CTRL-ALT-DELiver 19 looks at Blocking Social Media in Schools. Jon Scieska.And this week we also look at LibLaura5, and Mary Kole as they inspire kids AND authors in KidLit.
I read a very well written article by S. Craig Watkins, entitled “What Schools are Really Blocking When They Block Social Media” In a nutshell, Craig stated that in blocking the Social Media sites, we are failing to teach students about the inventive and powerful ways communities around the world are using social media to communicate. We are keeping students AND teachers from experiencing the educational potential of social media , by working together with each other and through collaborating with PLNS. We limit the students’ ability to distribute their work with the larger world. I know that, for me, joining Twitter was an eyeopening experience. The use of hashtags opened up a level of control and connection that I had not realized that Twitter provided. The EdTech and KidLit people that I have found through Twitter has expanded my resources in amazing ways. SCraig Watkins has a site called The Young and the Digital, also the title of his book, that explores, in depth, the New Media world that this generation is growing up in. Follow him and Twitter and check out the Young and the Digital. It is WELL worth the trip.
And now…on to the EdTech!
Ozge has posted her Web Tools that start with the Letter L. Be sure to check it out Learn It In 5 to find some great tips on learning to improve your classroom technology skills. Waiting for Ozge’s rundown is like following Sue Grafton, except no one dies.
One of the other great shows at NetCast Studio is Busy Ladies.The Busy Ladies just hope to share their life experiences with you and hopefully learn themselves how to juggle there busy lives.Who are the Busy Ladies? Debbie,new to the podcasting world, is a Mother and a Grandmother. She as a love of reading and spending time with her family. Laurin is a stay at home mother of three boys. She has a passion photography, yoga and vegan cooking. She is currently finishing her 200 hour Yoga Teacher training. I hope busy ladies helps others get ideas for organization, cooking ,healthy Lifestyles and how to try to juggle a busy life.This week, they discuss the music they grew up with and what it meant to them during those times.
And now for our feature on KidLit
@LibLaura5 is another great advocate of just reading for fun. Her blog is a great resource of what’s going on in children’s literature, as the executive board of the Minnesota Youth Reading Awards voted to start a new Children’s Choice Picture Book Award, naming her Chair of the new award. She also has a website called 15 Books, which is set up to allow children to read 15 picture books and nominate the winners for Best Picture Book. Laura says I have been working a for couple years now to get a Children’s choice picture book award going for the state of MN. I was frustrated at one point because it didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. That’s when I decided to do my own thing and start 15Books. Now that I will be running the MN award (Hooray!), I will be phasing out 15Books over the next year.
I am also hosting the Caldecott Challenge to read all 310 Caldecott Winners and Honor Books through my blog – #nerdcott on Twitter. Inspired by John Schu and Colby Sharp with their Newbery Challenge (#nerdbery).
And we also want to feature Mary Kole, @Kid_Lit on Twitter. Mary is an literary agent for Andrea Brown. Her website is the enviable domain Kidlit.com. She describes her website as an ongoing project for the passionate community of people who read and write children’s literature. And she IS passionate about children’s books. She provides all kinds of great information about children’s literature with the unique insight from a literary agent’s point of view. For example, in an interview on WOW! Women in Writing she provides her insight into how writers that use technology in their story have to take great care to do so.
“You want to make the story seem realistic and set it firmly in a time period, but you don’t want to distract your readers with peripheral details or worse, date your book for future generations,” says Mary Kole, an agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. “Especially when you’re dealing with young readers, who are at the forefront of technology, you also don’t want to come off as out of the loop.”
Her About page contains links to the rest of that interview and many others, providing more information and useful content than many people provide in their whole website.
That wraps it up for this episode of the CTRLALTDELIVER Podcast. You can find me on Twitter at @CTRLALTDELIVER
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