Classroom Reading Tracking/Book Sharing Software
May 11, 2022 4:22 PM Subscribe
I'm doing a lot of extensive reading this year, and asking my students (near-native English speaking Japanese 7-10th graders with overseas or international school experience) to read several books this year. I would like to have some way to a) track books students are reading, and b) have a community page of some sort where students can share the books they've read, and their responses to them.
I've looked at Goodreads, but I'm a little leery of the inability to have the students' reviews visible only in the group. There are (not without reasons) considerable concerns about student privacy at the school, and among parents as well.
I'd like to be able to see what books a kid is reading, be able to see that they have finished (that would probably be short reports, for lack of a better word, that the students write), and be able to make comments on their responses. I'd like the students' responses to be shared in each classroom group, so the student responses can serve as recommendations for their classmates.
We have a pretty solid library here at the school, and a fair number of students (but not nearly all) are using kindle on their phones and tablets, so we don't need a service that provides reading material. Are there any educators here that have a program or website they favor? If it has to be Goodreads, fair enough, but I was wondering if there is something better. I looked at Biblionasium, but it seems to be aimed at 1st-8th grades, and my kids are just past that.
I've looked at Goodreads, but I'm a little leery of the inability to have the students' reviews visible only in the group. There are (not without reasons) considerable concerns about student privacy at the school, and among parents as well.
I'd like to be able to see what books a kid is reading, be able to see that they have finished (that would probably be short reports, for lack of a better word, that the students write), and be able to make comments on their responses. I'd like the students' responses to be shared in each classroom group, so the student responses can serve as recommendations for their classmates.
We have a pretty solid library here at the school, and a fair number of students (but not nearly all) are using kindle on their phones and tablets, so we don't need a service that provides reading material. Are there any educators here that have a program or website they favor? If it has to be Goodreads, fair enough, but I was wondering if there is something better. I looked at Biblionasium, but it seems to be aimed at 1st-8th grades, and my kids are just past that.
Take a look at flipgrid. It’s a video discussion site that allows you to create a password protected space where students can record videos of themselves. After reading each book you could have them record a book talk and then ask others to respond.
posted by trigger at 6:30 PM on May 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by trigger at 6:30 PM on May 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Flipgrid is great for this. Padlet lets you create walled collaborative spaces where students can contribute written work, images, links, etc. I'm having trouble imagining a way to track incremental progress over time effectively because I feel like the space would get clogged easily, but it might work. A shared Excel or Google Sheets file is an option, but not very exciting.
posted by wakannai at 4:51 AM on May 12, 2022
posted by wakannai at 4:51 AM on May 12, 2022
Response by poster: I’ve used Flipgrid before, and liked it, but it’s not exactly what I’m looking for. A good chunk of the class is expressing themselves through writing, and while more time speaking is a definite positive, it’s not their priority (again, pretty high level, near native, just lacking certain background elements).
I’ll take another look, but I’d much rather have a text based site/app.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:25 AM on May 12, 2022
I’ll take another look, but I’d much rather have a text based site/app.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:25 AM on May 12, 2022
Librarything is perfect for this. You can join, it's free to use, and the groups functionality lets you have a group that you have to approve membership for, and where discussions are limited to members in visibility.
posted by griffey at 10:32 AM on May 12, 2022
posted by griffey at 10:32 AM on May 12, 2022
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Title
Author
in-progress/finished
would recommend/avoid/still reading
Review
Goodreads lacks privacy and has an unfortunate culture. Librarything is quiet, but it is not easy to use on a touchscreen and there is still the issue of privacy.
posted by betweenthebars at 4:39 PM on May 11, 2022 [1 favorite]