You're Invited to a Party

If you could not tell by the title then you should know that our final week of the series is about social networking. We will not cover Facebook or Twitter but I will share fantastic tools to utilize not only in school but in life.

Today's social networking tool review is timely due to a conversation thread by the fellow librarians in my school district.  A few of the ladies (and few guys) were upset that they could not view a patron's history.  This feature was removed from libraries by the Homeland Security Act which adds a level of protection to what you checkout.  The downside for school librarians is that we cannot help students when they want to reread a book or read the one their besty read a few months ago.  Today's tool eliminates that problem so allow me to introduce you to your next favorite book by way of Good Reads. 

Good Reads is the social networking tool for book nerds. 

• The site allows users to connect with friends via Facebook, Twitter, etc. 
• You are able to read a synopsis of the book your friends have/are reading  as well as read their recommendations.
• Once you rate 20 books, Good Reads will recommend others based on your ratings.
• Good Reads is your personal bookshelf.  The title of that book you read months ago is always within reach.

Due to the Facebook connection, many school districts may not allow students to access the site on campus.  However, this is a tool that you can use outside of the classroom for extra credit by creating a Facebook fan page or connect with your class Twitter account.  This is an excellent way to connect with your students and find out what they're reading.

Similar sites include:  LibraryThing, Goodreads, Shelfari, aNobii and BookJetty.

Enjoy!

This is a stix up!

Once upon a time I killed trees.  Before you bash me please understand that it was for a good cause.  I used to allow my class to brainstorm on the whiteboard by utilizing Post-Its. 

The kids loved it and the ideas flowed.  However, the need to remove a hundred little stickers from the board and compile them in one central place is a thing of the past thanks to Stixy.

Today's interactive tool allows students to post all of their ideas on one site and refer to it even when class has ended.  Students may also copy and paste from and link to any websites.  Don't you just love when learning never ends?  I do. 

A similar site is Edistorm.  Unlike Stixy, Edistorm allows you to export your ideas to a PDF which is great for handouts or posts on class blogs. Edistorm has a free service but I recommend buying the basic package to get the most out of the tool.

READER RESPONSE: How do you plan to use Stixy or Edistorm in your class?

Moodle

It's been a few weeks since my last update because I've been overly involved in setting up my Moodle site. For those of you unfamiliar with Moodle, then think Blackboard. It's basically the same thing but it's open source which makes it affordable for K-12. This has been the first year that I have not dreaded doing Media Center orientation. Moodle has made what is usually the most boring part of the year, joyous. It's amazing how fast students "get it" when they are able to have a semblance of control over their own learning. After Moodle training, students went to the media center, placed books on hold and were able to locate books according to call numbers faster than they have in the past. If you're a teacher and your county/district offers Moodle, I encourage you to utilize this learning management software. Not only are you increasing engagement and collaboration, but you're also saving the planet because the amount of paper you'll use is cut tremendously. Feel free to ask me any questions about Moodle or if we work together, swing by the media center. I'm here to help.