Social+Networks

= Blogs = [] Blogs can be created by students to represent the p.o.v. of a character from a work of literature. The link above is an assignment from a unit requiring students to take what they know of a character and write from his/her perspective. If I worked in a high school library, I would request that students interested in a book club connected with the library complete a (possibly altered version) of this character blog assignment. This would be a learning experience for the students in the book club and a teaching tool to be used in the library and/or English classrooms. Each student blogger would need to be intimately familiar with his/her character and with the text as a whole work in order to be comfortable with the assignment. The Read Write Think website has multiple plans that offer guidance for those uninitiated in the ways of blogging. - Ann Dunne-Rister

Twitter =[] = = Tweet Treats: How one law library uses Twitter to educate and connect with patrons. = [] = = Yes, Twitter is all the rage in social networking right now, touting celebrities, politicians, media types, writers, teachers, students, and information professionals among its users. The AALL article found at the URL above discusses how the use of Twitter may have a very positive impact in a law library or law school setting, which can certainly be applied to most any academic or university library context. It focuses on one school’s implementation of the social networking site, which makes itself somewhat unique from its cohorts in that it provides many short, timely messages sent out from its user profiles, in this case a law library. This format makes it easy to communicate with law students and the rest of the world, as followers of the library profile can continuously stay updated on an incredibly wide variety of topics. The central advantage of using Twitter to communicate is the immediacy of the message delivery. Using Twitter to message students can help avoid the problem of some students not receiving emails (for whatever reason) because now there is a single webpage (a Twitter feed) for all announcements, which can be often be accessed now by the student’s cell phone. This is particularly handy when needed to inform students on short-notice about occurrences such as weather delays or closings, or extended hours during finals. Libraries can also now post links and keep students informed about upcoming events, new services, or new titles that have just arrived. The article also shows that it is a great way to promote and supplement the library’s primary website, including any new features or new databases added.

Jeff Woodmansee =Classroom 2.0= [|www.classroom20.com] Classroom 2.0 is a social networking site for educators. This site allows teachers and librarians to share ideas about everything from technology innovation to lesson plans to motivating students. Classroom 2.0 has support for the technology beginner, as well as projects which can be implemented by librarians and teacher who are more tech savvy. It is much like Facebook but is focused on networking within the educational community. Besides being able to post to a general forum, users can join one of hundreds of interest groups, or even create a group of their own. Having just had a day of e-mails flying back and forth with teachers in my school today lamenting the task of educating students who often aren't motivated and working in an environment with little support from administration, I found an nice interest group called "stories that stick"[]. Sometimes amongst all of the new technology and ideas we are trying to learn in order to better help our students, I believe we often just need to hear stories of encouragement so we can keep believing in what we are trying to do everyday.

Tracy Dotson

**Social Networking Article** [] This article is a must read! It is an interview with Dr. Danah Boyd, a respected authority on social networking. Dr. Boyd wrote her dissertation entitled "Taken Out of Context: American Teen Sociality in Networked Publics". She discusses how social networks impact teen socialization. The biggest misconceptions adults have about teens using social networks are discussed. Dr. Boyd advices teachers and librarians to jump aboard the educational bandwagon of social networks. She feels that teachers and librarians have a great opportunity through these networks to teach students about proper ways to interact online.

Librarians and teachers alike can benefit from reading this article. Dr. Boyd explains what these networks mean to teens and why they use them. Some of the benefits and drawbacks of these sites are highlighted. Librarians and teachers are encouraged to learn to use social networks in order to help teens understand these networks, and how they impact the world around them.

Carla Delgado

**GoodReads**
[|www.goodreads.com] [] This social networking site allows users to create virtual 'bookshelves' of books they have read and include reviews if they desire. Here a public library has create a group for its patrons (the same could easily be done in a school library setting) where users can post reviews. Librarians can post updates on reading groups, current library events, new library books and even have photos and polls.

A school librarian could use this to promote community within the student population. He or she could host a book discussion/group members would post in their ideas on discussion board and give commentary. The 'currently reading' area can be used to highlight the current book(s) and the bookshelf could hold a history of past books. Events such as Scholastic Book Fairs could be promoted on the discussion board as well as the events page.

