September 2012 Resources Highlighted

Powerful Interactions

How to connect with children to extend their learning

by Amy Laura Dombro, Judy Jablon, and Charlotte Stetson

This reflective guide describes what Powerful Interactions are, why they are important and the steps to take to transform everyday interactions into Powerful Interactions. You’ll find many specific strategies to help you bring all three Powerful Interaction steps to life with the children in your program.

Mind in the Making

The seven essential life skills every child needs

 by Ellen Galinsky

What does it take for children to achieve their full potential, take on life’s challenges, communicate well with others, and remain committed to learning? These aren’t skills that children just pick up; they have to be fostered. They are the skills that will prepare children for the pressures of modern life, skills they will draw on now and in the years to come.

The Digital Divide

Arguments for and against Facebook, Google, texting and the Age of Social Networking

edited and introduced by Mark Bauerlein

There is still much debate about how social media technologies are rewriting our futures. This definitive work on the perils and promise of the social-media revolution cuts through the clamour with the very best writings from each side of the digital divide to help readers make more informed decisions about the place of technology in their lives.

Too Big to Know

Rethinking knowledge now that the facts aren’t the facts, experts are everywhere, and the smartest person in the room is the room

By David Weinberger

This is the greatest time in history to be a knowledge seeker – if you know how. The author shows how networked knowledge increases understanding and how it enables people to make smarter decisions than they could when they had to reply on traditional sources of expertise. A compelling vision of the future of knowledge in a connected world.

The Shallows

What the Internet Is doing to our brains

by Nicholas Carr

As we enjoy the Net’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? This compelling exploration of the Internet’s intellectual and cultural consequences describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by “tools of the mind.” Carr interweaves a fascinating account of recent discoveries in neuroscience. Our brains change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store, and share information can literally reroute our neural pathways.