It's been a long time since the last entry-we are currently in the middle of reading Jane Eyre.  In this entry, I thought I would share one of my own experiences with the Kindle.  During the time we were out for the hurricane, several students could not read the assignments because their Kindle battery died; however, before the hurricane I was sure that my own Kindle was fully charged-and since I have a case with a light, it was definitely a cure for boredom.  During the power outage, I was able to read four books because my Kindle was fully charged (and has a lovely two month battery life as long it is not connected to WiFi)-I was also able to read and review books that we are studying in class.  If these had been actual books, I would have only been able to read them during the day (and in very poor light, at that).  I was definitely thankful for my Kindle during my 12 days without power. 

Below is a photo taken last week of Nick and Kyle analyzing passages from Jane Eyre.

More Reflections

After some practice and experience with our new Kindles, I believe they are going to be a very valuable resource for our Humanities class and other English classes to come.  The Kindles are not only convenient, but they make note-taking easier with the highlight and notation features.  I think that this will boost student grades, as well as participation since it is so enjoyable to use the Kindles.  It is much more motivating to read from a Kindle than from a normal book, reason being that teenagers in this technologically advancing world will more than likely be more drawn in by a piece of technology than a traditional paperback book.  They will also appreciate and take advantage of the dictionary and note-taking features since they are very accessible   So, because of these reasons particularly, my Kindle experience has been that of a positive one and I am looking forward to using it throughout the remainder of my Senior year of high school.  -Robyn

 

There are a lot of things to like about the new kindles that we get to use for English class. It is very easy to download whatever book you want to read because you can access amazon from where ever you have a Wi-Fi connection. Also, if the font or letter size is hard for you to read you can change them. The kindle even remembers your place in the book so you don’t need to. Even though there are all of these cool features, my favorite feature on the Kindle is being able to have it read to you. I always start reading books, and quickly find mind wandering all over the place, not even knowing what I just read. However, I find it a lot easier to pay attention when listening to someone than it is when I am doing the reading. With all these great features, it is no surprise that the kindle has made reading a lot easier for me.-Kyle

So far, I really enjoyed using the Kindles to read Medea. I like how we can see the percentage at the bottom of the page and can tell how much of the book we still have left to read; it's a great time management tool. I also like the fact that we won't have to carry around multiple books at once and that it's all available on the Kindle. It's very easy to use and I'm looking forward to reading more books on it for upcoming assignments. -Patty

Culminating Project for Medea!

Below is the class posing with their final project for Medea: 

Even More Reflections...

The following are reflections from two more students, Meg and Maggie.  I definitely agree with Maggie that I hope more teachers decide to use it in their classrooms, write grants for it, etc., whatever it takes to utilize this technology.

When our class was told we would be receiving Kindles this year I was really excited to explore this format of reading, since I have never used any type of e-reader before. I am so happy that our class was lucky enough to get the opportunity to try this new type of reading as it has definitely made reading easier and I feel more motivated as well. Specifically, I like how the Kindle has a lot of interesting features such as the "text-to-speech" option and the ability to search for specific terms in each book. Moreover what I enjoy most I think, is that it is very light in my backpack. This is very helpful since I carry many other books and supplies for other classes. Although one must be careful placing and transporting the Kindle in a backpack, these are easy sacrifices to make. In addition to the interesting features and its lightweight, the Kindle has really motivated me to read more, as it has a feeling of newness.-Meg

So far, using the Kindle to read our class novels has really motivated me to read more than I normally would. The ease of use is one of the contributing factors, yet I feel that the simple fact of the Kindle being a new type of technology (to me at least) has caused me to take a greater interest in what we are reading. The Kindle allows me to have more "fun" as I read, making me feel as if what I was reading wasn't actually a task, but a choice. Kindle has a lot of useful features to utilize during the reading as well, such as the notes feature, dictionary look up, and page jump. I have found all of these tools to be extremely beneficial in our class so far. As an overall classroom tool, I give the Kindle a 10 out of 10, and I hope that this experimental class urges more teachers to use it in their classrooms instead of asking students to lug books around from class to class. The Kindle could become a standout factor for Waldwick High School, and it could definitely fit into Mr Carroll's current technology-based way of running things. I thoroughly enjoy using the Kindle every day, and I'm so glad Mrs. Kish has pushed for these to be a part of our curriculum! -Maggie

