Wikispaces

ALA sticks Wikispaces under the Content Collaboration heading with the following standards:

• 1.3.4 - Contribute to the exchange of ideas within a learning community.
• 3.1.2 - Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.
• 3.1.4 - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.

and the following comment:

"This is the quintessential collaborative tool! This easy-to-use website allows anyone to write, edit and share content, depending on the permissions granted by the wiki owner.
Tip: Students can use a wiki as a research journal, documenting their progress from beginning questions to finished products, as they receive feedback directly on the wiki from their classroom teacher and librarian."

I've found that all of that is true.

Wikispaces is a great tool to use for class collaborative projects or even in depth class websites if you need a cheap, easy way to make one without coding.  It's easy to sign up and wikis used for education get privacy and space for free.  Added bonus of being able to track who edits the site and when.

I used this a couple years ago when the 9th grade History classes were working on an Archaeology project that spanned a couple of months.  I created a main wiki for the assignment (here), with public settings, as well as a wiki for each civilization being researched.  Those were only viewable by the students in that group, their teacher, and me.  Each wiki had a collaboration page and a resource page to start with; the students added as needed.  After a couple of years the project ended but it's nice to have all of those wikis still available if it ever starts up again.

Unfortunately, the biggest drawback to Wikispaces I have found is that students are not already using it and so are resistant to yet another account they have to check and keep track of.  Now that other sites are being developed which are more teacher friendly, such as Haiku, I see Wikispaces disappearing.

Back at it! (Take 2)

Wow, that last post was an epic fail. Hopefully this one will be better.

To continue where I left of last time - looking at ALA's Best Websites for Teaching & Learning - I decided that it would be appropriate to start at the beginning of their archives (2009) and work my way forward. However, to save everyone from some boredom, I'll only be discussing those websites that I personally have seen used or think could be useful to advocate at my own school.

To keep myself on track I'm going to attempt to stick to the following schedule:

 1/28 - Wikispaces
1/31 - Animoto
2/4 - Wordle
2/7 - Facebook
2/11 - Goodreads
2/14 - Ning
2/18 - Skype
2/21 - Twitter
2/25 - Prezi
3/4 - International Children's Digital Library
3/7 - Storybird
3/11 - Evernote
3/14 - TED
3/18 - Edmodo
3/21 - Khan Academy
3/25 - Pinterest
4/15 - Discovery Education
4/18 - Library of Congress
4/22 - MIT Open Courseware
4/25 - WebQuest
4/29 - Google Earth
5/2 - Haiku
5/6 - ?
5/9 - ?

*One note of caution if you're reading from a public school perspective: I don't pay much, if any, attention to the "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" that ALA provides in their analysis of the sites. I work at a private boarding school and while we have high standards and expectations for our educational environment, they are nowhere near as explicitly stated as they are in public education.*

Back at it! Books, Technology, Boarding School

Well, it's been almost a year since my last post. I'm hoping that this time I will be able to maintain momentum in my posting without relying on homework assignments to get me to post.

Besides discussing books that are heavily read in my library, I'm also going to start going through the Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning according to ALA.

I'll also occasionally be addressing issues I have in the library that seem to be Boarding School specific.

Here's to being back at it!

The House of the Scorpion Booktalk

Here is a booktalk I created for The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer.

Princess Academy

Bibliography:
Hale, Shannon. Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005. ISBN-13 9781582349930

Plot Summary:
In Danland the wife of the Prince is chosen from among a village, selected by the priests. Miri’s village of Mount Eskel was chosen and all the eligible girls, Miri included, were sent to the Princess Academy, where they would learn the manners and education required of a Princess. Miri is torn in her desire to become the Princess and see the world or to stay with her home and family and make the knowledge she is gaining useful to her village. Miri’s lessons and her investigations into “quarry speak” help her when bandits capture the Princess Academy, but it is still up to the Prince if she leaves her village and the mountains to become the Princess or if she stays with her family in her home.

