Professional Reading #8

Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray by Jan Hoffman

Schools have always seen bullying and worked to stop it. But now bullying can be taken to a higher level with social network site like Facebook or through email or even texting. Schools are hard pressed to know what their role in all of this is. Online bullying brings up a number of questions for schools, such as; if the bullying occurs off campus and/or not during school hours should the school be involved? And how can/should schools find the balance between bullying and freedom of speech?

But it is not just the schools that are confused. “Judges are flummoxed, too, as they wrestle with new questions about protections on student speech and school searches. Can a student be suspended for posting a video on YouTube that cruelly demeans another student? Can a principal search a cellphone, much like a locker or a backpack?” The rulings that have occurred thus far have been contradictory. This is an issue that is just starting to be explored and patrolled by law.

Junior High is a tough time to be relying so much on only words – email, Facebook, texting. “Because students prefer to use their phones for texting rather than talking, they often miss cues about tone of voice. Misunderstandings proliferate: a crass joke can read as a withering attack; did that text have a buried subtext?” Conversations solely taking place through the written word can be very difficult and now add to the fact that these conversations are taking place between tweens or teenagers where communicating appropriately is already difficult and it is a recipe for trouble.

Bullying can be very damaging to a young person’s self image, but online bullying is so much worse. The bullying is written down where it can be viewed again and again. Online bullying can also reach more people at a much faster speed. In an ideal world, people would be kind and compassionate with each other. Until then schools are stuck in a difficult position.

Professional Reading #7

Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8 to 18-year olds. A Kaiser Family Foundation Study

This study was researched to find recreational media patterns and behaviors in children ages eight to eighteen. This study was the third in a series of studies that took place in 1999, 2004, and 2009. There were 2002 respondents that were researched using written questionnaires in the classroom. Media is used to describe TV, music, computers, video games, print materials, and movies.

There were quite a few interesting statistics that stood out to me. The first one is the total amount of time spent using media materials. The average total media use in a typical day is 7:38 hours. However, the total daily media exposure is 10:45. So 29% of the time using media is actually spent multi-tasking where more than 1 form of media is being used at a time. For example, reading and listening to music at the same time or watching TV and texting friends. There has also been an increase in media exposure over time: in 1999 7:29 hours; in 2004 8:33 hours, and in 2009 10:45 hours.

Another fascinating statistic concerned reading. Reading has actually decreased very little over this ten year span. In 1999 :43 minutes were spent reading daily. In 2004 :43 minutes were also spent reading daily. And in 2009 :38 minutes were spent reading daily. On the one hand, this is a small decrease. On the other hand it represents 30:30 hours per year no longer spent reading. So it does add up. However, it is a fairly amazingly small number due to all the hysteria about kids not reading these days.

So the question is if kids are reading pretty much the same amount in the past decade but their total media exposure has drastically increased in the past ten years, what are kids NOT doing know that they used to be doing? The article I read for my last professional reading would suggest they are not increasing their creativity. So are there less creative play time and free time? Instead of building forts in the backyard, collecting bugs, designing Barbie houses and clothes, jumping rope, drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, or playing board games are using the many media devices available to them? I also believe kid’s schedules are more tightly packed. There are many organized sports and activities to participate in. All these activities are great fun, but maybe they do not stimulate creativity very well either.

Media has many educational and entertainment values. We love it all at my house! The question is how to find balance.

Professional Reading #6

The Creativity Crisis

In 1958 E. Paul Torrance designed a series of creativity tasks. These tests have come to be known as a person’s CQ (rather than IQ). “The correlation to lifetime creative accomplishment was more than three times stronger for childhood creativity than childhood IQ.” What is interesting to note is that with every generation average IQ tests go up 10 points. All the many enriched environments and activities are making children smarter. But what is also happening is that since 1990 creativity scores have been steadily declining.

This is a disturbing trend because creativity is critical to the success of our country and our world. “All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions, from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care.” New ideas and solutions come from a mix of many creative people thinking and creating.

