Social_Networks

=Qlubb= [|http://www.qlubb.com]

This is a nice site to start a club. It can be used for classrooms, book clubs, church groups, sports teams, and community groups. It is a safe site because only people who are invited can join your club. You have calendars to post upcoming events, volunteers can sign up for events, you can create polls, add photos, and send group emails.

This is an excellent social network that can be used in the library to start a book club. The librarian could invite students and parents to become members of the book club. With the volunteer sign up tool parents could sign up to read or asisst in the library. The librarian can post upcoming events on the calendar such as meetings, bookfairs, fundraisers, and parties. The librarian can also create polls to select books to be read for the book club. Parents and students can post comments about books they have read or would like to read.

Cynthia Kay-Diaz = = = =

=Storybird= http://storybird.com/

Storybird is a site that connects people through the collaborative creation of stories. Using a round robin format it allows for original text and art to be combined to tell a story. When completed, stories can be printed, viewed or shared. Although there is no age limit for using Storybird, the site creators have determined its most enjoyed by children ages 3 to 13. Educationally Storybird can be used to promote creative writing, either as individual or group assignments. Students are able to share comments with one another, and teachers are able to monitor progress, and give feedback. Depending on the level of privacy chosen, works can be shared within a classroom or across the globe.

One way that Storybird could be used within a library setting is as a link on the library webpage. The librarian could initiate a story and invite students to contribute to its completion. When it is deemed "finished" the story could be printed or published and put on display.In addition to the language arts benefits, the librarian could collaborate with art teachers in uploading original student work to be used for the creating of stories.

Angelina Yobech

=Twiducate - Leticia Austin=

Twiducate is a social networking site designed specifically for schools. Teachers and librarians can create a group or "network" for their class, grade level, subject, etc... Once the page is created the adult then invites students, using a class code. The network can be used to collaborate on projects, provide feedback on assignments, post discussions about a topic and even blog. The site creators state, "As educators with an interest in web 2.0, we understand how education has and will continue to change. We want to provide an opportunity for our students to explore web 2.0 but are constantly facing barriers with existing social networking sites." Twiducate provides a safe learning evironment for teachers and students through a medium that students are familiar with, while guiding them through developing the skills they need. Also the accompanying blog updates frequently with ideas for use in the classroom and technology topics relevant for teachers and students.

Twiducate could be used in the library for multiple uses. I think the librarian could create a general library page, but also pages for grade levels, individual classes, parents, and also pages based around specific research projects. Primarily I think the networks could be used for promoting new reads in the library, new resources that have become available and encouraging students to discuss and communicate based on librarian posted topics. Librarians can also use it to put research resources in one location for students to utilize for projects that require materials. Book-talks and book-clubs could be created so that students can interact both on campus and outside of school without having to be in the same class, even grade level; this opens up the ability for students of varying reading and interest levels to work together despite their school standing.

Twiducate has been reviewed and used in the school setting; this link lists multiple ways it has been incorporated, including other ideas for the school setting.

= = =My Big Campus - Kerri Harris= My Big Campus (MBC) is located at [|www.mybigcampus.com] and is associated with Lightspeed Systems. This is the company that provides many school districts with their internet filtering systems. I have been told that MBC is included in the subscription to this service, however, it says on the website that you can sign up for free. If needed, I would be more than happy to provide a screen shot of what it could look like when all your students are in the system and you have an active page.

MBC is very similar to a group Facebook page. Each student has their own page and complete access to all their teachers’ pages. They can upload a picture for their user image, add “updates” to their page and comment on each other’s information. But, the coolest part of MBC is what the teacher can do with it!

As an English teacher, I have used several parts of this site with my students. We have gone into the chat room and discussed the books we are reading with our school principal. I have created discussion boards with specific assignments for the students to participate in that reflect what they have been reading. This allows other students to comment on what has been read and promotes much discussion on books! I have also uploaded You Tube videos to the page for student access while at school. MBC filters out the end-of-video ads and only allows for the one video to be viewed.

Students can also take tests and quizzes on this site and it will grade it for them immediately. MBC provides instant teacher access to the grades, along with some statistics about the questions and the test. There is also a digital locker for each student to store files that can be accessed at home. With an assignment posted by the teacher, students can then upload their documents, Power Points, etc. to MBC for the teacher to print or grade. They can also add the document to their page for others to see and comment on.

As a librarian, I would love to use this site for collaboration with teachers and students. Teachers would need to go in and add me as a member to their classes. This would give me access to chats about books, discussions about available resources for an upcoming project, ideas for topic exploration, a place to upload video book trailers for students to view, and even post discussions that are similar to interest surveys for ideas for the library.

