Rock Island, IL: Technology takes the spotlight for teens at the Rock Island Public Library with two events offered in support of Teen Tech Week, March 5-11, 2017.
On Tuesday, Feb. 7, teens can get help making a video entry for the Quad Cities-wide Teen Tech Week YouTube Challenge. The library will offer "You Be the Director!" from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street. During the event, teens and tweens in grades 6 to 12 can use the library's video cameras to create a 3 to 5 minute video entry on themes such as "Let's Play" or "Being the Source of Change" for the You Tube video contest. Library staff will help teens plan and upload their video. The event is free.
Teen Tech Week is March 5-11, with the theme "Be the Source of Change." Quad City area public libraries collaborate to offer the Teen Tech Week YouTube Challenge contest. Teens may enter individually or as a team of up to five people. Rock Island entries are due by Thursday, March 1. Winners in the Viewer's Choice and Librarian's Choice categories win $100 each. All videos will be shown at the free YouTube Challenge Premiere Party on Tues, March 7 at the Putnam Museum. Entry forms are available at all local libraries.
Teen Tech Week is celebrated annually in March by the Young Adult Library Services Association to help build information literacy among teens."We want teens to be content creators, because that process helps them think more critically about the content they consume, its source, and the motivations involved," said Emily Tobin, Young Adult Librarian at the Rock Island Public Library.
In a continuation of the focus on technology, the library will also offer a Teen Coding Night on Thursday, March 16. Teens can learn how to create the video games that they already play, with a basic session on coding with the Scratch program. Participants will play coding games, and practice simple coding on the library laptops. The event is from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Main Library is and for ages 12 to 18.
For more details on library events and services, visit www.rockislandlibrary.
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