A clearer view...

I've never been one to add a quote to my email signature, but today I came across a line that just sang to me.

A good nonfiction book often feels like a new lens prescription: You marvel at suddenly being able to see what was always there.

The line was penned by Wall Street Journal book reviewer Brian Christian in his review of The Secret Life of Pronouns. (You know you are a grammar geek when you get excited about things such as these...) Happy Holidays to all! Kathy

Beyond the Tree Octopus: web evaluation resources

The resources below are part of a workshop on web site evaluation that I'm presenting at this year's Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference. To me, teaching kids to be more critical of the information they find online is the most important part of my job. I hope you feel the same and that you'll find these ideas and resources useful.

Enjoy!

Kathy

Watch the presentation on Slide Rocket.

My notes that I used while giving the presentation have lots of links and extra info.

Have some fun with our website speed dating activity. Use our "first date feedback" sheet and our website evaluation rubric.

Try this web evaluation activity using websites pertaining to autism. (Save the Google form as your own before using this, or you won't have access to your students' answers!)

The Marbury Lens : Not for the faint of heart

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Sometime I look forward to reading a book I know nothing about, and such was the case with The Marbury Lens, by Andrew Smith. I knew it was some sort of sci-fi/fantasy novel and that it had gotten great reviews. Armed with no further knowledge, I downloaded it to my iPhone and headed out for a walk. It was an uncomfortable walk, to say the least, as Jack, the teenage protagonist, was abducted, drugged, and very nearly (I mean VERY nearly) raped by a man who had clearly done these things before.



For the next couple of days, I opted to listen to the birds on my walks, feeling no great desire to return to the story. Eventually, I went back to it. I figured this phase of the story would end soon and I would get to the sci-fi part, but even when I finally did, the book just proved too intense for me. Jack's mental anguish over what happened is grueling enough, but when he get's his first look into "Marbury," the world he is able to see through a special pair of glasses, the level of gore was just too much. After about nineteen chapters, I decided to call it quits.



Andrew Smith is clearly a skillful writer, and the narrator was good too. This just wasn't the book for me. Recommend this one only to older teens with strong stomachs.



View all my reviews

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There's been a lot of buzz about Ship Breaker, and now I understand why. Like the recent smash hit Hunger Games series, Ship Breaker immediately launches the reader into a not-so-futuristic world where ordinary teens fight for their lives on a daily basis in unspeakable conditions of poverty and danger. In this story, we meet Nailer, a boy who spends his days crawling around inside the rusted out hulls of tankers that have washed up on the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico in a time when rising sea levels have radically changed the landscape. With only a little phosphorous smeared on his forehead to light his way, Nailer crawls through duct work scavenging anything that might be worth a little something to the salvage company he works for. Life for Nailer and the other ship breakers is grim. His bosses are harsh, he sees little money for his dangerous work, and his alcoholic, drug-dependent father is unpredictable and cruelly violent even with his own son.

When Nailer and his friend Pima find a "swank" clipper ship washed up on a nearby beach after a hurricane, they believe they've finally found their lucky strike and that they may be able to escape the life of a ship breaker. They board the ship, hoping to strip it of as many precious metals and other treasure before the others discover it, but what they find on board has the potential to be more valuable and more dangerous than any treasure.

I listened to this as an audio book and I'd highly recommend it. The narrator, Joshua Swanson, is one of the best I've encountered at voicing a wide variety of characters from the lilting Caribbean voices of Pima and her mother to the growling tones of the genetically engineered half-men. I will certainly seek out his books in the future.

One of my only disappointments with this book will sound silly to some. When I finished Ship Breaker, I was happy with the way it ended and thought, "Finally. A YA author who doesn't have to turn every idea into a series." I am not a fan of sequels because they are usually letdowns, and I rarely read beyond the first book. I guess I should be happy that Bacigalupi wrapped up the story in a way that allows me to walk away satisfied (are you listening, Suzanne Collins?), but I was disappointed when I learned there will be a sequel. I'm sure most readers will be happy to be able to hear more about Nailer's adventures, but you won't find me tagging along on his next adventure. I'd rather savor this great story and move on to something else.



