Social Reading is about people wanting to share what they have read with other people and receive feedback about their thoughts and ideas. Technology is the great enabler for Social Reading (source: Tame The Web). In this article Michele Gabbanelli, the co-lead FCL Ambassador in Italy explores this concept by explaining its advantages and by showing some examples.

In time of quarantine and lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic, Social Reading through the use of technology can be a means of regaining a community dimension as reading will be no longer seen as an activity to be carried out in solitude. The dynamics of social media together with those of Social Reading will in fact allow a digitized conversation while still reading, and not only at the end. 

But the technological breakthrough of reading together also brings other advantages. First of all, in terms of openness, as the digital medium is constantly just a click away and, thanks to the global network, potentially open to anyone in any moment and from anywhere. Furthermore, the Social Reading platform that will allow comments (commenting), comparisons or in any case all the activities related to a profound reading, will represent a permanent memory which can be drawn on with confidence even later.

Also, as it is digital, Social Reading is possibly seen as an educational activity for the development of digital citizenship skills, to be found in the DigComp2.1, the European reference framework for the development of citizens' digital skills. There are many specific and user-friendly platforms for socialized reading: NowComment, Anobii, Bookliners, etc etc. Particularly useful for educational purposes, precisely because it is expressly conceived as an educational platform, is the American Actively Learn. It is a real active learning environment available in a freemium version. Once created an account, the teacher will have a whole series of functions available which in distance learning as well as in integrated teaching will represent a valid tool to motivate a careful and profound reading, with the possibility of activating remote tests. Actively Learn allows you to create virtual classes thanks to an automatically generated code that will be communicated to the students.

As far as learning is concerned, this will be active. That is, thanks to the right tasks and stimuli, students build their knowledge on the text or topic under the guidance of the teacher who does not explain but makes them understand the importance of passing through the appropriate activities. The mix of media and digital text that the engineering of the work allows makes reading more engaging and opens up space for a comparison in which the real protagonist will be the student. 

Article by Michele Gabbanelli – Co-lead FCL Ambassador Italy

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Example: Social Reading and comment of the lyrics of B. Dylan’s song Like a Rolling Stone

School subject: English Literature – Class: 1st class upper secondary school

Teacher: Mr Michele Gabbanelli

Insert here the full lyrics:

Photo by ©mmphoto - stock.adobe.com