I was trolling through blogs the other day. I do this, troll through the blogs to just see what’s out there, and I came across Alex Kassabov’s blog at http://kassabov.wordpress.com . He’s not an educator in the public school sense and much of his stuff is so technologically over my head it’s like he’s speaking a foreign language. He does, however, write some posts that contribute a great deal to the world of professionalism, technology and leadership. I believe all educators can benefit from checking his site out on a regular basis. When I finish this blog, I’ll be adding him in my blogroll under Business and Technology.
I was reading Alex’s post at http://kassabov.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/how-to-remember-the-books-you-read/ and simply had to check out the site he recommend: www.librarything.com . The other site, Shelfari at www.shelfari.com is a similar site. As I was up late last night with a mild case of stress induced insomnia, I decided to check out both these sites, to see what potential they might have for educators.
Both sites are social networking sites in that you can add friends and converse with friends about the books you read, own or are reading. Features include the ability to add friends, join groups and even create a private group. You can read other member’s reviews and the site will even match you up with other members who have libraries with books similar to the ones you’ve added in your library. The sites are both free, though paid upgrades are available. Shelfari has privacy setting which allows you to only be seen by your friends and then, of course, you have control of who you as as friends. In Shelfari, you have control over who can comment on your reviews or library. I am not sure if LibraryThing has the same or simiar feature. I do know that LibraryThing has the ability for the user to create a private group where membership is controlled. There is no age requirement or limit, meaning no little box pops up to ask the user to state that they are over 13, however, students must login using an email which can only be obtained through parental consent (at least at Yahoo) which makes the site inaccessible to children who do not have their own email. It also won’t work by using an email address, like the teacher’s. I tried it when I tried to have my 12-year-old son join. I got the error message saying. There might be ways around this block, I haven’t discovered them yet. Even if there are, it would be wise to consider the ramifications of allowing young children access to Yahoo through email. In my school, Yahoo is banned on all student computers. I’m not willing to take the risk to myself by putting my password in for all the students. I still have yet to explore the site’s privacy controls to see if a child could still join and not have friends or be bomarded with comments by others. Clearly, there is room for exploration before determining the value of sites like these for young students in a school setting. For homeschooler, who have a parent carefully monitoring and who are willing to provide the credit card information required to set up the Yahoo family account, the options become numerous.
There are a few uses for educators which became immediately apparent to me. These uses apply, regardless of the age level of your students. The older the students are, clearly, the more easily they will be able to navigate the site, but if you are one who is comfortable with technology and can explain steps carefully to students and you have access to a media lab once a week and there are no restrictions where your school or district is concerned, this program could be used with children as young as first grade. It is slow going the first few times through, but do-able. You will need to evaluate the worth of the program in terms of time and outcomes.
Both sites are mostly point and click and if the child has a copy of the book right next to them they can easily type in the author’s name and click the appropriate icon to add the book to the library. The icon shows up as a little picture of the front of the book. Really cool! On Shelfari, the member is given options at to whether the book has been read, is currently being read or is owned. The icon in LibraryThing can even be sized small, medium or large according to the user’s preferences or is it eyesight?
These sites provide some interesting new ways to consider using technology to get young reader’s involved in keeping a log of their reading. Older students can actually use the review feature to practice writing summaries of what they’ve read. In addition, it is a great way to get the students in your class dialoguing and writing (yes! writing! and for an audience!) about books, opinions, summaries and recommendations.
Even if you don’t currently have a class of students you call your own, this would be a great place to inventory your own library. What educator doesn’t have a billion of their own books stored either at the school on shelves somewhere, in boxes in the garage neatly labeled and identified by subject, author or grade level, of course, or at home? How many times have you as the classroom teacher, thought a particular book in your collection would convey a particular idea but you weren’t sure after all if you had the book or only thought you had the book? (Okay, maybe I’m the only one with that many books or who is that disorganized.) Keeping a record of your book inventory provides a nice way to record what you own, and in the case of theft or damage provides nice documenation for insurance companies I imagine. I personally think the potential for interaction and collaboration among educators in this format might be another method of fostering an informal book study group or avenue for further professional development. Both sites are easy, flexible and provide many options for educators and their students.
A word of caution before you launch in, however. I’ve already pointed out one serious flaw in using the sites with young children, but there are more considerations. Always, always, always check your district and or school technology plan and protocols. See if there are any barriers or precautions you must take before you proceed. Get all the necessary releases and signed consent forms and keep them on file. When in doubt, involve your administrator. Show your administrator the site, explain the features to them, document how you plan to use the sight and for what purposes. Correlating your objectives to your state’s standards is not just wise, it keeps you from wasting time and getting distracted and focuses your instruction. It may help you determine that such a place is not worth the time and effort after all. It will also impress your boss when you prove you’ve done your homework and you have your students’ safety and best interests in mind. In my state, computer use cannot be approached in a cavalier fashion. There are more licenses being revoked each year due to inappropriate use of a computer or inappropriate internet use than for any other reason.
A further word of caution when using the internet, particularly these two sites, with children is in order. Keep in mind, I have not used these sites myself yet. I’ve only played around with it myself and tried to get my son registered. I hope to with my fourth graders this fall after I’ve looked into them a little more deeply. It simply might not work for me. All new internet sites must be carefully screened before being used. Initially, I see some things I would do to create the safest learning experience for the students. First, I will not allow them to post a picture of themselves or use their real name. Clearly this is a mute point anyway, since I can’t use Yahoo or email. I would also insist and I’d check that all children have their libraries and profiles set to private. I would, if I were using the friend feature, consider only adding classmates and me, the teacher, possibly the principal as our friends and our group will be private. I will also insist that I have each child’s password, but that they give this password to no one else. Clearly, before I even get to this place with my students, I’d do a couple of lessons on internet safety and courtesy and I’d always, always, always clarify my expectations in advance.
Here are just a few of the ideas I’ve brainstormed for the potential uses in the classroom:
- creating a list or log of books read
- creating relevant opportunities for students to write summaries, reviews, opinion pieces and make recommendations in writing
- to give students the opportunity to practice writing for an audience and to receive feedback from peers on their writing
- to integrate technology into the reading/writing content
- provide students with opportunities to summarize fiction and non-fiction works they read
- provide students with a record of their own of the books they’ve read and the various genres, authors they prefer.
- To provide students with the incentive to try reading material that is new and different from that which they usually choose.
- electronic book reports instead of the reviews: e.g. the assignment could require that the child record what happened at the beginning, middle or end, or the assignment could ask the child to compare/contrast the main character to him/herself.
- provide opportunities for children to learn about technology, internet safety and courtesy in a safe and controlled setting
- Provides documentation for the teacher as to the amount kind and genre of books read
- Provides information and assessment for the teacher as to the child’s level of engagement with the books they are reading.
I am certain that you will be able to find your own possibilities or potential concerns once you’ve taken the time to explore these sites for yourself. When you do, or if you are already familiar with them, please, add your comments here. Remember, it’s not just The Teacher’s Guide, but also The Teachers Guide, meaning, let’s all invest in the guiding. I’d love to hear what you know and think!
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