Most of you are getting the hang of using this forum and are becoming more adept at posting and downloading. Remember to post your insights and comments in the 'comment' section and also include your own insights to share with the entire class.
In order to facilitate a truly collaborative setting (one in which we can begin to foster an environment where we can benefit from the 'Collective Knowledge' of all the participants here) I am asking that you make a special, concerted effort to try to respond or comment upon, at least, one other posting from w/i each session starting with Session 2. This may mean going back and revisiting the blog after you have posted, because you may be the first or second person to post your thoughts. This is not a requirement, but it is a request---one that will help benefit all of us and truly foster a collaborative network of learners and educators! The most efficient method for this is to make sure that you have signed up for a Blogger account. If you already have a Google account with any of G's other services like gmail or Google Docs, then you may use that. After you post your comment to our blog and before you hit the publish button, you'll see an option to have future comments emailed to you. Choose that. There is a tremendous font of knowledge among this group. Don't miss out on the insights and experiences of your peers.
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This session will find us broadening the scope of our view of wikis. This information is pertinent to our discussions on digital content because as the semester unfolds we'll see our definition of user-created content evolve. The merging and integration of e-books with additional multimedia (screencasts, interactive simulations, podcasts, videos,...) is changing so rapidly that no one can predict what our students will be using in just a few short years. Some surveys predict e-book penetration w/i school libraries to increase 14 fold by 2016.In order to facilitate a truly collaborative setting (one in which we can begin to foster an environment where we can benefit from the 'Collective Knowledge' of all the participants here) I am asking that you make a special, concerted effort to try to respond or comment upon, at least, one other posting from w/i each session starting with Session 2. This may mean going back and revisiting the blog after you have posted, because you may be the first or second person to post your thoughts. This is not a requirement, but it is a request---one that will help benefit all of us and truly foster a collaborative network of learners and educators! The most efficient method for this is to make sure that you have signed up for a Blogger account. If you already have a Google account with any of G's other services like gmail or Google Docs, then you may use that. After you post your comment to our blog and before you hit the publish button, you'll see an option to have future comments emailed to you. Choose that. There is a tremendous font of knowledge among this group. Don't miss out on the insights and experiences of your peers.
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We will begin this session by taking a look at the benefits of wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools, for students, teachers, and the entire educational community. We'll view some screencasts and videos that give us students' perspectives, as well as hear from teachers from across the K-12 spectrum. Each and every one will be focused upon how Web 2.0 tools have changed the way they teach and learn.
And lastly, we'll end by discussing the fluid definition of the word, "literacy" and try to pin it down in a 21st century classroom---a classroom where the walls have come down and the world is flat. There are lots of different interpretations out there. And as I stated above--prior definitions are changing quickly. Under the subject heading of Wikis there are an increasing number of sub-headings. Google Docs has evolved to be a very wiki-like tool. And next session we'll read an article called, "Are Textbooks Becoming Extinct?..."
Before you download this week's session:
- Please read this article from SLJ called, "Things are Changing Fast." It reminds us that those of us that run into technology-roadblocks are not alone (unfortunately). While reading that article, also read, "Not Just the Lucky Ones."
- Visit: http://www.edweb.net/ebooks and join the community
- Watch this webinar called, "Ebooks in Schools and Libraries..."
Lastly, you may access and read past participants' comments about the educational uses of wikis here and here.
Good luck and I look forward to reading your comments, insights, and reflections.
DF
PS--You may find a back-up copy of this week's presentation here. Just search for the term: "edc922" and then choose the appropriate session to view and listen to.
PPS--If no one has any objections, I'd like to change the day for my weekly postings to Wednesday starting next week. We have a number of participants taking both this course and the "Blogs and Wikis" course, so this change will take away the overwhelming feeling I'm hearing about. Please let me know if this is an issue for any of you.
36 comments:
After finishing the SLJ article, I realized that I actually participated in that survey! I was glad to see that I am not the only librarian struggling with wanting to integrate e-books, but hitting many roadblocks. I particularly related to the part about mobile devices--my school is a scanning school (all students and their things go through metal detectors upon entrance to the building) and there is a very strict no cell phone/iPad/iPod policy. They have given students permission to bring Kindles and Nooks. Is anyone else struggling with this?
Our district is what you might call a “lock and block” one. We have a filter and the students are not supposed to have their cell phones in classes. We are not a 1:1 district, but we do have many laptop computers in the building for students to use on mobile carts. We aren’t a BYOD school either, but we do have more and more students bringing their own laptops to school. (They just can’t access our network to use the internet; they can type/create and save on their own devices instead of our network.)
