Above: Linda Weissman, secretary of the media center at Matawan Regional High School in Aberdeen, hands over the first Nook to be signed out on April 4. PHOTOS BY NICOLE ANTONUCCI The Nook is replacing the book in the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District, as a way to put more books into the hands of students and increase overall literary proficiency.
Students from Matawan Regional High School and Matawan Aberdeen Middle School were given first priority to try the e-book readers and sign them out of the Media Center last week.
“We wanted to provide technology with the foundation for literacy,” Greg Farley, director of technology for the district said in an interview on April 4. “You provide this device and you provide immediacy to get books in the hands of the students. That was our goal.”
Zach Gross, media specialist at MRHS, launched the new e-readers onApril 4, teaching students how to use the special website to find ebooks and how to download the books to the tablet.
Below: Zach Gross, media specialist at Matawan Regional H.S., helps a student download e-books onto a Nook during the “Book a Nook” launch. Students sign in to the school’s digital library using their school ID, browse the potentially unlimited number of books, check out and download their preferences to the devices.
It’s like shopping online,” Gross said, except each student is allowed to check out only two e-books at a time.
After the books are chosen, the books are downloaded onto the Nook for two weeks.
“It works just like a library,” Gross said. “Students can check out books for two weeks and then the books are automatically deleted from the device. If a student wants a book that is already checked out, they have to wait.”
Since there were only 27 Nooks to go around, a limit of six students per lunch period were given the opportunity to sign the actual tablet out of the media center for two weeks.
According to the policy slip each student and parent is required to sign, if the Nook is damaged in any way, the parent is responsible for paying the current market price to replace the damaged device.
Farley explained that funding for the Nooks came from the additional state aid that the district was awarded last year.
“It’s about being proactive and providing students with the best resources for their education,”
The district worked with Barnes & Noble to get 27 Nooks for the high school and 27 for the middle school at a cost of $99 each, he said.
Gross added that although the total cost may seem high, the school would save money in the long term. “Compared with the cost of buying actual books, we are saving money in the long run,” he said. “This reduces the number of books that will be lost or damaged. We won’t have to worry about replacing books from wear.”
The media center is changing, he said, and becoming smaller.
“We no longer buy reference books since students have unlimited resources to that information,” he said, pointing to the shrinking reference section. “That whole area is eventually going to be replaced with digital.”
Since September, Gross has worked to develop the digital library website, putting approximately 158 of the latest titles and an unlimited number of classics on the site.“Any classic book from Shakespeare to ‘Jane Eyre,’ any book the students may need in school is available,” Gross said adding that students can use their personal devices to access the digital library.
Books can be downloaded from cell phones, iPads, iPods, he said.
“They just have to use their school ID,” he said.
According to Farley, this is the first step in the district’s goal to promote Bring Your Own Device, an initiative to allow students to use their cellphones, personal laptops and other devices during classroom instruction.
Students would be able to interact with the teacher, providing answers right from their device through specific websites. The district has gone to other districts, such as Milford to see how the program is working and what problems are associated with it.
Currently, three or four classes in the high school and some in the middle school are testing the BYOD program, Farley said.
“Superintendent David Healy is pushing this initiative. He wants a campus-like environment, treating the students like adults,” Farley said. “Devices are part of the future, and we pride ourselves on being on the cutting edge.”
According to Healy, a technology team has been established consisting of a number of staff members and technology professionals.
“The team discusses how to integrate technology into student learning as well as the curriculum and instruction,” he said, adding that the Nooks are a great beginning.
“We wanted to give students the opportunity to learn using devices they are comfortable with and we are pleased that we are able to do so within the budget,” he said.
MRHS Principal Michele Ruscavage said the whole school community is excited about this new venture.
“It is creating a great learning environment. The students have been asking for a while when the Nooks were coming, so there is definite interest,” she said, adding that the e-reader is an excellent tool for learning.
“The students will read more,” she said.