Amanda Reznicek =Facebook= [] This social networking website allows libraries to share and publish their activities, e-newsletters, special events, contests, promotions of new released books, current issues affecting the library and its patrons, and a calendar of events. The website also offers links to contact a librarian, external links, and pictures of special events.

Facebook is an excellent tool to create a stonger and better relationship between a student's academics and the school's faculty, and even between students among the world. For example, my students would share with students from Italy their observations on how global warming has affected their enviroment and viceversa. This discussion will open new paths of learning to understand how ecosystems are afffected by a common denominator, global warming.That way, my students are virtually exposed to other ecosystems without acatually being there!

Gabriela Maldonado =facebook= =www.facebook.com/ Facebook is a social networking tool that would allow school libraries to share information, events, times, photographs, links, and discussions with students and parents. In a library setting, facebook would be a great tool to use to share a library calendar, provide links to websites that would supplement learning and curriculum, share weekly about what has gone on in the library and what is coming up, promote reading strategies as well as promote new books that have arrived. The list of things that facebook could offer parents and students is lengthy. I have found some great examples of libraries that have put facebook into practice within their school library. These are examples of elementary school libraries. They are: @http://www.facebook.com/pages/Papillion-NE/Bell-Elementary-School-Library/111524774901 =

@http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cordova-AL/Cordova-Elementary-School-Library/168055128780

[]

Andrea N. Robinson
= = =​Library Thing= []

LibraryThing allows you to list and review books in your private collection/catalog, those that are your favorites, as well as those you would like to read next. Members can write recommendations for books, read recommendations from fellow members, and communicate with others through a discussion forum. There is even an "Early Reviewers Program" that allows members the opportunity to receive free books. You can also see what books are popular among other members, as well as those books that you have in common with others. Local events in your area can also be listed and viewed by other members.

This would be an ideal site for librarians to participate in to determine what books are being read among their peers, as well as those books that might be popular among students. Librarians could use it as a guide to determine what types of books to purchase and what books would not be the best fit for their campus.

Suzanne Carreon-Flippen =Blogs= Dog-Eared http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/dogeared/

Dog-Eared is part of the larger National Geographic website. This is a wonderful blog for children from about age 6 to 12. Children are able to write reviews of their favorite books or recent reads. The reviews are informative and insightful written from a child's perspective for children. This is a great opportunity for students to experience the social aspect of reading and to share opinions. The site also contains links to learn about classics that might be of interest. This is a site that can be incorporated into reading/writing lessons either in the classroom or the library setting. Later, students can be encouraged to refer to the site when looking for a good book. Hopefully, students will return, read, and contribute to the site regularly.

Regina Hanz

=Social Networks= LiveJournal http://livejournal.com

LiveJournal is a website where users create profiles based on interests, geographic location, education, and video. The website incorporates blogging as its major tool and allows the user to make "friends" with common interests.

LiveJournal can be used in the school setting for those students who thrive on writing and sharing their thoughts with those who have a common interest. As an ELA teacher the website would be a perfect way to let students who enjoy journaling to utilize their craft in a way that they would recieve immediate feedback as well as showcase their interests. For example, students who enjoy writing poetry could use the website to publish their poems in an online book form and possibly reach others who want to participate. The librarian could be a part of the website by "marketing" the site and even showcasing students' work.

Another way to incorporate the site would be for leadership or art students. We have a leadership program at our school and the kids could have a great time involving community members with blogs of their work and I see other communities or individuals supporting the students with ideas of how to expand the mission of the leadership group. I also think the art students could use the video support to showcase their work and show how they create projects.

Kelley Watkins

School Tube [|http://www.schooltube.com]

School Tube is just like You Tube, but for the school environment. School Tube allows for Teachers, Librararians, and even students to make videos and post them safely. School Tube allows for students and teachers to make videos and share them with others all over the world. To ensure "school friendliness", the videos are viewed by an approved moderator or SchoolTube staff member. Channels can be created to differentiate between classrooms, groups, and activities.

School Tube can be used in the classroom to produce short movies, book reviews, and even show teaching lessons and assignments. Students can make a short movie based on historical events and show it to other classes, thus enhancing the learning curve. In addition, teachers can create lessons on School Tube for students that are absent, traveling, or even for home schooled children. School Tube allows for freedom and creativity.

