Stream Movies, TV, Documentaries and More... Hoopla @LAPL

Do you ever wish that you could access movies and TV shows without paying for a service and without getting a physical copy from a library? If you have a Los Angeles Public Library card, you can now access Hoopla. Hoopla is a digital media platform that  gives access to digital entertainment content from either mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and/or via any browser.  Hoopla offers full length feature movies, episodic television programming, full musical albums and unabridged audiobooks. This service is currently in beta testing.

Enrich your research and your life!

This isn't your Grandma's note taking method.

Senior Jack T. explains how he has been using Evernote to keep track of his research for Ryan Staude's senior seminar on 20th century American history.

Would you want to live in the Middle Ages?

In order to understand the historical context for literature readings, Maja’s 10^th grade English Honors class did cultural research on the Medieval Period. Maja’s purpose in creating this assignment was “to encourage and teach critical and analytical thinking and writing skills, to foster intellectual curiosity by exploring and understanding literary themes and subjects in larger cultural, comparative and interdisciplinary contexts, and to expose students to collaborative work and learning.”

Students were divided into small groups and researched such topics as art, social customs, the first universities and the role of women during the late medieval period. Through this work students learned of the artistic and philosophic advances, disparity between social classes, and the beginnings of the Jewish persecution in Medieval. This research makes the literature they read more three-dimensional, and in presenting their findings in class, students benefit from a more in-depth manner of information retention.

Maja worked closely with the CTL staff to provide students with reliable and grade-appropriate research materials.  The students used a variety of online databases, books and online art resources in their research which culminated in impressive oral presentations allowing them to gain valuable skills in oral and visual rhetoric.