Book Review Contest

Hey Everybody! Just a little note about a contest we’re running for the Spring semester. We invite you to write a review of a book in the Library@Mohawk collection. Fiction reviews are preferred but if you only read non-fiction, that’s no problem, we’ll accept reviews of non-fiction books as well. Check out the reviews written by C.E. students in the Winter Semester for inspiration.

• We’ll accept submissions until Friday, May 23rd.
• Your review should be 500 words or 1 page long.
• Send entries by email to colin.clarke1@mohawkcollege.ca, attach them as Word documents.
• The book you review must be in the Library@Mohawk’s collection. We’ll accept a donation of a book that you’d like to review if we don’t have it in the collection.
• The winner will receive a gift certificate from Bryan Prince and mention in the Spring edition of the Library@Mohawk Book Review. One prize will be granted for fiction and one for non-fiction.

If you have any questions contact:

colin.clarke1@mohawkcollege.ca

or

cynthia.williamson@mohawkcollege.ca

Spring Fling

Happy Spring everyone! The temperature might not be with us yet but that sunshine sure warms our hearts. This post is a hodgepodge of things that have come across my radar in the past couple of weeks. So without further ado, I fling some webby things, something about poetry and some event reminders your way.

1. Realistic CGI girl: Isn’t she amazing? This one is from Boing Boing – they called her “creepily realistic”. I don’t know much about her, according to Boing Boing she was made in Brazil. I highlight her here just to show you how far computer graphics are coming along. At first glance she certainly is “creepily realistic” and if my name were Julia Roberts, I might be a little worried.

2. I don’t know about the rest of you but sometimes managing my email just about makes me cry. Just so you don’t have to consider email bankruptcy (i.e. just giving up & not communicating by email anymore like Stanford computer science professor Donald E. Knuth) here are some great tips from the folks at the Read Write Web. Now that the semester is almost done and I’ve got spring and summer to re-group, I vow to adopt the GTD method. I’ll let ya know in September if I’ve succeeded or failed (or is that achieved deferred success?).

3. Tame the Web pointed me to the School Library Journal website and this great little “sub-notebook” computer, the ASUS Eee PC 701. It’s about half the size of a regular laptop but bigger than PDA. It comes fully loaded with a Linux operating system, OpenOffice software suite and ready to surf the ‘net. For under $500USD it sounds like a great option for people on the go. If you’re a big fan of Microsoft & compatibles, Linux and Microsoft are not friends, tread lightly, it might not be the new toy for you. Wouldn’t it be cool if school boards could equip students with something like this?

4. It’s National Poetry Month in Canada. Get out and enjoy some poetry readings, host your own, read a poem, write a poem, have your students write a poem. Something, anything to celebrate poetry.

Events:

Don’t forget to register for This is I.T. The annual college conference soon to be known as Advancing Learning is being hosted here at Mohawk this year. Go here for more information.

It’s almost the end of the semester and our chances to learn are coming up, check the PD calendar for more info on Connections, e-learning week and more.

Net Neutrality

Before I get to the topic of today’s post, let me say a big thanks to everyone out there in Mohawk land who participated in the library’s survey last week. We had more participants than last time we surveyed you and we’re looking forward to learning from your comments. Keep an eye on our website, we’ll announce prize winners as soon as we can.

The phrase net neutrality was new to me when I came across it last month and I suspect it might be new to you too.  Once you know what it means, you’ll find that you probably already know the concept and perhaps even take it for granted like I did. Net neutrality refers to an Internet environment where all information moves freely regardless of content, sender, receiver, ISP or whether or not it is commercial (paid for) content.  To understand more, check out this video of Amber McArthur interviewing University of Toronto Information Studies Professor Andrew.

