Recorded Books will be closed for the holidays 12/24-12/27 and 12/31-1/3. We have lots of fun things planned for after the holidays, so we’ll see you then!
Filed under: Audiobooks and Education | Leave a comment »
Recorded Books will be closed for the holidays 12/24-12/27 and 12/31-1/3. We have lots of fun things planned for after the holidays, so we’ll see you then!
Filed under: Audiobooks and Education | Leave a comment »
One-Click Audio from Recorded Books Named an Awards of Excellence Winner by Tech & Learning
Recorded Books’ One-Click Audio has been selected as an Awards of Excellence winner by Tech & Learning magazine. One-Click Audio was recognized by a panel of over 30 educators as a winner in the Best Upgraded Products category.
With One-Click Audio, school libraries can offer teachers and students access to a wide selection of downloadable audiobooks. Users can download audiobooks to a computer and then import the files to an mp3 player, such as an iPod, if they prefer to listen on the go. The upgrades to One-Click Audio include a new download manager, an improved “holds” system, and faster search and download capabilities. Accessible by patrons inside or outside of a subscribing school or library, One-Click Audio serves as a digital alternative to cassette and CD audiobooks.
According to Scott Williams, Recorded Books President, “Audio support is an important element of fluency strategies for struggling readers. We are pleased the judging panel recognized the significance and convenience of a platform like One-Click Audio in providing options for audio support to teachers and students.”
One-Click Audio is available through yearly subscription plans. Its Media Center features an easy-to-use interface with streamlined navigation. Fast downloads, automatic software updates, and support for a wide range of portable devices provide a unique user experience.
“Now that the use of technology in schools is no longer a novelty but a reality, it is no longer about the promise of what a product can do; it is about the proof,” says Kevin Hogan, Editorial Director for NewBay Media’s Tech & Learning Group. “This year’s Award of Excellence products were tested by edtech experts from the New York City Department of Education and the University of Michigan, our top T&L advisors, and more. These companies can be proud that their products were selected as winners by this prestigious team of judges.”
For subscription pricing for One-Click Audio, email oneclickaudio-at-recordedbooks-dot-com.To learn more about Recorded Books K-12, go to http://www.recordedbooks.com/oneclickaudiok12.
Filed under: Audiobooks and Education, Awards | Tagged: audiobooks, eaudiobooks, technology | Leave a comment »
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of author Eleanor Coerr. She was 88. Best known as the author of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes/, she got the idea for the book after living in Japan and learning about Sadako Sasaki’s story.
Read School Library Journal‘s obituary for Coerr HERE.
Purchase Coerr’s books on audio below:
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes – Narrated by Christina Moore
Sadako is born in Hiroshima shortly before the atomic bomb is dropped. She grows into a wonderful, high-spirited girl with dreams of becoming the fastest runner in her school. One day at school, she has a dizzy spell and collapses. At the hospital, Sadako and her family learn that the atomic bomb sickness has begun to affect her. To pass the time during her hospital stay, she begins to build origami cranes. First published in 1977, Eleanor Coerr’s Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a classic of the modern age. Based on the life of a real girl who lived and died in Japan, Sadako’s heartbreaking story endures as a tribute to the spirit and bravery of a young girl facing terminal illness. Coerr’s work speaks to the injustices of war and the dream of world peace, imparting the message that human life is fundamentally the same, regardless of race, religion or nationality.
The Josefina Story Quilt – Narrated by Barbara Caruso
In 1850, young Faith and her family move from Missouri to California. As they pack their covered wagon, they can only take things that they really need. Faith loves her chicken, Josefina, and wants to take her along—but Josefina is only a pet. When the wagon is packed, Faith starts to say good-by to her chicken, but Pa hands her a cage. Josefina can go!—if she is good. On the long trip, Faith sews patches for a quilt. When she gets to California, each piece will remind her of something that happened on the trip. As Faith sews tiny stitches, Josefina clucks softly. Soon Faith has finished several patches—some are pictures about her pet. The only problem is Josefina can’t stay out of trouble! For years, I Can Read Books™ have entertained children as they encouraged independent reading. Filled with excitement, fun, and danger, The Josefina Story Quilt, will delight young listeners while they discover how boys and girls lived long ago—and will inspire them to read for themselves.
Filed under: Audiobooks and Education | Leave a comment »
The National Book Award winners have been announced and we’re proud to say that we’re the exclusive audiobook publisher of National Book Award for Young People’s Literature winner, Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine.
Click the link above to see the complete list of winners and honorees and read interviews with many of the authors. (Recorded Books also publishes lots of the honorees, and the Adult Fiction winner Lord of Misrule.)
