Library Thing with Grade 7

If you've read any of my blog, you probably know that I'm crazy about Library Thing. Yesterday I finally had a chance to show it to some classes. I taught 2 sections of 7th grade Humanities classes how to create their library and put Library Thing widgets on their blogs. 

The beauty of Library Thing is that it's sooooo easy. To register, you just create a username and password. You don't have to give an e-mail address or any other information. It's super simple. I showed the kids my library and the Library Thing widget on this blog. They quickly joined Library Thing and added books to their library. 

My favorite part of the whole process was listening to the kids talk about reading. One boy yelled out that Tunnels by Roderick Gordon is the best book ever written! Everyone was remembering books they've read and giving impromptu reviews. It was fun to witness an enthusiastic discussion about reading that just happened on its own. If we had tried to orchestrate this type of conversation it probably would have been stilted and lackluster. Somehow the sight of the book covers spurred on a natural discussion about literature.

Next the kids browsed the different styles of widgets and added one to their blog. They looked really good! Lastly, we created a Group so they could see what the others in their class were reading. The classes can have online discussions about reading and literature. 

The Humanities teacher and I really enjoyed the experience. It seemed like the kids did, too. It was a simple way of combining literature and technology and to promote and celebrate reading.

Is Technology Rewiring my Brain?

I used to be able to watch a movie without falling asleep. Not anymore! Just sitting and watching a movie or TV zonks me out within 15 minutes. In fact, I'm blogging right now while watching Eagle Eye. I decided to watch it in the afternoon to hopefully make it through the movie. I thought I could do it. I wasn't tired when the movie started, but about 10 minutes in, I started nodding off. Brenna knows the solution - give me a laptop so I'm doing something interactive. It works every time. Right now I'm surfing the net, chatting with my sister in California on Facebook and writing this post while watching the end of the movie. Mission accomplished!

So why is this happening? I have a difficult time focusing on one task. I'd much rather multitask. It kind of bothers me that I need more stimulus in order to focus. It doesn't make sense, but it's my reality. I don't remember being like this when I was younger, but maybe I was. My husband is less of a techie and he prefers to focus on one thing at a time. He has a difficult time reading with the TV on or any other distractions. Is there a relationship between 

being a techie and having to multitask?

I've read a little about digital natives and how kids' brains are different now because of technology. I'm 42. Has technology rewired my brain? Is this a good thing? Today I was talking to Amanda DeCardy and she has the same experience. She needs more stimulus to focus on one thing, otherwise her brain wanders. I feel your pain, sister! However, we can both read and get totally absorbed. Why? We think it's because when you read, you get immersed in the characters, you are taken to another location and you're also creating a movie of the book in your mind. Reading is more interactive for us. 

Recently I've wanted to do a little experiment. I'd like to test how much I grasp in a meeting where I can't multitask. No doodling or messing around on a laptop. Then test how much I grasp when I can multitask. I feel like I remember more when I have more going on, but how do I know what I'm missing?!? 

Does anyone else have similar experiences? A couple years ago I jokingly started calling it Adult Onset ADHD, but maybe it's more that. Maybe technology is changing how I process. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Maybe it's neither. Maybe it just is what it is.

Mother/Daughter Views on Blogging

I just helped Brenna put links to Youtube videos on her blog. (Please visit her blog and leave a comment! You'll totally make her day!) She wrote a brief post about animal abuse as part of her "free choice" homework assignment. So instead of her teacher being her only audience, she sent it out to the world. An authentic, motivating experience for her. What a big difference from when I was in 5th grade! I would have turned in a couple of paragraphs to my teacher who would have given it back to me with the usual grammar and spelling corrections. Authentic? No. Motivating? The "free choice" aspect would have been a little motivating, but definitely not exciting.

I asked Brenna what she liked about blogging:

Brenna: "I'm always excited when I get comments from people I don't know, people around the world. And also, when I go to someone else's blog, someone out of the school, then they comment back and that's cool. I like blogs because they're like your own website and when I get comments that means people are coming to my blog and reading it. You don't know the audience, but their comments are usually positive. It's cool seeing other blogs and what they write about. Usually when you go to someone's blog you get to know their personality. You can also get your ideas down and people can come to your blog and tell you they like your ideas and then help you."

And people from around the world ARE coming to Brenna's blog! I'm not sure why strangers are interested in what my 10 year has to say, but they are! She's had visitors from China, the US, Canada, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. Authentic? You bet! Motivating? Absolutely!

Although I've been a techie for a long time, I didn't embrace blogging at first. Jeff Utecht, now a tech integrationist at International School of Bangkok, introduced blogs to our school 3 years ago. Kids wrote about trivial things, like playing four square at recess. I didn't see the value. Yes, they were writing to the world, but no one was commenting and do you really have to tell the world when you win at foursquare? 

Now, 3 years later, teachers have discovered how to use blogs as an effective educational tool. Both of my kids have blogs that are used in almost all their classes. They even have posts written in Chinese! The only thing I can read of Brenna's Chinese post are the words Bobby and Benny. I have no clue what Bobby and Benny did, but 20% of the world's population can read her post!

Blogging has changed my children's education for the better. It's exciting to think what's next! I predict it's going to be social networks. Google Docs (social desktop publishing) is already happening and I think teachers will soon grasp the concept of using nings. I'm definitely not a technology visionary, but I'm going to watch those in the forefront to see how they use the latest technologies, especially nings. I need to remember how blogs evolved to be a very effective educational tool in a relatively short time. 

If I see a Four Square Ning, I know we're on the right track!