Well, of course, you might say. That’s the way it is right?  Well, mostly, yes, the Internet is still mostly neutral.  If you ignore things like Telus blocking a telecommunications union’s communications during a strike.  Or think about the censorship practiced by the Chinese government as another example.  The reason this issue is on everyone’s radar in Canada and the U.S. right now is the belief that big ISPs and other corporations would love to prioritize the content that their customers pay for.  In other words, that movie being streamed from Rogers to you that you paid for would move faster than your Google searches for health information for example or your free rss feeds.   The people against this kind of prioritizing think it’s time for the government to step in and  regulate net neutrality, to ensure that the Internet remains free and unprioritized, to keep basic principles of the Internet intact.  Now it gets complicated, because the people who would like to be able to prioritize traffic argue that government regulation of the Internet goes against the same basic principles of the ‘Net that a lack of neutrality goes against!  Whew!  How do you decide who’s right?  Should the government intervene or not?    I’m not here to tell you what to think, just to provide grist for the mill - maybe a classroom debate?  But if you did make me choose, I think I lean towards a law guaranteeing net neutrality.  I’m not endorsing the Green Party, but their stance on this one makes sense to me:

The Green Party of Canada is committed to the original design principle of the internet - network neutrality: the idea that a maximally useful public information network treats all content, sites, and platforms equally, thus allowing the network to carry every form of information and support every kind of application. Green Party MPs will pass legislation granting the Internet in Canada the status of Common Carrier - prohibiting Internet Service Providers from discriminating due to content while freeing them from liability for content transmitted through their systems.

For more information, Go to the BRAIN & search the magazine and journal database called Academic Search Premiere (search on “net neutrality”).  Or you can just Google “net neutrality Canada” or see any of the following sites and articles that were useful to me for this post:

http://www.neutrality.ca/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/net-neutral.html

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1678/135/

Library Survey & Copyright

1. Library Survey: March 3^rd to 14^th

It’s that time again…the Library @ Mohawk wants to hear from you! From March 3rd to March 14th, you will be invited to complete the LibQUAL+ User Perception Survey. This is a very long name for an online survey that will only take 8 or 9 minutes of your time.

Don’t be shy - this is a great chance to let us know your opinions so we can make improvements to the Library‘s services and programs. Tell us what you think – the good and the bad (or not so bad) and you will be entered to win some great prizes like an iPod touch. The Library @ Mohawk is your library so make it count.

Check out The BRAIN or for more information on the survey.

2. Canadian Copyright Law Changes

The Government is looking at changes to our copyright law right now and since copyright affects us all, we thought we’d give you some info about what’s going on. The process hasn’t been that transparent so I can tell you more about who has been lobbying the government and what they’re requesting. In particular, the Canadian Library Association has sent some recommendations to the Government. I reprint portions of their letter to the Minister of Industry, Jim Prentice and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Josée Verner:

“First, should there be new copyright legislation, it needs to be carefully crafted so that it punishes copyright-infringing behaviour but does not ban devices that might be used to circumvent technological prevention measures. These devices have legitimate uses, such as enabling the print disabled to access copyrighted material; allowing libraries to preserve and maintain digital collections; allowing ordinary Canadians to exercise fair dealing; and allowing anyone to access protected material after its copyright expires. To ban the manufacture or distribution of “circumvention” devices risks punishing all Canadians for the actions of a few who abuse copyright….

Second, the government needs to recognize that government documents and government data belong to all Canadians and that all Canadians should have liberal access to these materials. Canadians often pay for government information several times over. For example, provincial and municipal governments must purchase Statistics Canada census material that Canadian taxpayers have already paid for once. Crown copyright needs to ensure that nonprofit use by Canadians of all government information doesn’t require permission or payment from the government. Instead acknowledgment that information has been taken from a government source should be sufficient.

Third, persons with perceptual disabilities must have the same right to access copyrighted materials as all Canadians have. This right should apply regardless of format in order to accommodate their particular needs. Legislation is required to give persons with perceptual disabilities access equity with others. The desire to punish counterfeiters and pirates should not also punish persons with perceptual disabilities by banning devices that can be used to legitimately access material that is blocked to them by technical protection measures.”

