Article Review

Julie Willis begins her article, "From MySpace to MyBook" by discussing the problem of illiteracy at the high school level. She notes that many of her students begin high school reading below grade level. She recounts her struggles to motivate her students to read. Willis then appears to have had an epiphany about how to resolve this when she realized that every single one of her students had a MySpace page. She recognized that MySpace is a website that requires students to successful navigate using reading, writing and other communication skills. Willis sees the potential in MySpace where many other adults see a site gull of corruption and danger.

Willis noted that "the appeal of MySpace comes from the ability to share thoughts and ideas through pictures, movies, songs and text" (2007, p. 1). She speculated that those skills could be put to use in an effort toward improving literacy with older students as well as younger students just learning to read. She found software, called My Own Bookshelf, which is a co-authoring program that uses the same kinds of skills students use to build MySpace pages. The students create books that they author, design, and print themselves. The books are also burned onto CDs so that younger readers can follow along with the printed book as they listen to the audio version.

Willis noted that the cost of the program is only $139.00 and is extremely easy to use. The only thing that is needed is a computer, the software, a printer, a cd burner, and a target audience. Willis states that the "students are only limited by their imagination and technological savvy."
She explains that it gets the students involved in the writing process from storyboarding to editing and publishing. She adds that students are invested in the process because they choose the topics they will write about. Students demonstrate pride in their work because it is completely their original work. They are in charge of the creative process from the beginning to end--choosing font size, text style, colors, pictures, images and even videos and music if they wish.

I think this is an excellent idea for use with any students. I am inspired to go out and purchase the software for my student for next year. This author/teacher knows exactly how to get kids enthusiastic about producing work and engaging in the learning process--you make it relevant to them! The need to embrace technology and not fear it has got to be the way schools approach teaching in the coming decades. Our kids are already invested in technology everywhere else, so why not school as well? Instead of treating popular sites, like MySpace as monsterous things, schools and parents needs to figure out how to incorporate similiar technology as we impart lessons to our children.

Tracy