GoodReads.com

Professional Profile Username: MsBoese

Edison GoodReads Group: Edison Otters Love to Read

By now, I am sure most of you have heard about the social networking site GoodReads.com. I would suspect that most of you even have an account, as this site has grown exponentially over the last few years. A virtual meeting place for book-lovers, GoodReads.com is a growing site that allows readers to  review books, connect with other readers, and build and share virtual bookshelves. It can also be something teachers and parents use as a resource for staying on the cutting edge of children’s literature.

Although I cannot use this site with your children because of age-restrictions (Like Facebook, you must be at least 13 years old to join the site), I am interested in connecting with our parent population at Edison. I think this would be a great way for me to showcase what's popular in the library, what's an excellent book to read as a family, and it is also a way parents can contribute to the conversation. I have already connected with many parents over books in person, but by using the GoodReads platform, this will give us a chance to share book choices, review books read, and to start discussion groups on popular items. This could be our virtual children's literature book group. How fun!

If you don't already have an account, it's easy to join. Check out this GoodReads tutorial from YouTube.

This tutorial will also show you how to add my Edison GoodReads group: Edison Otters Love to Read. I have set the group up as private, which means I will need to approve your request to join. The challenge question asks how you are a member of the Edison community. You should be able to search for the group and send a request.

In addition to adding our group to your profile, you have the option of adding my professional account to your list of friends: MsBoese. This will allow you to see my bookshelves, which will showcase things like the most popular fiction, graphic novels, picture books, and nonfiction titles. Please remember that I am just starting this account up and I plan to add a lot to it over the next few weeks.

Please remember to add the following to your GoodReads account!

Professional Profile Username: MsBoese
Edison GoodReads Group: Edison Otters Love to Read

Screencasting in the Library

Parents,

There are a lot of great technology tools our there these days. It can almost be overwhelming. As I am half way through my second year in the library, the field of technology seems less daunting. I can quickly evaluate what will be great for the library and my students, and what will be nothing more than a novelty item.

In addition to teaching my students to become  information literate, which includes transliteracy, it is also my job to share resources with my classroom teachers. Some of these resources include books, websites, and items in which the integration of technology into the classroom can occur organically. With the roll-out of Google Apps for Education (GAFE) this year to our school, the majority of my attention has been placed in this arena, for both students and teachers. But I have just learned about a great screencasting platform called Screncast-O-Matic. Check out this short video on the tool.

There are so many uses for screencasting in our schools. From showing teachers how a certain website works, to recording how-to videos around math or science for students, to being able to guide parents through the process of online forms, there are a plethora of uses for screencastings in our school community. I have already started to create screencasts that support the library's curriculum. I hope to create many more screencast how-to videos for your children, in addition to training teachers on this great tool. Check out my first screencast for using the website CitationMachine.net.