View all my reviews

NH Downloadable Books: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (review)

NH Downloadable Books: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (review): "Most of the time, the decision to listen to a book instead of reading it in print is one of convenience for me. As a high school librarian, ..."

I usually don't read sequels, but I'm counting the days...

Newbery winner defies categorization

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This will be such a difficult book to explain and sell to students because it really transcends genre. If I call it science fiction, those seeking action, aliens, and intergalactic travel will be disappointed, but ultimately, that's what it is. I got to hear Susan Beth Pfeffer speak recently and she said she had no idea that Life as We Knew It was science fiction until she began reading reviews of her own book. This book has that same feel to it. It's not about time travel; it's about growing up.
I'm also afraid that this is one of those books that adults love, but is lost on kids. I once had a student who told me, "I won't read any book with a gold seal on the cover. Those things are the kiss of death. The books are always boring." In many cases, she was right.
Perhaps the best thing I could do is recommend this book to all of my adult friends. Perhaps some of them will read it aloud to a child in their lives, and a ripple effect will begin. So, adult readers of this blog, get reading!

View all my reviews >>

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks


My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After hearing such great things about Evil Genius (also by Jinks), and seeing some strong ratings on GoodReads, I decided to give this book a listen. While I'm glad that others enjoyed this book, I'm afraid I'm not among them. It isn't funny enough to appeal to humor fans, not action-packed enough to appeal to horror fans, and certainly not the sexy-vampire story that dominates YA lit these days.

Nina and her "reformed" vampire friends are weak, sickly, whining and pathetic. As it turns out, vampires are nothing like legend would have us believe. In fact, as one non-vamp character points out, being a vampire is somewhat like having AIDS. It leaves sufferers in a weakened state and simply requires those around them to take a few extra precautions.

While the unlikely status of these vampires could make for hilarious comic fodder, Jinks doesn't quite pull it off. Too many descriptions of bouts of nausea, cleaning guinea pig blood off the shower tiles, and the other vagaries of being a vampire are revolting without being either scary or funny. Just gross.

View all my reviews >>

Smackdown! Screen Toaster vs. Screencast-O-Matic

I've been using Jing for quite a while now, and I do indeed love it, but I think the love affair might be over. One of my colleagues told me about Screencast-O-Matic, and it didn't take long before this fantastic tool won me over. Then, as I was about to publish a comparison between the two (S-O-M won by a landslide), I came across Screen Toaster, and a new smackdown began.

First, let's talk about screencasting in general. If you've watched one of the many tutorials posted in my blog, then you already know what a screencast is. At its most basic, a screencast allows you to show what is on your screen while recording narration to go along with it. It's a great way to demonstrate to someone how to do something on their computer, whether it's demonstrating some of the privacy features on Facebook or showing a colleague how to insert a signature in their email. It's also a great tool for students to demonstrate their knowledge and talk about process while working on a project.

Both S-O-M and Toaster are web based. This means no download. AND in both cases, no signup or login! For classroom teachers, this is huge. Of course, you will get more features if you log in, and even more if you upgrade to the (very inexpensive) paid version, but you really don't have to do either of those things.



As you can see, both tools have their advantages. If you really want subtitles in your screencasts, Toaster is the way to go. Otherwise, I found S-O-M a little easier to use, and the fact that it uploads to YouTube HD is pretty cool. Either way, you really can't go wrong. Please keep me posted on how you are using screencasts with your students and staff, and which tool is most helpful to you.

If you need to see Screencast Smackdown in full screen mode, you can!

Collaborate online with Scribblar

A few weeks ago, I was working with a debate class while they were researching their latest topics. One group of boys grabbed a small dry erase board to map out their ideas and decide who was doing what. Toward the end of the period, I went over to check in and see if they had copied the information down somewhere. "No, we took a picture of it with our phones," they told me. Genius! I never would have thought of it. But I knew that somewhere out there, someone in the world of Web 2.0 had gone even further. That's when I found Scribblar.

