My little secret

I have a little secret. Sort of a cross between a compulsion and an addiction. I don't talk about it too often because I have it pretty well under control. I'm not ashamed or anything. There are millions of people who understand and share my problem. In fact, most of the people in my profession fall somewhere on the spectrum. I am a life-long obsessive compulsive reader. This used to manifest itself as book hoarding but has evolved with recent advances in technology.

There is one restriction to my reading. I only read for free. Working in a high school library and being a regular patron of our public library system means I don't have to buy books. There might be a bit of a wait for popular titles, but with so much choice there is always something great to read.

The digital options are even more liberating. Through GoodReads it is possible to download new titles being promoted to give exposure to new authors, as well as classics. When J.D. Salinger died I downloaded a pdf of Catcher in the Rye and had the joy of reacquainting myself with Holden Caulfield. (I learned that I didn't love reading off Adobe Editions. Reading for extended periods off a laptop just wasn't comfortable.)

Through my beloved Kindle I read classics in the public domain and also peruse Amazon's Kindle Promos on a fairly regular basis. This has been a good way to infuse contemporary titles and new authors into my Kindle list.

Since I got my iPad I have learned how to synch my Kindle and transfer titles between devices. Just before school let out a graduating senior asked me to sign her yearbook. As I wrote something pithy we talked about her passion for English literature and I shared some of my favorites. That night I got a hankering for Howard's End and bounced it over to the iPad. The awesome thing about reading on the iPad is you don't have to turn on a light at night. Both devices are a joy for this reader.

Through LibraryThing where I am signed up as a reviewer (and often get free books - paper and digital), I got an invitation to join NetGalley.

"NetGalley delivers digital galleys and promotional materials to professional readers and helps promote new and upcoming titles. Using NetGalley, publishers can build communities, invite contacts to view galleys and promotional materials, and track who has viewed their titles.

Professional readers--reviewers, media, journalists, bloggers, librarians, booksellers and educators--can join and use NetGalley at no cost. Register Now to get started."

Creating an account and synching it to my Kindle was a little fiddly, but mostly because I rushed and didn't follow the instructions as carefully as I should have. However, the customer support was fast, helpful and personal. I really like this company. And I like the four new YA galleys that appeared in my Kindle list this morning.

Aside from the fact that I have a lot of reading fetishes (don't even get me started on bookmarks!) I manage to read widely, and for free. As a public school librarian I mean it when I tell students and parents that they should never have to purchase a book for education. I'll track it down somewhere, in some format. I may have to fight the compulsion to read it first before handing it over, but let's keep that between ourselves.

Photo credit:

Flickr Creative Commons

Shh. I have a secret.

Uploaded on December 10, 2009
by e m ♥ i l y

Judging a book by the cover

Turns out you can judge a book by its cover. Standing in front of a display case one of our avid readers discussed book covers.

"This one really delivered. The cover drew me in, and I wasn't disappointed."

"I know you said this one got great reviews, but I just don't like the cover art. I'm not going to spend time on it unless someone I trust reads it first."

Best of all:

"Book covers aren't so different from food. If you want people to eat it, it has to look good."

Publishers need to pay attention because she is right. If it doesn't look good you are going to have a hard time getting someone to try it.

Photo credit:
Flickr Creative Commons

Book-Color Histogram.

Uploaded on July 19, 2009
by Patrick Gage

...and a child shall lead them

Watch this middle school student manage her life and learning with confidence and pride. You can hear the enthusiasm in her voice. In 3 minutes and 20 seconds she gives us a breathtaking vision of what is possible, and how quickly the digital world has evolved.



So, here is the challenge. How do we provide our CCHS students with the same educational opportunities? How do we provide the tools for students to acquire information, the critical thinking skills to evaluate and reflect on what they find, the tools to understand, make meaning and share their learning, and the organizational skills to manage it all, as shown by this middle school student? What she demonstrates is the result of careful planning and a systemic, consistent approach to learning. This is an incredibly exciting discussion for educators, and it is inspirational to see students mastering the skills we want for our own kids. It is time for us to begin pushing ourselves to move away from paper and shift toward the intellectual skills and digital tools to seek, find, organize and share.

As adults, we have to jump in as well, and this terrific middle school student is leading the way for us. These are a few FREE Internet desktops designed to help organize the web to work for you. My personal favorite is iGoogle, but they all look pretty amazing.

