This year, the Madison school district updated its technology, implementing Wifi in its elementary, middle and high schools. Although still in the process of working the kinks out of the Wifi plan, Madison is continuing to move ahead technologically. Next year, MHS plans to test out several Nooks in an effort to facilitate student learning. The Madison Dodger Online spoke with Ms. Thomas and Ms. Klurfield to get their input on the school’s new Nooks.
Madison Dodger Online: How many Nooks is Madison High School getting?
Ms. Thomas: We’re initially getting three.
Madison Dodger Online: How are the Nooks going to be incorporated into student life?
Ms. Thomas: We envision it to meet all different needs. Some kids would prefer to read electronically. Nooks often can increase reading and reading comprehension. It allows students to access text in different formats, which is good for special education students. Also, it allows us to increase our library holdings more cost-effectively.
Ms. Klurfield: The district is going to download ten titles onto the three Nooks so students can sign out the Nooks, similar to the way they can sign out a digital recorder, and they would have it for two weeks. That’s Phase One. If this proves to be popular, then Phase Two will be enabling students to download titles off the Madison High School Library website, and they could download them onto their technology of choice, be it their iPhone, tablet or computer. They’d have that title for two weeks and then it would be electronically removed. There are thousands of titles that are free via Project Gutenberg. Another future option would be teachers using the Nooks in classrooms, where students can download a book onto their own personal technology.
Madison Dodger Online: Why did Madison High School decide to try out Nooks now?
Ms. Klurfield: There’s a trend towards reading in this way, and it’s so popular that we thought it could increase student excitement about reading. If there’s a book on the bestsellers’ list, and students are able to access it through the high school library and read it on their own tablet, it might make reading more fun for them. As librarians, we want to stimulate a love of reading.
Madison Dodger Online: How do you think Nooks will positively impact students’ learning?
Ms. Thomas: We always strive to provide more options. We have books on CD, MP3 players, and this is just one more way to engage with the written word.
Ms. Klurfield: Also, if books are out of print, they’re often available online, and this is a way that students could access them for research.
Madison Dodger Online: Why did Madison High School choose Nooks instead of Kindles?
Ms. Thomas: It had to do with our technology. We had to deal with the Madison firewall on our computers. It was a district-wide technology decision.
Madison Dodger Online: Will the new Nooks have any effect on the Wifi?
Ms. Thomas: The Wifi is totally separate.
Ms. Klurfield: Once kids have the books on the Nooks, they can read them anywhere.
Check out a Nook next year!