What I'm Reading Now - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I didn't actually love this 2007 National Book Award winner.  The story is about Arnold, who is an Indian growing up on the Skokane Indian reservation. Arnold decides to attend an all-white school in the neighboring town, to escape the hopelessness that engulfs the reservation. Bullied by both groups, the kids at the all-white school and the kids on the Indian reservation, Arnold manages to triumph amid great tragedies. I thought Arnold's story was incredibly sad. In the beginning of the book, Arnold is describing the poverty he lives in stating " my parents came from poor people who came from poor people, all the way back to the very first poor people. Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor." With frequent references to alcoholism and the destructive consequences that come from it , the author deals with some serious issues; but manages to throw humor into the story in a way that comes off pretty funny. Sherman Alexis first novel is a good one; he has written an original story about Indian culture that allows students to experience what life on a reservation is like.Alexis is able to give readers an understanding of the hopelessness of everyday life on the rez, which I have never come across in any other Y/A fiction. The story is explicit though; seems like every chapter mentions Arnold masturbating. According to our Y/A Literature text, qualities that make good Y/A books address issues that teenagers can identify with, are explicitly informing, and are relevant and entertaining - and The Diary of a Part-time Indian does all of those things.

Podcasts

This week I learned about podcasts. Podcasts refers to non-musical audio of video broadcast that is distributed over the internet. What makes it different from regular streaming audio or video is that the delievery method for podcasts is done through RSS.

Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minute commentaries, to much longer inperson interviews or group panel discussions. There is a podcast out there for every interest area and the best part is all you need is a PC with headphones and a speaker. Also, you can download the podcast to your ipod, so you can take these broadcasts with you and listen to them when you want.

So, I looked at some popular podcast directories at podcast.com, then searched "education" and up popped many podcasts. I decided on the art & design of living & learning 2.0, which is like a weekly radio broadcast show. There are like 23 episodes to chose from, I picked the first one titled "Join Us in the Garden Studio of Teachers" a podcast resource and news-packed episode.

Kathy and Mark were sharing advances in podcasts, art and technology. I clicked the "subscribe" button and a transcript of the interview was deposited in my Google Reader account and then my Itunes account opened with the podcast...really cool.

The hosts of the show were in New York, but they were talking about Florida and Florida's on line education program. A statement they made really surprised me: with in a decade the most common form of education will be online, no matter what kind of school you go to, elementary, middle, high school, or college.

If this is true, and I think it is, schools better get with it.

Thinking about how to use podcasts in libraries, I can see librarians using them to stay informed of the latest issues effecting libraries. It is kind of like a blog, except you get to actually hear the interviewer's voices.Or, like being in the room of people having a panel discussion.

Podcasts are another medium for staying informed and learning new ideas.

Books I'm Reading Now

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
If it wasn't for my Young Adult literature class, I would not be reading at all. There is simply no time. I'm taking 3 LS classes at USF and working part-time at a high school library. Between reference searches that take, probably, 20 hours every week, blogging, writing papers and reading 24 books for my lit class, I really have no spare time. My husband is feeling very abandoned. Maybe if I can get a little ahead things will be better. Actually, reading all the Y/A literature is a welcome escape. If I Stay is a bittersweet story of Mia who loses her entire family in a horrible car crash and wakes up in the hospital barely clinging to life. Like the Lovely Bones, Mia watches from above, listening to her friends, cousins and boyfriend as she lays comatose. But If I Stay is not nearly as good as Lovely Bones, and I found myself bored in the middle of the book. However, the end made up for it; I just wished the author had put all that energy into writing the entire book, not just the end. This is a good book for teenagers, it fits well into the problem novel genre and captures the teen voice.

RSS Feeds



Goggle Reader



This week our learning experience was about RSS Feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS news feeds are explained using In Plain English videos at the SLJ Learning 2.0 wedsite. These In Plain English videos are hilarious. Someone with a sense of humor put them together. But they are also straightforward and simple - and I appreciate that! RSS feeds are new blog posts that come to you in a special goggle reader account. The first thing to do is find blogs to follow. I went to the 100 Best Blogs for Librarians and started reading. The website is located at http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/07/07/100-best-blogs-for-school-librarians/

The two I chose were Bowllan's Blog and Librarian by Day. Bowllan's Blog is kind of like a "People" magazine; he showcases people and events in the news. He has a Rosa Parks post with websites for teachers to get additional classroom resources. For instance, you can click on the website and see photos from inside the bus. Great for teachers to bring experiences to the inside of a classroom. The second blog I chose was Librarian by Day. It had a very interesting post with a video link to Eli Neiburger talking about  e-books at a e-book summit. E-books are something I want to learn about, so I clicked on and learned more.

Next, I established a Goggle Reader account, since I already have a Goggle account. This one has a different address so I don't get my mail all mixed up. I now have 4 e-mail accounts! Establishing the account took just a few minutes and that is the account that the new blog posts will come to, without all the advertisements.

Then I went back to the blogs I had found and clicked the subscribe button. What a good idea - instead of you going out to the web to read different websites, the web comes to you - saving you lots of time! Now all my news comes to me.

I think this has great application in schools and libraries. Everyone is so busy these days, that rarely do you have time look for magazines with new ideas, much less, sit down and read them. Librarians and teachers could check their Goggle Reader quickly for new ideas and updates.

Get the Word Out! Using Blogs in Libraries-

Now that I know a little more about blogs, I can see how they could be very useful in libraries. The library that I work in does not have a blog. I think it should be something we should start. Besides posting the obvious information like hours of operation and kind of computer equipment we have, we could post the new books titles and upcoming events in our library. Everyone wants to know the new books that are in the library; I am asked that question a lot. Posting current events would help parents, too. A blog would also give students a chance to give us feedback, and tell us what they really want out of their library. I think it's a great idea. Speaking of great ideas, I had to "borrow" this you tube video from a classmate. She has it on her blog, and I smile every time I listen to it.Thanks so much, Mary. I liked your blog a lot and now I am a follower!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6D9jiEYxzs