Thing 20

Thing 20 is about eBooks. I started with the Best Places to Get Free Books. This seems to be a great site to swap eBooks you have collected.

On google books I found a preview of "To Kill a Mockingbird". I want to read this book again this summer due to all the hoopla about its 50th anniversary. I was disappointed that all of the book wasn't there, although the preview was helpful, and it has enticed me to put the book in "My Library". I plan to purchase and read it later this summer, after I have finished reading the Millennium series, and after I have finished my course work.

One neat thing about eBooks is the interactive text ( as exemplified in the British Library Online Gallery site). (This is a fabulous site. I especially enjoyed the book about Mozart, Alice in Wonderland and Medieval times). You can look up a word, get description or hear music depending upon where the link takes you. Another advantage seems to be that you can easily page through them and find what you want. People can enjoy eBooks without spending a lot of money, and it certainly seems to be an environmentally friendly way to read. One disadvantage is that you have to have an electronic device of some kind to be able to enjoy them. Furthermore, computers or readers can fail. A real book won't do that. As long as you hold onto your copy real books can go any where with you.

The NHS site had a lot to offer students and staff. There are several things that I might be able to use with my students. One is the book "Drugs and Society". Students could use this eBook to find information about different drugs. Another helpful book (resource center), is "The Opposing Viewpoint". Last year eighth graders debated which drug is the worst, marijuana or alcohol. This site seems to have plenty of interesting information, and thanks to the summaries relevant ones are easy to identify. There is also a "Family Health Book" that kids could use to look up information about different things. Additionally there is a site called Marshall Cavendish which allows you to see and browse through illustrations, maps, drawings and diagrams and research tools I also noted two other helpful resources. One is World Book online, and the other provides information on alternative medicine (the Gale Virtual Reference Library). I also found a reference book on different cultures. In our building there are students from many different nationalities. I think this site will prove to be useful when we get a new student from a different country. If our password still works I can look it up and find out about where there from and what their cultural background might be like.