Check Out This New Book Creator Feature! You Can Now Organize Your Libraries!

 

I couldn't love this new Book Creator feature more, friends. 

We can now organize our Libraries within Book Creator! 

At the top, we can now search My libraries, Shared with me, Central libraries, and Search for a library. 

We can move libraries around and organize them in our library. 

And I love how we can click on each libraries icon to change it up with different icons and colors. This is a helpful way to also organize within our Book Creator library. 

You can read more about this amazing new feature on the Book Creator blog. 

I know you are going to love it too! 

Get Your Copy Of The Digital ISTE Live 25 Conference Notebook From Book Creator Today, Friends.

               

Are you at ISTE Live 25 this week?  Or attending virtually?  

I have the perfect place for you to document your session notes, and to share your thoughts, reflections, and memories with your team and colleagues.  

It's the digital conference notebook from Book Creator!  

Remix the ISTELive25 Notebook and get your notebook ready!  

There are so many pages to choose from including pages for learning goals, 

speaker sessions, overall thoughts, favorite quotes, 

questions, connections, favorite memories, and more. 

I remixed a copy and have been looking through the ISTE Live 25 conference site adding my schedule and other events I don't want to miss. 

I also visited the schedule for all of our amazing Book Creator booth events, 

including mine of Monday and Tuesday, and added them to my conference notebook. 

I can't wait to see you in San Antonio, friends. 

Get Book Creator today and get ready for an amazing week together. 

ISTE Live 2025 Is Here & This Is Where I Will Be This Week, Friends!

                  

I am so excited that ISTE is here!  I am here in San Antonio and can't wait to connect with all of you. 

This is an extra special year as my new early reader chapter book series, ISTE Digital Explorers, published with ISTE and Capstone, debuts at the conference. 

I put together my schedule for the week here in this Book Creator book.  I have so many special presentations, booth visits, author events, librarian playground and more. 

I will be adding more pages to this book during the conference including my presentations, resources, and project ideas for you to bring back from ISTE Live 2025.

And guess what, friends?

We have the BEST ISTE Digital Explorers Scavenger Hunt planned throughout the conference.  

There are very special prizes with Book Creator, BreakoutEDU, Capstone, MergeEDU, Novel Effect, Kai's Education, and STEMfinity. I can't wait to share the details with all of you!  You won't want to miss out on this fun with amazing prizes from lots of edtech friends. 

I hope to see you this week at ISTE Live 2025 this summer.  It's going to be a wonderful event of learning, sharing, creating and fun together. 

You've Been Book'd With Books About Sharks For Shark Week, July 20-26, 2026

 

We celebrate Shark Week,, July 20-26, 2025. 

This is such an exciting week as we learn, watch, and celebrate sharks. 

To celebrate, I brought together 17 shark themed books.  These are perfect for Shark Week and to read all year long with your shark lovers.  

Just click on each book cover to find each book, and the entire list, in Titlewave. 

You will find You've Been Book'd With Books About Sharks for Shark Week choice board here.

Have fun reading and learning about shark this summer, friends. 

Episode 3 of STEM in the Stacks With The Van STEAM Bus and Merge EDU is Here, Friends!

 

Episode 3 of STEM in the Stacks is here!

In this episode, Jennifer Sancedio-Boatman and I spoke with the Van STEAM Bus

and Merge EDU.

They will both be at ISTE so make sure you visit the Van STEAM Bus and the

Merge EDU booth.

You can watch this episode here.  It was such a fun and inspiring conversation.  

Join Me & 6 All-Star Guests For The PebbleGo Next Animals Game Show at ISTE Live 2025!

                

One of my favorite yearly ISTE traditions is the PebbleGo Game Show.  Over the last 5 years, we have welcome so many amazing All-Stars to our game show to play with lots of special attendees at the ISTE Conference.  

This year we are in San Antonio and we have a BIG surprise!  With PebbleGo Next Animals coming out this year, we are excited to celebrate with the PebbleGo Next Animals Game Show with 6 amazing All-Star guests joining me.  

For Round #1 on Monday at 10:00am in the PebbleGo Booth #1642, we have three teams featuring: 

Team Martha Bongiorno - Adobe for Education Community Manager

Team Manny Curiel - Global Community at Edpuzzle

Team Nicholas Provenzano - SchoolAI Community Manager 

For Round #2 on Tuesday at 1:00pm in the PebbleGo Booth #1642, we have three teams featuring:

Team David Hotter - Book Creator Community Manager 

Team Amanda Hunt - Our Texas Teacher Librarian All-Star

Team Adam Phyll - Director of Professional Learning at All4Ed 

To play, all you have to do is coming join one of these All-Star Teams during Round #1 or Round #2.  You pick which team to join and get ready for a whole lot of fun as we play the PebbleGo Animals Game Show.

