eReader Convert

Screen shot of books I'm currently reading using the
Kindle app on my iPad.

Reading books on my iPad has changed me as a reader. I have always been a big nonfiction reader, mostly professional books and procedural texts. But since getting the Kindle app, I've read more fiction  in the last two months than I have in years. I can finally see the text big and crisp and back lit. I don't have to turn my head from side to side to find the sweet spot in my bifocals. I can feel my eyes relax and I know I'm reading faster. Maybe I just think I am reading faster. Funny, even as an adult the idea of reading faster makes me feel more proficient.

As a kid, I struggled with reading, at least that is what my one of my teachers thought. I didn't like reading because I wasn't good at it. I remember my second grade teacher would let out this audible impatient sigh every time I couldn't remember the difference between "there" and "where" and "were." I hated the Sally, Dick, and Jane books. Those books weren't anything like the books at home. I much preferred Madeline and Curious George but I couldn't read those either. I loved books but I hated reading. From this former struggling readers point of view, reading is more appealing with my iPad.

In my mind's eye, I see eReaders the same way I see classroom amplification systems. Classroom amplification systems increase student attention and the redundancy of the auditory signal. This means that it is easier for students to pick up on sounds and words and the subtleties of oral communication that carry so much meaning. For example, I love reading aloud using a REDCAT because I can change the intensity and cadence of my voice in ways that hold the attention of a large group of children. And classroom amplification systems are especially effective for children who have had multiple ear infections or attention and learning difficulties. A device such as the REDCAT amplifies the teachers voice so that background noise is less distracting. For me, the iPad works in a similar way. It enhances the visual signal and helps me focus on the print. Reading feels easier. I'm not overwhelmed by the amount of text on the page and I feel like I'm reading faster even though I'm probably not. I am also less fatigued when I read.

I would love to get more eReaders or iPads into the hands of kids, especially struggling or disengaged readers. I would be fascinated to hear what children have to say about their own reading experiences when using an eReader. Hopefully, major studies will quickly appear to show what impact these devices are having on young readers. I wonder if reading using an eReader changes reading process. I created the Lino It canvas below to save links to articles I have been collecting on the this topic. Select the the icon of the canvas below for a larger view.

Using eReaders with Students

Thinking in Color and Images

Over two thirds of the way through and I’m dragging and pulling myself to write and post. I’m not running out of ideas. It’s the discipline part that is the toughest for me. But in one of my avoidance tangents, I created a handy dandy writing idea notebook in Lino It which I love playing around in. In fact, I was feeling guilty about spending time personalizing it, organizing it, and adding to it. But isn’t that how a writer’s notebook is supposed to function? I’ve come to realize just how motivated my mind is with images and color. Images help conjure memories and ideas. I write in images. I organize in images. Does that sound weird? I have a habit of always wanting to see the whole so I can fit in all the bits of my thinking. My brain loves Lino It. I tend to be a stacker. I can visualize my stacks. My Lino canvases work the same way. I can visualize a canvas with my sticky notes on it. It has proven to be a very effective tool for keeping track of where I get ideas for posts. I like being able to easily give credit to other bloggers for writing ideas and provide a back link. When that, “Oh my, what will I write about for my next post” feeling washes over me, I go to my Lino ideas canvas or one of my other canvases and reread my stickies. Then the discipline thing kicks in. Since there isn’t much time to hem and haw over a topic, I pick one and get going. And as I am writing, if I get a new idea, I just post it on my ideas canvas and move on. Then I can go back and organize them later. I especially like my canvases that look like notebook pages. I took a photo of a blank page in a notebook, saved it as a jpg, and uploaded it as a background. Below are links to some of my canvases.

Notebook Page 4

Notebook Page 1

Ideas I've Posted

Liking My Lino It

I posted a few days ago about wanting a quick and easy way to track the posts I've read that give me ideas for my own posts. I decided to use Lino It and I am really liking it. I uploaded my own background because I thought that would be cool and then I color coded my stickies according to where I get my ideas. Green is for ideas from blog posts, purple is for school ideas, blue are ideas that come from my own writing, and pink are moments or memories from my own life. I could peel off and remove the stickies as I use them to write but for now, I'm just dragging the stickies from the sky into the grass of my background. I am totally a sucker for color. Check out my idea canvas below. And Linda from Teacher Dance and Jennifer from i hablo espanglish have both motivated me to try out Evernote.  How are you keeping track of your ideas during the SOL challenge?

SOL Ideas

Brain Full, Body Tired

A List of Things on My Mind

This is a screenshot of one of my Lino It boards. I've always been fond
of colorful sticky notes. :)

Using the Right Web Tool for the Job

Screenshot of my Linoit sticky

I've always been interested in tools. When I was little, my dad had a tool room near the back door by the garage. In fact, every house he ever lived in had a workbench with nails, nuts, washers, and drill bits neatly organized in baby food jars and in little plastic drawers. He had various saws and hammers hanging on the pegboard behind the bench. He was quite handy around the house and could build and fix almost anything. My mom also had a tool room of sorts. After my sisters moved out, she turned a spare bedroom into a sewing room. The closet that used to contain paisley blouses, bell bottoms, and mini-skirts, now housed boxes of buttons, bias tape, and patterns. Every tool had a specific job.

Until about a year ago, I was very intimidated by using technology and also by people who seemed to know a lot about technology. I think part of it was because I didn't really have a clear purpose for learning how to use document cameras, smart boards, or web tools. And there was a whole list of techie vocabulary words that I didn't understand. Then I got tired of feeling like I was in the dark and I just started to experiment. I started by creating a blog. In fact, I had a blog before I was ever on Face Book. Having a blog helped me to see a purpose for wanting to learn techie talk. Whenever I get intimidated by technology, I remember my dad's tool bench or my mom's sewing room. Technology and Apps are just tools, nothing more.

 And for me, I often figure things out by making mistakes. That's what happened to me the other day when I tried to use Wallwisher with  Google Docs. Wallwisher is a wonderful tool but it wasn't the right one for the job. I was trying to use a screwdriver to hammer a nail. Not very effective. Then someone told me about Linoit and I tried it. It seems to serve my purpose, at least for now.

Click on the cork board below and check out my Google Form I'm thinking about using as part of a conferring notebook. Post a sticky on my canvas (fancy name for a board) about your thinking. Additional links to resources for creating a digital conferring notebook are posted on the canvas. Do you have experiences with digital conferring notebooks? Post a link to your blog on my canvas or in a comment below. We'll see if this works. :)

Google Docs & Conferring