Online Book Communities

Honestly, this is the first time I have heard the term "online book communities."  Delving into the world of technology was very limited until the last six months.  Today I am going to discuss five different "online book communities:" LibraryThing, Goodreads, BookLikes, BiblioNasium, and Shelfari.

LibraryThing

I taught for five years as a Montessori early childhood teacher (prek3, prek4, and kindergarten).  During those years, I began to amass a large amount of picture books. I had them organized neatly in my classroom (by unit, topic, or season/holiday), but I wanted a quick way to look through my books to find out if I owed a certain copy.  More than once I had purchased a book that I had already owned.  As I looked into programs online, I ran across LibraryThing. It was perfect for the job that I needed.  I begin to add all of my books.  I gave them tags just like the classroom organization that I had to make it easier to find. 

When I change grade levels, I began to organize the books accordingly.   I have a prek/kinder collection and an upper elementary (4-6) collection. The tags for books in the upper elementary collection are by genre. Users are able to sort books by collections they have set up like mine or by wishlist, currently reading, to read, read but unowned, and favorites.  Adding books is very easy, which is why I use this to keep my personal library up to date.  First click on "add books."  The member can search by USBN, which is typically what I do, or by title, author, LC card, etc... A list of books will appear to the right of the page. The user clicks the correct book, adds a tag and it's done.

  I have now had this account for five years.  I enjoy the automatic recommendations, "list you might like," and the ability to read member recommendations.  I have never use it to make connections or contact with other, but it is available to use.  This program how also has an app available.  I will continue to use this program and feel that it is a valuable resource, especially for teachers.

Goodreads

Goodreads also very user friendly.  I had no problems loading books into the systems either by looking up ISBN numbers or the title.  I really liked the feature of organizing the books by read, currently reading and to read.  Users can rate books as well as edit the shelf the book is currently located on simply by clicking [edit] underneath the word. I have included a screen shot to better illustrate this feature.

This online book community is directly linked to Amazon.  This gives a user easy access to purchasing new books, making recommendations, and adding Amazon book purchases directly into Goodreads.  It includes a space to add friends, follow people and have followers (like Twitter), and see books that friends are currently reading.  The program will also recommend books for a user after they have rated at least 20 books.  A user can even mark a book as "not interested."

The explore option is also a very usual tool.  It will sort books by author, title, or genre.  It includes top reviews and new releases in all genres.

Overall, this website is simple to maneuver through and easy to understand.


Shelfari

This online book community is more than tied to Amazon.  A user must sign in using their Amazon account to log in. After working with LibraryThing and Goodreads, I immediately felt that this website was not as user friendly.  The process for adding books was not as clearly defined as in the first two sites.  A user must search for a book.  Once the results appear, there is an "add" button under each of the results.  The following screen appears when a user clicks "add."

The user must chose a shelf (I plan to read, I'm reading now, or I've read it).  This page does make it easier to review rate a book, because the screen automatically has the options there while the user is adding the book.   It makes sharing with others easier as well.  By clicking the share tab, the user can give the information about the book out on Facebook or Twitter.  Shelfari allows users to add additional data in regards to the specific copy of the book they possess such as purchase date, purchase price, condition, whether it's a signed copy or has been loaned to a friend. Suggested tags are also included with each book add.
Users can start blogs or connect with other members using the community tab.
I admit I was frustrated at first attempting to add the books to the site, but once you get past the original learning curve of the page, you will find really good features (such as noting if the book as been loaned out). Teachers may find this to be a great way to keep track of who has a book checked out of the classroom library.  Of the first three pages, this one has the most aesthetically pleasing home page.  The books appear to be sitting on an actual shelf.  Users of Amazon will want to chose this online book community over any others due to its connection with their website.