And guess what?  Everyone is a winner in the PebbleGo Next Game Show! 

We can't wait to see you there, friends.  

I will be sharing more soon about other super fun events in the PebbleGo Booth, and a GIANT scavenger hunt with amazing giveaways to celebrate my new series, ISTE Digital Explorers, with ISTE and Capstone.  

It's going to be the BEST annual ISTE Conference yet!  

 

Get Your Future Ready Fan At ISTE, Friends! Find Out How!

 

Friend, are you heading to ISTELive25 in San Antonio?  

It's going to be hot, but we've got something cool for you! 

Stop any Future Ready team member, including Adam Phyall @AskAdam3 or myself @shannonmmiller, and grab your FREE Future Ready fan! 

Snap a pic, tag a friend, and share using #FutureReady #ISTE2025 #ISTELive25 

The July PebbleGo Calendar Is Here! I Love Turning It Into An Interactive Choice Board Too!

 

The NEW July 2025 PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next Monthly Holiday Calendar is here!  I love these calendars that our friends at Capstone share each month.

In this post, I share more about the PebbleGo Monthly Calendars. 

I love making paper copies of these to share with our teachers and kids. 

They hang them up in their classrooms and hang them in our library too. I also share them online through social media and as an image in Google Classroom or Seesaw. 

Here is the PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next July 2025 Holidays Calendar. 

Last year, when I was sharing the calendars with teachers and students, I thought....Hey, this would be really fun in a choice board! 

So, I opened up a Google Slide, uploaded the PebbleGo July 2025 Holidays Calendar, and added a little chalk board with text over the top.  

Then I went through the calendar and found every special day in PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next. 

For example, Canada Day is on July 1, so they have the Canada Day PebbleGo article featured. I went to PebbleGo and found the article in PebbleGo.

I grabbed the link, as shown in the image above.  

I took that link and added a linked text box around each special date. 

Now, when the kids click on a holiday, it will take them directly to that PebbleGo article.  

You will find the Google Slide here to make a copy and add links to the PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next articles. 

And to make it a choice board, just Publish to the web, as shown in this image above. 

You will share that Published Link with your students.  

I love sharing these interactive PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next Holiday Calendars with our students and teachers. They love learning all about these special days that are highlighted each month too.

I am excited to have the July 2025 PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next ready to go for the month. I hope you will find ways to use it with your students and teachers this month, and all throughout the school year too. 

The Fall 2025 Capstone Catalog Is Here!

 

The Fall 2025 Capstone catalog is here!  

It's filled with 100s of new books and so much fun.  And guess what?  

Sonia, Hagan, Ana and Jack are back in my new series, ISTE Digital Explorers. You can find all four on page 28 of the catalog. 

You can find the catalog online here, friends.

Get The State Award Book Posters and Lists Here, Friends!

 

I love getting the Iowa Award Books ready for the fall every year.  Our readers get so excited for all of the different books that make up these award lists from picture to young adult. 

I also get so many new book ideas and inspiration by checking out award lists from other states.  

Did you know that on Titlewave you will find the State Awards Lists with the free poster downloads too?  

It's so handy to be able to hop onto Titlewave here to explore the state award lists and winners. 

When you go to the State Award Lists, it will pull up your state resources.  Each award is linked to a Titlewave list that makes it easy to order your state award books. 

You will find the State Award Book Posters here. 

They are easy to download and print.  

I like to take these posters and make them into interactive posters with book trailers and author talks. I will share the Iowa ones when I have those done this summer. 

Happy Reading, friends. 

The July Book Creator Newsletter Is Here and Filled With So Many Exciting Updates and Events! Check It Out, Friends.

 

The July Book Creator newsletter is here and filled with so many exciting updates and events. 

Look what you will find in this amazing edition: 

From dashboard upgrades to PD workshops and back-to-school prep, we’ve packed this issue with everything you need to power up your teaching toolkit.

Organize your libraries with our most-requested new feature

Get ready for ISTELive 2025 with our official hub

Explore our full PD Menu for schools and districts

Register for our Back to School webinar series

Dive into daily creativity with the July Activity Journal

Plus: A one-page guide for assigning licenses

Check it out today, friends.

The Future Ready Librarians Summit Is Coming To Nashville, Tennessee On July 24th....Join Us, Friends!

We are excited to announce that our Future Ready Librarians Summit will be coming to Nashville, Tennessee on July 24, 2025! 

