Tamora Pierce has done it again. She is the author of great fantasy novels with very strong female characters. The Alanna series is the first in the kingdom of Tortall, with Wild Magic, Protector of the Small, and the two Trickster books also based there. Beka Cooper Book One: Terrier is the first in a planned trilogy which takes place 200 years before Alanna in Corus, the capital city of Tortall. Beka is just starting her job as a Provost (similar to police) guard, otherwise known as Dogs. She is working in the Lower City; streets of slums and thievery. Assigned to two veteran Dogs, she is eager to learn all she can. Beka has a gift (or curse), she understands the spirits carried by pigeons, and the voices carried on the air by dust spinners. From them, she hears about mass murders and the unknown villain known only as the Shadow Snake. When the Dogs are unable to fully investigate, Beka knows that she cannot let the common people suffer, and joins forces with her new ruffian friends.
Pierce excells at creating heroic characters that are real. Beka makes mistakes and suffers from shyness, which hampers her ability to make friends and perform all duties of her job. The secondary characters lend needed humor to the book, and help carry the story along. There is a lot of action and enough magical elements for fantasy lovers. It was a treat to read about the early years of Tortall, and I'm looking forward to the next book
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Filters
Before I begin, let me remind you of my liberal leanings here, so don't be too surprised when I come out against filters. Also remember, my students are highschoolers, I do believe some filters are appropriate for elementary students.
I not only write (or try to write) this blog, I also enjoy reading the many blogs that are out there about libraries, books, and technologies. Many of my colleaques provide links to wonderful resources that would be very helpful, if I could access them! There are some worthwhile vieos about technology and libraries on YouTube, but my district (or the state) blocks YouTube and other Web 2.0 sites. I am also unable to read some blogs, including my own last week! I tried to show a student this blog and he was going to help me upload a podcast, but it was blocked by Websense, the state filter. It was very frustrating, needless to say.
I agree that there is inappropriate material on the Internet. I also agree that many of our students should not be viewing this material. However, in the library at least, our job is to provide information. Many students have given up researching in here because they cannot find the information online that they need due to the filters. I have heard many students say that they will just do all their research at home, and then they want to fool around the rest of the class and distract their classmates who are actually working. We have the opportunity to educate our students on proper searching and evaluating of websites, but that opportunity is lost when many sites are blocked. Instead, we lose credibility with our students because we are not part of their world.
We also need to bring parents and the community on board. Many communities cooperate and teach street safety to children. It is time for us all to cooperate and teach online safety to our children and teenagers. We do not prevent children from playing in the park or going to the mall, instead we teach them not to talk to strangers and to look both ways before crossing the street. Let's do the same for online safety. I-Safe is a program our district is using (check out www.isafe.org ) which has many great resources for online safety. We need to trust our students for them to have trust in us.
The web is here to stay. There are many wonderful sites and tools for communication and collaboration available that are easily adapted for educational use. Let's learn how to do that, instead of refusing to see their value.
Thanks for listening.
I not only write (or try to write) this blog, I also enjoy reading the many blogs that are out there about libraries, books, and technologies. Many of my colleaques provide links to wonderful resources that would be very helpful, if I could access them! There are some worthwhile vieos about technology and libraries on YouTube, but my district (or the state) blocks YouTube and other Web 2.0 sites. I am also unable to read some blogs, including my own last week! I tried to show a student this blog and he was going to help me upload a podcast, but it was blocked by Websense, the state filter. It was very frustrating, needless to say.
I agree that there is inappropriate material on the Internet. I also agree that many of our students should not be viewing this material. However, in the library at least, our job is to provide information. Many students have given up researching in here because they cannot find the information online that they need due to the filters. I have heard many students say that they will just do all their research at home, and then they want to fool around the rest of the class and distract their classmates who are actually working. We have the opportunity to educate our students on proper searching and evaluating of websites, but that opportunity is lost when many sites are blocked. Instead, we lose credibility with our students because we are not part of their world.
We also need to bring parents and the community on board. Many communities cooperate and teach street safety to children. It is time for us all to cooperate and teach online safety to our children and teenagers. We do not prevent children from playing in the park or going to the mall, instead we teach them not to talk to strangers and to look both ways before crossing the street. Let's do the same for online safety. I-Safe is a program our district is using (check out www.isafe.org ) which has many great resources for online safety. We need to trust our students for them to have trust in us.
The web is here to stay. There are many wonderful sites and tools for communication and collaboration available that are easily adapted for educational use. Let's learn how to do that, instead of refusing to see their value.
Thanks for listening.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Harry Potter 7
Harry Potter 7; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released on July 21st! I can hardly wait. A student came down to tell me the news yesterday at lunch. Everybody here knows that I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. Maybe it's the Hogwarts banner hanging in the Media Center, the Harry Potter movie poster hanging in my office, the Harry Potter soundtrack I play occasionally, or the fact that I dressed up as Prof. McGonagall at Halloween.
The entire Harry watching community has been waiting to find out when the final book in the series was being released. The rumors were that it would be in July, which is also when the 5th movie (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, July 13) is coming out. We can get our HP fix all at once! The rumors are flying about who is going to be killed off, whether Snape is good or bad, if Harry is actually going to die! I feel that Voldemort definitely has to die, and I think Snape is another candidate there. I still think that he is acting as a double agent. And will Harry get back with Ginny? There are so many questions to be answered that #7 is going to be huge!
I haven't preordered it yet, although I received the email from Barnes and Noble. I have never been to a Harry Potter party at midnight when the book is released at a bookstore, and I would like to do that for once. With HP6, I had to wait until 2:00pm when the book was finally delivered. I could have read it twice over by then! I hope the Keys bookstores are doing something so I can start reading right at 12:01!
169 days and counting...
The entire Harry watching community has been waiting to find out when the final book in the series was being released. The rumors were that it would be in July, which is also when the 5th movie (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, July 13) is coming out. We can get our HP fix all at once! The rumors are flying about who is going to be killed off, whether Snape is good or bad, if Harry is actually going to die! I feel that Voldemort definitely has to die, and I think Snape is another candidate there. I still think that he is acting as a double agent. And will Harry get back with Ginny? There are so many questions to be answered that #7 is going to be huge!
I haven't preordered it yet, although I received the email from Barnes and Noble. I have never been to a Harry Potter party at midnight when the book is released at a bookstore, and I would like to do that for once. With HP6, I had to wait until 2:00pm when the book was finally delivered. I could have read it twice over by then! I hope the Keys bookstores are doing something so I can start reading right at 12:01!
169 days and counting...
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