Warning! Spoiler!
In this book, a young German boy named Bruno moves with his family from Berlin to "Out-With" where his father has taken charge of a strange city filled with people in gray, striped pajamas. Bruno is curious about the people in the pajamas and jealous of all the time his father spends in their "city." One day, while walking the outside of the fence that keeps him outside of their area, he encounters a boy his own age. A friendship develops between the two and one day Bruno slips beneath the fence to join his friend and never returns.
The Holocaust through the eyes of a child is a particularly surreal and horrid thing. In this book, Boyne presents Auschwitz through the eyes of the commanding officer's naive and innocent son. The horror comes home to the father when he realizes his son has gone into the camp and been gassed by his own command. It is a disturbing book, in part because it does not allow one to view the Holocaust in black and white. Finally, a warning. This looks like a book for children because of the young age of its main character. It is not. For the youngest set, Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti is an excellent choice.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Palms to The Ground by Amy Stolls
Calman Puloitz has been in therapy since early childhood because his parents think it will prevent him from needing therapy. Instead, all that therapy has resulted in a slightly neurotic teen with a lot of self doubts. Calman's unintentional cure? A cross-country visit with his penpal Rizzy. The visit is full of suprises for both Calman and Rizzy, not the least of which is the fact that Rizzy is a girl.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
A Strategy for Academic Libraries in the First Quarter of the 21st Century by David W. Lewis
Disruptive technology meets libraries! Here is some scary bedtime reading for librarians who fear change: Lewis asserts that within the next few years there will be very few books in most academic libraries (with the exception of monographs in social sciences and humanities). Instead, he asserts that collections will be digitized; research done almost exclusively online; library spaces repurposed (into information and learning commons); and libraries' focus on collections redirected to "curating content."
What does it mean for the K-12 library world? Are the same shifts coming? Will collections turn almost exclusively fiction to support leisure and humanities reading skills? Will K-12 research go almost exclusively digital? Will K-12 library spaces turn into information commons like the university model with technology integration specialists, writing centers, tutorial centers, and librarians working together to help teachers develop curricula and students complete projects?
Of particular interest to me are Werner's recommendation related to resources and instruction. First, he asserts that library resources need to be embedded into the "systems and tools students and faculty use" (10) aka Google Books and course management software systems. He even suggests that a combination of Google Books and WorldCat might at some point replace library catalogs. This is interesting and makes sense to me. Conserve's holdings, cataloged via CatExpress, have been part of Google Books' search. Also, I've been experimenting with CMS sources (free and for $ like Spring Share) to combine teacher assignments and library sources in the same world. I'm glad to see I'm keeping up!
In the realm of instruction, Werner asserts that instruction might include a "mix of tutorials, learning tools, and in-person classroom involvement" (10) and instruction would focus less on tools [specific reference sources or databases] and more on evaluation of authority, academic integrity and intellectual property (11). We are already doing this in the K-12 world; this is what my teaching focus has been at Conserve.
Finally, in terms of repurposing space, physical space, I think we had it exactly right a few years ago when the educational technology staff and the library staff were all in the same office. Losing and not replacing the educational technology staff member ended that leading edge type support. I'd like to get back to that...and combine the learning center and writing center into the library space as well. I can't imagine getting rid of the print collection at this point, however. I think in a small K-12 library that the collection is small enough and curriculum-focused enough to stay. But, then again...the Kindle 2 is pretty amazing...
https://idea.iupui.edu/dspace/bitstream/1805/953/1/DWLewis_Strategy.pdf
What does it mean for the K-12 library world? Are the same shifts coming? Will collections turn almost exclusively fiction to support leisure and humanities reading skills? Will K-12 research go almost exclusively digital? Will K-12 library spaces turn into information commons like the university model with technology integration specialists, writing centers, tutorial centers, and librarians working together to help teachers develop curricula and students complete projects?
Of particular interest to me are Werner's recommendation related to resources and instruction. First, he asserts that library resources need to be embedded into the "systems and tools students and faculty use" (10) aka Google Books and course management software systems. He even suggests that a combination of Google Books and WorldCat might at some point replace library catalogs. This is interesting and makes sense to me. Conserve's holdings, cataloged via CatExpress, have been part of Google Books' search. Also, I've been experimenting with CMS sources (free and for $ like Spring Share) to combine teacher assignments and library sources in the same world. I'm glad to see I'm keeping up!
In the realm of instruction, Werner asserts that instruction might include a "mix of tutorials, learning tools, and in-person classroom involvement" (10) and instruction would focus less on tools [specific reference sources or databases] and more on evaluation of authority, academic integrity and intellectual property (11). We are already doing this in the K-12 world; this is what my teaching focus has been at Conserve.
Finally, in terms of repurposing space, physical space, I think we had it exactly right a few years ago when the educational technology staff and the library staff were all in the same office. Losing and not replacing the educational technology staff member ended that leading edge type support. I'd like to get back to that...and combine the learning center and writing center into the library space as well. I can't imagine getting rid of the print collection at this point, however. I think in a small K-12 library that the collection is small enough and curriculum-focused enough to stay. But, then again...the Kindle 2 is pretty amazing...
https://idea.iupui.edu/dspace/bitstream/1805/953/1/DWLewis_Strategy.pdf
Living and Learning with the New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project
I'm still exploring Web 2.0, Library 2.0 and Education 2.0 and what all of this new social media means for libraries. I'm also currently halfway through Disrupting Class, and I'm very aware that all of this 2.0 media is a "disruptive technology" for the library world and what libraries will look like in the near future.
Here are some quotes from the Living and Learning with New Media study that I've decided to ponder (coral emphasis is my own):
"This study was motivated by two primary research questions: How are the new media [Web 2.0 stuff: social networks, online games, iPods, etc.] being integrated into youth practices and agendas? How do these practices change the dynamics of youth-adult negotiations over literacy, learning, and authoritative knowledge?" (1).
"The digital world lowers barriers to self-directed learning" (2).
"New media allow...freedom and autonomy...Youth respect one another's authority...are often more motivated to learn from peers...and the outcome emerges through exploration...[instead of] set, predefined goals" (2).
"Rather than assuming that education is primarily about preparing for jobs and careers, what would it mean to think of it as a process guiding youths' participation in public life more generally?" (3)
http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf
Here are some quotes from the Living and Learning with New Media study that I've decided to ponder (coral emphasis is my own):
"This study was motivated by two primary research questions: How are the new media [Web 2.0 stuff: social networks, online games, iPods, etc.] being integrated into youth practices and agendas? How do these practices change the dynamics of youth-adult negotiations over literacy, learning, and authoritative knowledge?" (1).
"The digital world lowers barriers to self-directed learning" (2).
"New media allow...freedom and autonomy...Youth respect one another's authority...are often more motivated to learn from peers...and the outcome emerges through exploration...[instead of] set, predefined goals" (2).
"Rather than assuming that education is primarily about preparing for jobs and careers, what would it mean to think of it as a process guiding youths' participation in public life more generally?" (3)
http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Set just after World War II in the Channel Islands between England and France, this is a delightful novel full of surprises and wonder. The entire story is told via letters to and from one Juliet Ashton. Juliet was a humor writer during the war, but now that the war is done, she is seeking new, more serious subjects to write about. Her course is not clear at first, but when she receives an unexpected letter from a stranger on the Island of Guernsey looking for literary advice about Charles Lamb, her direction begins to reveal itself. Shaffer and Barrows have created a fine novel with that reveal life on the Channel Islands during and after World War II, but the historical accuracy in their fiction takes a second seat to their charming characters and engaging tale.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
