[LM_NET] HIT: Use of Shelfari Book Sharing Site

[Steve Crandell <steve-crandell@ACS.SCH.AE>]

Hello all,

Here's a cross-section of the responses I received regarding Shelfari.



I have my students create a Shelfari shelf during their 9 weeks of 21st
Century Learners class (Grade 8) where I teach them about various web 2.0
tools.  I also keep a current Shelfari shelf of my reads on my library blog.



I wanted my middle school students to begin using it, but after reading the
fine print, discovered they needed to be 13 to legally use the site on their
own.  Sadly, I wasn't able to use Shelfari.  I think if you have high school
students, it would work very well.  I was planning to use it for book
sharing, review, and blogging purposes.



(from a high school librarian)

I use Shelfai for a book club and have created a private group. However,
there is no way to limit exposure to titles and other members once a student
has created an account. I know that this could be of concern. Our bookclub
is voluntary and participants are not required to join, just encouraged.



I have a Shelfari account and use the widget feature of my bookshelf on my
school's library website.  This has been a recent addition but has gone over
well so far with some of the other teachers.  They've used some of my
favorites and/or reviews when making choices for books.



We use it in the Third, Fourth and Fifth graders.  They LOVE it!  We have
not had any security issues, but I registered the account as 5thGradeReads
with my email. They do not use their full names or use no name at all on the
book review.  They use it only a book sharing, not for grading purposes.
They log in using 5th Grade Reads, not my school email and they use the
classroom password.  We haven't had security problems, but I HATE that ad on
the right side.  Not offensive, just can't get rid of it.




For more info, the fine print referred to is in Shelfari's Privacy Policy.
Our school - ACS - has been considering the use of Shelfari with children as
young as Grade 4. We've already adopted it for high school - student
response has been terrific. But we still have some thinking to do before we
extend our adoption any further.

-- 
Steven Crandell
Secondary Librarian
American Community School of Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
971-2-681-5115

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, you send a message to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET
2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL
4) SET LM_NET DIGEST

 * To contact an LM_NET Moderator:  LM_NET-request@listserv.syr.edu
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://lmnet.wordpress.com/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/join.html
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://lmnet.wordpress.com/category/links/el-announce/
 * LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/

--------------------------------------------------------------------