Our school has posted videos on School Tube and gotten lots of feedback. In fact, one of our students recieved feedback author Mo Willems, now, how cool is that? I think School Tube is great, because it allows students to share their creativity in an environment that is safe and educational.

Lesley Roane

[]**
 * Edu Blogs

Edublogs provides a social networking blog site designed with safety in mind. Teachers may create a class page as well as individual students blogs under one main account. While subscriptions are possible, the free account would suit most students. All blogs can be password protected, can be search engine protected, and have a great deal of technical support available to the user. As a bonus, the edublogs.org URL has not (yet) been blocked by all filtering services, so unlike blogspot, it may be able to be accessed from school.

As a librarian, a library blog can be a great way to announce the events and news of the library. Blog tags allow the user to identify the material covered in the post for easy sorting. For instance, if a student or parent wants to view all book reviews posted by the librarian, they can do so with one click. The content could vary based on the current needs of the library, and does not take an XML overhaul to do so. With Edublogs, the entire site can also be password protected (without requiring account creation like blogspot) so the librarian, and the parents, can feel comfortable posting photos and school specific information. Book reviews, event photos, web links, latest news, and information notices can all be housed in one blog. I like to think of the blog as the library newsletter for the 21st century!

Casey Clark

[|http://www.blogger.com]
 * Blog

Blogger is a great networking site for anyone to post journals, stories, and general or specific information of any content. I learned to use this site in this class, what an eye opener! I have actually taught several friends how to set up blogs.

Blogs have many facets of use in a library setting. The librarian can set up a blog page for either the school or just the library to keep families and the community involved and informed. Students could set up class blogs to communicate with other students throughout the world. Through blogs, students can build effective communication skills, writing skills and typing/keyboarding skills, all skills necessary in today's world. Reading can be increased by using blogs too. Students could basically Book Talk their favorite book without having to disturb essential class time. Also, tips on book choice and preference from students, usually gets books flying off the shelves and students reading to keep up with their peers. Blogging can be a creative outlet for students to voice their opinions, as long as it is used in a positive manner.

Lesley Roane**

**LiveJournal** [|http://www.livejournal.com]

LiveJournal is a social network where anyone can read journal entries and members can post journals. I jumped around on this blogging site without being a member and was able to read journals of what others were reading, librarians sharing ideas and information, and even an ebook that was being published on LiveJournal a chapter at a time! There are people posting about their lives, experiences, moods, likes, and dislikes. Some of the journals were graphic and not very school-appropriate, but there were plenty of journals geared towards books and libraries.

In a library or educational setting, I see LiveJournal as having many applications. Librarians can use LiveJournal as a great forum for discussing books, kind of like an online book club. Creative writing teachers could use LiveJournal to create a collaborative novel, the journal can even be made into a book right from the LiveJournal website. LiveJournal is a place where librarians can ask job-related questions and get suggestions not only from other librarians, but from the general public who, as library patrons, often benefit from those suggestions the most.

I only spent a few minutes on LiveJournal and I have already benefitted from its journal postings. I got some reading suggestions, some job hunting tips, and even some tips on putting a coffee bar in a library!
 * Kara Arndt **

website: www.facebook.com **
 * 

A library can create a group page or a fan page for their particular library. You then can invite parents and students to become members. It probably would be most useful for junior-high and high-school libraries due to the requirement of users being at least 13 years old. You may want to make it private (members by invitation only) or keep it open to other community members.

Once the page is set up, it then can be used to send out announcements about upcoming events and share photos of previous events. It can also be a good way to get parents involved by perhaps holding a monthly book discussion where parents and children can both contribute their thoughts. Laura Neergaard **
 * 

**__ELGG.ORG__**

Elgg’s founders are Ben Werdmuller and Dave Tosh, and they built this social networking software for the purpose of education and to support learning. Elgg provides the user with a personal weblog, a file repository capable of podcasting, an online profile and an RSS reader, and is being translated into forty different languages. The main difference between Elgg and other weblog services is “the degree of control each user is given over who can access their content” (O’Hear, 2006). The founders have seen a lot of interest out of the K-12 education area.