Symbaloo 
With Symbaloo, you can now create your own desktop on internet, including your favorite websites and sources. The advantage is that you can navigate easily to the most important websites, without remembering the links. 

Pageflakes 
Pageflakes, the social personalized homepage, is revolutionizing how we how we start with and use the Internet. At www.Pageflakes.com, you can easily customize the Internet and make it yours using ‘”Flakes” – small, movable versions of all of your web favorites that you can arrange on your personal homepage. You can also participate in the Pageflakes community, sharing your page as a “Pagecast” with a private group or with the world, and connecting with other users across the globe. Over 235,000 Flakes and 140,000 Pagecasts are available for thousands of uses and interests, including Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, news, sports, e-mail, local events, search, photos, music, videos – even interactive tools like a calendar and a to-do list – and just about anything else you do on the web at school, work and at home.

Edu 2.0
EDU 2.0 is a free, web-hosted learning management system that allows anyone to create an online school in minutes. It's easy to use, comprehensive, and can be accessed from any web browser.

iGoogle
iGoogle lets you create a personalized homepage that contains a Google search box at the top, and your choice of any number of gadgets below. Gadgets come in lots of different forms and provide access to activities and information from all across the web, without ever having to leave your iGoogle page. Here are some things you can do with gadgets:

• View your latest Gmail messages
• Read headlines from Google News and other top news sources
• Check out weather forecasts, stock quotes, and movie showtimes
• Store bookmarks for quick access to your favorite sites from any computer
• Design your own gadget.

Listening to the enthusiasm of a middle school student share her learning and demonstrate her skills is certainly inspirational for me, and provides an exciting glimpse of what is possible in education. A very nice gift in this holiday season.

Thanks to Buffy Hamilton and her Media 21 Project, Wendy Drexler, and Dr. David Loertscher for sharing and leading the way.

Photo credit:
Flickr Creative Commons
Digital Collage: Child In Me
Uploaded on February 19, 2006
by Isabel Ginsberg

Copyright the Classroom

Unbeknownst to a teacher, he has been recorded during a class, the video edited to show the teacher in a negative light and posted to YouTube. There is little recourse in getting the video removed. Nightmare scenario for a teacher. Technology has entered the classroom in ways that support student learning, but the potential for abuse is very real.

Education has always focused on respecting the use of copyrighted works. What about protecting teachers and the integrity of the classroom?

Acceptable Use details permissible online behavior, responsibility and consequences, but is this enough? A teacher's words, lesson plan, delivery, materials and image are proprietary. Can a teacher be protected by copyrighting his/her work and image? Could this add another layer of protection and legal recourse against intellectual theft as well as malicious activities?

I recently saw a demonstration of a "smart pen" (Livescribe) that, when used with specialized paper (the binder looks like any other spiral binder, but the paper has embedded microdots) can aid students with note taking. The user takes notes and can, at any time, return to the notes, press the pen down at a specific section, and listen to an audio replay of the class lecture. The pen also records video of the note page that can be used with a computer to review the notes, has ear buds for individual listening, and probably eight other amazing features. Truly a fantastic tool for the student who needs educational support.

In addition to cell phones, this is yet another type of recording device being brought into the classroom. Where are the guarantees that the audio of the teacher's lesson won't be downloaded, edited, and used against the teacher in some way?

Technology has outpaced school policy. Teachers are nervous, with every right. It is time for policy review to protect the teacher.

Photo credit:
Flickr Creative Commons

Now brought to you by copyright by Glynnis Ritchie

MINE: My Magazine. My Way.

Is this the future of periodical publication?
MINE: My Magazine. My Way. This is a free service that allows you to customize your own magazine, and receive it in print or digital format. I chose digital.

You choose your top 5 choices from a selection of popular TIME publications, and answer these 4 rather odd questions.

1. Which do you crave more? Sushi or Pizza
2. Do you like to sing in the car? Yes or No
3. Which would you like to learn? Juggling or Celebrity Impersonation
4. Who would you like to have dinner with most? Leonardo DaVinci or Socrates
   

Based on your selections and responses a personalized magazine is generated. It will be interesting to see what turns up. What will this mean for our personal information streams? What if my choices narrow my magazine to topics of wasabi and pop music? Where will I find diversity of opinion, new topics, and fast breaking news from outside my community and interests? This is going to be interesting.