Booklikes

Booklikes allows you to use Facebook to log in.  This website is more social than the other pages.  It appears to be blog driven. Users go to the shelf portion of the page to add books.  Like with some of the other pages, a user can make shelves for read, planning to read, and currently reading.  There is a place to review books, make a wishlist,  There is a link for group discussions.  It takes you to a discussion room page where you can join in groups and their discussions. This page would not be appropriate for elementary or even middle school students.  I can see high school and college students using it to discuss book topics.



BiblioNasium

Immediately, I noticed that this site was different from the other four sites.  Students, parents, and educators can all sign in and see different versions of this page.  I logged in as an educator.  As an educator, I had to set up groups, students, and enter in my books.  It was fairly easy to use and would be an asset for a teacher who does guided reading groups.  A teacher can suggest books, write reviews, make parent letters, find resources, print reports, send a message to students or parents,  set goals, and much more.

From an elementary students perspective this would be the website of choice.  It was made for children to use.  They can review and discuss books, take challenges, and find out which books are popular.  It is a social network designed for kids.  The recommended ages are kindergarten to 8th grade.  The overall design and look of the page is appealing to children.  The log in and search bar are large font; easy to see.  There are fun facts and moving characters.  In my opinion this is a great way to get students excited about reading, because two very important factors have been added into the mix: socializing and technology.

Just as a sidenote, I used SKITCH to screen shot and add arrows to the screen shots.  It is free to download and easy to use.  Here is the link if you are interested: SKITCH

In conclusion, the overall winner of this comparison is up to you.  What are your needs?  How is it going to be used?  For me, since I am established on LibraryThing I will keep using that program, but I am also going to give Shelfari a try.  I love the features and the access to Amazon.

What do you use?

Podcasts in classrooms/libraries

Today I was explaining to some of my colleagues (at a K-5 campus) that I had an assignment that required me to do a "Podcast."  Many of these educated professionals had heard of podcasts, but really did not know what they were.  Therefore, we need to start at the beginning.  A podcast is defined as a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player, usually a series, and received by subscriber automatically (as defined by Bing).  Basically, it is a recorded talk show that can be listen to when ready or an oral blog. 

There are many uses for podcasts in education.  These podcasts can be embedded on a teacher's website or blog.  Essentially, anything that needs to be said to the whole group of students and needs to be remembered could be recorded as a podcast.

Ideas for podcasts

• Instructions on assignments
• Especially when the teacher is absent and there is a sub
• Explanations for upcoming events
• Announcements / Morning Announcements
• Student Oral Reports
• Recorded tests for dyslexic students
• Reading books orally
• Teacher instructions for a substitute

Administrators and librarians can podcast instructions for technology, professional development, and upcoming events for staff to use. 

As we all know, technology is not always friendly.  I attempted to use four different podcast programs to make a brief podcast give an overview of the AR program for parents.  These programs were SoundCloud, Audioboom, Podomatic, and Podbean.   All of them require to step up account. The accounts took no time to set up.  Each website are easy to maneuver and record.  However, my personal computer did not want to cooperate with my microphone tonight. After an hour of trying different troubleshooting issues, I ended up having to record on the laptop with the built in microphone.  The sound is not as clear as if I had used my headphone/mic combination.  Here is the podcast for AR at the Ireland Library.  The intended audience is the parents of my patrons.

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

Since technology is rapidly expanding, so must the library media center.  Many libraries are now using YouTube to give out information and to entertain its patrons.  This past week I have been exploring four different library YouTube channels.  For each channel, I came up with a video I feel is the most helpful for students and a video that the students would most like the best. 

Let us start with The NHS Library.  The NHS Library - Ms. Gilstrap


  This is a really thorough video that describes the library's webpage.  Students need to learn how to navigate this page to be successful at using their library.


Ms. Gilstrap does not just put informative videos on YouTube.  The following video was put together by students and staff for a closing assembling.  They incorporated a popular song with many very recognizable props and scenes from the Harry Potter series.








