Reading Culture Presentation

This video is an overview of our latest project at the Clay City School Library. A Reading Culture in a Web World, was designed to harness the power of Web 2.0 to transform the reading experience from isolation to connection. The program provided an online environment where students and adults expressed their shared value of reading and their shared reaction to books by using the blogging tools of the World Wide Web. Funding for the project was awarded by the Illinois State Library (ILS) a department of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).Additional Funding for this program was provided by the Clay City Excellence in Education Foundation, the Clay City PTO, and the Clay City CCEA.

From November 2008 through February 2009, 114 students in grades 4 through 8 were encouraged to read books from the Rebecca Caudill book award list and share information about books they read on the Clay City Blogging Site. Over 560 student comments and over 150 adult comments were posted. This first attempt at asynchronous online discussions taught us a great deal. The most important finding was the power of using technology to make individualized connections with students. Schools can utilize the power exhibited by social networking sites for educational gains.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• LSTA
• Library
• reading