THE Captured, Page 8
VOLUME 52 ISSUE 6
1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
Classes trade in books for Kindles between Amazon’s Kindle and it’s rival, the Nook by Barnes and Noble. Librarian Kim A select few classrooms Traw expressed support for and the high school’s library the Kindle, praising it’s versahave welcomed the arrival of tility in sharing novels. the Amazon Kindle into their “When you purchase one systems. title on the Kindle, it can be The Kindle, an e-book shared with six other devices, reader developed by Amazon, whereas the Nook only lets allows you put users to it on browse just the through, one. purYou can chase, and get free download books a variety of on text-based Amadocuzon, esments, like —Matt Klemesrud pecially magazines, English teacher the clasnewspapers, sics that textbooks aren’t and eon copyright,” Traw said. books. Weighing in at a mere The library currently has 10.2 ounces, Kindles allow five Kindles in circulation. readers to transport an entire The devices are open to any library of up to 3,500 books interested student for checkwith ease, and its non-glare out, and they offer a convescreen incorporates the use nient way to access novels of electronic ink, making it crisp and visible to read in any that aren’t currently available on the library’s shelves. lighting conditions. “We use them mostly for When first considering the students who want to read incorporation of e-book reada particular book but all the ers into the school system, copies are checked out. We comparisons were drawn
Rhydian Talbot Staff Writer
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It’s an activecommunity reading that your traditional text would not have.
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can do it right then — just hand them the Kindle and check the book out. It’s a high-demand feature,” Traw said. English teacher Matt Klemesrud is incorporating Kindle technology directly into the classroom. The ebook readers were introduced into the curriculum after English department head Judy Timmins proposed the idea last spring in efforts to launch a pilot program aimed to help students improve their reading. Two of the three major literary pieces the curriculum covers have been downloaded on Kindles and will be in use throughout the semester. The convenience of toting around a multi-novel device extends past simply reading in the classroom. With Internet capability, users can gain web access to sites like Google and dictionary.com. Another function allows users to move the cursor over a particular word to view its definition, allowing for an easy expansion of language for vocabularyshy students. Klemesrud also supports the Kindle’s ability to connect students and their ideas.
“You can highlight passages and leave notations for others in your group to read, so it’s like an activecommunity reading that your traditional text would not have,” Klemesrud said. Teachers and students alike are continuing to learn from the new devices and their abilities. General kinks associated with learning new technology are still being worked out, like the physical function of the device itself. “If you tear a page in a book, you can still read it, but
if you break a screen on the Kindle, it’s done,” Traw said. Also taken into account is the Kindle’s monetary benefits, comparing the cost of an electronic device as opposed to purchasing physical copies of a novel. Though still juggling with the Kindle’s place and effectiveness in the library, Traw remains optimistic that they’ll be beneficial in the long run. “For the first year they’re not going to be cost effective, but down the line, they will be. We’re still learning.”
Green house receives renovation Katherine Mayhew Staff Writer
A selection of students and teachers are working to renovate the greenhouse into working use. The CFHS greenhouse , located in back of the science office across the hall from the biology rooms, has deteriorated in its years of disuse. Math teacher Ethan Wiechmann, science teacher Scott Bohlman, and social studies teacher Chad Van Cleve came together to begin renovation of the greenhouse (this year?). They have removed unused things clut-
tering the space, put in large areas of compost and repaired things such as the ventilation system. Eventually, the greenhouse will be open to classes, experiments, and any students who want to work with plants. They hope that all science students will eventually be able to work in the greenhouse. “[Our hope is] every class will be able to use it in some degree. Maybe it will not always be used in class, but it’s a great extension,” Bohlman said. Through this greenhouse,
students who want to can learn the basics of plants in a more hands-on way than is otherwise possible. It is Wiechmann, Bohlmann and Van Cleve’s intention that students will eventually take over the greenhouse, and it will just be a resource to them. These teachers received some money for their renovations from Principal Rich Powers, but they have paid for additional expenses out of their own pockets. Van Cleve said he believes the skills involved in working with plants are good for
anyone to have. They promote self-sufficiency and being “green.” Starting October (10th), Wiechmann, Bohlman and Van Cleve are showing a group of students how to run the greenhouse and begin planting. Seniors Donald Halbmaier and Lucas Payne and sophomore Eric Davis are the students starting it off. All three students have interest in getting involved with the greenhouse. “I think it’s a different, cool activity at high school, and it’s nice to see the room
being used. It took a lot of work to get the room into usable condition,” Halbmaier said. Eventually, any student interested will be able to come in before, during or after school to work with plants. At this point, they do not know what they will do with the produce, but some have ideas about selling the vegetables and flowers for money to buy new seed. No one knows exactly how the greenhouse will turn out, but the possibilities are now in the students’ hands.