In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Fire Captain Beatty explains it this way, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs.... Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy."
Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman undergoing a crisis of faith. His wife spends all day with her television "family," imploring Montag to work harder so that they can afford a fourth TV wall. Their dull, empty life sharply contrasts with that of his next-door neighbor Clarisse, a young girl thrilled by the ideas in books, and more interested in what she can see in the world around her than in the mindless chatter of the tube. When Clarisse disappears mysteriously, Montag is moved to make some changes, and starts hiding books in his home. Eventually, his wife turns him in, and he must answer the call to burn his secret cache of books. After fleeing to avoid arrest, Montag winds up joining an outlaw band of scholars who keep the contents of books in their heads, waiting for the time society will once again need the wisdom of literature.Bradbury--the author of more than 500 short stories, novels, plays, and poems, including The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man--is the winner of many awards, including the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Readers ages 13 to 93 will be swept up in the harrowing suspense of Fahrenheit 451, and no doubt will join the hordes of Bradbury fans worldwide. --Neil Roseman--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Biography
In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury, who died on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, inspired generations of readers to dream, think, and create. A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time. His groundbreaking works include Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He wrote the screen play for John Huston's classic film adaptation of Moby Dick, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He adapted sixty-five of his stories for television's The Ray Bradbury Theater, and won an Emmy for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree. He was the recipient of the 2000 National Book FoundatioMedal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, among many honors.Throughout his life, Bradbury liked to recount the story of meeting a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932. At the end of his performance Electrico reached out to the twelve-year-old Bradbury, touched the boy with his sword, and commanded, "Live forever!" Bradbury later said, "I decided that was the greatest idea I had ever heard. I started writing every day. I never stopped."
Podcast can be used in many ways to engages students in their daily curriculum. I have chosen to the podcast as a book review from a students perspective. Students pay attention to what their peers have to say about games, books, movies and the trends of the day.
I have chosen to use Padlet because of the ability to have different themes and platforms. I do not think one is better than the other but instead a matter of choice and style. Each application has the ability to download photos, videos, and embed in different formats/applications such as Youtube, Blogger, Canvas, Wikispace, Wix, Schoology and many others.
Friday, July 8, 2016
MONSTER by Walter Myers Booktrailer
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost. Christopher Myers's superfluous black-and-white drawings are less successful. Their grainy, unfocused look complements the cinematic quality of the text, but they do little to enhance the story. Monster will challenge readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers. In some respects, the novel is reminiscent of Virginia Walter's Making Up Megaboy (DK Ink, 1998), another book enriched by its ambiguity. Like it, Monster lends itself well to classroom or group discussion. It's an emotionally charged story that readers will find compelling and disturbing. Edward Sullivan, New York Public Library Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
QR CODE
I think QR code can be used in many ways.
It can allow one to distribute information in a quick and timely manner.
The message allows one to save on papers and copies.
The information can be viewed by many, anytime of the day, with technology that is available on all types of phone at no cost.
There are some great applications for snapchat. The librarian can use snapchat for the following:
book reviews
informing patrons of school wide events and library events
informing staff of up and coming events in the library
announcing achievements by students, staff and faculty
informing parents of events
interacting with students through their use of technology
requires student to be creative and effective to get message across in a short period of time
There are many resources to help librarians to stay in touch with the patrons and learned how to use snapchat in an effective way
Snapchat video of a middle school student giving a review of Fahrenheit 451 with a funny and playful change in appearance.
A college student giving out information about the use of the media center wireless printing capabilities on any electronic device.
Oh the possibilities of snapchat....What did I love about snapchat ...
I love...
playfulness of snapchat
all the options to change your appearance depending on your mood
giving helpful information in a short period of time
ability to replay message many times
the universal appeal to the youth
the ease of getting students to be on snapchat to be silly and provide information about their readings
What is tough about snapchat....
Older patron may not have access or want to be apart of this media
Promoting librarians active use and convincing students to add you to snapchat friends list
Lack of ability to see short snapchats outside of the application itself, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs.
A higher learning curve is required to upload videos of the snapchat to youtube, then download to the Blogs, Facebook, and Twitter to have a record of all snapchats created by the librarian.
Only have 10 secs to get message across.
Overall good experience, worth learning and using because of the popularity with youth. This application can reach many patrons with little to no cost, time and effort. The exposure would not only be positive for the library but a big support for the teachers in the classroom with student engagement.
Horrigan, J. B. (2016, March 22). Lifelong Learning and Technology. Retrieved June 10, 2016, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/03/22/lifelong-learning-and-technology/
Lifelong Learning and Technology: A large majority of Americans seek extra knowledge for personal and work-related reasons. Digital technology plays a notable role in these knowledge pursuits, but place-based learning remains vital to many.
There are two type of learners:
Personal
Professional
The two type of learners have many reasons for being a lifelong learners:
Personal
87% helped them feel capable and well rounded 69% opened up new perspectives about their lives 64% helped them make new friends. 58% feel more connected to community 43% get more involved in volunteer opportunities
Professional
65% expanded their professional network 47% training helped them advance within their current company 29% enabled them to find a new job with current or new employer 27% helped consider a different career path
The lifelong learners have many ways to learn such as:
The library pages on Facebook are posting about issues concerning the environment, programs that are being presented at various locations, new library openings, library connection with education issues in the school, awards by different library organizations, compliments to other librarians, inspiration sayings, events that are taking place in the library, and suggestions for programs to run in the library. The advantages are anyone can access without any charge, attracts a wide audience of different type of people, the ability for other librarians to network. The disadvantages are may not reach your specific audience, some people do not like to use Facebook, and younger audience are moving away from using Facebook as primary social media. There Facebook pages do not seem to have many comments. The pages had more likes without comments. Samuel Houston Gates Library Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/samuelhouston.gates
