Kayla Maine

IST 611
Syracuse University

Assignment #1: Web 2.0 Tool Project

Task #1:

Description of BiblioNasium
BiblioNasium (www.biblionasium.com) is an interactive Web 2.0 tool that can be
used by teachers, parents and children to keep track of the childs reading. Users can
organize books into different shelves including books they want to read, favorite books,
finished books, books they own, and a wish list of books they would like to read. Users
can also review books and give them ratings that other users can view. In order to add
books to a shelf, the user can search for a book using the sites search function. Most of
the books that can be found through Biblionasium are childrens and young adult books.
Parents and educators would likely not use this tool to keep track of their own personal
reading, but to monitor and track the reading of their children or students. In an attempt
to protect the security of the children who use this tool, a teacher or parent of the child
must have an account with Biblionasium before the child can create his or hers.
On top of being able to monitor what their students or children are reading,
parents and educators can make book suggestions to their student or child. Children using
Biblionasium can track how much they read each day using reading log function. As a
child uses Biblionasium more and adds more books to their shelves, they will receive
awards for different milestones such as first book, first review, and 100 minutes of
reading. The purpose of Biblionasium is to encourage children to read more and give
them a visual way of tracking their reading growth and success.
Strengths, Weaknesses, and Special Features:
Strengths
1. Allows children to track their reading.
2. Provides children with a visual at how many books they have read and
how much their reading has improved.
3. Allows children to express their opinions on certain books and read what
their peers thought of the book as well.
4. Provides children with positive, motivational awards.
5. Allows children to log their reading each day, providing motivation to
keep reading and making it easier for them to keep up with required
reading for school.
6. Parents and Educators can monitor what their child or student is reading.
7. Parents and educators can make suggestions on what they think their child
or student should read next based on their interest.

Weaknesses
1. Books that can be added to the shelves are limited to what Biblionasium
has in their library.
2. Children can only use this tool if a parent or educator has an account and
authorizes the child to create one of the own.
3. Could possibly be confusing at first for a younger child.
4. There are many young adult novels to choose from, however the site may
appear juvenile to the age group that would actually read these novels.

Special Features
1. Award system for users.
2. Children can add friends to their page, similar to the way other social
networking sites do so.
3. Children can create challenges for themselves.
4. Biblionasium will recommend books based on popularity, book prize
winners, and fun books.
5. Mascot, Coach C. Manzee can aid children through any confusion or
difficulties they have with the site.

Similar Web 2.0 Tools
1. GoodReads www.goodreads.com
2. Shelfari www.shelfari.com









Task #2:

Activity 1:
Core Curriculum Area: History

Education Level: Fifth Grade

Role of Biblionasium:
To read and review non-fiction and fictional history books on their ability to
accurately portray a specific time or event in history.

Common Core Standard:
RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text,
including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the
speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.

AASL Standards:
1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy,
validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.

3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display
knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

Academic Language:
Students will analyze the accuracy of two to three books based on a historical
topic or event and then use Biblionasium to organize their opinions and reviews
of these of these books and share them with their teachers and peers.

Activity:
A fifth grade class is currently studying the Civil War in their daily history
lesson. During their weekly visit to the library the students select two to three
books based on a topic relating to an aspect of the Civil War, such as a specific
battle or general. At least one of the books should be non-fiction and one should
be historical fiction. If the students have difficulty finding books or thinking of a
sub-topic of the Civil War that they are interested in, than both their teacher and I
can assist them. The students will have the next two weeks to finish the books
they have selected.
After they have completed their books, the students will return to the
library for their weekly visit. Before this lesson, I will have created Biblionasium
accounts for the students in this class. Upon entering the library, the students will
go to the computer lab area and find a computer to sit at. Using the projector, I
will go to the Biblionasium web page and provide the students with a brief
overview of what this tool is and how it can be used. After introducing
Biblionasium, I will give the students their pre-set user names and passwords and
allow them to log in to their Biblionasium account. After they have logged in, the
teacher will explain to the students that their assignment for the day is to post
reviews of the Civil War books they have just read, discussing the accuracy of the
books and how the students felt about them. I will then guide the students in
searching for their books, adding them to their shelves, and rating and reviewing
the books. To assess this lesson, I will keep track of how many students seem to
enjoy using Biblionasium, whether or not they had difficulties understanding it,
and if the students succeeded in creating reviews for their books.