If you would like more information here are some places to look:

Canadian Library Association

Canadian Association of University Teachers

http://www.michaelgeist.ca (Michael is a Canadian coyright guru, he a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law)

Next week, it’s all about Net Neutrality! Stay Tuned.

Killer aps and Good Causes

Last time I posted about the importance of PD, I’ll tell you about my conference next. First though, a reminder to mark May 28, 29 and 30^th in your calendar. This year Mohawk College and the good people in the Centre for Teaching and Learning are hosting This is I.T. Don’t know about this conference? Here’s a quote from the website, “This Is IT! has been the province’s premiere instructional technology conference since its inception in 1994. This year marks the official name change from This Is IT! to Advancing Learning, reflective of the conference’s focus on teaching and learning.”

The Ontario Library Association’s annual Super Conference is a big one for us library types. Over 4500 people attended, not quite as many as the annual American Library Association conference, but check out this clip to get the idea. Super Conference is always a great learning and networking experience. A special nod goes out to our own Jenn Horwath, the Ontario College and University Association’s Academic Librarian of the Year. A well deserved honour for Jenn. We miss her and look forward to her return from sabbatical in the fall.

Super Conference featured some non-librarian keynote speakers whom I found to be particularly inspiring this year. Irshad Manji who wrote The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in her Faith spoke about what inspired her to write the book. Brave is the word that comes to mind to describe Ms. Manji. Elizabeth May also spoke at the conference, her lifelong dedication to the environment is really amazing. A colleague and I have quietly talked about how to inspire some “greening” around the college. Stay tuned for more.

My trusted source Resource Shelf has lots of good stuff to share as usual. I’ve found a new website to monitor: KillerStartups.com! In their own words, they, “…review 30+ internet startups per working day.” They allow visitors to vote on the ones that they think might become “killers”. I don’t know if this one will become a killer but anyone creative will be impressed by the new online sketchpad at OffType.net. It is really easy to use, comes with a scalable colour palette and an adjustable drawing tool. You can save or print the images you create – you can even save them online right on OffType. Give it a try or show it to your students, its lots of fun.

Also found on Resource Shelf, the World Almanac, that wonderful provider of facts and “this day in history” information has an e-newsletter. The World Almanac blog is in BRAINlinks, they do a daily post with an update of facts and events related to that day’s date. The e-newsletter is more comprehensive than the blog and it’ll come right to your inbox. This is a great way to find little tidbits to share with your students, start conversations etc. Or just to enjoy for its own sake if you’re a fact geek like me!

To end on a green (and charitable) note, another neat find on KillerStartups. It’s a new social networking site based on doing good works: GoodCircle.org. A clipping: ” … find and join people, friends, groups, and organizations who are involved in and support the same things you do. Search by name, idea, cause, belief, event, organization, community.” Check it out, maybe it’ll help you or your students find some help with a favourite cause.

 

Planning, learning and growing

Greetings BRAIN_blog readers.

Even though its almost the end of January, I seem to still be in New Year mode. You know, thinking about new things, planning and making those dread resolutions! Foremost on my mind? Professional Development, both receiving and giving. I’m planning, trying to wrap up a research project with a colleague. We’re gearing up to present our findings to folks and get an article ready. I’m looking at the conference calendar and trying to decide what would be best for my learning goals this year. Do you make goals like this? Maybe your learning path is already well established and you’re moving along it just fine. Did you know that our employer will put $600.00 annually towards all full-time employees’ professional development? Whether your learning path is underway or this is the year you start - talk to your supervisor, talk to HR, make this a great learning year for you.

