3 Oct 2014

Biblionasium: Discover, Read, Share


Our students in Grades 4 and 5 are connected to an online reading community called Biblionasium. Designed specifically for kids, each student can build a virtual bookshelf, engage with classmates about reading, keep a reading log, write book reviews and access an entire database of books.


The feedback is unanimous, our students love Biblionasium! It's fun, it's visual, it is interactive. Students like to keep track of their personal reading, set goals for future reading and to view their friends shelves for ideas on what to read. Students also like the recommendation feature where they can send a recommendation directly to a friend or to the entire class.

Each class has its own reading community. It is safe and monitored by the teacher. No one outside of the class can join without the teacher's permission. The teacher is also able to make recommendations or set goals for individuals or the whole class.

Kids can search for books and authors. Just by touching the cover of a book, students can read a summary and view other kids' reviews. If they come across a book that looks great, they can tag it as a book they want to read later so they don't forget. Books on students' digital shelves can be organized by favorites and in the order in which they have read them over the school year.

Reading should be a social experience. Biblionasium offers our students an exciting platform to talk about books and to be a part of a reading community. Visit the Biblionasium site to learn more!




2 Oct 2014

Destiny Quest: A Powerful Tool for Readers and Researchers

Our elementary students are savvy searchers! Students are learning to use Destiny Quest as a tool for finding books and other resources. They can view popular and new titles, search for books in a variety of ways, monitor their personal library accounts, flag books to read in the future and also post book reviews. It is our library catalog in an interactive, personalized app.

Grade 4 students have been using Destiny Quest to search for books and websites for their current Social Studies unit about cultures around the world. Students are researching a place that is important to them. After digging in deep about aspects of their culture, students will showcase their learning at a World Expo display next month.




One of the best ways to decide what to read next is to hear from friends. Grade 2 students have been rating books in Destiny Quest and writing reviews to explain why a book is special to them. This way, when students search for a book, they can read what their friends think about it and decide if it might be a good fit.

In Grade 3, students are learning to find books using call numbers. Using Destiny Quest as a portable tool makes finding books a breeze! Students can also learn all kinds of information about a book while standing at the shelf. Is the book in a series? Are their other books related to this topic? Are their other books by this author? Destiny Quests makes browsing more effective and interactive.

If your family has an iPad or other mobile device, make sure to download Destiny Quest from the app store for free. Click here for step by step instructions on setting up the app on your device.