I recently purchased a dozen e-books from Follett Shelf. I haven’t yet had a chance to share them with students or staff. These books can be read with any computer with internet access; no e-reader is necessary. I think this is only one way to use e-books. A few of my students got e-readers for Christmas - Kindles, Kobos, and Nooks; I want to be able to help these students find free books. This school year I’ve primarily helped the adults find books for these. It is my goal to be able to connect my readers with whatever form of book they need or want, be it electronic or print. We are also looking into grant opportunities for e-readers to circulate. Our budget was cut for next year, so I won’t be buying them from my budget. I want to do this for the students who cannot afford to own their own e-readers. I’ve been reading as much as I can about libraries that have jumped in and started circulating Nooks or Kindles. If I can find a way to fund a few next year, I’m going to try it.
Great...I accidentally deleted my last post so now I'm going to re-type.
Teresa that's really neat that you participated in the survey.
I think in our school district there is support for e-books, it's just the funding part that's tough. This year our special education team trialed using I-Pads with our caseloads. The students were very excited and eager to learn using the many fantastic apps out there. Because I teach Kindergarten I rarely hear a student talk about a Nook or Kindle....but I wouldnt be surprised if I heard it more often in the future.
Currently, our classroom has Mac computers where we utilize the bookflix and tumblebooks programs.
On a side note, the webinar was eye-opening for me. I have never listened/attended to one before. It was so neat! I love the chat and live camera view of the presenter. It is extremely interactive and what a powerful tool! I have heard of them however my availability to attend sessions is limited (I have an infant at home).
The two SLJ articles struck a deep chord with me, especially the line in "Not Just the Lucky Ones": "The technology gains that school libraries have made in the past decade are often unraveling as an out-of-order sign falls over many library computer monitors."
The age of my library computers is literally beginning to approach the age of the students! It's incredibly frustrating to students and staff.
So, Teresa, I'm right there with you! We have a no cell phone policy and all other electronics are discouraged although not outright banned which means we must rely on our very unreliable computers whenever we attempt to use ebooks.
@KFesta: We also have access to bookflix and tumblebooks, but this is mainly by piggybacking off of our well funded public library.
Has anyone attempted to circulate school/library owned ebook devices such as Kindles and Nooks as mentioned in the webinar? I'm in the process of trying to get students and faculty to return our regular books before the end of the year and it's a struggle. Has anyone had success with this?
Good question Jacque I was wondering that myself.
I attended a workshop at PSLA (Pennsylvania School Librarians Association's spring conference last month on Kindles in the library. Go to http://kindles.wikispaces.com/home to check out all the details the presenter gave for the Kindle project in her library. She's done all the work for us! (Although I believe she's one of the many school librarians in PA who doesn't have a job in September. A huge loss for her school district's students.)
I added two PowerPoints I use in presenting to students to Dave's wiki. One on evaulating websites and one on avoiding plagiarism. They are short and simple. In the future I'll have to add my narration to the notes section underneath the slides. It never occured to me to that I might share these with others. http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/English
Hello,
NY State just changed the guidelines for textbook monies to include digital content and ereaders. Our Assistant Superintendent has informed us that there will have to be a "really" good reason before the district will purchase physical textbooks from here on. This transition is relatively easy for our English Department as they use novels instead of textbooks. As mentioned in the webinar, there are not a lot of publishers ready for this transition and many are fighting it. We will be piloting an Earth Science Portal offered through Gale next year. I think Gale is trying to position itself to grab the market.
These are interesting times. Such a stimulating challenge! I look forward to working with teachers to find digital resources that replace textbooks. Imagine all the wonderful collaborative opportunities that will present themselves as we build digital textbooks that individualize classroom curriculum and instruction. I’m not sure there will be enough hours in the day.
On a similar note:
Jacque said...
Has anyone attempted to circulate school/library owned ebook devices such as Kindles and Nooks as mentioned in the webinar?
I have 13 Nooks in my library. We have probably 30 or so novels loaded on 12 of the Nooks right now and the ebook library is growing. I have one Nook that I’ve only loaded audio books on so far. That is the 13th. Even though there are no “restrictions” on the number of times you can download an audio book, I find it easier to manage them if they are in one place. That may change as demand and usage picks up. You are probably aware that if you purchase one title, it can be loaded on 6 Nooks. That is a significant savings when trying to purchase class sets or groups of novels for literature circles.
