BP3_Shelfari

I spent some time this past week looking at a few Web 2.0 tools that cater to book lovers because I thought these might have the best chance at being useful in my classroom.  Most of them were still in the beta stage, which contributed to their limited functionality.  One site, however, had a clean interface and was very user friendly.

Shelfari, which was launched in 2006 and acquired by Amazon.com in 2008, is a social network website that allows users to place the books they have read, are reading, and plan to read on a virtual bookshelf they can share with their friends.  Based on the books on your shelf and the shelves of your friends, Shelfari recommends other books and friends you might be interested in checking out.

Some of the books on my virtual shelf.

Users also have the option to share their bookshelf with others outside of the Shelfari site through web widgets like the one at the bottom of this blog page.  This is a great way to get others who aren't using Shelfari exposed to the site, thus expanding your community.

The site also allows users to join and create groups about certain books, genres, or organizations.  These groups provide a space for members have discussions and place books on a common bookshelf. 

The group I created for my classes.  I've already placed Animal Farm by George Orwell on the shelf.

As you can see, I've already created a group for my classes.  My plan is to use the site as place for my students to discuss the books we're reading together in class.  I'm also going to have my students place the books they are reading for their independent reading requirement each quarter on the shared bookshelf.  At the end of the quarter, they'll have to write a review of the book they read and put it in the review section of that book.

The benefit of this site is that if provides a visual representation of the reading a person does.  I think it will be encouraging for my student to be able to see all the books they've read.  I've been adding books I read in college, high school, and even in elementary, and it's interesting to see all the books I've read that I can remember.

I'm excited to use this site with my classes, but it's fun to use outside of the classroom as well.  If you like books and reading, it's definitely worth checking out.