Thing #2 : Evaluate Information

I've been evaluating / reviewing printed materials and web sites for so long that I do it without even realizing it.  It's so ingrained that the evaluation process is always running in the back of my brain and analyzing the information the front of my brain is digesting.

Most of the "official" web site evaluation forms are to complicated for the students I work with.  Even Kathy Schrock's form is to long.  It could also use an update - not many people dial into the Internet any longer.

My favorite is the 5 Ws of Web Evaluation.  I've used this one before and since many students are already familar with the 5 Ws for writing they don't have much trouble transitioning to the 5 Ws for the Web.  

All of the sites in my previous post passed muster.  That didn't surprise me since I'd jetzoned any number of them  before writing the post.

And as to how to help student "internalize" this process?  I wish there was a magic pill but till it is invented I think the best methods are "modeling" and "think alouds".   Anyone who works with elementary students is very used to doing "think alouds" since it's a very effective way for students to learn.

Thing #1 Access Information

I dutifully checked “Book Trailers” in Meriwether and Aquabroswer and didn’t find much – which is pretty much what I expected to find – or rather not find. Meriwether produced some DVDs with the word “trailer” in the 505 contents notes. Aquabrowser pulled up all the books on trailers – as in tractor.

I then tried Bing – in fact it’s first time I’ve used it. I know from listening to NPR that Microsoft hopes Bing will go head to head with Google. Considering that Bill Gates usually gets his way I wouldn’t be surprised to see this happen. It’s a visually attractive search engine and it instantly produced a very good reference. . I also found this one , which I already knew about compliments of LM_NET. I like the fact that Bing shows related searches down the left sidebar and also keeps track of my search history. Based on the number of “ads” for book trailers I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a burgeoning business. I’m going to spend some more time with Bing and try to get myself out of the Google habit.

Since I work with K-5 kids I decided to explore some of the kid friendly search engines. Yahoo Kids produced nothing useful – all I got was a list of commercial movie trailers. I’ve never been impressed with either Yahoo or Yahoo Kids search engines and I long ago stopped using them in favor of Google. They both seem to emphasize commercial sites over educational sites. KidsClick came up with a big fat zero. Way back in the beginning of the Internet it was one of my favorites but it’s been some years since I’ve paid it a visit. I remember that I didn’t think it was updated often enough and after taking another look I haven’t changed my opinion. At the top of the page it lists “Hurricane Katrina” as a hot topic. Cybersleuth also came up with a big fat zero, though it did manage to fill my screen with taking pop-ups. I like the layout but not the sound level. My library is noisy enough, I don’t need a talking search engine to add to general buzz. It does seem to index a a large clip art library. I'm always in need to kid friendly pictures so I suspect I'll use Cybersleuth for that. Even with the school filters in place Google Images often pulls up some questionable pictures.
Bing pulled up a Wikipedia reference so I knew I’d find something there. I know Wikipedia is controversial but I’ve always found it to be immensely helpful, especially when dealing with popular culture. It pointed the way to a University of Florida site on Digital Booktalks, another site devoted to using Book Trailers to grab reluctant readers. Wikipedia also lead me to another good “how to make a book trailer” site.


Finding examples of book trailers isn’t difficult – there are almost 5000 of them on YouTube, ranging from the slickly professional to the “made at home by loving hands” variety. I struck gold in Teacher Tube – Dbeard65 posted a photostory on entitled Digital Book Trailer Project :
The photostory referenced Naomi Bates, who is one of the “founding mothers” of the educational book trailers – in fact her posts on LM_NET are what piqued my interest in the first place. Her blog is another source for “how tos” and she also has a Facebook page: and a website.


A quick search of Google Blogs pulled up a post on creating Book Trailers without pain and agony.
I like this one because when working with K-5 students there won’t be time to pull out all the stops and produce wiz bang book trailers. I added yet another blog to my Google Reader.
I found a post by Kait Nolan who calls herself an “indie author” entitled “Revisiting Book Trailers”.

She doesn’t like them and doesn’t ever watch them. I must admit I rather agree with her – I’m not one to watch a trailer either – I’d rather read a review (which, being that I am a fast reader I can do in less time than it takes to view a trailer). Then ,why am researching the things ? Well, for very same reason Nolan says they are worth doing – we’re a visual society and pictures grab the young better than words.

I know most kids would rather make a book trailer than write a book report. If my goal is to ensure students read and comprehended a book, there isn’t any reason the final product couldn’t be something they enjoy doing. And that brings it all together with the book – Differentiating Instruction – that I’m reading as my other summer hours project. On page 66 the authors state that the product can motivate the student to learn the content.

And I'm quite sure that the carrot of creating a book trailer using our new iBooks and Flip Video cameras would motivate many a reluctant student!

Bringing it All Together....

Book trailers are the rage on LM_NT these days. They are everywhere - on Amazon, on Publishers Web sites and on Facebook. Some are professional, others are done by students. There is even a site devoted to how to create booktrailers. They are the 21st century version of that old chestnut The Book Report. I've seen a few here and there but I've not made one myself. I can't think of anything that dovetails as perfectly with what I do. Now I have a reason to learn how!

I don't know about the students but I am very, very bored with book reports beginning with "My book is about... and ending with...."Go read this book". I suspect most of the audience tunes out between the words "My" and "Go". Besides, these days, with all the reviews on Amazon and other places it way to easy to fake a book report. Back in my day you had to rewrite the blurb and sometimes the teacher caught on, but these days there are a myriad of choices to plagiarize from.

Book Trailers, which are highly visual actually require that the student read and understand the book, otherwise the pictures won't match what' contained between the covers . They are also short, sweet and to the point - something else that's important if the reports are to hold the interest of the audience.

Here is an example of one created by a high school student. The book is entitled Need. After viewing it, I'm not sure if I want to read that particular book but I know a number of students who would be all over it like white on on rice.

TEKS - gotta talk about TEKS....gotta make this educational. There are TEKS galore for Book Trailers - which are all about students reading and analyzing text.

Toto... I Don't Think I'm in Kansas Anymore...

Ye Gads! Blogger has undergone a complete 180! I'm very glad I registered for 5.75 Things, otherwise I'd be in for a rude shock come fall when I introduce Blogger to a new crop of Bloggers.

5.75 Things is modeled along Ornithology - and while it may be the fastest growing hobby in the country is one I will never embrace. Ornithology requires one to sit still - something I have never been able to do for a nano second, much less for several hours. Hence my title.