The site can be used to generate online discussions, giving the less likely to participate students a venue to speak, as well as to allow more discussion than could take place with in the time of a class period. This promotes higher participation and collaboration both of which “higher education is meant to be” (Andrews, 2007).

From my readings the best uses for Elgg that I can pull would be creating the online learning portfolios. A variety of photos and file types can be uploaded and saved to one place. It also allows for peer-to-peer reviewing and interactions, as well as discussions. Personal sites can be created along with teacher creation of communities, which could be all students enrolled in a class instead of only the twenty-five students you are physically in class with. Elgg is also suggested as a use for staff development and meetings, or a forum for the various teaching departments.

As teachers we have to keep in mind what technology the future holds for these students. Whether they have a computer or the internet at home, once they are out of school it is expected they know how to use both.


 * Elgg.org **

O'Hear, S. (2006, August 11). Elgg- social network software for education. Retrieved from []

Andrews, R. (2007, April 19). Don't tell your parents: schools embrace myspace. Retrieved from []


 * Tiffany Cahill**

MySpace
[]

This is the MySpace page of the Montclair High School library in Montclair, California. S. Bosler, the teacher/librarian who created the site, has links to her blog where students can find articles with information such as safety on MySpace and can even create their own accounts on the school's automation system. Students and parents who are friends of the library can view photos of events at the library. This page links from the [|library's homepage] where there is more information about the library, special events, and books.

I was unable to find many school libraries with MySpace pages, but I feel this is a networking tool that has a lot of potential. I can see using MySpace in the library as a chance for students to learn about other authors. The librarian could build an account for the library and then "friend" Young Adult authors who are on MySpace. There is also the possibility of including events and book reviews on the page. MySpace offers more room for postings than Twitter, and it allows for videos to stay on the main page. The video section could be used to display librarian- and student-created book trailers, and they could be sequenced to play when the page is opened. It is even possible to provide links to databases and the library's catalog which Hennepin County Library in Minnesota has done. The school librarian would need to discuss internet safety with parents, students, and staff and could meet with all during the school's Open House to help parents see how to use the site themselves. Getting parents involved is of utmost importance when students are beginning online social networking.

For Hennepin County Library's MySpace page, visit the link below: []


 * ~Holly Riggs**

Shelfari

http://www.shelfari.com/groups/34144/lists/read

This is the Shelfari group page for a 4th grade reading class. The site allows the members of the group to edit the group bookshelf, and participate in discussions about books they've read together as a class, or on their own. I've personally used this site with my students. Students that have been very reluctant readers in the past have really gotten into their shelfari assignments and enjoyed reading new things so that they could move books from the different lists shelfari allows you to create in your profile. Visual learners reacted very well to the fact that they could see the covers on the shelf. Students in the class found new books, genres, and authors to read by looking at the ratings from other members of the class. ~Rachel Pepe

Classroom Booktalk --- Wiki ** http://classroombooktalk.wikispaces.com/
 * 

Classroom Booktalk is a wiki designed for schools, or at least it incorporates books that are school age appropriate. It is a way to find out about books, because people can post reviews or create lists of books they liked. This wiki is designed to be shared by avid readers, or even those that do not like to read much, but just finished a book they really enjoyed. This would be a great library wiki. Students could post their responses to the books they checked out. Another use could be to post the new arrivals, or the books that are checked out the most.

This is what I would like to start in the library at my school. I could see this as our online booktalk, with reviews that are added by students and staff. Students are always asking what book they should check out. I imagine this could be a place they could be directed to for some real input from students their own ages.

Elizabeth Bartell

media type="custom" key="5763747" align="center"

__http://www.blogger.com__
 * Blog**

Blogs are user friendly. Blogs make it easy for the reader to move from reading web pages to creating their own web content, thus making Blogs a valuable tool for communicating.

Blogs are an excellent tool for libraries for sharing news and information such as highlight collaborative lessons, new books, events in the library, and student reading events to name a few. Blogs keep patrons, students, and the community at large well informed. Blogs also involve and keep users engaged by inviting them to participate in the form of comments, book reviews, answering questions, and e-mailing feedback. Blogs are an ideal forum for sustained conversation between all members of a community.

Library blogs are the center of a network of school blogs. It serves as a portal connecting students, teachers, and parents to an array of information and resources.