[|www.twitter.com]
====Twitter is a social media website in which users create tweets up to 140 characters long. With twitter, discussions do not have to end when the class is over. Students and educators can keep inquiries going and engagement extended beyond the classroom walls. This site [] explains the benefits, examples, and results of using twitter in education. For some students using Twitter can help in asking questions. Students who are shy can benefit from the digital discussion. Questions are available for the whole class to see and can reduce the repetitiveness of similar questions. Students can also go back and look at the tweets to refresh their memories of needed information. ====

====In the library twitter can be used to discuss and give opinions on various books and literary topics. The librarian can also “advertise” what new books have come into the library via their tweets. One advantage to Twitter is that students do not have to be together to discuss. Discussion can take place at different times and locations. Twitter can also be used as a review. Students can tweet known facts and share with classmates. ====

**Good Reads**
www.goodreads.com

Good Reads is a tool that I recently stumbled upon. I have fallen in love with it! The site allows users to rate books that they have read. Genres can be added and taken away depending upon what interests the reader. Based on your ratings, the site pairs the user with books that he/she might like. Additionally, users can search for similar books by seeing books of other users who liked a specific book. Good Reads is a great educational tool because it is allowing users to socialize in a way that is meaningful to their development as a reader. Unfortunately, this is something that is missing for many in the traditional school setting. In fact, this tool was recommended to me by one of my students!

I think this tool would be very useful in the library. It could be used to assist the librarian in deciding whether not to purchase a book that may not be in a book review periodical. Thousands of reviews are posted for thousands of books. The librarian would find these reader reviews very helpful to research whether their patrons would like a book or not.The reviews are especially helpful because there is a wide range of knowledge in the reviews. The reviewers that I've seen range from teens to librarians (both of whom I've found very useful). The only limitation that I've found so far is that the site does not always have the brand new books available for rating.

Christy Jonas

Edmodo
www.edmodo.com

Edmodo is a free and secure social networking site that is specifically designed for classroom and educational use. Teachers can create assignments and initiate discussions for an entire classroom of students. Students can also post questions and create their own discussion threads. A teacher can also choose to dialog with smaller groups of students or with a particular individual. Smaller groups can be created so that students can collaborate on projects. Edmodo provides a library where resources such as links to websites, YouTube vidoes, pdfs or PowePoint presentations can be added to and accessed by students at any time. Students can also upload and submit assignments and projects. The interface is quite similar to Facebook so students have little trouble navigating and using the many options. Edmodo supports and enhances collaboration between students and teachers. My school district has blocked Facebook use in school, so I have been using Edmodo in my high school science classes for the past two years. A good site that discusses how Edmodo can be used in differing content areas at the high school level is http://edmodoteacherhub.wikispaces.com/Using+Edmodo+-+High+School. In a school library setting, Edmodo can be used as digital library where specific digital resources can be housed for different classrooms to access. Information about what is occurring in the library can also be easily posted and accessed. In addition, reviews about books can be posted, and book club discussions can be done virtually, if desired.

Maria Ornes

[|www.schoology.com]
 * Schoology **

Schoology is a free program in which students and teachers can connect in a social networking environment. Teachers can share content and upload lessons for student use. Students can create homepages and participate in discussions with other students. It is very similar to facebook in format, only school-friendly. A teacher at my school uses this for a flipped classroom. She posts videos of her lessons a few days before she plans to teach them and assigns watching the videos as homework. Students can comment on the lessons and ask questions if needed. It also gives parents the opportunities to see the strategies that the students are using in the classroom. This would be great in a library setting because you can put all of your procedures on the site. For example, if students are using the self check-out incorrectly, the librarian can place an instructional video in which students can see the correct procedure. Students can also ask research questions or any questions they may have about the library program. This would also be great for a book club. The librarian can post discussion questions and students can respond when it is convenient for them.

Ashley Leffel

Glogster
[|Glogster website: http://www.glogster.com/] [|Glogster for Educators website: http://edu.glogster.com/]

Glogster is a social networking web site for creating online interactive posters or glogs. It enhances visual literacy and the use of multimedia. A teacher can register for a free individual account. Students who are thirteen years and older can also register. The Glogster EDU provides different license levels which can be purchased by a teacher, school or district. When a teacher buys a license she can add students who register by using a teacher code. A license also provides features such as class projects, multimedia, assessment, templates, management, and sharing.