Activity 2:
Core Curriculum Area: Language Arts

Education Level: Second Grade

Role of Biblionasium:
Students will record their reading throughout the school year to track their
progress and growth and discover their own personal reading style and interests.

Common Core Standard:
R.L.2.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories
and poetry, in the grades 23 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding
as needed at the high end of the range.
AASL Standards:
4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth.

3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display
knowledge and understanding in a ways that others can view, use and assess.

Academic Language:
Students will demonstrate their literacy achievements and growth by regularly
tracking and organizing their reading using a Web 2.0 technology.

Activity:
A second grade class makes weekly visits to the library during one of their
daily Language Arts lessons. During each visit their teacher requires them to
select at least three picture books or one chapter book to read before their next
library visit. Students are expected to take these books home and to do at least
fifteen minutes of reading each night for homework. Students have the ability to
read more books each week and for longer amounts each night of time if they
wish to.
Before their first visit to the library, I will create Biblionasium accounts
for each student in the class. During the first visit, the students will gather in the
computer lab and I will introduce them to Biblionasium, provide them with their
own personal user name and password, and show them how they can track their
reading and place books onto their shelves. The teacher will then explain their
nightly reading requirements to them and that they need to track their nightly
reading on the Biblionasium. If students do not have access to a computer or the
Internet at home, than they can record their reading into a notebook and then track
their reading on a school computer before or after school, during their weekly
library visit, or during any free computer time they have during the school day.
Students will continue to make weekly visits to the library and record the books
they have read through the rest of the year.
During the last week of school the students will come to the library to
review and celebrate their reading achievements throughout the year. There will
be special prizes for categories such as most books read, most minutes read, etc.
Each student will also receive a prize for tracking their reading. The prizes will be
things like books, bookmarks, and other small school supplies that encourage
more reading. Students will also be encouraged to continue their reading and
tracking during the summer when school is not in session.

Conclusion:
Biblionasium can be used in the library in many different ways that encourage
inquiry and learning. Web 2.0 tools in general are helpful for school libraries because
they allow the students to practice online skills that will be necessary for adult life. They
are also oftentimes free or inexpensive for educators, which allows librarians to
incorporate more technology into their curriculum without going outside of their strict
budget (Baumbach). Using a tool such as Biblionasium encourages student inquiry by
allowing them to express their own opinions and ideas and also harnesses a connective
intelligence among the students (Berger).
The lessons listed above make it easier for students to reach the common core and
AASL reading standards because it allows them to complete their assignments and do
their required reading while using a fun and interactive web tool. The students will most
likely have had to do assignments that require a certain amount of reading in the past and
oftentimes these assignments may have been boring or difficult for some students to
complete. Even if a student struggles with reading and has a hard time motivating
themselves, the idea of using a tool such as Biblionasium can give them the incentive to
finish their reading so that they can go online and add it to their personal bookshelves and
reading logs and share their thoughts and ideas on what they have just read.
As schools continue to change and students are required to meet more and more
standards, it is important for all educators to find ways to incorporate these standards into
the classroom in a way that is not too difficult or tedious to the students. If the students
are not stimulated during their lessons, than they may never acquire the skills to achieve
the required standards. School librarians have the opportunity to collaborate with
classroom teachers and find ways to use technology and Web 2.0 tools that the students
will find fun and interesting, yet still challenging enough. Biblionasium is by far not the
only good web 2.0 tool to promote student reading, however it can be a great one to start
with especially for younger students.





Works Cited

Baumbach, D.J. (2009). Web 2.0 and You. Knowledge Quest, 37(4). Retrieved from:
http://tinyurl.com/m9x78wc

Berger, P. (2010). Student Inquiry and Web 2.0. School Library Monthly, 26(5).
Retrieved from: http://tinyurl.com/mjhn9n9