Join us for the Future Ready Librarians (FRL) Summit, an inspiring professional learning event designed to empower district librarians as catalysts for change. Discover how you can lead from the library and become a driving force for innovation in today’s ever-evolving educational landscape.

What to Expect:

• Dive deep into the Future Ready Librarian framework and learn how to foster 21st-century skills through your library programs.
• Gain insights into effective communication, collaboration techniques, and leadership strategies tailored to your unique environment.
• Explore opportunities to actively contribute to curriculum development and instructional design.
• Learn from successful collaboration models between librarians and other educators.
• Discover new tools and resources to enhance library services and amplify student learning.
• Utilize digital platforms to empower student voices and creativity.

You can register here for this FREE one-day event for all librarians. We would LOVE to see you there, friends. It's going to be an amazing day together. 

That's a Wrap! You Will Find The Leading From The Library Podcast Season 10 Recap and All 12 Episodes Here, Friends.

 

We have wrapped up Season 10 of the Leading From The Library podcast series. 

This season we had such an all-star lineup of guests!  We took a deep dive into the evolving landscape of library leadership, providing valuable insights, strategies and inspiration for librarians.  This season explores various topics relevant to book love, library management, innovation, community engagement,  the role of libraries in the digital age, and being a librarian on an island! 

As shared online, 

Season 10 of Leading from the Library celebrated the voices, vision, and innovation of Future Ready Librarians® across the country. Host Shannon McClintock Miller engaged with inspiring school librarians, educators, and thought leaders who transformed library spaces and redefined leadership in education. This season explored powerful topics such as: • Graphic novels as tools for social justice • Play-based learning in libraries • Digital citizenship and media literacy • Creativity and curiosity in elementary spaces • Building community through shared library programs • Empowering students as creators and leaders Whether you were a veteran librarian, a new educator, or simply passionate about the future of learning, Season 10 offered fresh insights, practical strategies, and heartfelt stories that energized practice and reaffirmed the vital role of libraries in schools. Catch up on all episodes and keep leading from the library!

You will find Season 10, and all other seasons and podcasts, here.  It's a great way to learn throughout the year.

And starting in September, we will kick off Season 11 so stay tuned friends. 

If you would love to be a guest on Season 11, please fill out this survey. I am gathering my guests and would LOVE to feature YOU and your Future Ready Librarian story. 

Check Out the Best New AI Assistant Built for Teachers: Meet Socrait!

 

AI tools are launching every day, promising to improve efficiency in education—but Socrait stands apart. 

Why? Because it was created by a real classroom teacher, Maria, who was tired of spending more time on drudgery than on doing what she loved: teaching, innovating, and connecting with her students.

Socrait was built for teachers, by a teacher — Stop by the Socrait at booth #1363 to experience the future of teaching, powered by AI and grounded in the realities of today’s classroom.

Start next year with a classroom copilot—so you can focus on what matters most: your students.

Sign up for Socrait today, friends.

Episode 2 of STEM in the Stacks With Drone Legends is Here, Friends!

 

Episode 2 of STEM in the Stacks is here!

In this episode, Jennifer Sancedio-Boatman and I spoke with Scott Buell, founder of Drone Legends about his unique journey from advertising executive to STEM education innovator. 

It was such a fun and interesting conversation as Scott shared how Drone Legends was built to give educators both the technology and the curriculum to engage students in real-world learning. It’s more than drones, it’s a full STEM solution.

You can watch this episode here.

And you can find Drone Legends on the STEMfinity site here.

I can't wait to bring Drone Legends and all of the inspiration Scott shared to our school next fall!  

Welcome To Destiny 23.0: Faster. Smarter. Built for YOU! Register Now To Get Ready For A Faster, Friendlier Destiny!

 

Welcome to Destiny 23.0 with smarter navigation, faster workflows, and powerful new features built for you.  

Learn about the exciting updates in Destiny 23.0 in this new webinar on June 24, 2025 at 2pm CST. 

As shared on the Follett Software site, 

Follett Destiny® 23.0 is our most intuitive release yet, built in direct response to the feedback we've heard from customers like you. Join us for an inside look at the latest updates, including a modern new look, faster navigation, enriched reporting, and new AI-driven features - all designed to simplify your day and enhance the way you work.

In this session, you’ll explore:

• Time-saving design improvements: Complete your daily tasks faster, with fewer clicks and more flexibility.

• Configurable dashboards: Running a reading challenge? Check out how you can filter by grade level to see how it's influencing checkouts!

• Empowering reports: View your circulations statistics at a glance and understand what is circulating well and what isn't.

• AI-powered recommendations: Determine the best purchases based upon what is circulating well.

 Register now, and get ready for a faster, friendlier Destiny.

You won't want to miss this one, friends.