Your Mohawk librarians are gearing up for one of their favourite annual PD experiences. Next week, we’re off to the Ontario Library Association conference. It is held annually at this time of year in Toronto. We always come away from it brimming with enthusiasm for our profession and with lots of good ideas. The seed for this very blog was planted at the OLA conference a few years ago! It is so good to see what others are doing in their libraries and to be able to blow our own horns a bit. Presentations at OLA will be done this year by 4 Mohawk librarians! Don’t worry about being abandoned though - our excellent Information Services staff will be here, on the front lines, giving the same fabulous service that they always give.

I am also excited that the annual Ontario community college conference called This is I.T. is being hosted here at Mohawk this spring. Our colleagues over at the Centre for Teaching and Learning are organizing this one for us. Check out their blog for more information. They sent out a call for session proposals not too long ago, there’s still time to submit something. I hope to see lots of Mohawk folks telling others about the exciting things they’re doing in their classrooms with technology. Be sure to mark this one on your calendar. I attended in Durham last year, its a great learning experience.

Maybe your professional development this year will involve writing and publishing? Maybe self-publishing is an option. A reliable self publisher allows you as the author to publish your writing as you would like to see it published. It gives you lots of editing and creative control over the final product. If this appeals to you then maybe Lulu is for you. The ever reliable Resource Shelf pointed me to an Educause article about a web-based, self-publishing service called Lulu, it’s called 7 Things you Should Know About Lulu. Check it out.

Lastly, I promised you some more information about our Library@Mohawk Book Review. Ladies and gentlemen, start your reading and writing engines. We’d like you to read a book from the Mohawk fiction collection and send us a review, around 250 words long. If you really prefer to read non-fiction, we’ll take reviews about it as well. I’ll keep you posted about dates but at some time towards the end of the semester, a judging panel (made up of instructors and librarians) will decide on the best reviews submitted. We at the BRAIN will publish them on the BRAIN website. We hope to make this an annual affair so please join us and get the first one off to a roaring success. Keep an eye on Mocomotion for more information about final deadlines and maybe some incentives or prizes along the way. Happy reading. We’ll post more information about where to send your reviews on the BRAIN, stay tuned.

Technology Trends for 2008

Happy January Everyone!

This time of year a lot of the blogs I follow are doing top technologies for 2008 lists so I feel compelled to join in.  I don’t think I’m going out on too much of a limb with anything I have to say.  We’ll have to remember to check back in December to see if I was right or not.

1.  Social software sights like Facebook and MySpace will continue to be popular with folks.  There are those predicting their decline, MySpace in particular has not had the huge growth that Facebook has had in the past year.  I simply feel that people have become accustomed to using these sites and the habit won’t be broken easily.  In Libraryland, we’re still wrestling with how much of a presence we should have on these sites, I think more libraries will figure that out this year.  My own feeling is that a little bit of promotion is not a bad thing but that we really shouldn’t be too actively seeking friends, poking people or writing on their walls.  I’m wondering what, if anything, instructors are doing with these sites.  I know some who have accounts and interact with their students on Facebook.  Post something here and let us know what you do.

2.  Open Source Software will become more well known and used by more people.  Open source software, that is software developed by communities of programmers and usually free, is becoming more common place.  Libraryland in particular is seeing movement towards open source software for library resource management.  The Library@Mohawk will have news on our own open source venture soon!   Open Office is an example of open source software that you might want to try - it’s a free software suite very similar to MS Office.    There is even an open source Course Management System called Moodle that many people are using.

3.  E-books will become more popular.   I think lots of people have predicted this every year for what seems like many years but this may be the year that we’re finally right.  You will remember that I wasn’t so thrilled with the Kindle e-book reader but I do think it will help e-books take a leap forward this year.  I’m looking for an e-book version of a textbook for an instructor and I think the book store get some e-book requests this year too.  The publishers still need  to get more comfortable with licensing and access issues, but, I repeat, I think this will be a break out year.

