Online Book Communities

Online Book Communities

Good Reads

Because I have never used GoodReads or knew how simple it was to create shelves, I only created two shelves. I created one for Picture Books and one for Young Adult books. The more I used GoodReads this evening, the more I realized that I could've very easily created more shelves to give a more organized look to my shelving. There are advantages of using GoodReads are that it's easy to use, students would be able to use this website easily to sort the books that they've read or want to read, they have a wide selection of books, and creating shelves is very simple. I don't have any disadvantages at this time. I did click the wrong buttons a few times and placed a book on the wrong shelf, but it is very easy to change the shelves if you do mis-shelf a book! My fourth grade son sat with me and wanted to shelf a few of his favorite books and he was able to do it with minimal instructions from me. That helps me gauge how easy students would be able to use GoodReads.

Library Thing

Library Thing wasn't quite as user friendly as I expected. Unlike GoodReads, I wasn't able to create my own shelves, but I used what they had. Their shelves are pre-labeled "Your library, Wishlist, Currently Reading, To Read, Read but unowned, and Favorites". If you're not paying attention, it is very easy to put them all on one shelf. I know, I did this before I realized how to work the website. When you click on the Your Books section it automatically goes to "All Collections" so you would have to point out to students that you would have to click the down arrow and find which shelf you are looking for. This website does have advantages and disadvantages. A few advantages are the book selections, you can search by author, title, or ISBN, and you can upload to more than one shelf. There are a few disadvantages I was able to notate while using the website. Some disadvantages are not being able to make your own shelves, taking extra steps to find your books that you've shelved, and it's not very student friendly. My son, who is 9, tried to add some books so that I was able to see how students would be able to use it and was getting frustrated with the steps when he was shelving a few picture books. 

Booklikes

Booklikes was simple to use, but you cannot get in without a verification code. It took a while to get the code emailed to you, but once you get it it's smooth sailing! With Booklikes, you are able to use their predetermined shelves or you can make your own. I made my own to get the full experience of shelving books. Mine were simple, but my books are organized to my liking. This site has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages of Booklikes is that adding books to shelves is simple, the display is easy to the eye, and they have a great selection of books. Some disadvantages are that it's geared towards adult users, there's some lag time (it could be my internet, who knows?!), and that you have to wait over a few hours waiting for the verification code. 

Biblionasium

So, like a little kid, I LOVE that it shows the books on a shelf! HA! I used this website and for this assignment, I've ONLY looked at adding books to my shelf, but I have bookmarked it so I can look tomorrow on how to utilize this in the classroom with my reading groups. I think this website can work wonders in my kindergarten classroom. This page is very appealing to students and my son had a great time trying to add books to the shelf with me. The advantages of this website are the easy usage of the website, it is very student user friendly, it is appealing to students and teachers, teachers are able to tell students if the book is in the classroom library, among many more things! As of tonight's use, I haven't found any disadvantages of this website. I love that students, parents, and teachers can work collaboratively using this website. 

For student use, I would recommend Biblionasium! I love the fact that teachers, students, and parents can sign up and collaborate together on this page. I also like how student friendly it is to use and that it is visually appealing! I am going to incorporate using this in my classroom after winter break!