Iserotope

Kindle Classroom Project update, 12/19/12

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Mark Isero

favicon Well, it has been another big week over at The Project. Here are some highlights.

1. Ten more Kindles are coming soon!
Because of the generosity of 29 donors (yes, you read that correctly: 29!), my $960 DonorsChoose project for 10 more Kindles was fully funded.

This means that, for the first time ever, every student in my Kindle classroom will have access to his or her own Kindle.

There are many people to thank, but I’d like to give special mention to Millie and Brent of Las Vegas, who pushed me to go for the project; Iris of San Diego, who started the contributions off strong; and a certain Anonymous Donor from California, who kept up the momentum.

Also crucial: Jenni of Berkeley and Laura of San Francisco, who both donated and then got the word out so others contributed, too!

2. Three more Kindles arrived!
We’ll have to wait for those 10 Kindles, but in the meantime, I am happy to report the arrival of Kindle #15, Kindle #16, and Kindle #17. There they are, side by side, over to the right!

Kindle #15 was a gift from Caitlin of Oakland, a kind and generous colleague at my new job. Her Kindle was waiting patiently on my desk when I arrived to work this morning.

Kindles #16 and #17 were contributions from Tony and Chris of New York. They found me online (go Google! go Iserotope!) and sent me their Kindles not once but twice. (The first time, the mailing label came off and the package got returned). Now that’s dedication!

3. The ebook library grew by 16 titles to a total of 166.
One of my dreams was to be able to purchase books that students request. Because of last week’s generous $1,000 donation from DSW in Saratoga, I can now be confident that I can follow through with my promise.

Here are a few of this week’s new titles

(You’ll notice that these are high-interest books. That’s because students choose good books when they’re given the chance!)

4. There are rumors of additional holiday cheer!
A previous donor is upgrading to the Kindle Paperwhite and says two more Kindles are on the way. A kind person from Petaluma filled out the form on the new Kindle Classroom Project page and wants to contribute her Kindle Keyboard. And another previous donor says that she’s asking her friends to donate their old Kindles, too. The word is getting out, and the momentum is building. I don’t want to get too crazy, but I can see The Kindle Classroom Project adding an additional classroom — maybe back in San Francisco — before the end of the school year!

Thank you all again for your support and for caring about young people and their reading lives. favicon

Kindle Classroom Project update, 12/9/12

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Mark Isero

favicon This has been the biggest week in the history of The Kindle Classroom Project. Here are some updates:

1. The Project received a $1,000 donation, its biggest ever.
I’m still in awe after several days. The $1,000 Amazon gift card contribution from DSW in Saratoga changes everything. It’s a new era. This donation means that students can request books they want to read and feel confident that I’ll follow through. This donation means that I can build and diversify the Kindle ebook library. This donation encourages others to contribute, too. And this donation makes me think bigger about the project. Maybe it’ll be possible to work with more than one teacher — or an entire grade level — or with several schools. We’ll see what happens!

2. The New Kindle Classroom Project page makes it easier to donate Kindles.
Out of all the Kindles I’ve received over the years, six have come from total strangers finding Iserotope on the Internet. That’s pretty impressive, but I want to increase that number. After all, as tablets have become more popular, there are many Kindles lying around people’s homes, ready for reassignment. Before this week, interested Kindle donors had to find Iserotope, read a post, then click on my About page or Contribute page, and write an email to me. No longer. The new page includes a form that will make the process easier. In addition, the static page will show up more often on Google results for people searching for “donate Kindle.” Tell your friends!

3. The Kindle ebook library has reached the 150 mark.
Receiving Kindles from generous donors is great. But I’m finding that it’s also important to make sure that students have good books to read. I’m happy to announce that each Kindle now contains a library of 150 high-interest titles. These books come from student requests, from my own recommendations, and from other in-the-know teachers and librarians.

