Well, except the education business!

We at Wizz-E.com have decided to take a short break from writing stories and finding new ways to teach the joy of reading, to introduce a BLOG 1st. Viral Video. Let us know what you think!

In most elementary schools the utilization of computers is a fast growing tool to teach and introduce not only a different medium to children, but to aide in the learning of a technology that they will need for the rest of their education careers.

Technology use in schools is more than just learning how to access the Internet or typing skills it’s an understanding of the control of information children see, hear and learn. An understanding between the teacher, student and parents. Most children come into kindergarten with some knowledge of computers, even if it’s just observance of their parents using them. They know what they are and what they are used for. Being the little curious sponges that they are, when offered the chance to get to use them and behave like those they have seen use computers, it is an experience in of itself.

In Collected Research using computers with Kindergartners can be useful as well as frustrating; maintaining these guidelines can help your classroom, living room, or homeschooling environment become more relaxed and learning can take place.

1. Keep the lesson short and sweet. Something interactive, colorful or with music with help hold their attention.
2. Having programs that are open-ended and can be done as the student controls, with the  pace being set by the student.
3. Computers are used within the classroom, not set in another room or area. Something like “Centers” or “destinations” can be more accepted by the class.
4. The ability for audio to be used, so that those still working on letters and sounds can participate as well.
5. The use of media, such as a web cam or video camera to add to the picture or program they are using. This way they become part of the exercise.
6. After creating something the option to print it out and further color or bring home to share with others.
7. Programs that offer recognition and sound technology to emphasize sounds of letters or word phrases that can be followed along with.
8. Some of the greatest use of technology in the classroom is the option to have stories read through headphones as well as being able to follow along on a computer. A bonus would be to use story time that can be changed along with the flow of the story by the child listening and clicking on different points to enhance their story.
9. A subscription to a site like Wizz-e would provide another resource for online learning and reading.
10. A must is teaching children at a very young age what is and what is not safe behavior online. What to look at for and what to do in case they are asked funny questions online, who they can talk to about it and the understanding that some people are not good friends online.

In a article by Carol Hurst, two different children of the same age but different reading levels and reading backgrounds were asked to tell her about The Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle). This is the response:

“This is about a hungry caterpillar that ate a lot of stuff and turned into a butterfly. It is a nice story. I liked it.”

That’s not bad for a beginning second grader’s writing. He certainly gets his point across, but listen to the second child:

“This is a story that I’ve heard all my life. Probably they read it to me when I was a tiny baby. And I still like it. So does my mom.
It’s about a caterpillar that eats all kinds of food. Most of it is good for you, but it just gets more and more. I’d think he’d pop or at least have a stomach ache. Instead he turns into a butterfly and he has the colors of the food he ate in his wings.
My sister thinks that green leaf he ate on the last day made him change. I’m bigger and I know he was supposed to change. They all do.
It’s sort of magic. My teacher says there’s magic all around, like me turning from a baby to a kid.
Eric Carle’s pictures are neat. They are mostly cut and paste — collage — and when he uses tissue you see through the top one to the others. He’s written a huge pile of books. Very Quiet Cricket is special and ends with a surprise.”

This should be a wake up call to us parents. Reading is Fundamental and we are not even on the basic level of fundamentals. The fact that children are sponges and they want to learn, want to be stimulated, want to share the experiences of learning with us parents. We need to get busy, lets face it if we can cook dinner, catch up on the 500 emails that were due out yesterday, laundry and baths all from the same place and with the two hands we have - that is a victory. Most of us do this every day and go to bed wishing we had more time with our kids, to read, play, enjoy and be parents.

That is why online reading is such a great supplement to quiet time with our kids. While we are working online, our kids and be next to us reading, or being read to. Getting entertained by a great story, stimulated to read on their own and getting excited about books and the creative outlet that reading provides.

Nothing says that hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, the only blanket that can take away tears, mom or dad and a laptop is a bad thing. In fact, it can be a great chance to read a new story the second the moment allows.

The internet is not a fad. The web is here to stay. Online shopping, blogs, email, all these features and more will become a greater part of our lives as they evolve and innovate into a plethora of sophisticated forms. As any medium, they are malleable to the touch. We can utilize them to grow and connect or we can deny and abuse them to self destructive degrees of confusion. One thing is certain, the next generation will know them even more intimately than we do. They will take for granted what astounded us. One face of this wave of change is seen in the new trend of e books.

Aware of this phenomenon, major publishers have jumped on board, transferring the classics onto e books. Accessibility. Currently, e-books are a 35 billion dollar industry, a product of demand, adaptation, and good reason. They may not be as glamorously futuristic as the vision of flying cars, but they do harbor an incredible sense of potential and possibility. A book is a beautiful thing and always will be, neither diminished nor intimidated by the coming mediums. Scholastic’s chief academic officer, Francie Alexander, wisely notes, “We’re so lucky to live in an era when kids can have books in multiple formats. Each format offers something that the other doesn’t.”

Specifically, an e book can offer features, options, and conveniences that accommodate, comfort, and enrich its audience. In addition, an e book can be very interactive; it can be programmed to read aloud or end with a spelling quiz, engaging a book shy child with questions and sounds. For a child, an e book can not only make technology familiar but information, instant.

In 2008 many things became historic, new ideas and new ways communicating have connected not only the world, but the world of technology. No longer is about which company can out-design, but which company can be more social; supplying instant gratification though the use of smart-phones, email, downloads and compact quality products.

Social networking/marketing genius Twitter, gives instant updates from those experiencing something first hand, allowing links to pictures and video. During the Mumbai attacks, Twitter users brought updates from inside and around the chaos. Turning on CNN is great but, if I can get instant updates from various locations from different points of view, that is priceless.

The use of eBooks is growing and more in demand. The fact that I can download my favorite book, or better yet my children’s favorite book to my iPhone is fantastic. Long drives, flights or waiting rooms become less stressful and gives them more exposure to reading.

Don’t get me wrong, sitting with a warm blanket and a great cup of coffee on a Sunday afternoon curled up reading is wonderful; however, you can’t do that waiting for the dentist.

In the Technology review published by the Telegraph, UK eBooks are among one of the fastest growing gadgets of 2008:

Much as the music industry is slowly getting to grips with digital, so too is the publishing industry. This year saw ebook readers move from geek to mainstream. Amazon launched the Kindle in the US, while in the UK, Waterstones started to sell Sony’s Reader. Other mobile devices, too, embraced the medium, with several apps available for the iPhone that turn the handset into an ebook reader, and even Nintendo announcing that DS users would soon be able to read classics published by HarperCollins on its device. In truth, though, sales of ebooks and ebook readers remain dwarfed by those of old-fashioned “proper” books, but 2008 has arguably seen some much-needed momentum build behind the ebook format.

The industry is booming with opportunity. It is the storefront for many ideas to transpire in the near future. The idea of a magazine being updated online with the latest information, being able to update version of a book without having to buy and new one (all university students will appreciate this one), knowing you are getting the most recent knowledge in what you are reading. Newspapers have the opportunity to do less print more electronic, saves money builds more followers.

We are preparing our kids today for jobs that don’t even exist yet…

Yet, we continue to force them into boxes, and teach them using old methods. Next In Learning is a platform from where we will shine the light on what’s next in learning for our young ones. The blog is a product of Wizz-e.com, an online community which strives to instill the love of learning and reading by providing top quality eBooks for children.

But more important than who we are, is our mission to make learning accessible and fun for the new generation.

So, who should be paying close attention? Parents and Educators.

Stay tuned- we have LOTS of valuable content in store for you.  You can subscribe to the right by RSS or by email. We won’t let you down.