eBook News

The news today, as for the past weeks has big focus on ebola, and not to make light of such a deadly virus, but it does seem to be mostly news scaring and commentary, versus actual information. For most schools Flu is a more deadly situation as the CDC puts the average number of annual deaths in the United States somewhere between 3,000 and 49,000. But thinking about contagions and what I experienced as a middle and high school science teacher and certified school media specialist reminded me of a few more of the reasons that I do love ebooks. As an educator in a school you do see transfer, as the number of students sick with something grows and then declines (often effecting the teachers too) as the school is a microcosm of which I would see 150 a day (not counting lunch, hallway, and bus duty) out of a population of a few thousand .  A few years ago when I was a judge in a regional science fair I found a really interesting project done my a young girl. She had done a study of sc...

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.  (Edgar Allan Poe) Just in case you need a little scary reading. I'm a strong believer in personal reading choice to encourage reading. I look back and see all the books that I read in Junior and Senior High School, and the ones that I remember most are the ones that I wanted to read. So if your students are looking for a little horror or scary reading now, then lets support them in their reading desires and guide them to some good books that they might not have noticed before. We could show them the classics that everyone may have heard of, seen the movie, but may never actually read (ie books such as  Dracula & Frankenstein), and then there are others from famous author but stories that they have never heard of  such as  Robert Louis Stevenson   "The Body Snatcher" or Robert E. Howard, who is famous for his Conan stories, but also wrote a number of...

It's been a while, but today I felt like adapting some more classic art to include ereaders.  Reading Little Women from her iPad, This is Our Corner by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (Dutch-English, 1836-1912) Reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears with her Nexus, Seymour Joseph Guy's   The Story of Golden Locks (American, 1824-1910)

I don't usually feel that savings should be the end all reason for changing how a school runs, but I do understand the pressure. I'm sure that we have all experienced situations where, at some point in our lives, we had to cut back on expenses to be successful (read not-fail).  I'm sure that everyone has also had experience with the spend money to save money aspect also, such as when you buy a more efficient air conditioner or water heater that ends up saving enough to pay for itself after a few years. For many though, textbooks are sacrosanct elements of schools, after all textbooks in their current form have existed for centuries, and moving to a new format is a major paradigm shift for many.  But, this shift seems to be a must change, as the world moves deeper into the information age, then to should the experiences be more authentic to the way that people will access information (beyond just school). Think about your own behaviors recently, when you needed to look somet...

To quote Mr. Bigweild, "See a need, fill a need," and that would be how I came to construct a textbook for middle school students to use as a prep tool for their middle school science FCAT exam. While working on another project with the school district science curriculum coordinator it came up that students had an issue of having to take a text that covered three years worth of content, but only had access to the last year's material in the class that they were in. Apparently some people had been asking for review material to provide to the students, but there wasn't currently a comprehensive text that they could use. This science assessment is given to all students in eight grade. The science assessment includes life science, physical and chemical science, earth and space science, and scientific critical thinking questions. This test is actually only quasi-high stakes for student, as the main use of the test is for placement purposes; such as if a student does do p...

There are a number of ways to integrate technology with reading, from the content you or your group may be reading, such as digital books, to activities around the reading, like mapping or making booktalks, or even to how you might be discussing a book. While many might like their book clubs to get together in person, have a nice snack and talk about the story, don't forget those who may have a love of more esoteric genres and can't find many people in their area who don't really want to talk about paranormal romance, military science fiction, or perhaps novels written around 1910. Then too there are those who can't get someplace to talk about their books. I know that when I was a child in hospital, I would have loved to have the opportunity to talk or write about what I was reading with others who liked that book. So as you might be developing readings or associated activities don't forget to consider the three dimensions that students can interact using technolo...

Just heard from one of my publishers that my Ebooks for Elementary School books will be out soon. It is a combination reference, tutorial, and strategy guide will help all teachers and school librarians to effectively use the reading applications described, regardless of the classroom computing platform. eBooks offer students as well as teachers, school and public librarians, and parents tremendous possibilities. This book explains how to expand and enhance the reading experience through the use of technology. Today, eBooks are everywhere, and the use of digital learning materials is beginning to supplant traditional printed materials. As the world shifts to digital books, both teachers and students need to be comfortable and effective using materials in this format. This book helps you to apply eBook materials to existing curricula to create interactive educational activities and have access to more materials to support reading instruction, literacy, standards, and reading in the co...