Video Games in the Library?

I hate to admit it, but I am an absolute novice when it comes to video games. I have never really felt the urge to play them. I spend too many hours on the computer and on my smartphone as it is, so video games just never held any attraction for me. That doesn’t mean I’m against them at all. After researching the subject, I have come to the conclusion that they definitely have a place in a library’s collection and may also be beneficial in an educational setting.
Here are some choices I made that I think are suitable for a public library. What video games would you like to see in your library?

Forza 5 Motorsport
Platform: Xbox One
ESRB rating: E
Forza 5 Motorsport is a car racing game that was released in November, 2013 as the fifth installment in the Forza Motorsport series. The graphics are brilliant and make any car enthusiast feel like a real-life race car driver. This fast game can be played in single or multiplayer mode and helps develop such cognitive skills as faster reaction times, improved decision making, and multitasking. Players also learn about car models, engines, parts, and their operation.  Since Forza 5 is fun, educational, and appropriate for all ages, I would say it is a good choice for a public library.

Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)
Platforms: PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360, PC.
I like a video game that gets you out of your chair and pushes your heart rate up. Exercise is good for the body and mind! Players stand on a pad or platform and hit colored arrows laid out in a cross with their feet to musical and visual cues. This game is suitable for all ages and makes exercising fun. The health benefits of exercise are well established. DDR I believe would be a great addition to a library video game collection since it promotes physical fitness for the whole family.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
This first-person shooter video game will not be released until later this year. It is the third in the hugely popular Call of Duty Black Ops series. The game takes place in a dystopian future where science and technology have changed humans. Black ops soldiers with superhuman capabilities are on a secret mission in the game. This game was not a natural choice for me, since I don’t really enjoy violent entertainment. However, I am a firm believer in giving people what they want, and it seems Call of Duty is at the top of almost every gamers list. Every patron I talked to and asked about video games, mentioned Call of Duty. That’s exactly why I chose it. I wasn’t entirely sure what educational benefit one would gain from such a game, but research seems to have shown that Call of Duty has its positives.

I found several articles that confirmed the educational benefits of Call of Duty. I decided to cite this article: Video Games and Higher Education: What Can “Call of Duty” Teach Our Students. The authors claim that video games such as Call of Duty are cognitively stimulating, motivating, and improve visual acuity. They argue that “for the student there is value in ‘edutainment’ as an effective learning process that blurs the line between work and play, maintaining initial levels of concentration through the equilibrium of entertainment and education.”

Video Games and Higher Education: What Can “Call of Duty” Teach Our Students?
Nick Tannahill, Patrick Tissington, Carl Senior. (2012).Frontiers in Psychology. 2012; 3: 210. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00210

Wizard 101

I recently ventured into unknown territory and explored the virtual universe of the Spiral. That's a first for me! While I play the occasional game on my smartphone, I have never really felt the urge to play video games, until I was forced to for a class assignment. Let me tell you, traveling to foreign lands is something I enjoy regularly, but online worlds are something entirely different! After a few hours of learning the basics and fighting my first creatures though, I was hooked. Wizard 101 is great fun and will keep players occupied for a very long time!
Check out my travel video into the world of wizards. Maybe we'll meet somewhere in Wizard City?

"Scratch" that!

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned Scratch the free programming language created by MIT? 
I just created this educational game below as my first project with Scratch. It was fun but took a lot more hours to figure out than I expected. Thankfully there are numerous resources to get you started or find help: How-to books, online tutorials, wikis, discussion forums, and you can also look at other people's code.
Give it a try yourself! Scratch

For the game, click on the states with the correct capitals before they disappear, and you will earn 2 points per state. If you click on a state with the wrong capital, 3 points will be deducted from your score.
There are a total of 22 states that will glide across the map.
The maximum score is 28.  Enjoy!

U.S. State Capitals

We've been crafty!

Check out the photo gallery for some pictures of the CD Scratch Art and Zentangle Programs.
Here's a quick slide show of the zentangle plates the teens made last week. If you want to join in the fun, we are meeting one more time to create zentangle greeting cards and mandalas on Wednesday, May 8th from 6-8pm. Call the library to register (302) 378 5588.

