Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) II

As promised, I'd follow up on my earlier entry. I'm still typing this on my Ipad and by the time this has been posted, the internet should have been restored as I'm using Blogger in Offline Mode. 

I did say last week I'd discuss my thoughts a little further going by my experiences last term so here they are and yes the evaluation is right in front of me too to discuss a little further.

Last week I commented that they found it to be "positive" and they were "in control". I observed how relaxed they were when they read. Some achieved it by sitting on a lounge or lying on one of the oversized pillows. 

Technology has done favours to support the concept of DEAR. Some students prefer to read on an ereader or tablet or their smartphone. A student is enable to use the tools that they enjoy using in general to help them enjoy reading. A few opted for laptops. While this may not be the most comfortable tool to use because the size of laptops in general, still they were reading and felt happy to do so.

The overwhelming majority still went for printed books and that really says something about reading - Print is still in vogue. The demand is still there. Abolishing print collections like some schools are doing, are more than likely doing  a disservice to their students.

DEAR is not just about reading but also talking about literature. I promoted literature e.g. new releases to keep students informed on books that they could read. In fact if a student had already read the book, they were invited to share their thoughts and provide a recommendation to encourage students to share their reading. Some recommendations happened to become quite popular with a number of students forced to place a "hold" on the title of choice.

I even asked them to challenge themselves with their reading by doing litgym. litgym simply refers to setting challenges to improve how you read e.g. reading more challenging texts or alternative genres. At the end of the term, I asked my groups to look back at what challenges they had set, If they had met them, they gave their peers tips on how to meet it. Those who didn't meet their challenge got help from their peers as to how they could meet it.

With one group, we had an E-Book presentation and taught them how to access the Bolinda Collection which they found to be quite interesting. 

I also had a luminary (pastoral/roll call) group and the concept of DEAR had actually left the library. We had completed a pastoral care program focusing on girls, education and empowerment and had several sessions left for other activities. Many of them had asked for this time because they saw it as a simple activity to do in that time but also because it allowed for some quiet time admist the chaos of school life. This was chosen over a myriad of other activities that had been proposed e.g. public speaking, social justice issues, time management, meditation etc. I shared this with my house patron and she thought it was a good use of time. Even my co-luminary was backing it. When it came to evaluating the activities completed during Term 1, we actually proposed DEAR as a possible activity to do in that time across other groups (and perhaps) the school. 

Drop Everything And Read (DEAR)

This entry is going to be a little hard to do because I'm sending this from an Ipad and our internet service at home with TPG went down on Friday (and yet to be restored).

I remember doing "English Reading" in high school, which was the name for wide reading at school. Despite having an enjoyment for reading, I dreaded the time because I was not allowed to read the literature that I wanted to read like a newspaper or non fiction book.

This put me off reading for several years until I was at university and all of a sudden decided to read during my downtime.

More than fifteen years later, I'm left to reflect on wide reading. I love the name Drop Everything And Read as the name for a wide reading program. Students know what it is. It is about stopping what we are doing and reading an item of our choice.

All primary schools generally do it and many secondary schools do so in some capacity. Some use the time allocated for roll call to provide this time for students for instance instead of a designated period once a week or fortnight.

More often than not, it is expected that students bring only a fiction item. My concern has been that it could put some off reading, because they are not allowed to engage in reading a text that may interest them. Think of my experience.

I am of the view that reading non fiction items etc may not just arouse interest in reading, but also help in development of literacy skills. Some non fiction texts that I read can be quite difficult readingwise with the use of language and detail. 

I'm glad that last term, I had the chance to be part of a Drop Everything And Read Program that allows students to choose an item to read that interests them. The response was overwhelmingingly positive because it was them controlling the reading, not me. I was only a facilitator and they only saw me when they saw fit. There was a moment with one Year 9 group where they became disinterested in my book recommendations. I can see a positive out of it which would have nothing to do with me - They wanted to control their reading and that can be linked back to my experiences. By the way they love reading too.

What were my observations?  I'll have to comment on that later once the home internet connection is restored and I can have the report in front of me.

GoodReads & Library Services

I applaud any school that has a Facebook page to promote their library and their services because it shows that you are engaging with your target group or demographic i.e. students and staff of the school and using the tools that they enjoy for viewing or sharing information. As this article  points out you can share photos, news and bring your clients together.

What about GoodReads? I've had the chance to create a group for the MLC School library during the past term as a means of promoting library services but to go a step further and provide an outlet for discussion of literature amongst the students.

I've included a screenshot of what our group page looks like if you want to remain here and not open another tab. 

It is only in its early days, but the teacher librarians act as the moderators. The "rules" feature allows you to create rules relating to use of the page. Generally we decided that school expectations would apply e.g. student code of conduct and IT use policy. Also we restricted it to students and staff with a school email address as to avoid outsiders from joining the group.

I've invited students during our Drop Everything And Read sessions to join the group in addition to signing up as a member. The response has been good and students have enjoyed it so far. Very straightforward and takes just minutes to do.

I started some discussion threads which actually gives GoodReads an advantage over Facebook because the information can be organised into individual feeds and the student or staff member can go a discussion or feed that suits them.

Like Facebook, photos can be posted to create a gallery.

The page itself can be used to promote books in the library collection. Featured Books can be added to the Books list. You can find out what students had thought of it and in our discussion threads, we can add the cover of the book to help promote it.

Another great feature is the poll feature. I've included one such poll below. You can also comment.

I had a motive for putting that poll up, because I had read that some schools were getting rid of their print collections from their libraries. The poll affirms my view that print is still in vogue amongst the students and will be for some time to come. What lesson does this have for me or a school if this question pops up, consult them. If a library is to be popular and successful it has to listen to its clients. If they want print items, we are then obliged to provide them. Otherwise they will not come and make use of our services. 

App Evaluations - Postscript

Back in December, I had the chance to learn and apply Kathy Schrock's model for evaluating web apps for the purposes of education and teaching.

Recently I was asked at school to nominate relevant apps that were to be installed onto a set of Ipad's that were recently acquired by the school.

The Ipad arrived preloaded with the apps that had been selected by the school's IT department. Using the model, I was able to evaluate and recommend apps to my head of department. There were a number of apps that under the model that did not meet educational requirements. The model made my evaluation quite easy and quick.

What helped me too, was the completion of the IPad course that was provided by the CEO Sydney aided in my nomination of apps. There were some apps that were not featured, and I had some of them nominated and included.

In the end, it meant we were able to have the Ipads installed with relevant apps. Three of the Ipad's are now in our library which can be used by the students.