ala.org/aasl/learning4life.

Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

The "Top 25" Websites foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.

• Media Sharing
• Digital Storytelling
• Manage & Organize
• Social Networking & Communication
• Content Resources
• Curriculum Collaboration

 

The websites are: Projeqt, Gamestar Mechanic, Vialogues, Popplet, Jux, Comic Master, My Storymaker, Inanimate Alice, Quicklyst, Spidercribe, Stixy, Remember the Milk, Celly, Wiggio, Collaborize Classroom, Study Ladder, History Pin, Learn it in 5, ARKive, DocsTeach, iWitness, How to Smile, Study Blue, NASA Kids Club, and Springnote.

 

Read more at http://www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/bestlist/bestwebsitestop25