Critical Analysis:
While Princess Academy could have been a cheesy book full of fairy tale fluff (not to imply that fairy tales don’t have a wonderful place in society and carry good messages), it is instead a story with well developed characters in a land that doesn’t seem as if it need be all that far far away. There is no great divide between “good” and “bad” because although you know that Miri is “good”, you are unsure about Tutor Olana’s true character for much of the book and even the bandits have varying limits on how “bad” they are.
The Princess Academy speaks to girls who are in their early teens and beginning to try and figure out their place in society as well as trying to figure out what they want in life: both professionally and romantically. The thought processes behind Miri’s revelations are shown clearly enough that girls can associate with her struggles and feel as if they have something in common with her. It was a well written, enjoyable book with good messages that exceeded my expectations.

Review Excerpts:
School Library Journal – “When it is announced that the prince will choose a bride from their village, 14-year-old Miri, who thinks she is being kept from working in the quarry because of her small stature, believes that this is her opportunity to prove her worth to her father. All eligible females are sent off to attend a special academy where they face many challenges and hardships as they are forced to adapt to the cultured life of a lowlander… As their isolation increases, competition builds among them. The story is much like the mountains, with plenty of suspenseful moments that peak and fall, building into the next intense event. Miri discovers much about herself, including a special talent called quarry speak, a silent way to communicate. She uses this ability in many ways, most importantly to save herself and the other girls from harm. Each girl's story is brought to a satisfying conclusion, but this is not a fluffy, predictable fairy tale, even though it has wonderful moments of humor. Instead, Hale weaves an intricate, multilayered story about families, relationships, education, and the place we call home.”
Booklist – “When the local girls are rounded up to compete for the hand of the kingdom's prince, Miri, the prize student in the Princess Academy, gets her chance to shine. In addition to her natural intelligence and spunk, she discovers an intuitive, and at times unspoken, language that grew out of work songs in the mines and uses linder as a medium. With this "quarry-speech" giving a boost to her courage and intelligence, Miri leads her classmates in the fight against being treated as social inferiors in the academy, at the same time educating herself in ways that will better the village. Hale nicely interweaves feminist sensibilities in this quest-for-a-prince-charming, historical-fantasy tale. Strong suspense and plot drive the action as the girls outwit would-be kidnappers and explore the boundaries of leadership, competition, and friendship.”

Connections:
For other books of girls facing the prospect of marrying someone they don’t know and in the process figuring out who they are, check out the following books:
Durst, Sarah Beth. Ice. ISBN 9781416986430
Hale, Shannon. The Goose Girl. ISBN 9781582349909
Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days. ISBN 9781599903781

How I Live Now

Bibliography:
Rosoff, Meg. How I live now. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004. ISBN-10 0385746776

Plot Summary:
How I Live Now is the story of a girl, Daisy, who moves from New York City to live with her cousins in the English countryside. She was sent there in the midst of tension, which devolved into hostile occupation of England while she and her cousins are taking care of themselves. Daisy grows as she falls in love with her cousin Edmond and ensures the survival and her cousin Piper and herself in a warzone.

Critical Analysis:
While this novel deals with many heavy issues (anorexia, teenage sexual relationships between cousins, and death), it manages to do so without fully overwhelming the reader. Daisy’s experiences are described in just enough detail to let the reader envision what is happening, but enough detail is left out that the reader is able to fill in enough with imagination to make it believable, such as describing the way the sun felt on her skin when she was swimming, but not explaining exactly how she fell in love with her cousin.
Unfortunately, I personally felt that the story was too disjointed to make as deep an impact as would otherwise have been possible. The jump to the future near the end of the novel is too abrupt without an explanation of what happened to get there and causes the reader to detach from the book, consequently not enjoying it as much or taking away the intended lessons.

