Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Technology in the Library
As an elementary school librarian, I have the joy of reading to students aloud, from kindergarten to grade 5. There is nothing better than looking up at my audience and seeing their enraptured faces when I am reading a particularly exciting part of a story. It is even better when the bell rings, and all of my students yell, "Nooooo". That's the power of good literature. Children will hang on every word and want more. With the advent of the iPad, I was thinking of ways I might utilize technology in the library and more specifically, my read-alouds. It is not a time nor place where technology easily fits in, or should. But, I discovered book trailers! There are some wonderful, engaging book trailers available on Youtube for viewing. I now choose ones that I know my students will love and I play the trailer before I read the story. We discuss if the book lived up to our expectations we developed from viewing the trailer. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. But always, the children are invested in the story even more after watching the trailer. Mo Willems is one author that has very entertaining book trailers. He's a favorite!
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I also love reading to the students. I have found that they love hearing stories, whether it be chapter or picture books. This year in particular, I have found the students hang on to every word and even clap at the end of the story. What a great idea to bring in the technology piece through a book trailer! Since all students are familiar with movie previews, that is a great way to preview the book. I can only imagine how much more engaged the students must be to see the trailer, then hear the full book read to them.
ReplyDeleteRead aloud is one of my favorite parts of the day. When I started teaching I felt that I had to constantly stop and ask questions, making sure my students were paying attention and attending to the text. However, I quickly learned that this was not necessary. My students were so into the book that they couldn't stand when I stopped. They loved discussing the readings after I had read to them for a solid amount of time. Read aloud is a time that I get to seem my students' love of learning. As for book trailers, I honestly haven't used them in my classroom. I think it is a great idea to incorporate in the classroom, especially with this generation of kids!
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