4.  Software as a Service will really make its mark.  SaaS is software that you access via your web browser.  You don’t have to download it to your hard drive.  The software is hosted on a server with a vendor and you access it there.  The big plus - your stuff is available wherever you are.  No remembering to save files to your usb drive or email things to yourself (my favourite file saving method).  For busy I.T. folks, it means no servers to purchase and maintain. I’ve been using Google Docs, which, in many ways falls into the SaaS category, to work on a  project with a colleague.  It’s great, we can each edit and add things to what more or less looks like a Word document and everything is all in one place.  If you have a Gmail account, check out Google Docs, it is really neat.  Wikis and blogs are a good example of this kind of web-based software, like Google Docs, they’re great for collaboration and highly mobile folks.  It is the savings on servers and maintenance for big commercial software purchases that will really push people towards this option.  As an example, there is library software that can cost almost $200,000 including servers or you can allow the vendor to web host it for you and spend under $80,000 - it makes a big difference.

5.  Computers are going to continue to get smaller and more mobile and the touch screen will become more popular.  You heard me singing the praises of the Apple iPod Touch in December.  It’s popularity and the popularity of the iPhone, which has similar touch screen technology, will spark some imitation I think.  Our phones really are turning into mobile computers and, increasingly,  making our library’s online resources compatible with these mobile devices is going to be important.  I’m proud to say that the BRAIN website has been mobile compatible for quite a while now.  Do you find that your students are accessing resources on hand held devices and not just phoning, taking pictures and texting each other?

Some Library@Mohawk news:  We’re going to be sponsoring a book review contest and e-publishing book reviews written by students.  Watch theBRAIN for more information in the coming weeks.

Lastly, I’d like to send out kudos to our food services folks, Chartwells.  They’re now offering fair trade, organic coffee at the Moco Cafe in i-wing.  Yay!  And kudos to all of you out there drinking it, I went down for coffee at 9:00am this morning & the fair trade container was already empty and just being refilled!  Now if everyone could just remember to bring in their own mugs and stop throwing all those Tim’s paper cups in the garbage, we’d really be going in the right direction!

Happy New Year!

Here at theBRAIN_blog, we’re looking forward to 2008. We hope you are too. This week, just a quick check in and hello to all.

During the writing of this post, it’s chilly and sunny outside, just the kind of weather to get us moving and trying to stay warm. Maybe that means moving some brain cells and learning something new.  Is there something new you’d like to try this year? Why not make a positive resolution to learn something new instead of the usual fitness, diet and budgeting stuff?

Can I make a suggestion? Why not make 2008 the year you learn about a new technology? Try a blog, or how about set up a Flickr account to share all the holiday photos you took with your new digital camera? I’m learning more about my MacBook - learning Keynote, Apple’s presentation software.  It’s the software Al Gore used to create his presentation in an Inconvenient Truth - now that’s a great slide show!  This will be the year that the library switches to new software, I have lots of learning to do about it too. You’ll hear more about that as the year progresses.

We’ll be back next week with predictions for 2008 technology trends.

Greetings of the Season

We at the BRAIN wish all of you peace, happiness and wellness during the holiday season.

It’s almost the end of the year and folks’ celebratory preparations are probably well under way. Sometimes it’s tough to remember that this is a season of joy, what with all the shopping, cooking, baking and running around that we all do in December. Not to mention the credit card bills in the New Year. One of the things that eases the stress of the season and cheers me is the tradition of lighting our houses. Christmas lights help me remember that the solstice is near and soon the days will be getting longer again. Is it any wonder that so many cultures and religions celebrate at this time of year? The darkness is receding, if that isn’t a reason to throw a party or two I don’t know what is.

Those who work with me know that Christmas isn’t really my bag, “Bah! Humbug!” is more likely to spill from my lips than, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” I prefer the Grinch Who Stole Christmas to The Christmas Story. I would love it if we could all tone down the consumerism thing just a bit. Somehow though, shopping and lists naturally go with this season, don’t they? So, in that spirit, here’s a list from the BRAIN, some things new, cool, and fun. One is even charitable. Take a gander; maybe there is something to put on your wish list, or perhaps the perfect gift idea for someone near and dear.

