Analysis of a Teaching Tool - Booksource Classroom Organizer



For this project, I chose to research and review Booksource's Classroom Organizer.  This is what Booksource has to say about their program: 

What is Classroom Organizer?

 Classroom Organizer is free web-based software that allows educators to inventory and maintain their classroom library 
books. Key features include:
  • The ability to create rules for check and return
  • Assessment reports to help you understand students’ reading levels and preferences
  • Private rating and review forums that create an open dialogue for readers to share their opinions
  • Customized title suggestions based on your library to help ensure that every book on your shelf will be a a great read

In a nutshell, this program is a tool for teachers to use to manage their classroom library and check out books to students. 
I decided to explain my thoughts in a video blog (vlog) in order to step out of my comfort zone. Enjoy! 













The intro video provided by Booksource explaining 
the software that I mentioned in my vlog. 











The video I mention that has detailed instructions about how
 to set up an account with Classroom Organizer 
and export books and titles. 












After doing some snooping around, I found two great blog posts from teachers reviewing and explaining the
Booksource Classroom Organizer. I've linked  them below. 
From what I've seen, elementary school teachers LOVE this software. 
Obviously, they have larger classroom libraries than high level teachers,
and they tend to have access to a desktop computer in their classrooms for student use. 



Recap of Pros and Cons: 

  • Pro: FREE!
  • Pro: Creating a classroom profile is easy to do, and the iPhone app makes it super easy to scan and enter books 
  • Pro: Checking in/checking out books is equally easy with the scanner
  • Pro: PowerSchool can let you directly add students to your profile by exporting an Excel spreadsheet 
  • Pro: You can run reports on what kids a checking out based on Lexile score, genre, etc. 
  • Pro: From what I can tell, there is an unlimited amount of books you can add/check out
  • Con: There is no iPad app that I could find, only for the iPhone
  • Con: If students need or want to search for a specific book, they would still need access to a desktop computer
  • Con: The interface design is a little elementary looking, but this is minor. 
What are you thoughts on this tool? 


2 comments:

  1. GatsbyGirlJuly 10, 2014 at 6:17 PM

    Your vlog is very entertaining! I would like to try a vlog myself. How did you feel about it during the process and afterward?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ms. Fearless LeaderJuly 10, 2014 at 6:59 PM

      Haha, thank! I try, you know. As for the process, I felt like it was pretty natural because I used my Flip camcorder and a tripod. I wish I hadn't chopped half my face off, but it was ward. Next time, I may use my husband to set me up until I find that perfect spot. Now I can talk to a tree, so talking to myself wasn't a problem, lol. I did notice I gesticulate TOO MUCH, so I need to tone that down. As for the process afterwards, it took a while to upload the video to YouTube and then embed into my blog. In fact, I did this to save time, and wound up spending MORE time. But, I wanted to do this really badly, so I soldiered through. FlipShare does not support uploading directly to a blog, so you have to upload to YouTube and then embed. Hopefully now that I've launced a YouTube channel, this will be easier.

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