2015 Teen Tech Week Grant Winner – Tricia George

by

YOUmedia Hartford is a digital learning and maker space for teens ages 13-19.  The space is a research-informed, informal learning environment utilizing principles of connected learning, the HOMAGO learning theory and positive youth development.  Students come to Hang Out, Mess Around and Geek Out in content areas that include video and photo production, music production, game design, computer programming, design and making.  Through partnerships with local artists and professionals, businesses, schools and other informal learning spaces, students discover new opportunities and build knowledge and skills in areas of interest.  For instance, this coming summer students will work with award-winning producer Quadeer Shakur to produce, distribute and market a Best of Hartford Hip Hop album.  Others will work with a local botanist to build a hydroponic window garden from recycled materials.  Still more will enter 3D modeling, design and film contests under the guidance of our mentors.  Hundreds others will seek help with homework and personal projects, meet new friends and attend social events.

For Teen Tech Week the YOUmedia Hartford staff wanted to get out of the library and into classrooms, and so we did!  Through partnerships with several local schools we were able to take e-textiles and stop motion animation workshops on the road.  The projects showcased the variety of activities available at YOUmedia and to expose students to the processes behind some very fun and practical technologies.  These workshops also acted as carrots to attract new youth to the space, so that they might find themselves immersed in a resource-rich environment, staffed with knowledgeable mentors and full-to-the-brim with other young people exploring similar pursuits.  All of the materials used for the workshops are available freely to any youth in the space.

Read More →

Instagram of the Week: March 9th

by

How do You Celebrate Cultures?

A brief look at ‘grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

During the year there are many celebrations to participate in. This month, Holi, a Hindu celebration of colors, was one that we wanted to celebrate at our library. Below you will see ‘grams that picture what Holi is and also how we celebrated it, but looking in to celebrating cultures many factors can take play. How do you decide what cultures to celebrate? What happens if you leave one out? Will you have time to incorporate them all? Will you offend someone if you offer or don’t offer a program? If you have any tried and true methods, please feel free to comment and let us know how you go about having cultural programs. We have quite a large system, so I must say we are lucky in the fact that if my location isn’t doing a certain program, chances are another one is. Also, what great cultural programs have you implemented and how did you make it library friendly? For our Holi program, we were not about to let the teens throw the powder on each other and then track it all through the library later so we let them use the powder as another way to “tye dye” t-shirts.

Instagram of the Week: February 16

by

A brief look at ‘grams of interest to engage teens and librarians navigating this social media platform.

February is Library Lovers’ Month, a close but sometimes ignored cousin of National Library Week in April. There is no elaborate, ALA-driven campaign for Library Lovers’ Month, just an older website with resources and links that are still active (and helpful!). However, it should come as no surprise that many public and school libraries have initiated innovative programming, displays, and outreach that often combine the concepts behind Library Lovers’ Month and February’s more popular celebration, Valentine’s Day.

The initial campaign identified #libraryloversmonth as, “… a time for everyone, especially library support groups, to recognize the value of libraries and to work to assure that the Nation’s libraries will continue to serve” (librarysupport.net). As other national campaigns evolved, #libraryloversmonth was given the chance to morph into an informally awesome celebration. Individual libraries define #libraryloversmonth as they see fit; some libraries heavily incorporate Valentine’s Day (romance-themed book displays, card-making workshops), while others focus on the love between patrons and their libraries. Interestingly enough, a quick survey of Instagram’s content “proves” the biggest participants in #libraryloversmonth are teens and middle grade children. Keep working the YA love, librarians!

Is your library participating in Library Lovers Month? What programs did your library develop? Do you have a favorite Library Lovers Month campaign? Share in the comments below!

Read More →

How are you preparing for Teen Tech Week?

by

Teen Tech Week is right around the corner and we all know that it takes a ton of planning to make this short week awesome. We also know that not all of our teens geek out with the techy stuff. How do you geek out for teen tech week when your teens aren’t really interested? Comment below and let us know.

How do you plan your teen tech week? Where do you get your ideas? Take a look at the cool instagram posts below and see what has been done. For some other ideas that Charlotte Mecklenburg will be using, try floppy disk notebooks, or the game Charades that can be played from a smart phone. Also, 3Doodlers are a huge hit and also making music remixes. What are some successes and fails that you’ve had? We all have things that work out great and some that just fall flat. Comment below and tell us your story.

script>