Some end of the year lists worth a look

At this time of year we are often thinking about lists of numbers so here are a couple of others to peruse:

5 Things We Know about College Students in 2014, published by The Chronicle of Higher Education which summarizes the findings of a recent survey:

• They love Apple
• Print is not dead to them
• They are not that into Twitter
• They think libraries and computer labs are swell
• They have not ditched scholarly works for Wikipedia

Of course, I particularly liked the positive comments about libraries and I found this pretty consistent  with observations of our own high school students and with scholarly studies such as those profiled by Emily Singley in How College Students *Really* Do Research. 

100 Top Tools for Learning 2014 – which includes results from the 8^th annual survey.  Based in the UK, this survey compiles results from learning professionals in 61 countries.  The top ten are shown nearby.  

School Library Journal also publishes several lists of top Apps, Books, Tech and More.

For more top 100’s see these Book lists:

• 100 Notable Books of 2014 from New York Times
• Amazon which includes picks from editors and customers
• Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifelong Learners (2014) from YALSA
• Economist
• Good Reads for numerous categories, as voted by readers
• Slate Staff Recommendations

 Above image from SLJ's Best Adult Books 4 Teens 2014

Prefer a video instead? Here are the 10 Best TED Talks of 2014 for Educators.   And one personal suggestion that combines tech and art: Tim’s Vermeer is a fascinating movie about an attempt to replicate the work of Vermeer using lenses and innovative technology from the 17th century. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and highly recommend it.  And for fun - an absolute favorite created by students at Mount Desert Island High School in Maine:

There are many, many more lists … feel free to share your favorites in the comment space below.

What We’re
Intrigued by/Reading/Watching
Right Now…

Mr. Stuczynski:  
“TED talk that I saw recently made an impression upon me because it deals with both marketing and leadership and how great leaders and companies sell emotions/feelings rather than facts and give people what THEY themselves want rather than what the leaders want.”  http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

Ms. Brennan:
“Video Games:  An Hour A Day is Key to Success in Life.”

Ms. Lazar:
“A link to a blogpost from  Rich in Color (Rich in Color is dedicated to reading, reviewing, talking about, and otherwise promoting young adult fiction starring people of color or written by people of color. ) The post is short but also includes a link to  the Youtube Adichie’s TEDTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story,”  I invite others to watch or rematch this 18 minute talk "just to remind ourselves the power books."
http://richincolor.com/2014/11/blacklivesmatter/

Ms. Burns:
This is a brief story about how an artist works with books....

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bespoke-libraries-joining-book-love-with-interior-design/  

Ms. Novak:  
My article is an episode of This American Life but it also exists as a transcript.  It is a story on the school to prison pipeline and has stayed with me particularly since Ferguson.  I think it speaks a lot to the impact we have as educators on students of color. It is in Act One - Time Out
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/538/transcript

Ms. Straube:  
Written by a Systems Librarian at Harvard, this is really 7 articles in one, given the bibliography.

It seemed appropriate, given approaching Junior Themes.  http://emilysingley.net/how-college-students-really-do-research-findings-from-recent-studies/

Ms. O'Malley:  
Climbing to Excellence:  Defining Characteristics of Successful Learning Commons

Ms. Peterson:  
This Will Revolutionize Education - video

Critical Digital Literacy Explained - Blog post

Mr. Garneau:
These Bookish Millenials Make Memes Worth Reading Into  
Companion Link:  http://www.themillions.com/2014/01/read-me-please-book-titles-rewritten-to-get-more-clicks.html

Ms. Neirick:
“Teens to Celebrate “Hour of Code” Programs Starting December 8th”

Ms. Immel:“What Do You Put in your Classroom to Change Behavior?”
“Librarianship:  A Philosophical Investigation”