The slide show was created on my iPhone with Flipagram - a free app that's easy and fun to use. You can produce slideshows in just a few minutes!

Teen Volunteer Fair

Turn your passion into action! Volunteer!

The Appoquinimink Library in partnership with the DE State Office of Volunteerism will host a Teen Volunteer Fair for teens ages 12-18 and their parents/guardians. Meet representatives from 19 local non-profit organizations and learn about volunteer opportunities.

Wednesday, April 29th

Meet and Greet: 6:30pm-8:pm

Informational Session I: 6:30pm

Informational Session II: 7:15pm

Teens, this is your chance to find a volunteer position that fulfills your community service hours or honor society requirements. Volunteer hours also look good on college and scholarship applications! 

And you might just find that:

The best way to find yourself

is to lose yourself

in the service of others.

-Mahatma Gandhi 

I hope to see you there!

School is cool! Don't become a statistic!

I recently came across some interesting facts while reading an article about high school dropouts which prompted me to investigate further. Since I didn't want to bombard you with too many facts, I turned some of the data into graphs. Please take a look!

Did you know?

• Each year over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States.

• Students who don't read proficiently by the 3rd grade are 4 times more likely to drop out of school.
  

• While males roughly made up half of the 16- to 24-year-old age group in 2013, they made up 54 percent of the dropouts.

• The percentage of graduating Latino students has significantly increased. In 2010, 71.4% received their diploma vs. 61.4% in 2006.

• Asian-American and white students are still far more likely to graduate than Latino & African-American students.

• Almost 2,000 high schools across the U.S. graduate less than 60% of their students.

• These “dropout factories” account for over 50% of the students who leave school every year.

• 1 in 3 minority students (32%) attend a dropout factory, compared to 8% of white students.

Earnings and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment 2014

Education attained	Unemployment rate (%)	Median weekly earnings
Doctoral degree	2.1	$1591
Professional degree	1.9	$1639
Master's degree	2.8	$1326
Bachelor's degree	3.5	$1101
Associate's degree	4.5	$792
Some college	6.0	$741
High school diploma	6.0	$668
High school dropout	9.0	$488

• A high school dropout will earn $200,000 less than a high school graduate over his/her lifetime. And almost a million dollars less than a college graduate.

• 90% of high school dropouts are on welfare.

• High school dropouts exact an economic toll on society. Each year's class of dropouts will cost the country over $200 billion during their lifetimes in lost earnings and unrealized tax revenue.

Be smart! Graduate!

Help!

I would like to start a library literacy program with teen volunteers who are willing to partner with elementary school students who need to improve their reading and comprehension skills. Please contact me, if you are interested in volunteering and making a difference in your community! This is your chance to prevent future high school students from becoming dropouts and to change the statistics! Not to mention that it also looks good on college applications... ;) 

Sources

Graphs: 

Child Trends Data Bank. (2014). High School Dropout Rates. In Indicators. Retrieved from

http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=high-school-dropout-rates
Facts:
DoSomething.Org . (2015). 11 Facts About High School Dropouts. In Facts. Retrieved from
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-high-school-dropout-rates
National Dropout Prevention Center . (2015). Economic Impacts of Dropouts. In Statistics.
Retrieved from http://www.dropoutprevention.org/statistics/quick-facts/economic-impactsdropouts

More tech stuff

Some of you are likely going to take the SAT sometime in the future. Start preparing by answering the Question of the Day on a regular basis. You can find the official SAT Question of the Day by going to sat.org/qotd, by following @SATQuestion on Twitter, or by downloading the free app for your iPhone or iPad. There are hints and explanations for each question and a tally of how many students answered correctly. 

Responsible digital citizenship is important when you are online - not only to keep you safe, but also to protect others' rights.
I searched the web for a great infographic of the dos and don'ts of how to conduct yourself online. The following, in my opinion, is a great example. The site is British, so you might be unfamiliar with some of the spelling, but the content is well worth reading! 
(The site gives permission to use the inforgraphic. Remember copyright laws!) Click here or on the picture to get to the website and the actual infographic.