I received an email today which kindly informed me of a really cool educational resource. It’s called myROCKETBOOK.com. What’s a rocketbook? The website says it best:

Rocketbooks are video study guides that provide summaries and detailed analyses of literary works. Our WikiNotes section offers a new user experience allowing fresh viewpoints and expressions from today’s students, educators, and literature enthusiasts to bring these classic works to life.

This site has some great study guides for quite a few of the classics, Shakespeare included… which I suppose is why I’m sharing this with you. The study guide is offered in the format of a webpage (WikiNotes), PDF, mp3, and video. PDF and mp3 downloads are free for a limited time only!

The real treat on the site is the video study guide feature. Not all of the books on the site have a video version yet, but I’m sure they’re in progress. The Shakespeare titles available are Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Othello, and Hamlet. I made my way through Julius Caesar tonight and I liked what I saw. Each scene has a narrated detailed summary, an analysis, and a quiz. We see the narrator, quotes onscreen, as well as drawings of important characters and plot points.

This is a wonderful resource for teachers and students from elementary to high school levels. Not all teachers are a fan of using media in the classroom… and if you’re one of those who just prefer to talk about it: PLEASE consider alternatives to just lecturing the students on what the play is about and what it means. This video series is a little more engaging and isn’t boring to watch. It’s a great addition to the text - and not a substitute. The site’s motto is “Watch. Read. Succeed.” I like it! I give this resource two thumbs up, and 5 Bards for their creative use of various media via the internet to aid learning.

myRocketBook.com

No, I didn’t get to talk to Sir Ian, that would be a dream come true! But someone else did and got it all on video. It’s not quite an interview, this is sort of like a video lesson on Shakespeare taught by Sir Ian McKellen. It’s wonderful!

The focus is the video is Richard III and his explanation of the opening speech (”Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer…”). But there are other videos as well including some history, comparisons of the speech from three different film versions, Sir Ian talking about Shakespeare in education, storytelling, comparisons of Shakespeare to Lord of the Rings to X-Men, and more!

This is an awesome resource for everyone tackling Shakespeare in some way, shape, or form. Even if you think you have no reason to learn about Richard III, check it out anyway. Most of what he says can be applied universally to Shakespeare. It’s also great to see such a great actor speaking these lines with such ease and understanding every bit of it. Watch everything! There are lots of little videos about so many different things and it’s all good. It’ll take a long time to get through everything but it’s totally worth it.

My favorite part is his comparison between Richard and a biscuit. I’m going to leave you hanging about that so you’ll go and watch it!

A Conversation With Sir Ian McKellen

A very simple website, and a quick way to get to Shakespeare’s plays. They have a list up of when you click on “works” of the plays organized like in the Folio (Comedies, Tragedies, Histories). There’s also a “Poetry Machine” that randomly selects words and posts them like word magnets on your fridge and you can arrange them. Not as useful, but it’s good if you can’t afford the magnets.

The only downside is, of course, it’s another usual internet source of the texts: errors galore. So if you need a scholarly edit of the text, don’t look here. But if you just need to reference the text quickly then here’s a good place for you to look. This site gets 3 out of 5 Bards. Not great, but it’s there and it can be useful for you. It has been for me.

Shakespeare.Nowheres.Com

Here’s a fairly new website who strives to be something great. Believe you me, they’re on their way. Lots of websites have the complete works online, but they’re all from the same source and have mistakes all over the place. PlayShakespeare.com has people working on these texts to give them a more friendly and scholarly edit to fix these mistakes. It’s a big job and the work has only just begun.

They also have the whole play as printed in the First Folio in modern type. Now you can see the capitalization, spelling, and punctuation as first printed in 1623. It’s a great resource if you don’t want to look through gigantic PDFs of a Facsimile copy of the Folio, or don’t have access to a physical book of the Folio.

My next favorite part of the plays is that they have mouse-over definitions. There aren’t a lot in there yet, but given some time you’ll have a one stop source for text analysis. The site also includes documents of hard to find info on many of the plays, a search feature of everything, and a really great discussion forum where there’s lots of great info posted, and a good place to get some help if you need it.

I could go on, but I’ll let you check it out for yourself. Overall I give PlayShakespeare.com 4 out of 5 Bards for their great resources and potential to be something amazing. If they finish what they started, I will most certainly give them an extra Bard.

PlayShakespeare.com