This year was my “pilot” year with Nooks. So far I’ve loaned individual Nooks to a only few “trustworthy” students and to teachers. For the most part I loaned the Nooks out to English teachers as a set. They have used them for Literature Circles. Nooks are perfect for that. Students can select a book for their group and I can purchase and download it for them right away.
What I haven’t done yet is include the ebooks in my catalogue. I still have to investigate how to include them in my collection. I am hesitant to treat them as I do physical books because the readers are so expensive. I know that eventually I’ll have to put something in place. I’m not entirely pleased with the options available so far. Overdrive is a possibility, but the way our patrons use materials I don’t like the “time frame” set for loans. Again, I still have so many questions in this area. I am kind of waiting for the dust to settle before I commit a lot more money. BYOD may be a one of the solutions but I don’t see that happening in our district any time soon. I’m hoping the information I get from this class will help me figure this out.
I feel a little out-of-the-loop as a classroom teacher (as opposed to a librarian) but I do like reading everyone's comments. I must admit that I have not tried an ebook reader myself even though I did use them with one of my classes as a trial. I do see ebooks as the future of reading but right now they don't work for my classroom purposes. This summer I plan to bite the bullet and purchase a kindle or nook ... anyone have a preference?
S2
One thing that struck me about the SLJ articles was access. In addition to working in a school library in a very privileged district, I also work at a public library in a large city in NJ where the students are not so privileged. I see kids in the library all the time working on the computers with projects and they often need a lot of help with basic software, let alone searching and evaluating information. What worries me about the technological revolution is that the gap between the haves and the have nots is widening. Further, reading your posts about the technology situations in your schools is appalling and makes me very thankful to have the laptops that we do.
I have been toying with the idea of getting ereaders to circulate for students for some time but for a variety of reasons have not moved forward on it, including a strained relationship with the technology director in my district and practical reasons like how would we pay for them. She has her hands full with the 1:1 and is not real flexible with other devices such as mp3's or I'm sure Nooks or Kindles. Personally, I lean toward the Nook because you can borrow books from the public library. I haven't been a big book buyer for many years now and being forced to buy a book because of a device doesn't make sense to me.
Angela, do you have a PTA or PTO? If I can cooperation from my tech director, the MS librarian and I will apply to our PTO for a mini grant. We might be able to purchase about 5 or 6 devices for the $1000 we would get.
Could someone explain what bookflix and Tumblebooks?
Mary, good for you for jumping in with the Nooks even though you still have questions with how you will do certain things.
Jacques, I hear you on getting the regular books back from students. On LM-NET, which is a school librarian listserv, many librarians have a user agreement that kids and parents must sign about damage, loss and replacement costs but I haven't really seen anything about how it works in reality.
So I found myself adding information about phonemic awareness in Dave's wikispace. When I was finished I found myself looking through the abundance of resources on the Kindergarten resources page. The McGraw Hill sites are fabulous as are many of the links. I do see how I can spend hours looking at all these tools and resources.
Dairy Queen-
Scholastic BookFlix is a new online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning.
TumbleBookLibrary is an online collection of TumbleBooks – animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you. My Kindergarten students love both sites. They even have follow-up comprehension questions and related activities with the stories.
Here's the link to Dave's wikispace
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Phonemic+Awareness
Also Kindle has recently agreed to allow library lending on their devices. I don't believe it has happened quite yet, but it's coming soon. It's a good thing too, because they really are cutting themselves out of a potentially rich segment of the market. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/technology/21amazon.html
My school doesn't have a PTA/O at the high school level, but we do have a non-profit foundation that gives grants out each year for things that would benefit students but are not included in budgets. I'm going to apply for a grant for Kindles or Nooks in December when those grant applications are due. They have been very supportive each year for projects. We had teachers get Flip cameras and IPEVO document cameras from them this year. They also helped the English Department fund EBSCOhost.
Ebooks are such a growing phenomena. I have seen a shift in interest and for the first time students are bringing their Kindles and Nooks into school. But with my budgets, it doesn’t make sense to have Ebooks from Overdrive, right now the only way to manage downloadable content. The subscriptions are just too expensive for the product!
I also have thought about purchasing ereaders for students, but I think for us they would be reserved for inschool use only. I did receive a grant and will be purchasing 18 Ipads to be loaded with books for one of my elementary schools, but those will only be used in the classroom. My students have difficulty returning even their library books in the same condition as they borrowed them.
