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| Books |
Before Getting Started
Before becoming a full time teacher and now a part time student, reading for leisure was part of my everyday life. I love the idea of getting lost in a story and the imagination that comes from fully immersing yourself into a great fiction story. Fiction is what I typically prefer when I am reading for leisure. Now reading is definitely still part of my everyday life, but it has taken on a whole new role, and unfortunately fiction has, for the most part, been left by the wayside.
Ways That I Read Daily:
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| "Apple" reading technology |
- Google Reader
- Moodle (U of A course)
- Textbooks
- Curriculum guides
- Journal Articles
- Fiction in the form of children's stories for read alouds, partner reads, read to self, etc.
Social Cataloging
When I was choosing tools for my inquiry project, I was intrigued by the idea of Goodreads and Shelfari. My initial reaction was that I could use this opportunity to get back into reading and be motivated by the social aspects of the tools. I like the discussions that can occur over the course of a great read but I knew I would never have time for an actual book club with everything else that I have on my plate at the moment.
Jeffries (2008) describes tools such as Goodreads and Shelfari as "social cataloging sites [that] allow users to catalog their personal book collections, make the collection known to all web users, and connect with users who have similar tastes." This social cataloging is what I thought I wanted out of a personal Web 2.0 tool.
Unfortunately, what I have discovered is that I really do not have enough time for reading for leisure and instead would have to focus my attention on Goodreads and Shelfari towards children's books and the application of these tools into the classroom setting.
Books as a Social Networking Site?
What I found most surprising about both of these tools was how much of a "social networking site" they really were as Berger and Trexler (2010) pointed out (pg. 160). The similarities between both Goodreads and Shelfari and my own Facebook page was remarkable. As Berger and Trexler (2010) point out, just like Facebook, they both incorporate a profile page, a network of friends, public commenting and private messaging (pg. 160). Sounds just Facebook to me.
Unfortunately, this is where I began to lose interest. Do I really want another social networking site to keep track of on top of Facebook and Twitter? Since I do not have enough time for reading for pleasure, would a social networking site as such be appropriate for my classroom setting? Wanting to give each a fair chance, I signed up for accounts with both and decided to give them a try. Stay tuned for my reviews of both...
Unfortunately, what I have discovered is that I really do not have enough time for reading for leisure and instead would have to focus my attention on Goodreads and Shelfari towards children's books and the application of these tools into the classroom setting.
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Books as a Social Networking Site?
What I found most surprising about both of these tools was how much of a "social networking site" they really were as Berger and Trexler (2010) pointed out (pg. 160). The similarities between both Goodreads and Shelfari and my own Facebook page was remarkable. As Berger and Trexler (2010) point out, just like Facebook, they both incorporate a profile page, a network of friends, public commenting and private messaging (pg. 160). Sounds just Facebook to me.
Unfortunately, this is where I began to lose interest. Do I really want another social networking site to keep track of on top of Facebook and Twitter? Since I do not have enough time for reading for pleasure, would a social networking site as such be appropriate for my classroom setting? Wanting to give each a fair chance, I signed up for accounts with both and decided to give them a try. Stay tuned for my reviews of both...
References:
Berger, P., & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing web 2.0 tools for learning and teaching in a digital world. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited Inc.
Jeffries, S. (2008). Social cataloging tools: A comparison and application for librarians. Library Hi Tech News, 25(10), 1-4. doi: 10.1108/07419050810949986
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