Inspiring a Culture of Readers Through the Use of Technology

I can think of several ways I have seen librarians, mostly from my childhood, work to engage and enthuse students to read. Most have been book fairs (Scholastic), contests, and bulletin displays. I have not seen a reading culture promoted specifically through the use of technology, but I am confident that doing so would grab the attention of today’s students. The closest I have come this year (and it didn’t quite as well as I had hoped) is to show book trailers. I didn’t make them myself, they came from Scholastic, but I did find a source that offers input on how to put them together. It states that book trailers are a great way to engage students and get them reading/responding to books. It is a creative way to motivate kids and implement 21st century literacy skills (Source Link). I believe having students create a book trailer (or book ‘commercial’) would serve as an excellent tool for promoting a favourite book or author and would also work to build excitement amongst peers. Video book commercials could be shared on the morning announcements or even posted to our school website.

Movie Trailer Example:

 

During my time spent reading on the topic of building a reading culture, I have come across several online articles and blogs that have piqued my interest and inspired me to get students’ motivation for reading ramped up. One hilarious idea that I cannot wait to put into practise is the creation of a music video, promoting reading or a reading event. This looks like such a fun idea (and a lot of work), but it’s sure to be a huge hit. I think it would go over really well to show at a school assembly or on school televisions (we don’t have any in the halls at my school, but a few in my district are equipped). I feel that to best serve this means, the music video would need to be an advertisement; an ad about an upcoming event in the library, or around the school. For example, the video could promote the reading event ‘Battle of the Books’ in SD22, or perhaps the annual ‘Drop Everything and Read’ day. My hope would be that the video would serve to promote the upcoming event, spark interest, get kids talking (about books) and ultimately reading.

 Music Video Example:

  

Faux Magazine Cover

A third idea to support a reading culture at my school is through the creation of faux magazine covers (posters) using Microsoft Publisher or Adobe InDesign. Photos would be of teachers and students, taken individually, holding their favourite book, book series, or a new arrival to the library. Posters could be displayed in the hallways throughout the school. We have some avid intermediate readers at our school, and I know that their photos on the wall would definitely have a positive impact and likely influence others in a constructive way.

 

For those teaching middle school, I found references in creating a school-wide Twitter #hashtag for sharing books. I love this idea; not a practical one for my K-6 school, as the age restriction for Twitter is 13+, but for those teaching higher grades, I think this would be a great way to share short reviews and highlights of recent reads. Perhaps even highlighting weekly book title would capture some interest and direct students towards a recommended read. Personally, I would love to know what kids were enjoying, tweet it, and watch as the titles flew from profile to profile (Source Link).

References:

Book Trailers. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015 from the Reading-Active-and-Engaging Wiki: http://reading-active-and-engaging.wikispaces.com/Book+Trailers

[Boy Reading]. Retrieved from http://readingculture.wikispaces.com/file/view/read4.jpg/311418402/132x203/read4.jpg

 [Penguin Teen]. (2008, March 13). Ranger’s Apprentice Trailer [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXxSn7NScww

Reading Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2015 from the Reading Culture Wiki: http://readingculture.wikispaces.com/Using+Technology

Smith, L. [MacmillianChildrens]. (2010, August 16). It’s a Book by Lane Smith – Book Trailer [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BK_2VULCU

Turker, E. & Kanolik L. (2012, February 17). Children need to see adults “caught reading.” [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2012/feb/17/1 

[Twitter Bird]. Retrieved from http://www.learningunlimitedllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/twitter-for-educators.jpg

Tyson, K. (2013, November 30). 25 Ways Schools Can Promote Literacy and Independent Reading. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/featured/25-ways-schools-can-promote-literacy-independent-reading/