On another note, I’ve added some content to Dave’s Wiki on Canada, part of the fourth grade social studies curriculum that I cover- here is the link: http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Elem-SOCIAL+STUDIES
Response to posts:
Last year we moved from disallowing cell phones during the school day to integrating smart phone use into class, and we have found that misuse is hardly an issue at all. When phones were prohibited, students seemed to be constantly texting, and rings would interrupt class. Now, students place phones on their desks at the beginning of most classes. Teachers use phones for quick polls, research, and a place for students to record assignments. Not all students have cell phones, especially smart phones, but this does not seem to be a problem.
I wonder why we should want to circulate e-reader devices. I think that technology will soon be obsolete, to be replaced with a bring-your-own-device way of doing things. I love using my Kindle, but it has its limitations. Sometimes it is easier for me to read on my laptop of desktop computer. In addition, I often forget the name of the book I am reading or its author because I do not interact with the book cover regularly. Also, I cannot donate or lend my digital books. E-readers seem fine for linear text, like fiction, but text with multiple images, graphs, and links is truly difficult, even for expert readers.
The question of digital textbooks is complicated, from both the publisher and the user sides. I think an administrator who wants to severely limit the use of print texts is ill informed. Personally, I think all texts should be eliminated; however, I understand the frustration of classroom teachers who wonder why they, in addition to all other responsibilities, should be required to create their own textbooks.
Response to session resources:
My two favorite resources from this session were the page on “A Wiki as a Research Guide” and the film “Evolution of Literacy”. The film affirmed everything I do as a school librarian. I moved twelve years ago from the classroom teaching English to the library because I could no longer live with the restricted definition of literacy and text espoused by my colleagues in the English department. Using a Wiki as a tool for guiding research is a brilliant idea to me. I am eager to begin Wikis to start my students on the big projects that are assigned each year and to add value when they add the gems of information they have found and the ideas for approach they have gained.
Wiki edit:
On the American history outline http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/US+HISTORY+l, under Pennsylvania and Delaware, I added a link to the Millcreek Hundred History Blog because my house appears on that blog. Dave said it should be fun!
brusz, interesting point about digital textbooks. I purchased our class text for my Kindle (it's cheaper and probably lighter to carry with me!). I really do see your point about it ereaders lending themselves better to fiction. I have read non-fiction on my Kindle before and the graphics are mostly lost. Perhaps an ereader like a Nook Color or like the iPad might be more appropriate for lots of photographs and graphics--I think the interactivity might be better. That truly is something to consider when the discussion of digital textbooks arises. Thank you for mentioning that.
I'd love to hear more from those of you who are circulation ereaders!
@brusz
The shift in your school's cell phone policy gives me hope! This is exactly how we would like to use cell phones in our school. I've found that my personal ebook experience is very tied to the device I read it on. So far I've resisted the call of dedicated ebook readers and instead use my computer, cell phone and iPod touch to read my books. I have Kindle, Nook, Overdrive and Stanza apps installed on all three. There is a HUGE difference reading the same book on different apps. So I do think the means of delivering the ebook does matter, even if the specific device itself doesn't matter.
I'm just finishing a small pilot program circulating Nooks in my middle school and with the data collected have gotten a grant to purchase 15 devices. With the news from Amazon and Overdrive, it made me reconsider Kindle as our PL has a subscription to Overdrive. I thought with the ease of borrowing books from Overdrive a Kindle might be worth considering but then I hear the wait time for titles is pretty extensive...so maybe it doesn't matter.
On the 3 Nooks we presently circulate, kids loved them. I'm in an upscale community and I know some kids have access (or even have their own) at home. But those kids are still in the minority. For my students, Kindle/Nook would be for fiction. And I too am grappling with how to actually have the books cataloged as I've already purchased some books that the library doesn't own in print.
And then there is stats! How does one know how often a book circulates or how many a student reads on an e-reader?
I'm looking forward to investigating this more next year with the added devices.
Hi again,
Another thought about non-fiction e-books and textbooks.
While I can see why so many schools would like to go just digital textbooks, I agree it's premature. In my school some textbooks (Spanish, French) are available online with a limited number of printed textbooks available for students. What I see happening with these, students have difficulty access the text at home and then scramble to get a print version so they can complete their assignments. It's either got to be something kids can download chapter by chapter or a subscription service the schools purchase, which still may not resolve the accessing issues.
