Reading for pleasure, imagination stimulation

Image by PresenterMedia.com

I had really good intentions during the holidays to maintain my blog however even the best laid plans don't come to fruition. I have spent time in the hols catching up on some reading and particularly enjoying catching up on the English journals I subscribe to. Last year being the Year of Reading created so much rich material to use in class and food for thought. Darcy Moore's article in Issue 3 of Metaphor 'Social Reading: Fad or Future?' p.46, discussed how social reading through ebooks and online chat about books has created a new wave in sharing views on books and different ways we can engage with books through online bookmarking, blogging and sharing quotes on Twitter. The evolution on how we read for enjoyment is changing and I love being part of that change.

Image by PresenterMedia.com

 I also enjoyed Andrew Wright's article in the same issue, p.59, Why does reading matter?' He notes, "Once the words are there, on paper, the mind of the reader must take over from the words of the writer; interpretation is the key to the message..." He gave many examples of great books and why they are great. Everyone loves a good story with great plot and  is rich with interesting characters. It is these elements that will always remain at the heart of any good story and it is using these elements we try and tease out great stories from our students as they each come to us with unique imaginations just waiting to be unleashed. 

With busy careers, demanding assessment tasks, families, friends and commitments it is sometimes hard to fit reading for pleasure into our day however we can't expect our students to do the same if we can't prioritize some time to stimulate our imaginative muscle in our brains. I find reading can help break other busy thoughts and leave them in limbo for a bit and so giving myself time to go back and think somethings through from a new perspective. 

Apart from reading some great books in the hols I have been preparing to launch my business. With my Endorsement from the NSW Teacher's Institute I will be hitting the pavement in the coming weeks peddling my wares and convincing teachers that IT training is an important way of learning and communicating with our students. 

I look forward to another year of blogging and sharing with those in my Professional Network and have appreciated all the comments and feedback over the last year. 

Favorite sites for the week:

Learning in online affinity spaces


Some interesting apps,

12 Principles of Mobile Learning


A really cool gizmo I would love to have- hottest tech gadget for 2013
Read write


Until next week,
K