Kirkus has this to say about Mockingbird:
“This heartbreaking story is delivered in the straightforward, often funny voice of a fifth-grade girl with Asperger’s syndrome, who is frustrated by her inability to put herself in someone else’s shoes. Caitlin’s counselor, Mrs. Brook, tries to teach her how to empathize, but Caitlin is used to depending on her big brother Devon for guidance on such matters. Tragically, Devon has been killed in a school shooting. Caitlin, her dad and her schoolmates try to cope, and it is the deep grief they all share that ultimately helps Caitlin get to empathy. As readers celebrate this milestone with Caitlin, they realize that they too have been developing empathy by walking a while in her shoes, experiencing the distinctive way that she sees and interacts with the world. Erskine draws directly and indirectly on To Kill a Mockingbird and riffs on its central theme: The destruction of an innocent is perhaps both the deepest kind of psychosocial wound a community can face and its greatest opportunity for psychological and spiritual growth.”
Congratulations to Kathryn and all the award winners and honorees. What do you think of the selections?
Filed under: Audiobooks and Education, Awards | 1 Comment »
West Point Case Study Concludes Transparent Language Measures Up with Rosetta Stone
To download and view the entire case study PDF, CLICK HERE.
June, 2010 marked the 27th annual CALICO conference, (Computer Assisted Language
Instruction Consortium). The conference was hosted by Amherst College, and like previous CALICO events, it offered a forum for discussing cutting-edge educational technologies. The three-day conference explored new ways in which educational technology can be leveraged to support effective language teaching and learning.
Researchers and instructors from the United States Military Academy at West Point were in attendance at CALICO 2010. They presented a case study on student attitudes and performance using CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) programs built by Transparent Language—which can be purchased through Recorded Books K–12—and Rosetta Stone.
The Study’s Conclusions:
Both programs made instruction time more efficient, since students could demonstrate
progress and maintain language skills outside of class [but] … the Rosetta Stone one-size-fits-all approach was insufficiently flexible for instructors’ unique needs.
Filed under: ESL | Leave a comment »
Recently, we asked you to tell us what you’d do with a life-size Greg Heffley cutout. Congratulations to Karon Bybee of Lakeside Elementary in Texas, grand prize winner of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid contest!
Karon’s idea:
I am the literacy coach at Lakeside Elementary and would love to involve the school in a Wimpy Kid week. I would like to move the cut out around the school to pop up unexpectedly, so all the classes could participate in activities. We might read from Wimpy kid at lunch to peak interest. I would like for my struggling readers to watch the interview with Jeff Kinney and then create their own interview with Greg. We would broadcast the interview on the morning announcements to kick off the festivities. I would like to have my younger students draw themselves as a character to add into a wimpy kid adventure, which we would write either as a shared book or an individual story depending on the level. I would like to turn their adventures in to a podcast for parents to view. Finally to end the week with a celebration on “your favorite wimpy story” and I’ve been known to create some wimpy cookies.
We really love Karon’s plan to share Greg with the whole school through morning announcements, and involve everyone by writing their own wimpy adventure. Sharing these stories with parents and others through podcasts and videos is a great way to get parents involved and hopefully get students reading at home, too. (And we’d like to go on record to say that while the promise of cookies did not sway our vote, we’d still love it if Karon would send a few our way!) Karon will win a host of goodies for Lakeside Elementary, including the coveted cardboard wimpy kid.
We wish we had more than one wimpy kid to give away! Alas, there is only one Greg Heffley. So we also picked three runners up, who will each win one CD audiobook and one print book for one of the books in the Wimpy Kid series. Those winners are:
• Kathy Scott (Hallsville), who suggested that Greg Heffley write a column for the school newspaper
• Becky Norgard (Elim Christian Services), who planned to involve both younger and older students in a skit where the kids could see cutouts of themselves palling around with Greg (how cute!)
• Shellie Swanson (Bayfield School District Library), who suggested using Greg as a basis for a character education discussion for middle schoolers
Because there were just too many great entries, we also picked two second runners up, who will each recieve one copy on CD of one of the Wimpy Kid books.
• Cheryl Ford (Rock Hill, SC), who hoped Greg would inspire her kids to reach a 75 books a year goal (wow!)
• Jerry Jarrell (Frank Stone Middle School), who suggested Greg hang out at the book fair and answer kids’ most burning questions
We hope you all still move forward with your great wimpy kid plans. If you do, please share with us! To read all of the wonderful submissions, click here.
Filed under: Audiobooks and Education, K-12 Education | Tagged: greg heffley, jeff kinney, wimpy kid | 1 Comment »
Just a note…we’re received so many great entries for the Wimpy Kid contest that it’s going to take us longer than expencted to go through them all! Expect an announcement of the winner by Wednesday.
In the mean-time, we encourage you to read through the comments for some great ideas that you can incorporate into your classroom, whether you have a cardboard Greg Heffley or not!
Filed under: Audiobooks and Education, K-12 Education | Leave a comment »