1. My absolute favourite 2007 techie toy has to be the iPod Touch. I have drunk so much of Apple’s Kool-Aid that my face is stained purple! I love my iPod Touch. You have to see this amazing gadget! They are ultra-cool. Not only can you listen to music, you can store photos, watch movies and surf the web. Not to mention that it’ll help me get ready for the iPhone.

2. Want to splurge a bit on a child in your life and help another child in a developing country at the same time? Have you heard about the One Lap Top Per Child program? Here is Cory Doctorow’s post to BoingBoing to spell it out for you: “The Foundation that manages the One Laptop Per Child Program (which will give one low-cost, Linux-based laptop to every child in the developing world — eventually) is making their machines available for sale in the developed world this Christmas. The price is $399, and includes two laptops, one of which will be given to a child in the developing world.” Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. I wouldn’t blame you if you stopped reading right now and headed over to Laptop Foundation to make a purchase.

3. If were a child I’d want a Pleo robot dinosaur. They are absolutely the best robotic thing I’ve ever seen. They walk, cry, cuddle, and explore on their own and when they want to. Apparently if you pull their tales they’ll cry so realistically that you’ll never do it again.

4. A GPS receiver. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. These handy, dandy gadgets help you find your way, whether you’re walking, driving or riding your bike. You just tell the receiver where you are and where you want to go and it plots your route and gives you directions. You’ve got to shop around, you can get a basic one for around $150.00 or you can spend $500.00 and buy one that streams driving directions through your car stereo. They’re also handy for plotting running and cycling routes to plan your training or share with friends. I don’t have a brand or model to recommend, starting at PC Magazine’s 2007 Gift Guide wouldn’t hurt.

5. Here’s something I can only describe as “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it”. The Titanic DNA watch. This is a watch made from steel recovered from the hull of the sunken luxury liner, the Titanic, yes that Titanic. Its black face is coloured with a paint made from coal dust ground from coal also recovered from the wreck. Like the website I read says, maybe the best thing about this Titanic is that Celine Dion has nothing to do with it.

6. What Christmas list would be complete without a bike? Why not the infinite gear bicycle I found in Popular Science magazine’s round up of the best innovations of 2007? The inventors were inspired by a Leonardo da Vinci sketch to create a quiet, constantly shifting bike transmission. Instead of hubs and a derailleur, “… a set of spheres rotate around a central point to transfer torque from the pedals to the road. Tilting the spheres changes their contact diameters, permitting an infinite progression of speed ratios within its range. The result is that you’re always pedaling at just the right speed.” Cool technology, & cool looking bike, what more could you ask for?

Happy Shopping! Lastly, I can’t resist one environmentally friendly piece of advice – take it easy with the wrapping paper and bows, o.k?

 

 

Reading and Obsession

Happy November everyone. Have you recovered from the time change yet? I think I have. I’ve been thinking a lot about reading this month. This post is not our usual format, I’m highlighting a new literacy report and sharing my thoughts because it has really made me think. Stay with me though, there is new geeky product talk eventually, I promise.

Someone once said that there is a fine line between a hobby and an obsession. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a friend about online gaming and Second Life. After I picked myself up off of the floor when she told me she’d never heard of Second Life, we talked about how much time people spend online gaming, chatting, and on sites like Facebook etc. I’ve heard that some people spend more than 30 hours per week. My friend felt that anything done for that amount of time is obsessive. For the sake of comparison, in 2004, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians aged 12-17 watch an average of 12 hours of television per week. Canadians over 18 watch between 20 and 24 hours of television per week. My friend and I eventually came to the conclusion that obsession begins with neglect of the rest of your life in favour of the all consuming activity. Well, BRAINblog reader, I’ve been doing some navel gazing because of all of this. I’m a 1-2 books per week reader, I don’t think I hit 30 hours of reading every week but I bet hit that amount occasionally. Am I obsessed? I dunno. I eat right, try to exercise, get my work done, spend time with family and friends (Holy cow! Boring, but you get my drift). I don’t have a Gollum-like pallor from staying inside reading (although I gotta admit, I think some of my books are precious). So, jury’s out. Whaddya think – is reading that much unhealthy??