I haven't purchased any non-fiction e-books as of yet. I'm looking to get more of these next year and seeing how it goes. I've not been impressed with Follett shelf from what I've seen thus far but it is by far the closest thing to what I think is needed...a subscription service (?), multiple user access, integrated into catalog
BYOD..I can see this happening eventually, but I feel like we (education) has been speaking of 1 device/1 student for a long time and not many school have done it.
I was thinking...why didn't these comments get sent to me...now I remember why! Sorry.
Wikidave..update
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Middle-SOCIAL+STUDIES
I added the bit at the end...for a chuckle.
I too was floored about how widespread our problem of limited access to digital content and tools in our uber-powerful country. If we are to sustain that, we must provide the kind of education that will continue to propel our students forward.
I wanted survey a few of our teachers today after reading your responses over the weekend about the change in access in regards to filters. This school year, we had a brand new superintendent who is 40 years-old. Apparently, he freed up practically everything. We had access to YouTube. You name it, we could probably get to it. Then all of a sudden, there was a pull back. We were back to submitting websites to be unblocked.
What I discovered today when I queried teacher is that they never noticed the difference in freedom. Because the district never announced the relaxed filters, teachers assumed it was business as usual and never tried. I was always continually testing certain sites. So as far as that lost opportunity, I blame myself for that one. That taught me that I must push for access, digital tools, including tablets.
Because all of my librarians were eliminated on the elementary level, I'd resigned myself to keeping my head down. I have to push for Overdrive ebooks, Nooks, etc. I don't want my kids on the wrong side of the digital divide. I raised enough of a stink that I'm getting two librarians back, maybe three.
But I might as well go down swinging. It's not for me, it is for children.
I added the bit about image banks for the topic, the Grapes of Wrath and the Great Depression under
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/English
I edited http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/HS-BIOLOGY and added a small section on Forensics/Genetics dealing with Molecular Photofitting.
About the iPad as a reader, we have tried that, too. the problem is that we cannot yet access video on the iPad due to software conflicts.
S2
I'm intrigued by the idea of byod. As I've mentioned before each student has a laptop. We have a huge problem with distractions on the laptops and I wonder if students would be as distracted with their smartphones or other devices. At least now we have software where teachers can monitor students on the laptops but they wouldn't be able to do that on smartphones. Students are allowed to keep their cell phones out in school and they use them, fyi.
wow - everyone seems so knowledgeable about ebooks/readers etc. I am a total novice about the whole thing but I am VERY interested in anything that motivates my students and makes them more interested in reading... I was talking today about designing a wiki based on a novel we read - but I wonder if one exists already? How do I FIND wikis "out there"? Is there some specific way to search? Does anyone know about contacting schools in other parts of the country / world? I'd love to do something on line with another 11th grade English class somewhere...
@Karen--as you evolve as a learner (professionally) and begin to read more edublogs you'll slowly begin to build a list of resources and sites, like edu-wikis. Also, epals is a great, reputable site for connecting with classes from around the world. Also, explore: flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com
Dave-
thank you for the advice (and the sites to explore) I can't wait to visit them... I've been reading more and more about wikis and have a thousand ways I could use them with my students - the problem I see is how to evalute student input... how do I know which student added/changed what? Is there a way to know how long a student spends on a wiki - how much he/she explores on it? Unfortunately I'm still expected to assign each student a number grade and be able to back up that grade with assessments.... I could use wikis and write my own assessment but that seems counterproductive at best...
wow - I just spent some time looking at the online free courses - although it seems that most are more technical education (math, science, engineering) than the humanities - I did find a course on reading /writing fiction and it is PERFECT for my class.... is there a copyright restriction on using someone's material? Is there an easy way to download - copy it? also - everything I saw was in print - I thought some of the lectures might be audio... just some of my thoughts as I read on a rainy Saturday in New York :)
@karen-Teachers have always struggled with ways to assess students when doing group work and this 'struggle' transitions to wiki work as well. Different teachers try different techniques. Some have the students compartmentalize. For example, two students in a group work on a big topic, but break it up into parts. The big topic will be the wiki page, but the subtopics are attributable. Based upon the project it could defeat the purpose of using a wiki, but if you include the ability to add mulit-media content as well then things can get more inventive. Also, some teachers (depending upon the level) work with the students to develop a rubric as a group. It all comes down to trial and error really, until you find what works for you.
Dave
I didn't realise I needed to posther my wiki contribution. Here is my Wiki Dave update:
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Pre+Columbian+Era
I added a bit near the top about European settlers to Australia and the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.
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