This article states that it is too early to tell why this creativity decline is occurring. Two possible theories are first, the number of hours kids spend in front of screens and second, creativity is not being taught and emphasized in the schools. Many teachers and schools feel overwhelmed because there is so much to teach and cram into the day. There is not time to work in creativity. However, there are some schools that are meshing the two issues: material to be covered and creativity. One such school is National Inventors Hall of Fame School. The teachers came up with a project for fifth graders where they had to figure out how to reduce sound in the library. The library faced a public space and it was often quite loud. By the time the project was finished the students had mastered much of the curriculum “from understanding sound waves to per-unit cost calculations to the art of persuasive writing.”

One thing that has always made America great is that we are good problem solvers and we are creative. If this trend of decreasing creativity continues, we could face even greater challenges in our country. Children start out in life interested and curious about everything. Now we just have to figure out how to make sure that continues and does not get lost.

Reference: Bronson, P. & Merryman, A. The Creativity Crisis. 2010.

Professional Reading #5

Tween literature and young adult literature is often difficult to define. Mary Pearson gets many questions about what a YA author is and does. She often finds these questions to be almost accusatory. Pearson believes there are many misconceptions about this genre and in this article addresses some of these myths.

Normal people like Mary Pearson write YA literature. “I am not writing it as ‘practice’ so I can one day write an adult book.” YA literature is just as complex and difficult to write as adult literature. It is just different. There is often still a misconception that teen literature is like a basal reader and just something to muddle through until they can get to the real reading when they are adults.

There is always discussion about the “responsibility” of teen writers which also includes issues of censorship. Maybe there shouldn’t be any bad language or difficult circumstances or the characters should always make good choices. Life is hard. It is a big scary world out there. If a teen can learn and experience the world through a book rather than suffering through it themselves, how wonderful is that.

I recently had a friend ask how I could stand reading all those tween books. I do not have to stand them. They are wonderful. It is true that like any literature there are some that are not so well written, but there are so many wonderful tween books that I can just move on if I find one that I do not like.

I have also noticed a different feel between tween and teen books. A tween book I read about depression is entitled Rabble Starkley by Louis Lowry. A teen book that I read about depression is entitled It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. Although they are both about the same subject and are well-written books they handle the matter of depression on different levels.

So YA isn’t a pretend genre or a practice genre. It is just another genre out there for the reading. Pearson tries one last time “to take a stab at some sort of characteristic that sets teen books apart and say teen books are short. I would be wrong. Graceling by Kristen Cashore.

I might say they always have a teen narrator and sensibility. I would be wrong. The Book Thief by marcus Zusak

I might say they end on a hopeful note. I would be wrong. Inexcusable by Christ lynch.”

To sum up teen literature is just as varied, complex, and interesting as adult literature.

Article read: What YA Lit is and isn’t by Mary Pearson

Professional Reading #4

In chapter 5 Goodstein discusses parental controls. “Parenting is about setting limits, building trust, and helping teens become responsible adults. Lying is what many teens do to test their limits” (pg. 97). Teenagers have always pushed the limits. Now there are many more ways to push the limits and more difficult for parents to keep track. Parents can use cell phones to check on their children, but it does not necessarily give them answers to where their children are.

“David Walsh, the president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, began a program dedicated to helping families reduce screen time and increase physical activity. ‘As the gadgets keep evolving, they keep consuming more and more of our kids’ time. Our kids need a balanced diet of activity, and the problem is that it’s getting out of balance. I don’t think as a society we’re dealing with it yet’” (pg. 119). This chapter is all about balance: how much parental control does each child need versus how much screen time does each child need and/or desire.

Another difficulty surrounding parental control is that many of the tweens and teens know and understand technology much better than their parents do. It is hard to create limits when a parent doesn’t even know or understand what they are limiting. Parents can still stay involved and reap the many benefits of all the new and changing technology.

Goodstein, Anastasia. (2007). Totally wired: What teens and tweens are really doing online. St. Martin’s Press. New York City: NY. Chapter 5.

Professional Reading #3

Togetherville is a website created by Mandeep Dhillon that was launched just last month in May 2010. The initial beta version which is what is online now was tested for children ages 6 to 10. However, the future vision hopes to incorporate children ages 13 and under.

The easiest way to describe Togetherville is like Facebook for kids. Parents and children both sign up to be members of Togetherville. Parents are able to invite their facebook friends to join Togetherville and be friends with their child. Currently, a parent cannot join if they are not on Facebook. Children cannot add their own friends, but send a message to their parents who then add the friends. Because the parents are in charge of their child’s neighborhood of friends, a child will never come into connect with someone unknown or anonymous.

