Another concern is that many fan-;ction sites, such as Fan; ction.com,
post stories containing adult themes
and language. ;ese sites, in accordance
with U.S. federal law, do not allow
children under the age of 13 to post to
their sites (many of these sites will allow
people to read the stories there, but contributors need an account to post).
;is is why I decided to create my
own fan-;ction site aimed at elementary students called Where the Story
Never Ends. I asked my preservice
teachers from George Mason University to write fan-;ction stories
based on children’s stories and post
them to the site. I also asked them to
comment on stories written by their
peers. ;e result is a site with 48 stories written for children. ;ese stories are based on the works of well-known authors, such as Dr. Seuss,
A. A. Milne, and J. K. Rowling.
I would love to see other teachers use
this site and post student work. ;e site
is moderated for violence, language,
and adult themes (some violence is allowed if it is not graphic and stays within the canon of the original stories).
Inappropriate stories will be removed.
As the site grows, these preservice
teachers will serve as beta editors
for the children’s stories. ;ey will
provide the initial feedback and will
discuss the story with the students as
part of their course requirements.
Rules of the Site
Where the Story Never Ends is a free
wiki that anyone can read. To post a story or comment, educators must request
access by going to https://kidfan;ction.
pbworks.com and clicking the link on
the right side of the page.
When you request access, include
in your message who you are and why
you want access. Once you have access,
you can post students’ stories, add
comments, and edit the stories that are
there. Your students may also request
access to the site, with a recommenda-
tion from you, but we ask that you al-
low this only if you feel they are able to
follow the rules of the site.
Acknowledgment
I would like to thank the preservice teachers
enrolled in the Elementary Education program
in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University for their
contributions to Where the Story Never Ends.
—Debra Sprague, PhD, is an associate professor at
George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
A Virtual Backpack
for E-Books
Problem: I would like to find several
e-books for our sixth graders to use for
their science fair research. I would love to
have these grouped together so they can
find them easily.
Here’s a solution: You can use an e-book
management system called Mackin
VIA, which is available for free through
Mackin Educational Services. Mackin VIA
provides users with easy, simultaneous,
and unlimited access to the e-books and
databases in the school library collection.
It allows teachers to set up VIA groups and
VIA backpacks for individual students.
Each teacher can create lists of titles,
which students can then load into their
personal virtual VIA backpacks. Students
can access their backpacks using any
computer connected to the internet by
typing in their private logins. Teachers or
librarians can create VIA groups for grades,
classes, reading groups, subjects, teaching
partners, and even parents. The school VIA
administrator can also add websites and
other data to VIA.
Students can add e-books and databases
to their backpacks to use later as well. All
of their resources for the science fair or
another project—or for pleaure reading—
are housed in one location. Students can
read the books on their computers, iPads,
iPhones, or Android phones. It’s a “virtual”
student backpack without the lugging!
For more information about Mackin VIA,
visit www.mackin.com/via.
Shannon McClintock Miller is the district teacher librarian and technology integration specialist at Van Meter School in Iowa, USA. Read her blog at http://vanmeter libraryvoice.blogspot.com and find her on Twitter @shannonmmiller.
Scan this QR code to submit your own classroom technology tips on L&L’s group page on the ISTE Community Ning ( www.iste-com- munity.org/group/landl). You can also post tips on the discussion
forum titled “Classroom Technology Tips for L&L” on the L&L
group page of the Ning or email them to dfingal@iste.org.