In a school setting, just as in a library setting, blogs are also ideal to communicate and serve as a portal not only for posting journals and stories, but to share virtually anything they want in their own unique way throughout the world. Blogging can be an effective venue for network learning also. By reading, writing, and commenting to one another, it creates a dialogue that requires persuasive writing and critical thinking.

According to 2002 article by Noah Shachtman in Wired, "Teachers at every level are trying to bring blogs into their classrooms. They're finding success when they use the blog as a "classroom management tool," a way to broadcast homework, assignments, keep parents informed, and provide links to reasearch materials." Since the publication of that article, school blogs have evolved into much more than classroom management tools.

Bonnie Payan

**Ning**
[|www.ning.com] Ning is a social platform where people can create their own social network. Ning brings together the best of Facebook and Myspace. As with Facebook the creator has complete authority over who is added into the network. In some cases you must be asked to join before setting up an account. Once in the network you can customize your page or the main page to feature your own background, music choices and even add in widgets for different websites or RSS feeds. The main network page can feature the blog posts, updates and pictures from those who are added onto it giving everyone a one stop shop for information on everyone.

Here is a great example for a school library using ning.com The Ortiz Library in Daniel Ortiz Middle School uses their Ning.com website to list their catalog, post videos, pictures and blogs. Their Shelfari, Twitter and delicious accounts are also featured. A school library can create a Ning network and have all of their information in one central place where students can come by and become apart of the network. http://ortizlibrary.ning.com/

Here is a blog where a teacher librarian discuss her success using Ning. http://slav.globalteacher.org.au/2010/03/22/using-ning-in-the-year-12-classroom0

Vanessa Ramos

=[|Meebo Widget]= On David Lee King's Webpage, he talks about new library trends and tries new technologies. Then he reports on the results, which helps us all learn from his experiences. The Meebo Widget is a widget he installed on his library's catalog. It works like this: When a patron searches the catalog and doesn't get any results, the Meebo Widget pops up and offers to contact the librarian via instant messaging (IM) and ask for immediate help. The IM can be considered a "mini" social network, because the patron and librarian can communicate. The widget can be customized so patrons could also be offered a phone number to use for additional assistance. On his page, he offers instructions on how to copy the code for the widget into your library's online catalog.

King also offers ideas for a library's Facebook page [|here]. He has some interesting suggestions and has gotten a lot of feedback.

Keri Bennett

Goodreads.com Goodreads is a great way to make reading social. It is an online social library.Teachers can create accounts for their students and themselves. Users can create a list of books they read, rate and review books,discuss books,join groups,write quiz questions, and share favorite quotes. You can create groups for classes, book clubs, or the entire school.

I think it would be fun to encourage school wide participation. It would also be nice to encourage parents to join in. There could be a friendly competition to see which class has the most participation. Teachers could incorporate goodreads into the curriculum by assigning reviews to be posted instead of traditional book reports.Students can also tag and rate books as they review them.Their fellow students can use their reviews and ratings when looking for titles to read. Online book discussions could also serve as assignments. Also, book clubs could meet online in the form of discussion groups.

Below are Lisa Huff's ideas for using Goodreads.com.

[|http://www.goodreads.com/]

[]

[]

Michelle Delgado

Teens & Social Networking in School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians and Library Workers

http://www.ila.org/netsafe/SocialNetworkingToolkit.pdf

This is a source put out by Young Adult Library Services Association (yalsa) which has many suggestions on how to get teens involved in using online social networking. They can use the technologies that we are using in this course to complete their school assignments and maximize their learning.

An example was to have them use blogs or wikis to work on their language arts assignments (reading and writing). They could add posts and comments on a blog set up by the teacher, add to a class wiki, and as they do research they can get in touch with their classmates. We want the students to complete their school work but it will prove much more interesting and engaging by using the technology that is out there and that they want to use anyway.

Jacqueline Moore-Herrera

=**Positive Use of Social Networking**=
 * []**

YALSA bloggers posted 30 creative ideas for using social networking in a school or library setting including de.icioi.us, Library Thing, blogging, MySpace plus //many// others. Many of the blogs mention the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), and the implications if it had passed.

