[kids-lib] What cool tech do you use in your programs?

Sat Mar 24 17:02:12 PDT 2018

Hi. We have Littlebits, Lego MIndstorm EV3, and Spheros at Ashland Library. It is a popular program. I've had the Littlebits for a couple of years and they are used, but they are also high maintenance. I have several sets, but would recommend the Gizmos and Gadgets over all the others, followed by the Synth set (but only if you like noise). :-) Everyone loves the Lego robotics. I have core and expansion sets. And also the sphero are very popular. I haven't bought IPads to go with them yet, but for now the kids & parents just use the Bluetooth with their phones. 

Esther Mortensen
Teen Librarian, Ashland Branch Library
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From: Kids-lib <kids-lib-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us> on behalf of GUSTAVSON LuCinda <lgustavson at springfield-or.gov>
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2018 12:46 PM
To: kids-lib at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: [PossibleSpam] Re: [kids-lib] What cool tech do you use in your programs?

We love Snap Circuits here at Springfield Public Library. The smaller Snap Circuits Jr kit is quite affordable and has 101 projects. More than enough to keep kids engaged for 90 minutes. We also have Little Bits, but they are not as popular. They are a little more complicated to use and a lot more expensive.

LuCinda Gustavson
Springfield Public Library
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From: Kids-lib <kids-lib-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us> on behalf of kids-lib-request at listsmart.osl.state.or.us <kids-lib-request at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
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Subject: Kids-lib Digest, Vol 181, Issue 20

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Today's Topics:

   1. What cool tech do you use in your programs? (Gretchen Kolderup)
   2. What cool tech do you use in your programs? (Greta Bergquist)

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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2018 14:02:49 -0700
From: Gretchen Kolderup <gretchenkolderup at gmail.com>
To: kids-lib at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: [kids-lib] What cool tech do you use in your programs?
Message-ID:
        <CALZDHEoWzKC8rHz0hnSuvSqNeKGx7rANpX2h1kjo1dOxPjHGyA at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some recommendations! What's your favorite educational
technology you've been using for school-age programs?

Background: We've had positive community response to coding workshops
(using various Hour of Code apps on our iPads), stop-motion animation
workshops (again using an iPad app plus a giant pile of toys and craft
supplies), and our Dot and Dash robotics <https://www.makewonder.com/>
workshops. We've also used our Ozobots <https://ozobot.com/> here and there
for both programs and outreach.

I'd like to expand what we can offer next fall, and I'm wondering what you
all have used and liked. LittleBits? Sphereo? Osmo? Here are my primary
constraints:

   - Needs to be something that can be used over and over (i.e., nothing
   that gets put together once and then stays that way)
   - Should be a good experience for kids ages 7-12 or so (I'm looking for
   something with a low floor and a high ceiling)
   - Can't require us to have a fleet of Chromebooks or computers or
   anything that we can use during the program (although we do have iPads)
   - Fits nicely into our current format of four sessions, each 90 minutes
   long, with about 12-15 kids working in pairs (this also puts price
   constraints on what I'm looking for since I'm planning to buy ~6 of them)
   - Bonus points if it might one day lend itself to being circulated as a
   kit -- while we're not there yet, I think that might be another direction
   in which our offerings evolve
   - Double bonus points if you're also in the Portland metro area and
   would be willing to let me borrow whatever you're suggesting from you and
   noodle around with it for a week or two! (And obviously this is reciprocal:
   if anyone's curious about Dot and Dash or the Ozobots, I'd be happy to show
   them to you!)

Thanks a lot, everyone!

Gretchen Kolderup
Youth Librarian
St. Helens Public Library
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2018 21:53:41 +0000
From: Greta Bergquist <greta.bergquist at state.or.us>
To: "Kids-lib (kids-lib at listsmart.osl.state.or.us)"
        <kids-lib at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Subject: [kids-lib] What cool tech do you use in your programs?
Message-ID:
        <031EE28E9341734C8BCB8E3D901213348B9205 at OSLEXCHANGE.osl.state.or.us.local>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

At my last library, Little Bits were a huge hit for 8-12 year olds in a weekly Wednesday night maker kids program. Pros: Lots of room for variety of experiments, easy to use & get ideas for. Super fun and lots of concepts you could tie into. Cons: a bit pricey and I found they needed to be replaced more often than say, Dash and Dot components.  Also, if you have kids younger than 8, some of the younger kids don?t have the fine motor skills yet for them, the little bits pieces are quite tiny. Below is a picture of a bubble maker fan we made with Little Bits last year:

[cid:image003.jpg at 01D3C2B6.BB6E22B0]

I was able to play with Osmo a little bit by sharing it with another library, but it wasn?t as big a hit for my kids ? I found that it?s fine for gaming, but for kids who want to truly experiment and make something tangible that they can point to creating, this might not be the best tool. I found it worked well as an add-on component to a program, but not the whole program itself.  But since I didn?t have access to it all the time, others may have a different experience ? anyone else use and like Osmo?

Happy Friday,

Greta B

Greta Bergquist
Youth Services Consultant
503-378-2528 | www.oregon.gov/osl<http://www.oregon.gov/osl>
Follow us: Facebook<http://fb.me/StateLibraryOR> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/StateLibraryOR> | Tumblr<http://www.statelibraryor.tumblr.com/> | Pinterest<https://pinterest.com/statelibraryor/>

[cid:image004.png at 01D3C2B6.BB6E22B0]

From: Kids-lib [mailto:kids-lib-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Gretchen Kolderup
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2018 2:03 PM
To: kids-lib at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: [kids-lib] What cool tech do you use in your programs?

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some recommendations! What's your favorite educational technology you've been using for school-age programs?

Background: We've had positive community response to coding workshops (using various Hour of Code apps on our iPads), stop-motion animation workshops (again using an iPad app plus a giant pile of toys and craft supplies), and our Dot and Dash robotics<https://www.makewonder.com/> workshops. We've also used our Ozobots<https://ozobot.com/> here and there for both programs and outreach.

I'd like to expand what we can offer next fall, and I'm wondering what you all have used and liked. LittleBits? Sphereo? Osmo? Here are my primary constraints:

  *   Needs to be something that can be used over and over (i.e., nothing that gets put together once and then stays that way)
  *   Should be a good experience for kids ages 7-12 or so (I'm looking for something with a low floor and a high ceiling)
  *   Can't require us to have a fleet of Chromebooks or computers or anything that we can use during the program (although we do have iPads)
  *   Fits nicely into our current format of four sessions, each 90 minutes long, with about 12-15 kids working in pairs (this also puts price constraints on what I'm looking for since I'm planning to buy ~6 of them)
  *   Bonus points if it might one day lend itself to being circulated as a kit -- while we're not there yet, I think that might be another direction in which our offerings evolve
  *   Double bonus points if you're also in the Portland metro area and would be willing to let me borrow whatever you're suggesting from you and noodle around with it for a week or two! (And obviously this is reciprocal: if anyone's curious about Dot and Dash or the Ozobots, I'd be happy to show them to you!)
Thanks a lot, everyone!

Gretchen Kolderup
Youth Librarian
St. Helens Public Library

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