Kindles in the Library

Greetings!

Last year I was fortunate enough to win a Don Keele Award for my plan to put Kindles in the library. After using them for a year, I thought I’d let you know how the program is going.
I have been pleased with how the Kindle program has worked for us this year. We have had a couple of wrinkles, but for the most part, things are going very well.

Students must fill out a permission form each year. The form has three pages. Page one has the parent agreement giving permission for the student to check out a Kindle, accepting financial responsibility if lost or stolen or damaged, and the rules for Kindle Use and Care. I have a line for parents to print their name, then a signature line, then a line for the name of their child and a date. I don’t know all the parents and there are a number of parents with one name and children with another.

Page two – the back of the parent page – has the rules for Kindle use and care. Students may not lend Kindles to another student, they will not leave it unattended – in backpacks or lockers that aren’t secured or in desks in the classroom. They must return it on time and return it directly to the librarian. I ask that they hand it to me, not just put it in the book return box. Anyone could pick it out of the book return box and take it. They also promise not to change or alter any material on the Kindle. I have secure permissions that don’t allow this, but you never know.

Page three is a teacher permission page. Teachers know who is responsible and who isn’t. They mark one of three types of approval – may be checked out and taken home, may be checked out, but must remain at school in the classroom in a safe storage place when not in use, or check-out is not approved at this time.

When all three pages are signed and returned to me, I make a notation on the computer allowing Kindle check-out.

If a student needs a recharge during the check-out time, they may bring their Kindle to me for recharging, and then pick it up a few hours later.

I’ve had a few students not return the Kindle on time, and I make a note on the computer. This reminds me when they want to check one out next time and I can talk to them about it.

At first, the Kindles were out all the time, and students who wanted a Kindle had to wait. But as the year progressed, I noticed that many of the students who were checking Kindles out were mostly the same students. I had planned to purchase a few more each year until we had enough for a classroom, but I found that I didn’t need to do that. I usually have a couple available all the time, so I opted not to purchase more at this time.

I bought twelve Kindle Fire devices. I also purchased an Otterbox cover, a charger, and a two-year warranty for each KIndle. I set up a Whispercast account so I can manage all twelve from one account. One thing to consider is that if I want each Kindle to be the same as all the others, I need to buy twelve copies of a book and download onto each Kindle. I decided to do this so that if a student were reading a book on one Kindle, the next time they checked out a Kindle, they would not be assured that they would have the same Kindle. I thought it would make it much easier and it really has.

If I were doing this for a small school, I would use a ‘family’ account and get up to five Kindles attached to that account. Then you could buy just one book and all the Kindles would be able to access it. I have two Kindles on my personal account and my husband and I can read all the books on my cloud from either Kindle.

One unexpected thing happened which was kind of interesting. One first and second grade teacher had a lit set that was falling apart. We looked for replacement copies, and found them for about $4.00 including the shipping, but then saw that she could get them as a Kindle book for $3.00. She bought seven Kindle copies and we put them on seven of the Kindles which she then checked out for classroom use. That worked out nicely since it took just a few minutes to buy the Kindle book and download onto the devices.

So far I haven’t lost a Kindle and the students are enjoying them. I guess I can’t ask for more than that.

Have a great week.
Audrey

Christian Fantasy Reviews

Greetings!
I gave you a site for reviews last week from Common Sense Media. This week I will give you a website that reviews fantasy books from a Christian perspective.

Please note that this reviewer loves fantasy books and endorses most of the ones she reviews. She is a professional reviewer and receives most of the books she reviews free of charge. However, she tells the basics of what the book is about which what I feel is important. I don’t care for most of the fantasy books and really do not want to read them to find out about them. If I see my students reading them, I don’t know what is in the books and that makes me uncomfortable.

She also reviews what she terms as “Christian Fantasy”. I tried to see what her review is of Eragon which is a series I occasionally see students toting around here at school. It is not on her blog. In any case, it is someplace to get an opinion of someone who is an expert in her field.

Check out this website/blog to learn more.

http://www.christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/

Have a great week.

Audrey

PS. Don’t forget that you can get reviews on Amazon.com.

Common Sense Media

Greetings!

I have a great website to help you evaluate books (and other materials) for your schools. It is called www.commonsensemedia.org

Common Sense Media has reviews for books, movies, videos, games, apps, music, TV, and websites. Here are some of the things you can learn from Common Sense Media.

Type in the title of the media you want to know about. Narrow options by using the filter on the left side of the screen. Check out the color-coded numbers indicating the age level the book is for. The colors are like a stoplight – green is good, yellow indicates caution, and red means no for the age. There is also a gray dot that says “Not for Kids” meaning not appropriate for kids of any age.

Beneath that information is a section titled “what parents need to know”. The sections include “Educational Value, positive messages, positive role models, violence, sex, language, consumerism, drinking, drugs, and smoking.” Click on each to learn more specifics about that section. You can read reviews from parents and also reviews from kids.

Beneath that is a section that includes “What’s the story?”, “Is it any good?” “Families can talk about. . .” and “Book details”.

This is a good place to learn more about a book or other media so you can make a more informed decision.
I hope you have a great week.

Audrey