Two of the ideas that I particularly liked were networking with authors and communicating with parents. I think students would love to be able to communicate with favorite authors; author websites and blog links could be posted on the library homepage. Effective communication with parents is always a high priority with school districts. At Mabry Middle School ([]), every faculty member has a blog that is updated weekly. At Deer Valley High School ([]), track coaches started a track wiki complete with photos at Flickr.com.

With 30 ideas posted, I am sure every librarian could find a few ideas that could be adapted for his or her library.

Connie Wilson

= =
 * Blogs

Blogomania! Everyday 12,000 new blogs are created. Here's how you can get in the action. ​​http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA632382.html**

Teachers are finding creative ways to teach their students Many teachers are getting assistance from blogs. Blogs are called sometimes digital paper encourage librairans and teachers to have online conversations with their students. Students and teachers can have online conversations on current events (high school poltical science class). Blog about science experiments done in class and field trips and solving math problems. Teachers and libraians can display course notes, provide homework help, and show students writing projects. The Magnolia Elementary school in Joppa, Md. use blogs to highlight fifth-grade writers and kindergartners artwork The school's math specialist has a built a blog for students and teachers to write and read about math skill instruction. I would incorporate blogs in the educational setting (media center) by having an online discussion with a fifth grade classes on the current recommended reading. For example; I would have the fifth grade classes read the book **Bud,Not Buddy** by Christopher Paul Curtis and ask students to blog about the content of book and strengths and weaknesses. While reading the book, students can participate in the discussion as much as they like. I would add librarian's comments as well. I would even ask the author, Christopher Paul Curtis to participate in the blog and answer student questions. I feel an author or illustrators comments add life and excitement to the blog for students.

Teffeny Edmondson

25 Useful Social Netwoking Tools for Librarians http://www.collegedegree.com/library/financial-aid/25-useful-socal-networking-tools-for-librarians**
 * Social Network

I think that this is the perfect website for a first year librarian. This website helps you get organized, distribute information, and communicate with students and patrons through blogs, face book, flickr, teacher tube, Library Thing, and so much more.

This is the ideal place to start a library going because students and patrons can share bookmarks, collections and other ideas. The website is teacher friendly and it is presented in a simple, organized way. I also like the website because it will allow me to serve patrons in a better way being that they will be exposed to the different types of socal networks.

Bertha Pena ​

**BookGlutton**
[] BookGlutton is a new tool in the works that allows readers to annotate and discuss their favorite books right in the margins. Rather than taking notes for only themselves, they can share the notes with any other reader, as well as engage in a live chat with anybody who happens to be reading the book at the time. A shortcoming is that since you have to view a digital version of the book to annotate it, not all books are free. Classics in the public domain are of course all free, but the non-free books range from a couple of dollars to around $30.

The site lets you literally write in the margins of your favorite books and share those notes with other users of the site giving both the feel of a wiki and a social network. Each book has a group of “readers” with their own profiles and friend pages. There is “table talk” which is similar to a wall or bulletin board on other social networks. There are also public notes, which are notes that the reader has made and wishes to share on their page. Finally, there is live chat available in the margins of the book as well.

The possibilities for this site in the classroom or library are exciting, and many teachers and librarians have already discovered many of them. One idea is to assign a class to read one of the many classics available on the site. As the class proceeds through the book, the teacher (or librarian) could assign a student (or the students could volunteer) to annotate their favorite section or quote. At a previously determined time, the class could “meet” in the book and engage in a chat about the previous night’s reading. This could serve as a springboard for further annotation or as just a simple quick assessment of the students.

Another idea is to have a virtual book club meeting around a book available on the site. The members could annotate interesting passages and similarly have a chat to discuss the book in lieu of an actual meeting. This could be a great way for long-distance friends to stay in touch or to meet new friends who might be unable to come a meeting for various reasons.

The idea for this site is so simple that I’m kind of surprised it hasn’t been done before. The prospect of having an asynchronous way to share ideas about a book right in the margins combined with a synchronous chat function in the same interface is indeed exciting and very intuitive.