The user can create an online poster by naming the glog and setting up a wall or background or choosing one of the available wall templates. Then he/she can add pictures or images. The images may be personal or from websites such as Flickr or Google. Videos, sound, and music can also be uploaded. He/she can add text via a title box, stickers or bubbles. The user can edit the textbox graphic by using special effects or adding a link. The user can choose for graphics to be either still or animated. Friends, fans, or viewers may rate it or write comments. The glog can be shared with others via email, web site, blog or wiki.

This technology has been used in an educational setting with different subjects. Students use glogs to present their research projects on any topic. For example, they can provide their research findings on a country or the Olympics. They use it to compare the controversial viewpoints of historical or current topics by using hyperlinks in their glogs. In science, they can provide a video of the experiment. Art students can do digital scrapbooks with images of famous artists or video clips of art museums. Marketing students can advertise their products or services.

This technology can be used in my school library by having the students design glogs about our local storytellers who will tell stories that represent a particular time period in Guam’s history. The students will be divided into teams. Each team will do a glog on their storyteller. They will interview the storyteller to get biographical information. They will use the digital camera to provide a photograph of the person for the glog. They will do a video of the storyteller verbally telling the story. They will upload the video. They will also include the photograph and text in the glog. They will add other pictures/images, sound or music and special effects. They will present and share the glogs in a culminating activity, called Glog Mania in the library with other students in the school, parents, and the local community who will rate them. The viewers will be asked to make comments. The glogs will also be included in the school library web site.


 * //Alicia Diego //**

= = = = =Pinterest= www.pinterest.com

Pinterest is a great networking tool that is gaining popularity despite its exclusivity (you must first be invited before you can gain access to boards). Users can “pin” pictures, videos, recipes, and ideas to an online “inspiration board.” After the invitation proess, you can upload photos to pin, repin other images, and create multiple boards organized by topic and interest. Photos can also be linked to the original website. For example, multiple fraction games from a variety of websites can be pinned to a “Fraction” board. As you click on each pin, another window will open to the website for the game that was chosen.

While Pinterest is widely used by party planners, decorators, and craft lovers, it can also be a valuable tool for the 21st century learner. With many students now conducting research and working in cooperative learning groups, Pinterest is a virtual place to collect and organize ideas for projects. It can be used to share and communicate through visual media and it’s a great organizational tool that won’t be lost! Here is another way to use Pinterest in education: students in first grade learning about the different seasons can collect photos that show summer, autumn, winter, or fall and pin them to a specific board and include captions about their choice.

Pinterest can be a great organizational tool in the library, too! The librarian can create book recommendation boards so that students can locate great books that are pinned to a specific board of interest. A variety of board topics can be linked to the library website such as Texas Bluebonnet books, boards organized by comprehension strategies, and summer reading recommendations by grade level. Many children love scary books that give them the chills, but those are located all over the library and it can be time consuming to locate even a few book options to choose from. The librarian can start a “Ghost Stories” board and pin great books along with the title, author, call number, and even a brief summary. It becomes interactive as students and parents find other books and add their own pins to the board making it a collaboration of recommendations between the school and home.

Pearson has provided four great ways that Pinterest can be used for education here. Happy pinning!

Sheri Carcaño

= =

=Delicious= http://delicious.com/

Delicious (formerly del.icio.us) is a social bookmarking website found at https: [] Users can store and share their own web bookmarks as well as find web bookmarks of other users. The site was launched by an independent designer in 2003; Yahoo acquired the site in 2005. It has since been sold to AVOS Systems. Twitter Connector was launched on Delicious in March 2012; it links Twitter feeds directly to Delicious. Using Delicious is free; a real plus for educators.

Users of Delicious can tag their web bookmarks with index terms. They can also group links together, creating a “stack” page. Stacks can be used by individual users or collaborative groups. Stacks can also be followed (like blogs) or shared with other users. The homepage of Delicious showcases popular and recent pages visited by other users; direct links to Arts & Design, Education, Lifestyle, News & Politics, and other such stacks are also featured.

The Education stacks are a great resource for classroom teachers and librarians. Stacks that feature Research, Poetry, Early Spanish Literacy, Art-Tutorials, and Math are but a few examples of ready to access resources. Because users can add to existing stacks and/or create their own stacks, there are lots of opportunities for teachers and students to browse, create, edit, network, and find unique web resources.

A Librarianship Links stack already exists. In contains 22 links including websites featuring such things as, Educational Web Resources, Book Recommendations, Media Smarts, Children’s Literature, and Educational Software. This would be a great “starting point” for a school librarian to use since the stack can be shared, edited, and customized if it doesn’t already fit the needs of the school. Not only could the librarian use Delicious to find websites that would help professionally, but he/she could also instruct students on how to create their own stack on Delicious to keep a “file” of web bookmarks that they can use for class assignments or personal research.

Karen Goss