Hey everyone! Wanted to share with you two tools that you can use in your classroom to keep track of the books your students are reading. Good Reads and Shelfari are reading based social media sites. Even though there are social aspects to each site, a user does not need to interact with others to benefit from the site. With both sites users can create lists of books that they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read and rate, and review books. Below are some pros and cons of using the two sites.
Pros:
Apps for updating on the go.
Mobile App has the ability to scan ISBN numbers.
Creates a widget that you can embed on your class blog to share with the world the books your class is reading.
User can create shelves (i.e. A shelf per cohort)
Cons:
Limited Library
Importing books can be difficult given the limited library.
Shelfari
Pros:
Huge library of books.
Visually pleasing.
Can add books purchased on Amazon to Shelfari.
Creates a widget that you can embed on your class blog to share with the world the books your class is reading.
Cons:
No app for organizing on the go.
Books organized into three categories. (Planning to read, Reading, Have Read)
Requires an Amazon.com account
Personally I use Good Reads to help organize my books because of the mobile app. In the past I have used Shelfari and would switch back if they had a mobile app. So of course the next question is how do we use these in our classroom? Below are three quick ways to integrate a service like Good Reads or Shelfari. If you have any others please let everyone know!
1. Have students write an Amazon style review of the book that they have read.
2. Have students rate books based one a scale of 1-5 stars. Have students justify why they gave their rating.
3. Keep track of what books the students are reading at home.