The Networked Library

Book excerpt: The lesson plans in this book enable educators to easily incorporate networking technologies into the classroom—not just a fun enrichment activity, but one that is selective and intentional to teach the required standards. Our Web 2.0 world is based on participation. Incorporating networking sites into classroom lesson plans invites students to participate and get involved using the digital learning styles with which they are already accustomed—interacting with new information, building knowledge, and sharing that knowledge with an authentic, responsive audience. The Networked Library: A Guide for the Educational Use of Social Networking Sites demonstrates how integrating networking tools that students enjoy using can improve their learning in the classroom. The book is designed to take educators who are new to networking sites from the ground up, while allowing experts to jump directly into the lesson plan chapters. It covers many types of networking sites that educators can use to their advantage: media sharing sites, including YouTube, TeacherTube, Wikimedia Commons, and Flickr; microblogs and wikis such as Wikispaces, PBworks, and Twitter; and social networking sites including Facebook, Ning, and Edmodo.