Scribblar is an online interactive collaboration tool that functions very much in the same way as that little dry erase board. Multiple members can log in to a session and create content and chat. There is no user name or password, just a URL that one person creates and shares with the other members of the group.

Here's a quick tour to get you started. In the hands of students, the possibilities are endless. Just step back and watch the ways they'll use it.



Need a full-screen version of this tutorial? Click here.

Banned Book Week 2009: Celebrate fREADom

Some web 2.0 genius has created this interactive map showing US book challenges between 2007 and 2009. Click on the blue pegs for information about each case.


View Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2009 in a larger map

ORHS Library Commons Calendars

Until our spiffy new web site is available, I'm posting the new calendar here for staff to use. BLUE is the library, and GREEN is the Writing Center. Please email Kathy and Wally with your requests.

Is this also an attempt to draw my new colleagues to my blog? I'll never tell.

Four ways to use Wordle (and one way not to)

Let's get this out of the way right now: Wordle is not an end product. The first time I saw it, I thought, "How does making one of those show learning? I would never accept that as a final product from a student!"
It wasn't until after reading a bit about it and playing around with it, that I began to realize the potential of Wordle as a teaching tool.

So what's a Wordle?

Wordle is a web-based tool where you can paste text and create "word clouds." The illustration here shows a word cloud based on the Gettysburg Address, and it took about two minutes to create. Did I learn anything from making it? No. But I could certainly learn and teach a lot from it.

How can I use it in the classroom?

1. PREVIEW A PASSAGE--Give your students a Wordle and ask them to predict the topic of the reading it came from. What predictions do they have? What questions? Is there vocabulary they are unfamiliar with?
2. REVISE/CHECK FOR MEANING--Have your students create a Wordle from their first draft of a paper. Are there any surprises? Words that they overused? Opportunities for improvement?
3. FIND A "JUST RIGHT" READING TEXT: A Wordle will make it easy for a student to tell if the vocabulary in a particular passage will be too difficult, too easy, or just right.
4. COMPARE VIEWPOINTS: Take news accounts of a politically charged event from various sources and analyze the differences in word choice. Are there differences that jump out at you? What does it reveal about possible biases?

And how does it work?

It's really easy to create a Wordle, but you'll want to play around with it a bit to get the best effect. Here's a quick tutorial to show you the basics.



If you need to see a full-screen version of the Wordle tutorial, click here.

Presidential speech to students

I am stunned by the furor over the president's speech to school children and frightened for our country. Right here in southern New Hampshire, there are school districts forbidding teachers to show the speech live and requiring signed permission slips to even show the taped version at a later date. Is the paranoia that has been whipped up over the health care debate reaching into the minds of mainstream Americans, or are the extremists just shouting loud enough to make it seem that way?

The fact of the matter is, this speech isn't about health care or bailouts or "cash for clunkers." It's about personal responsibility, goal setting, and pride in achievements. More importantly, it is a speech given by the man elected in a fair democratic process to serve as our leader. If school superintendents feel empowered to censor this, what will be next?

So what can we do? Please start by finding out what your local school district has decided to do about this speech. Has a wholesale edict come down from on high either banning or requiring broadcast of the speech? If so, get in touch and let them know that you disagree. I am fortunate to work in a district where the superintendent respects the professional judgment of his teachers and has left it up to them to decide whether or not it is a relevant and valuable use of classroom time--the same decisions he trusts us to make every single day. You better believe I'm going to be emailing him to thank him for that trust.

If there is a bright spot in all this, it is the incredible teachable moment that this debate provides us. I hope that teachers, whether they choose to show the speech or not, will take a few moments to talk to students about freedom of speech and the responsibilities that come with it. I'm looking forward to seeing what the president has to say on Tuesday.

Email with training wheels

Zoobuh is an email service that allows parents to mediate and monitor childrens' emails. You can decide who your child can send and receive messages from. You'll even get a copy of all emails in your inbox.

Look out, kids. Big Mother is watching!

http://www.zoobuh.com/