Reading stayed on my radar because of a new report I learned about this week – from the National Endowment for the Arts in the States, it’s called To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence. The NEA calls the data in the report, “…simple, consistent and alarming”. They indicate that reading ability and the habit of reading regularly has declined in college students in the States;  I suspect the same is probably true of our students. There are definite correlations between poor reading skills and “lack of employment, low wages and fewer opportunities for advancement.” According to the report, “Significantly worse reading skills are found among prisoners than in the general adult population. And deficient readers are less likely to become active in civic and cultural life, most notably in volunteerism and voting.” The ABC Canada Literacy Foundation reports similar finding in a survey reported in a document called Learning a Living. People with better literacy and numeracy skills do better economically. People in a BC Literacy program increased their literacy and reduced their dependence on welfare support significantly.

All of this makes sense to me, but it got me thinking about our traditional definitions of literacy. The Millenials, those digital natives and our students, may not be all be readers but we hear that they do like to play online games and that a good portion of their social lives is conducted online. Do we know if the people who don’t read well play online games and chat and use social networks? We may think that online activities are nothing but time wasters, but I challenge you to try an online game or to try to get around in Second Life. It isn’t easy, problem solving and reasoning skills are required. No, you don’t have to read a lot of prose to figure out an online game, but you do have to use your brain. Notwithstanding the correlations between poor reading and poor economic prospects, and no doubt those findings are scary, I’d just like to know where gaming and online proclivities fit into the equation. Perhaps our literacy studies aren’t asking all of the questions that need to be asked. Literature is starting to be available about the educational benefits of gaming, we should be looking at it, I think. Go to Academic Search Premiere on the BRAIN and use the keywords “gaming” and “literacy” to search and see what I’m talking about. Maybe the Millenials have a new way of learning and if their literacy really is declining as these studies indicate, then we need to figure out their learning styles. If expecting our students to read lots of printed text is not a good way to teach and engage them, then what is? I’m sure other people are asking and answering my questions.  I have a teacher friend who tells me that diversity in learning styles is big in education PD these days. I’ll be looking for the research.   I have been doing some research with a colleague in an attempt to look at the online skills and knowledge of our own Mohawk students. I’ll keep ya posted. In the meantime, check out those reports & tell us what you think.

OK, finally, one geeky technology note. Amazon has released a new e-book reader, it’s called Kindle. It’s about the size of a hardcover book and weighs less than a paperback. It features a cool interface that imitates the printed page very well. Wireless connectivity works like a cell phone and can connect & download books anywhere, no need for wifi hotspots. The Kindle store carries 110 of 112 bestsellers at Amazon available for purchase and download. It lets you make annotations, you can read Word and other document formats and you can also download blogs and some online newspapers. That’s the good news, light, portable, easy to read, lots of choice – what, you ask, is the bad news? Well, for starters, it’s $400. Books have to be purchased through the online Kindle store and, while they are less expensive than traditional hardcover format, the Kindle e-format cannot be read by any other device. The newspaper subscriptions are cheap – but they’re charging for blog subscriptions! Yes, blogs that I can read online for free, I’d have to pay to read on a Kindle reader! Not to mention that you can only choose from their list of pre-selected blogs. And, they’re also charging for downloading of Word or other documents. No, I am not making this up, charges for things that are free elsewhere! No wonder e-books won’t take off – no one can figure out how to provide them. Won’t it be great when students can buy a portable reader and download all of their textbooks easily? The less expensive books would offset the cost of the reader, not to mention the convenience. I’ll be checking out the Kindle if I see one in a store but I can’t imagine buying one yet. Would you?