October 29, 2010

The Dewey Decimal Rap, Sent by Laura

Seabury alum Laura sent me this great video.

If I needed to file it in our library, it would go under 782.42164 Music (Rap)



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You Are What You Read - Scholastic's New Social Networking Site!

What five books have most influenced YOUR life? What is YOUR Bookprint?

Yesterday, Scholastic Book Co. launched its "You Are What You Read" site, a place where readers across the globe can dialog about new books.

"You Are What You Read" is part of Scholastic's Read Every Day. Lead a Better life global campaign. The site is for all ages, and it's incredibly rich!

Here's a news story from PR Newswire that summarizes the COOL features of the site:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scholastic-launches-social-networking-site-you-are-what-you-readcom-106024583.html

THE STACKS for Kids has tabs for Books and Authors, Games, Blog, and Message Boards.

Here's an excerpt from the site:

What is a Bookprint?

"A Bookprint is the mark that a book leaves on our lives, shaping who we are and who we become. It is our textual lineage as described by Dr. Alfred Tatum, professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Our textual lineage is a reading and writing autobiography which shows that who you are is in part developed through the stories and information you’ve experienced."

What is Pass It On?

Pass It On is a component of You Are What You Read that allows you to share the reads of your life, whether it’s with a family member, a friend, or a complete stranger. Pass It On encourages you to share your favorite books with other people—whether by gifting them to someone you know, donating them to someone in need, or just leaving a copy on a park bench for someone else to enjoy. On the Pass It On page, you’ll be able to select a book, print out a bookplate for your book, and pass it on!

The Books Around the World Map shows where users who have added a book to their Bookprint, “Liked” a book and Passed On or received a book are located."


I think I know some kids and adults who might be interested in taking a look at this site.


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October 25, 2010

Do Kids Still Read Books? A Study

Check out the article
"New Study on Reading in the Digital Age"
, embedded below.

I especially like the part about the power of choice.

And the last 3 paragraphs? The times ♫they are a-changin'♫

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New Study on Reading in the Digital Age

Scholastic surveyed 1,045 children age 6-17 and their parents (for a total of 2,090 respondents) in an online survey in the spring of 2010.
Highlights from the survey:
Reading Books in the Digital Age

* From age 6 – 17, the time kids spend reading books for fun declines while the time kids spend going online for fun and using a cell phone to text or talk increases.
* Parents express concern that the use of electronic and digital devices negatively affects the time kids spend reading books, doing physical activities, and engaging with family.
* Technology can be a positive motivator to get kids reading – over half of kids (age 9-17) say they are interested in reading an eBook, and a third of children age 9-17 say they would read more books for fun if they had access to eBooks on an electronic device.

The Value of Reading

* When asked, children and parents agree the most important reason to read books for fun is to open up the imagination, be inspired, and to a lesser degree, to gain new information.
* Eight in ten kids feel proud and have a sense of accomplishment when they finish reading a book.
* While nearly eight in ten kids read for fun at least weekly, one in five kids reads books for fun less than once a week.

Role and the Power of Choice

* There are several tactics that parents use to encourage their children to read – including making sure there are interesting books at home, limiting the use of technology, and suggesting books their children might like.
* The most critical motivator to get to get kids reading is the power of choice. Nine out of ten children say that they are more likely to finish book they choose themselves.
* Parents don’t try to overly influence their children toward choosing award winning books or classic literature. Nine out of 10 parents say “As long as my child is reading, I just want my child to read books he/she likes.”

About 25 percent of the children surveyed said they had already read a book on a digital device, including computers and e-readers. Fifty-seven percent between ages 9 and 17 said they were interested in doing so.

Francie Alexander, the chief academic officer at Scholastic, called the report “a call to action.”

“I didn’t realize how quickly kids had embraced this technology,” Ms. Alexander said, referring to computers and e-readers or other portable devices that can download books. “Clearly they see them as tools for reading — not just gaming, not just texting. They see them as an opportunity to read.”

Read the press release: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/node/378

Read the survey: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/themes/bare_bones/2010_KFRR.pdf

Read the New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/books/29kids.html?_r=1&hp

Original VOYA article
http://www.voya.com/2010/09/29/new-study
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October 17, 2010

Young Adults Provide a "Haven for Bookworms" Online

(avatar from tumblr.com)
The pioneering young adult officers of THE ULTIMATE YA READING GROUP span the globe, and they're sharing their love of reading in various electronic ways.

"WE PROVIDE A HAVEN FOR BOOKWORMS. YOU CAN:
—Chat with other fellow bookworms!
—Meet authors!
—Explore our Posted Items section!
—Check out the discussion board!
—Participate to win book(s) in our contests!"


The group's Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7300605683
has 1400 members as of this date (I just signed up)

They have a tumble-log
http://theultimateyareadinggroup.tumblr.com/
where they feature a young adult author every month


And you can follow the group on Twitter
https://twitter.com/UltimateYAGroup

We have many avid readers at our school. I wonder if any of them would be interested in joining this group.

. . . And how does starting a group of our own, that's Maui-based, sound? :D

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October 15, 2010

What Should I Read Next? 3 Quick-Search Sites!

The Book Seer
Here are 3 very cool QUICK-SEARCH sites for finding your next book to read.

Whichbook
Choose books according to what you want in a book, on a sliding scale. For example, funny to serious, conventional to unusual, optimistic to bleak, etc., as well as by character, plot, and setting.

What Should I Read Next
"Enter a book you like and the site will analyse our database of real readers'
favorite books (nearly 70,000 different titles so far, and more than a
million reader recommendations) to suggest what you could read next."

The Book Seer
Type in the title and author of the book you just read, and the Book Seer will come up with a list of suggestions from Amazon.

Book choosing via the Internet is easy and fun!

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October 1, 2010

Miss Davis Loves to Read!


Miss Davis LOVES to read and she's uploaded, yes, HUNDREDS of books to her iPad and her Kindle.

This photo was taken at today's Maui Independent Schools Organization (MISO) Conference, hosted by our school (we host every three years on a rotating schedule). Miss Davis' enthusiasm was so infectious that one participant remarked as she was leaving: "I'm not a techie, but I want an iPad!"

This workshop was called "Speed Apping -- Mobile Devices for Your Classroom". Co-presenters with Miss Davis were Mr. Turbeville and myself.

Here's a direct link to the web page Miss Davis created to support her presentation about ebooks: http://sites.google.com/a/seaburyhall.org/mobiledevices/kindle-ebooks.

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