Review Excerpts:
School Library Journal – “Impending war, parental rejection, and anorexia are Daisy's concerns as she steps off the plane in England where she's been sent to stay with her Aunt Pen and her four cousins. The 15-year-old has landed in a chaotic but supportive country household where she is immediately intrigued by her cousin, Edmund. In this novel (Wendy Lamb Books, 2004), Meg Rosoff explores what happens when war leaves these five youngsters to fend for themselves. There are the hardships of finding food and the loss of their mother, but there is also freedom and unexpected tenderness that evolves into an intense physical relationship between Daisy and Edmund…. Though the novel has disturbing elements, Rosoff handles the harshness of war and the taboo of incest with honest introspection. This Printz award winner is a good choice for book discussions as it considers the disruption of war both physically and emotionally and should be on every high school and public library shelf.”
Booklist – “A 15-year-old, contemporary urbanite named Daisy, sent to England to summer with relatives, falls in love with her aunt's ‘oldy worldy’ farm and her soulful cousins--especially Edmond, with whom she forms ‘the world's most inappropriate case of sexual obsession.’ Matters veer in a startling direction when terrorists strike while Daisy's aunt is out of the country, war erupts, and soldiers divide the cousins by gender between two guardians. Determined to rejoin Edmond, Daisy and her youngest cousin embark upon a dangerous journey that brings them face to face with horrific violence and undreamt-of deprivation. Just prior to the hopeful conclusion, Rosoff introduces a jolting leap forward in time accompanied by an evocative graphic device that will undoubtedly spark lively discussions. As for the incestuous romance, Daisy and Edmond's separation for most of the novel and the obvious emotional sustenance Daisy draws from their bond sensitively shift the focus away from the relationship's implicit (and potentially discomfiting) physical dimension. More central to the potency of Rosoff's debut, though, is the ominous prognostication of what a third world war might look like, and the opportunity it provides for teens to imagine themselves, like Daisy, exhibiting courage and resilience in roles traditionally occupied by earlier generations.”

Connections:
Other books dealing with teenagers struggling through fictional war include:
Marsden, John. Tomorrow, When the War Began. ISBN 9780440219859
Bracken, Matthew. Foreign Enemies and Traitors. ISBN 9780972831031

American Born Chinese

Bibliography:
Yang, Gene Luen and Lark Pien, ill. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006. ISBN-13 9781596432086

Plot Summary:
Three stories are interwoven into one in American Born Chinese. The first story presented is the story of the Monkey King and his desire to become better than the other gods. The second is the story of Jin Wang, a first generation Chinese-American trying to fit in at his new school. The final story is of Danny, a white jock, and his very stereotypical Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, who’s first words are “Harro Amellica!” By the end of the book, the three stories come together into one.

Critical Analysis:
This graphic novel is definitely written for those who find themselves trying to be true to their heritage while feeling as if they belong in a different culture. It does, however, cater to those who are Chinese-American as some of the comments said by the characters are in Chinese. Not understanding these remarks does not detract from the overall impact of the story; the comments simply enhance the story for any reader who does come from the Chinese-American tradition.
The illustrations of the novel are appropriately done in a manner which combines the traditional comic strip style with distinctly Asian touches. This also helps to emphasize the main theme of the book, namely maintaining cultural heritage while adjusting to your surroundings, or do not try to be something that you are not because what you are is what you were meant to be.

Review Excerpts:
School Library Journal – “Graphic novels that focus on nonwhite characters are exceedingly rare in American comics. Enter American Born Chinese, a well-crafted work that aptly explores issues of self-image, cultural identity, transformation, and self-acceptance. In a series of three linked tales, the central characters are introduced: Jin Wang, a teen who meets with ridicule and social isolation when his family moves from San Franciscos Chinatown to an exclusively white suburb; Danny, a popular blond, blue-eyed high school jock whose social status is jeopardized when his goofy, embarrassing Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, enrolls at his high school; and the Monkey King who, unsatisfied with his current sovereign, desperately longs to be elevated to the status of a god. Their stories converge into a satisfying coming-of-age novel that aptly blends traditional Chinese fables and legends with bathroom humor, action figures, and playground politics. Yangs crisp line drawings, linear panel arrangement, and muted colors provide a strong visual complement to the textual narrative. Like Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye and Laurence Yeps Dragonwings, this novel explores the impact of the American dream on those outside the dominant culture in a finely wrought story that is an effective combination of humor and drama.”
Booklist – “With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes. Each of the characters is flawed but familiar, and, in a clever postmodern twist, all share a deep, unforeseen connection. Yang helps the humor shine by using his art to exaggerate or contradict the words, creating a synthesis that marks an accomplished graphic storyteller. The stories have a simple, engaging sweep to them, but their weighty subjects--shame, racism, and friendship--receive thoughtful, powerful examination.”

Connections:
For other books dealing with living between two cultures see:
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. ISBN 9780316013697
Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm. ISBN 9780375840890