It’s Dyslexia awareness week. Check out resources on the New Zealand Dyslexia Foundation website https://www.dyslexiafoundation.org.nz/info.html
The library has an extensive range of books designed to facilitate reading to dyslexic students. Here is a list of our dyslexia friendly collection. Many are on display in the library.
Our ebook platform https://maclic.wheelers.co can help: Watch this short video to learn how to set your device to read with ease.
| Erik’s Fish and Chips has announced the first set of Central Lakes prize winners for Erik’s Reading Challenge! Congratulations to… Amber from Wanaka Primary School who has won: 2 nights accommodation for your family at Bella Vista Motel in Dunedin $100 Best Cafe voucher Visit to the Dinosaur Revolution Secrets of Survival Exhibition Visit to the Ocho Chocolate Factory Ruby from KingsView School has won our monthly draw: $30 Erik’s Fish and Chips voucher I-Fly voucher $25 Spice Room Voucher Last but not least, our monthly teachers prize goes to Ruby’s teacher, Katie: A Harmany Spa voucher $25 Spice Room voucher $30 Erik’s Fish and Chips voucher There is another draw at the end of September and October, so keep reading! Every 5 chapter books read is one entry and get a free kids meal at Erik’s Fish and Chips. Thanks to the team at Erik’s! www.eriksfishandchips.co.nz |
Please remember to sanitize when entering the library.
Practice social distancing (use the cross on the floor).
We now quarantine returned books for 5 days.
We thank Wanaka Womens Suffrage Comm for donating the book Skirt Tales: The Sequel to Mount Aspiring College library.
It’s an interesting read and a valuable addition to our collection.
Books are quarantined for 3 days on return.
The library will be locked at Interval and lunchtime after approximately 30 students are in.
One class at a time can book the library.
Print
I love books. Of course, I am librarian! I think each book is a treasure, a gift.
I enjoy the tactile experience, the paper softness, its smell.
I can lend a book, give it forward, I remember who gifted me which book, I may hug it even!
Their materiality give them context, a significance, therefore a stronger memory.
Most importantly, I love reading books. I enjoy diving into the pages in precious dedicated times. Losing myself in a book, forgetting time, living someone else life, being rocked by the rhythm of the words…
I also read print (alias a knowledge book) to learn a subject in depth, exploring all its aspects and nuances, often re-reading a difficult or important part to take it in. Oh! And they don’t have advertising!
Digital
I am an avid online reader too. But I can’t say I love it.
Online is where I get a lot of information, everything I want to know and more.
I explore the world and worldviews, I get news and weather of course. I keep contact with my friends, my community, and read many things I do not need.
Snippets, snapshots. Quick. Easy.
I read articles too, I skim-read the page to see if it’s what I want to read, then click away or continue skim reading. I tend to skip the end when articles are too long. Or my phone beeps and off I am.
Online reading has great advantages: ability to read in the dark, my phone of lighter than most books, it’s easy to find the information I want, it’s perfect when travelling and even saving paper!
As librarian, I witness first-hand how books in print are less and less used. Is it a problem?
Reading Brain
Maryanne Wolf is a reading specialist. In her latest book, “The Reading Brain in a Digital World” she questions the future of the reading brain and our capacity for critical thinking, empathy, and reflection as we switch to online technologies.
Studies have shown that 85% of students multitask (=get distracted) in an online environment but only 26% when reading print.
Analyses of movements of the eyes when reading show that we scan through a screen (in the shape of an F) whereas eyes follow lines in a book. Trained to search and find words fast on webpages, we unconsciously practice speed-reading on a screen. So we read e-books faster! We look for the meaning, the plot, but miss the implicit, the depth and the literary expression.
Learning impact
So what about thinking, analyzing, evaluating? What does it mean for learning?
A study by Geoff Kaufman and Mary Flanagan says that for abstract (inference-based) questions, the print participants scored higher, on average, with 66 percent correct compared to the digital participants with just 48 percent correct. For concrete questions, digital participants out-scored the print participants: 73 percent correct versus 58 percent.
This study shows screens do not make us dumber as some people fear or blame. But it does show that brains do not work the same way with print or screen.
Conclusion
I invite you to reflect on your reading habits, be aware of the differences print or digital offer and choose your reading medium accordingly.
It turns out that it’s no longer a Print VS Online debate, it is a Print AND Online world. We have to be bi-literate.
How do YOU read?
Hi everyone,
On the Mount Aspiring College parent portal, there is a library tab and parents can see if you have any book overdue but they cannot see the title. This is to protect your privacy, as you may not want them to know that you are reading “Is anyone’s family as mad as mine” !
The item title doesn’t show. It means they can’t help you find it if you’ve lost it. It also means they do not know what you read and can’t prompt interesting conversations with you about your books and reading choices.
We are reviewing this and seek your feedback to make a decision. Feel free to leave a comment or talk with the librarian about it.
Should the parent portal show the titles of the books you have borrowed from the college library?
The college and the library are back to normal normal. The hand-sanitizer is still available at the entrance to keep us healthy.
We are constantly adding new books to our selection and removing old tatty books too.
Here are the latest arrivals: Easy funny books and more titles in the popular Rangers Apprentice series.
In Level 2, the new normal in the library is:
As research projects begin and news affect everyone, here are a few information literacy skills resources, to help identify the truth.
How to conduct a research project? Follow the Define, Locate, Select, Organise, Present, Assess steps in this Prezi!
How to use the internet efficiently for research -senior: Youtube video 3.19 mn
To help with research, here is the direct access to selected databases for New Zealand schools -no login required. Scroll down on the page to this search box:
Here is an interesting article about identifying Fake information: Visual clues, resist emotional response, look for the motives. 1000 words – 5mn read