Today in class, we discovered a new Kindle feature.  The students were discussing the question:  What does the Chorus say about what makes love desirable or not desirable? (in Medea)

In order to find this in the text, students were able to type in the key word "love."  Every time the word love was used, the text appeared in the form of a list.  Students were able to locate the place in the text, click on the reference, and it took them to the page. 
This is just another fantastic feature about the Kindle-it gives students the ability to find things faster within the text, vs. flipping back (or tapping back on the touch screen).  Below is how the page appeared (as an example from the Amazon website):

Reflections Part 2

Hi! My name is Meredith and I'm a member of Mrs. Kish's Humanities 12 Honors class. I am one of the two students who is not using one of the school's kindle touches but my own Kindle Fire. I received my Kindle this summer for my birthday and have been avidly reading on it ever since. I personally love my kindle. I can go on Facebook and play Words with Friends on it, but I mostly use it to read. I have enjoyed using my Kindle for school, for our textbooks are heavy and it's really an unnecessary addition to my books. Instead, I carry my Kindle around with me everywhere in my purse with my wallet and keys and I now have no excuse to ever not read my book. My Kindle totally motivates me to read more; I have read over ten books in the month I have had my Kindle and have all of our future English books downloaded on mine. I cannot figure out a "text to speech" option on my kindle, or if there even is one on the Fire. I have enjoyed reading Medea on my Kindle and cannot wait to read more!

 

I was so excited when I heard that our class would be receiving Kindles. My cousin has had one for some time and has been encouraging me to get one, saying that it’s easy to use and makes reading more fun. My expectations were definitely exceeded. It’s hard to find time during a busy teenage day to sit down and read. Most times I think we’re tempted to get lazy and find a summary online. With the Kindle, I was actually looking forward to reading and made sure I put time aside solely for our first assignment, Medea. I found myself highlighting passages and writing notes. I can definitely see myself changing some old habits and becoming a more avid reader thanks to the Kindle!-Emily

Reflections

Here are some reflections about Kindle use (by my students):

The Kindle definitely makes reading easier because of the features that can be used while reading. I am an extremely lazy human being and this lackadaisical work ethic makes it difficult to actually open up a book and read, that’s where the voice feature comes into play. I can have the Kindle read to me like I'm a child and the convenience is unbelievable. Secondly, some of the works we are going to study this year include some intense vocabulary. The Kindle allows me to highlight a word I am unfamiliar with and find the definition. Before this, I forced to open up dictionary.com and find the definition manually, an action that a lethargic person such as myself, dreaded. Flipping the pages of a book is overrated and the Kindle advocates that. I can now highlight quotes and save them without having to write down what page and line set quote was on. So, assignments that require quotes (which are almost all) are finished more efficiently and with less effort required. -Kevin

Personally, I really enjoy using the kindle. I have never owned a kindle before, and I think it is easy to use and it comes in handy because I don’t have to carry around numerous books. I think the kindle makes reading easier because it has a screen that replicates a book. The screen isn't hard to stare at for long periods of time because it barely looks like it is even lit up, however, the words are clear and easy to read. One feature I personally really like about the kindle is the ability to change the size of the text I am reading. Sometimes I would get headaches reading a regular book with microscopic text, but now I am able to adjust the text and make it larger and easier to see. I think the kindle most certainly motivates me to read more because it is easy to get books on it. Also, there are hundreds of books that are free, so I am more likely to check those out too. In addition, the text to speech feature seems like something I would enjoy because I like hearing a story read out loud. I think it helps me understand it easier. The kindles’ were definitely a great addition to our English class. -Dawn

Reading has never been something that I have enjoyed.  Ever since I was young, I would skip pages, skim through books, and in some cases just not even read the book.  However, using the kindles have made reading a lot more fun for me.  Shockingly enough, it has made me much more motivated to actually read the books that we are assigned to read.  I can’t really pinpoint what about the kindles it is that motivates me to read more, but whatever it is, it is working for me.  The one feature that I really enjoy is the text to speech.  This makes reading the book a lot easier for me.  Also, having the ability to look up words that I don’t know right on the kindle is very convenient.  This will come I handy when reading authors like Shakespeare who use language that is unfamiliar to us.  All in all, kindles are very useful and I think all schools should use them instead of books.-Joey