Digital storytelling and e-books have become an important part of the media center and classroom. I had the opportunity to speak with my mentor and she explained that because the school’s media center is small they have had to increase the number of ebooks they subscribe to. The media center has increased the number their subscriptions to online reference as well as another way to save space. The ebook subscription is packaged together and contains approximately 100 books.
As a pre-k teacher, I have used digital storytelling in my classroom for several years. Each year, using Movie Maker I create a 4 year old memoir documenting what the world is like from a 4 year old’s point of view. I teach the children how to take pictures with the digital camera; then, each child is allowed to take home the camera for one week to document their favorite toys, places, people, food, games, and things to do. We measure ourselves three times a year using their favorite toys (Barbies, Hotwheels, etc). The children tell jokes, sing songs, and dance. I document almost everything we do in the classroom. At the end of the year, I create the 4 year old memoir video. The children love to watch themselves and see what all they have done. The parents are able to see how much their child has changed and matured over the last year. It is a wonderful keepsake for parents and students.
I have also used ebooks in my classroom. I have used the website www.storylineonline.net many times. The children love to listen to the books. I like that it is updated periodically. I usually include this as one of the stations when I am teaching. A very useful source!
I'm anxious to check out www.storylineonline.net. I just heard about it last week when I went to a grade level meeting. I believe it's free. I wonder if subscribing to eBooks will become more popular with increasing budget constraints. Will we order fewer books for our collections and spend more money on eBook subscriptions? And in the long run, would that be cost effective?
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