Literary Lines

Lois Lowry, on her excellent blog (see my entry entitled A Blog I Like) talks about how much she likes her Kindle.  Ms. Lowry, a writer and, of course, avid reader, travels a great deal and is always afraid of running out of reading material in a place with less than adequate book store inventory.  She is happy that she can eaasily download books from Amazon to this portable electronic device.  Rather than have to pack several heavy books, she can take along one fits-into-her-handbag, easy to use item.  Other than the cost (which she says will most likely come down in the future, as is true of most electronics) she finds fault with the fact that it is only text – no pictures – and for some books this is a drawback.

Simple yet impressive – that’s how I would describe my latest tech skill.  Using Photostory I was easily able to produce what I think is a stunning “video.”  I was pleased by the simplicity of the step-by-step directions which can be followed by students and teachers alike (well, the teachers might need some hand-holding but the students will jump right in!)  I premiered my production at our Mother’s Day gathering, to much praise and exclamations of “Wow, that was amazing!”  (That was from my nephew who I know is hoping for a big birthday gift.  Somehow he has formed the fantasy that his aunt will buy him a car when he turns sixteen.  Keep dreaming, kid.)

I plan to use this tool for my New Technologies Seminar project.  Since I see classes only once a week, I am teaming up with a 4th grade teacher (not in our seminar) to produce a presentation with her class on a topic to be determined.  I’ll keep you posted!

Since this blog is entitled Literary Lines, I suppose I should say something about literature!  According to a recent survey, the Bible came out on top of a list of the 10 most popular books.  A Harris poll of 2,513 adults (hardly a representative sample!) also noted two favorites written by Dan Brown.  If you’re trying to guess, there are definitely what we would call classics; Gone With the Wind, Catcher in the Rye, Atlas Shrugged and To Kill a Mockingbird, all staples of English Lit. classes,  made the list.  Those in the 18-31 age range chose the Harry Potter series.  Stephen King’s The Stand and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings also made the list.  I must say I have not read all of these books.  I have only read one Stephen King novel and The Stand was not it.  Also, while I have read Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code (and have seen the movie!) I have not read Angels and Demons, also deemed a favorite of my three sons, who zipped through all of Dan Brown’s writings after their first taste.

As we were becoming bloggers in our New Technologies seminar, many of us wondered aloud, “That’s great, but how will we use this in the classroom?”  I may have some help for you.  This morning, a teacher in my school gave me an article that appeared in a recent issue of The Reading Teacher.  Entitled Collaborative Literacy: Blogs and Internet Projects, by Erica Boling, et al., this article has some examples of teachers using blogs and wikis with their students.  The focus is primarily on the sharing of written work, but the article also mentions “audio casting” and how teachers can post recordings on a Youth Radio blog.  I took a look at that one – it has children from all over the world adding comments on a variety of topics and projects.  I think these technologies will engage our students, enrich their learning experiences, and impress our colleagues and administrators as well!

Today at school we are going to have a “tech tasting” event that will enable teachers to share what they are doing with various technologies.  I am going to demonstrate blogging, using mine as an example.  If you are part of that event and are reading this now – Welcome!  You, too, can be a blogger – it’s easy!  If you want an idea for using blogging with children, you may visit a blog that I did last year for a project entitled Against All Odds.  Give it a try – even you can be a part of the whole new world of cyber-communication!

Mike emailed me a link to a blog by a “tech savvy” librarian – Doug Johnson.  It’s worth a look.  He talks about his experiences with databases and other online sources but of course it is not limited to that.  He also inserts humor (see the Onion piece) which we all need to get through our day.  Perhaps one day people will be saying, “Check out the blog by that tech-savvy librarian, Barbara Horowitz!”

When I have a spare moment (?) I like to read Lois Lowry’s blog.  She talks about books, of course, but also about her life and the world around her New England home.  Her observations are warm, funny and smart.  Although the conversation is one way (I have yet to comment – shy, I suppose) I feel that she has become a friend.

This is my blog that I am starting during the New Technologies Seminar.  I am familiar with this technology but have not used it since last year.  I am hoping that this will help me communicate efficiently with colleagues.  No, this is not War and Peace – just brief musings.

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