Week 9 #22

#22 While exploring eBooks and audio eBooks on the WorldeBook Fair site I was intrigued by how many thousands of books are available.

I had heard of Project Gutenberg, but it was interesting to read about its startup by Michael Hart in 1971. As I scanned through the titles that have been digitized, I found some old favorites that I remembered reading during summer vacations at my grandparents' house in the country. I even dipped into a few of them for old times' sake.

Continuing to explore the site, I found an incredible range of materials-from classics to women writers of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries; from White House and government docs to UN docs. And even sheet music from the 17th and 18th centuries!

Librivox was interesting to me personally, though I'm still wondering about how it might be used in an elementary school setting. I found that the quality of the readers varied, with some easier/more interesting to listen to than others.

Zeroing in on kids' books, I found the International Children's Digital Library with its kid-friendly interface, books in many languages, and kids' reviews of what they'd read. The Worldwide School Library was also interesting.

I then went to the Contra Costa County Library website and checked out their eBook collection. In addition to many Gale reference books, they have Tumblebooks available and CA mission books that you can check out for 48 hours. You can also use the Califa Digital Library Consortium's collection and/or subscribe to NetLibrary and access even more eBooks. Downloading any of the eBooks requires a PC, though you can look at the books online. This could be a great classroom resource for discovery and research. (World literature, CA missions)

I had never really explored the world of eBooks and audio eBooks thoroughly before and want to keep an eye on them as another possible resource, especially for those students who learn better aurally or kinesthetically or who need reinforcement that isn't just visual. In July I got an email notice from Follett about their audio eBook options, which I should go back and read. I know that our middle school is just beginning a pilot program this year to check out audio eBooks on MP3 players for those students who need them to complete coursework. The staff there feels that using these players will help these students to feel less conspicuous.