Here are this week’s new titles:

Kindler Jasmin requested Leaving Paradise after liking Simone Elkeles’s Chain Reaction. Kindler Steven requested The Sea of Monsters after completing Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief. It’s great when students find authors they like.

4. The DonorsChoose project for 10 more Kindles is moving swiftly.
My dream to reach a full class set of Kindles is going to come true, thanks to the help of friends in Nevada, their colleagues at Zappos, and the generosity of anonymous donors and friends in California. The $960 project for 10 Kindles is now down under $400, so I’m hopeful to get it funded before the new year. Feel free to tell your friends!

5. There’s another way to contribute: Buy a book from my Amazon wishlist.
I’m learning that some people — especially former students who have graduated and are now in college! — want to contribute but don’t like the idea of giving money and would rather purchase a book instead. That way, you know exactly where your money is going. That’s why I’ve created an Amazon wishlist of books that students have requested. Feel free to browse and click on a book you’d like to donate, and I’ll receive an email from you to transfer the title to the student Kindles.

There you have it, this week’s Kindle Classroom Project update. I’ll keep you posted about what happens this week. Will the DonorsChoose project be completed? Will more Kindles from strangers arrive? You never know! favicon

everything else

Today’s article in Iserotope Extras

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Mark Isero

favicon “Young Latino Students Don’t See Themselves in Books”
By Motoko Rich, The New York Times

We all know that there aren’t very many books for children and young adults written by Latinos or with Latino protagonists. But just 3 percent? That’s horrible, given that one-quarter of public school children are Latino.

Find the article at The Highlighter, my weekly newsletter!

via nytimes.com favicon

$1,000 donation to The Kindle Classroom Project!

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Mark Isero

favicon Nope, that’s not a typo!

I am very happy to announce the largest-ever donation to The Kindle Classroom Project: a $1,000 Amazon gift card from DSW in Saratoga, Calif.

I’m still a little bit speechless.

After all, for the past two years, I’ve been plugging away, collecting used Kindles, getting the word out, encouraging ninth graders to read, and being extremely thankful for the generosity of friends, family, loyal Iserotope readers, and total strangers who care about young people and their reading lives.

But never did I think I’d open my email yesterday morning to see this:

Pretty neat, don’t you think? It’s sort of boggling my mind, as if I’ve won the lottery or something.

This kind of contribution forces me to think differently — and bigger — about The Kindle Classroom Project. Maybe there’s a possibility for more than one Kindle classroom? Or maybe every ninth grader at a school gets a Kindle? Or maybe something even bigger?

Right now, I’m doing my best to calm myself down, to be as strategic as possible with this contribution in figuring out next steps. Here are some of my initial thoughts:

1. The money could go toward more Kindles.
My short-term goal of a classroom set of Kindles is no longer a dream. With this donation, I could purchase 14 Kindles and be done. But I’m pleased with the progress of my DonorsChoose project, which I believe will deliver the 10 Kindles necessary to achieve my goal. (Tell your friends!)

2. The money could go toward building the Kindle ebook library.
It has been challenging to attain a class set of Kindles, but it’s been even harder to fundraise for ebooks.

I’d like two things to be true:

If a student has been reading on the Kindle and then finds out about a book that she really wants to read but it’s not on the Kindle, I’d like to make that title available to her and to everyone else in the class.

I’d like every single title in a physical classroom library to be mirrored on the Kindle. In other words, I’d like a student to be able to go up to the physical classroom library, do some browsing, touch the physical books, see how they feel, find one that appeals to him, and then find that book on his Kindle.

Right now, I’m leaning toward Option #2, but I need to do some more thinking. If you have questions or ideas, please leave a comment.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to be in my awestruck (and appreciative, and grateful, and thankful) state!

Know of someone who’d like to contribute to the festivities? Direct them to this page! favicon

technology

Reading is (extra) fun on the Kindle (photos)

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Mark Isero

favicon Reading is fun, but it’s more fun (for most high school students) on the Kindle. Here are a few pictures of my students — current and former — and their Kindles.