Oct 2008 Editor's Letter
By: Jill Pinheiro

Are you a blogger? A blog reader? Even if you're not, you know your students are.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), recently completed a survey that focused on the use of social networking technology in school libraries.

According to the study, "Preliminary findings from the study show that elementary, middle and high schools are beginning to treat social networking tools as an essential part of preparing students for the 21st century."

Here are some highlights from the survey:

* Fifty-three percent of elementary, middle and high schools use some sort of collaborative tools to aid in instruction.

* Fifty percent of schools use intranet within their school community and more than 41 percent of schools use podcasts.

* Twenty-nine percent of schools use blogs as an instructional platform.

* Although not extensively used, tools like online instruction and social bookmarking are popular with almost 20 percent and more than 15 percent of schools using some form of these tools, respectively.

And, interestingly enough:

* Integrating social networking tools into instruction is widely accepted by public and private schools alike.

I'm interested in hearing what you think about these findings…and what your own school is doing with regard to this type of technology. You can reach me at jill@cspmag.com.

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro
Managing Editor

P.S. I'll be launching a weekly blog this month on our Web site, www.cspmag.com, providing yet another way to keep you updated on the latest products and services to hit the Christian school market.