At no place can a child enter in free form responses. All the responses are chosen from pre-set quips, which have such choices as “How are you doing?” or “Did you see Toy Story 3?” Children can also submit quip suggestions they would like to have available to use.

Some objectives of the site are developing computer skills, learning appropriate online behavior, engaging in social networking, playing games and having a good time! This generation of children is growing up in a digital age. Dhillon says, “Togetherville gives kids more than just a social network; it teaches kids positive online behavior so they can be good digital citizens.”

I spent some time on the site with my ten-year-old daughter this afternoon. It was easy to sign in and then invite some family members to join Togetherville to be on my daughter’s neighborhood. I noticed that there were not any ads on the website which is a bonus. My daughter played a few games and liked them. I think this is a site we can enjoy together.

References:

Ypulse Interview: Mandeep Dhillon, Togetherville by Meredith

and A Social Network to Grow On. by Katherine Boehret

Professional Reading #2

In October 2005, ImaginOn opened its doors in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a groundbreaking partnership between a library and a theater company. As the library and the theater company began talking they realized they “were both in the business of storytelling” and they could see that there may be room to combine the two areas into an amazing building and location for children, tweens, and teens.

The mission statement of ImaginOn is to “bring stories to life through extraordinary experiences that challenge, inspire, and excite young minds.” There are many different areas within the building that do just that. One area is the children’s area serving children from birth to sixth grade. Next to the children’s area there is a Story Lab which has individual computer workstations called Tale Spinners and groups of computers situated together called Team Machines. Between these two areas a ramp curves up to the next floor for the tween central. This area is called Tech Central filled with forty computers. The five member staff team is there not only to help tweens but also to teach. Nearby are four large classrooms used for rehearsals, workshops, dance studios, and art classes. The ramp continues up to the Teen Loft. Located adjacent to the Teen Loft is Studio-I which is an amazing addition to any library. These areas use blue screen technology to enable teens to create all types of videos. It is unusual for a library to “embrace creation-as opposed to collection-in a medium that isn’t text.”

Unfortunately ImaginOn is suffering budget tensions like so many other libraries nationwide and is currently reducing its hours of operation. The community is rallying to their aid and funds are being raised to help ImaginOn stay open, but it is still discouraging to see hours reduced.

ImaginOn sounds like an amazing collaboration between a library and theater company. I do not have current plans to visit North Carolina, but if I ever go there I am very interested to visit ImaginOn.

Kenney, B. (2005). Imagine this. School Library Journal, 51(12).

Professional Reading #1

Tools for the 21st Century Teacher by Michael Zimmer

This seventeen page handbook was written with the intent to provide information about internet and technology tools teachers can use in their classrooms. First, Zimmer dispels some general myths about technology in the classroom. The first myth is that new teachers are experienced and comfortable with technology. The second myth is that current teachers have no interest in technology. And the third misconception is that teachers have to pay for the technology they use in their classrooms. All of these myths are incorrect. What all teachers seem to need and desire is someone or something to explain and educate them in the available technologies. And many of these available technologies are free to use on the internet.

This handbook briefly describes fifteen different technology tools which are free to use and access online. These tools are twitter, blogs (blogger, wordpress, etc.), google reader, diigo, glogster, prezi, dropbox, evernote, quizlet, wallwisher, titanpad, skype, wordle, webpages (weebly, google sites, wix, etc.), and wikispaces.

Tools for the 21st Century Teacher is also found online. It is a great reference to bookmark because Zimmer has provided many links embedded within the handbook. There are links to each of the tools discussed as well as examples of the tools in use and videos giving more descriptions of each tool.

Although this handbook was targeted toward teachers, it is also useful for tween librarians. Many of these tools tweens will already know about. Yet tweens are often still gaining more freedom when online so some of these tools may still be unknown to them. Some of these tools like quizlet and glogster can be very helpful for tween students.

I am continually becoming more technologically minded and enjoy discovering new sites and tools online. However, from reading this handbook I have learned there are many new tools for me to explore. Technology is continually changing and expanding. As a librarian it is critical that I stay abreast of the available technology. Even though I cannot know every tool available, if I am unafraid of change and technology I can still be successful.