Another YouTube channel to keep an eye on is The Unquiet Library .   This channel has a LARGE number of videos that cover a very broad range of subjects. The first video on the page was the video that I chose as most helpful to the students using it.  Often times, students can look up information (with help from the media specialist of course), but they struggle to correctly cite it.  This short video shows students how to export bibliographic data from the literary reference center to EasyBib.




When I began to watch other videos to discover the student favorite, I notice one particular video with 53,600+ views.  It has the large number of views of any of the videos by far.  I feel that it is popular, because it is from a student's perspective instead of the media specialist or a professor.







Next on the list of library YouTube videos is Pikesville High School.
Most videos I have seen on these sites are relatively short.  However, Pikesville High School had the foresight to record a student/parent meeting on financial aid.  They posted it to YouTube for people who missed the meeting or who needed to hear the information again.




AVID video are all over YouTube.  This page does many informative and entertaining AVID videos.  The student created a video on keeping a binder organized by making a parody of a popular show
called "Pimp My Ride."  Take a look at what these students did...






My favorite library video channel by far was done by BBMS Media. I love showing parodies to my students.  Videos always liven up a lesson.  There are so many good videos on this it was hard to chose the two best in each category.  For the most useful, I chose a video about strong female leading characters.  Book recommendations are a great way to boost reading.




For the student favorite, I went with the most views (and it's a parody). However, this song has quickly become over played and many students may not like it as much any more.


These four different libraries have utilized the student love of technology to get different messages out.  I currently record morning announcements using a green screen with our 5th grade student.  Eventually, I would like to make how to videos for students and parents for our eBooks and Follett systems.  Students have seen other schools' videos and have asked if we will every record a video.  I hope next year to do a video to promote our AR program and our Battle of the Books (Bluebonnet) program.

I also use videos to watch book trailers on up coming books for the book fair or for our Battle of the Bluebonnet books.  It would be wonderful to have QR codes in a binder or on books that students could scan to see what the book was about. To test this idea out, I created a book trailer on Freak the Mighty  by Rodman Philbrick.  My 5th grade class did a in depth project on the book last year.  I used Animoto to make it.  This was my first experience with something like this.  I have made video slide shows with photos and music and the videos for the morning announcements.  I liked that it already had some templets to choose from.  It was frustrating that many of the ones I liked required an "upgrade" in membership.  I also struggled with finding copyright free materials for this project.  Normally (before my library science classes), I would have used a picture of the cover and possibly illustrations found in the book.  It was also challenging for me to shorten my words / ideas due to a character limit on the text slides.  Overall, it was easy to use.  I will use this program again to create exciting videos for announcements in my library or at my school.  Here is a picture of the cover and a synopsis of the book from the publisher's website.


Publisher's webpage

"A brilliant, emotionally charged novel about two boys. One is a slow learner, too large for his age, and the other is a tiny, disabled genius. The two pair up to create one formidable human force known as "Freak the Mighty".
MAX. FREAK. BEST FRIENDS. FOREVER.
I never had a brain until Freak came along. . .
That's what Max thought. All his life he'd been called stupid. Dumb. Slow. It didn't help that his body seemed to be growing faster than his mind. It didn't help that people were afraid of him. So Max learned how to be alone. At least until Freak came along.
Freak was weird, too. He had a little body, and a really big brain. Together Max and Freak were unstoppable.
Together, they were Freak the Mighty.
A brilliant, emotionally charged novel about two boys. One is a slow learner, too large for his age, and the other is a tiny, disabled genius. The two pair up to create one formidable human force known as "Freak the Mighty".
MAX. FREAK. BEST FRIENDS. FOREVER.
I never had a brain until Freak came along. . .
That's what Max thought. All his life he'd been called stupid. Dumb. Slow. It didn't help that his body seemed to be growing faster than his mind. It didn't help that people were afraid of him. So Max learned how to be alone. At least until Freak came along.
Freak was weird, too. He had a little body, and a really big brain. Together Max and Freak were unstoppable.
Together, they were Freak the Mighty."



Here is an example of how this could possible work. Scan the QR code to watch my book trailer.