-Al Rios

= =

**Facebook in the Library**
The technology I looked at as being used in a library setting is Facebook. I looked at study on using Facebook in the library titled, ** Beyond the Buzz: Planning Library Facebook Initiatives Grounded in User Needs, ** conducted by actual librarians. The web address for this is: http://dspace.wrlc.org/bitstream/1961/5136/1/Beyond_the_Buzz.doc The study discussed, not only the methods and process of the research conducted, but also discussed how Facebook could be used in the library. The study determined that while Facebook is a popular social networking tool among our students, that it is often not successful as being used as much more than that. In addition, the study also shows that students often feel intruded upon when they become “friends” with an authority figure on Facebook. However, the study did show that Facebook can be an excellent way to send messages about upcoming events and other relevant library information to students who become a “fan” of the specific library on Facebook, or who accept friend requests. And that leads to my plan for using Facebook in the library. I think that offering Facebook as an option for delivering information about the library is an effective way to reach some students. When looking at this from the perspective of having the goal to reach as many students as possible, Facebook is yet another way to do this. I also think it would be interesting to use Facebook as a way for students to participate in book clubs, and discussions with the librarian on research and other academic related issues. Despite the inevitable challenges Facebook may create, I believe that this is a good resource to use, and to at least offer. It also shows that we, as educators, are linked in to the same technologies that they are. -Margaret Norris

**Phatmath**

Janelle McCabe
 * __ Site Information: __** In response to the growing need to promote mathematics proficiency and financial literacy skills, Dr. Iris Mack and her Harvard colleagues founded Phat Math, Inc. in September 2008. According to a September 8, 2008 //PRLog// press release, Phat Math, Inc. conducts research, develops content materials and provides various professional services. Among their services is a new mathematics “edutainment” social network that combines education and entertainment. This site features online math homework help, math chat rooms for grades K-12 and college mathematics courses, and activities designed to help students develop math skills. It also contains databases of professional role models, mentors, career exploration, and information on job opportunities. Information on scholarships, grants and student loans is provided as well.
 * __ Implementation: __** As a secondary math teacher, I feel that this would be an excellent resource to post on the school website for homework help. It could also be posted under the school library link as a student resource as well. Students are often reluctant to come for tutorial help from their teacher. They may be more likely to seek help from peers in a math chat room or from private one-on-one tutoring from the Ivy League PhDs on the website. I plan on posting the website on the board in my classroom. I would like to get some feedback from my students as to how helpful they found the site.

[|www.shelfari.com]
 * Shelfari**


 * __Site Information__**: This site is free and allows users to build virtual bookshelves to show off books they are interested in. These books could be ones that users are currently reading, have read in the past, or want to read in the future. Users are allowed to review books as well as rate them. Users can then see what other people have to say about the books. The site also offers a section to see which books have received the most reviews during a day, which books received the highest ratings in a day, and which books have had the most comments added in a day. There is also a way to view which books are the best rated in any given genre.


 * __Implementation__**: A librarian could use this as a way to "book talk" more books in the library; it would also allow students to participate in the book talks as well. This could help facilitate a book club without students being confined to the school walls to discuss books. Teachers could have students build their own virtual shelves to discuss class readings. Reluctant readers may find some great suggestions for future reads through classmates suggestions. The use of the virtual bookshelf may just be the incentive readers need to interact with books on a deeper level.

Sharon Phillips

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000004723 StartFragment:0000002696 EndFragment:0000004687

= **Ning** = [|www.ning.com] Ning is an interest-based social networking site that works in much the same way as Facebook but is permissible for use in educational settings and is accessible from school. An administrator can create a new ning network at any time and invite others to join. To join, people must establish an account and create a profile to become members. Members can then join one or many different ning networks. Someone has already mentioned using a library-specific ning as a way to connect with library patrons and advertise library programming and services; I’m suggesting using it to create professional networks for librarians in the same district. In a small district, all of the librarians could belong to one ning network. In a large district, there could be separate networks for elementary, middle, and high school librarians, as well as an overall district librarians’ group. This would allow librarians in the same district to stay in touch and support each other professionally in a more immediate and interactive (and less cumbersome) way than email groups allow. Members could post photos of book fairs and other events in their library, for example. In a district like ours where there is a library technology department, one of the library technology staff could administer the ning network; otherwise, there would need to be one designated librarian to serve as the administrator. Heather Baker