E-Books and Exercise

What is your daily workout? Do you exercise both your mind and body?  Each day, do you step onto a treadmill or climb onto an exercise bike to stay in shape while reading or listening to a good book?  This image illustrates my daily visit to the YMCA. 

Download a thick page-turner mystery or best seller, start walking (hold on to the treadmill's siderails or your eReader) and shed pounds while getting your cardio exercise.  This is a book lover's fitness secret. In fact, I bet schools could help fight youth obesity and increase literacy levels with this secret strategy: an hour a day walking with a book. Librarians and coaches could collaborate on how to best use these cool tools: eReaders, eBooks, and treadmills. 


Notice that one person prefers the printed word while the second image shows an eReader, in this case, an iPad and an iPod.


A variety of gift items are available at the Library Advocate's DesignClass with this design.  See cafepress.com/DesignClass

  

iPad for Education

Here is a handy list of educational iPad uses from teacher librarian Lydia Smith-Davis, M.Ed of Orange Lutheran High School in Davis, CA:

From EdTech Teacher (ETT)

The iPad as.....

Over the past few months, iPads have exploded throughout schools and classrooms. Their flexibility, versatility, and mobility make them a phenomenal learning tool. In webinars and blog posts, we have talked about the iPad as....

• Reader
• Creator
• Student Response System
• Classroom Manager
• Study Tool
• Organizer
• Differentiator

In this section, we take a similar approach as with our Great Tech Tools. In order to help educators integrate iPads effectively, we have compiled a list of apps focused on learning goals consistent with the CRCD framework. While many of these apps have also appeared in our iPads in the Classroom section, this list is driven by specific learning goals that promote critical-thinking, creativity, collaboration, and the creation of student-centric learning environments. 

iPad Learning Objectives

1. I want my students to record and edit video on the iPad. 
2. I want my students to record and / or edit audio on the iPad. 
3. I want my students to read class content on the iPad. 
4. I want my students to annotate course readings on the iPad 
5. I want my students to be able to use audio books on the iPad. 
6. I want my students to use the iPad as a digitial notebook / note-taking device. 
7. I want my students to use their iPads to create screencasts to share and demonstrate their understanding.
8. I want my students to create presentations on the iPad. 
9. I want my students to create digital stories on the iPad. 
10. I want my students to be able to study with the iPad. 
11. I want to use the iPad as a student response system. 
12. I want my students to create written content on the iPad. 
13. I want my students to blog on the iPad.
14. I want my students to create ePubs / iBooks to read on the iPad.

Pew Internet and American Life: E-reader Ownership Doubles in Six Months

Rush Brandis of the California State Library alerted librarians of a new Pew Internet and American Life Report on E-Reader Ownership. Here is an overview taken from the report:

Overview:

• The share of adults in the United States who own an e-book reader doubled to 12% in May, 2011  from 6% in November 2010.  E-readers, such as a Kindle or Nook, are portable devices designed to allow readers to download and read books and periodicals.  This is the first time since the Pew Internet Project began measuring e-reader use in April 2009 that ownership of this device has reached double digits among U.S. adults. 

• Tablet computers—portable devices similar to e-readers but designed for more interactive web functions—have not seen the same level of growth in recent months.  In May 2011, 8% of adults report owning a tablet computer such as an iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Motorola Xoom.  This is roughly the same percentage of adults who reported owning this kind of device in January 2011 (7%), and represents just a 3 percentage-point increase in ownership since November 2010.  Prior to that, tablet ownership had been climbing relatively quickly.

The full report is at

http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2011/PIP_eReader_Tablet.pdf