For this assignment, you will be asked to read a recent book on pedagogy, education, teaching, issues of equity, issues of adolescence, etc. and write a book review that will share pertinent information about both the issues discussed in the text and your individual take on the author's work.  During a class session in late April, we will each briefly mention the books we have read and the topics involved.  However, we will leave the presentation and discussion of these books for another format – the World Wide Web.  This will allow for another form of discussion on these issues which can hopefully serve a few purposes.  We hope to share information and ideas and questions with not only fellow seminar members, but also with others who might be interested, whether they be future MAC students, mentors, or other educators.  We also hope that the nature of this type of presentation and discussion will inform you of some of the options which will likely become commonplace as technology advances to make communication easier.  As we explore a variety of literacies, it is important to experiment with a variety of means of presenting and sharing information.

Included with this assignment are a number of lists of books compiled by the MAC faculty which might serve as a pool of books from which to choose.  However, you are also more than welcome to select another text which might inform you, your fellow MACers, and other teachers on issues vital to your growth as educators.  We will have you create your web-page review and place the file in your own personal web space under the name “webreview.html” so that we can all easily find the page, and so that an index of reviews can be made and placed on the MAC web site by April 27.  We will also establish a COW session for which each of you will begin a conversation about your own book, and will be welcome to discuss these books with others.  In order to make this discussion more accessible to you and others, it is recommended that your page include a link to the COW site, as well as any other appropriate links you deem valuable.  To link to the COW site, you should link to http://calypso.rs.itd.umich.edu/COW/.  

Have fun with this assignment!  The book review offers a unique opportunity to explore an issue which you’d like to learn more about and which you’d like to share with others.  Take some time to wander through the education section of Border’s or Shaman Drum, and think about what concerns you, excites you, frustrates you, thrills you, or angers you.  Some of you have expressed an interest in learning more about experiential education, urban education, issues of sexual orientation and education, and issues of religion and/or spirituality in the classroom; here’s your chance to run with those ideas.  We look forward to learning with you and from you, as always.  Enjoy!