Welcome to my newest edtech venture! This blog will be about...well...just what it says: BOOKS!!!
There are so many stories out there. Some are good. Some are bad. They ALL make us feel SOMETHING. This blog is an opportunity to combine Web2.0 with the invitation to respond. To students, teachers, teacher librarians, readers of all stripes...the call goes out!
In the words of the venerable Bill O'Reilly...What say you?
The real challenge is to get young people to read in the new electronic formats. The breadth of information out there is staggering. I was born over 68 years ago, and the difference in information available now is truly unbelievable. I now think nothing of downloading manuals on equipment, or information on new techniques in electronic engineering.
ReplyDeleteThis information depth was simply not available when I was a young student. Technical information was hard to obtain, and distributed poorly. We are now on the verge of being able to get information on anything that mankind knows. This cannot help but increase the horizons of young people that know how to access it. Everyone forgets that printed books per se are simply the medium of distribution. The new web access to information I think will be as important to society as the Guttenberg printing process was in its day. The information payload that the books and the new web carry are the real exciting thing. That information can now be accessed almost anywhere by anyone, as fast as you can think about doing it. Somehow, young people have to be taught to adapt from the TV, and use this new resource.
I agree with Noell. I recently moved from one home to another, with a temporary stay in between. The back and forth meant it wasn't really practical to unpack my beloved books--box after box of them. I was sad for months to see them stacked forlornly, tattered and sinking, collecting musty smells in a closet. Time after time I wished I could visit a favorite or two. And I didn't want to buy any new books knowing what their sad fate would be. Then I got an iPad. [Halleluia chorus, please!] I have unboxed all my old friends by now, but I have to say how completely ecstatic I am to have an online library. It's freeing! liberating! soooo easy to organize. Go technology!
ReplyDeleteNoell ~ I can relate to the very first sentence of your post. My elementary age daughter loves to read books. She's become like her mother who loves to collect shelves and shelves of her favorite reads and flip through the beautiful covers every now and then. Her summer reading goal was to read a book a week and since our family has an iPad, I decided to let her pick one out in the Kindle Store. My daughter finished her first book quickly. However, encouraging her to go on and read some more has required more hounding than I expected. It seems like if she picks up the iPad that she doesn't think to read, but instead is playing a game or on a favorite website. Your post made me realize that this is not something I should pardon. She is going to have to use electronic media for more than just recreation, so I have a renewed desire to push her to read online. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Christie
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of downloaded books but I can honestly say that I have never read them. Perhaps I lack the right tool to do this (like an iPad or Kendle). But I have always prefferred the tangible book. It seems that fewer and fewer students read less and less for pleasure and preffer to play on an iPod or some other similar device. I like the idea of introducing these kids to e-books and seeing if that makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Patrick Moseley