The newest device to entrance Hurricanes students is something called a Playaway. It is a small device that holds the audio of an entire book. No more changing Cds. At the end of last school year, the School Advisory Council donated some money to start a Playaway collection. This formed the basis of 25 titles, a combination of classics (Hamlet, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, the Odyssey) and more modern titles (The DaVinci Code, Outsiders, Water for Elephants). Out of the 25 titles, 15 have already been checked out.
Surprisingly, the classics seem to be very popular. Many students prefer to listen to these titles instead of reading them, and the English teachers are promoting reading and listening at the same time. Auditory learners prefer to listen as that makes it easier for them to visualize the story, and provides a good introduction to many books they probably wouldn't read otherwise. Several students have checked out the Playaways if they are going on a trip and they can listen on the plane or in the car.
Students provide their own earbuds/headphones, although we do have some available for students who need them. The device runs on a AAA battery, which we provide. Battery life tends to last for about 10 hours of listening time. Listeners can bookmark passages and chapters to come back to. Check-out time is 2 weeks, same as books, and can be renewed if needed.
Most students like the idea of the Playaways. And when I first showed them to the teachers, they were amazed at the idea of having iPod-like audio books in the Library Media Center. With new titles being released, more Playaways will soon join the original 25. Instead of seeing kids just listening to iPods, hopefully they will now be listening to quality literature too!
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