Sunday, August 28, 2016
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Final Relection
I have had so many valuable experiences with technology this
semester. I’ve learned a lot and plan to utilize many of the technology
programs that I have learned to operate, in my own library. I also plan to
advocate different uses of the technology for classroom use.
My favorite program was the use of screencasting through
Screencast-o-matic. I eagerly anticipate the use of this program as it will be
a very handy teaching tool that will save a lot of time when explaining “how to’s”
of library resources. The podcasting programs are very handy as well but proved to be the most difficult applications that I encountered in the class. Classmates did suggest other podcasting programs that worked better for them and I plan to explore those options. I would like to utilize podcating for making announcements and other innovative class assignments.
Animoto is a fun program that I plan to use in my library
upon getting in new books. I enjoyed creating the book trailers and I like the
fact that there are time limits so they won’t be long and drawn out. They could
be short, sweet and exciting for students to enjoy and look forward to. I plan
to utilize the QR codes for easy access to the trailers as they browse the new
collection. This is a very exciting idea!
I believe students would also love creating cartoons for
classes. I plan to train teachers on it’s usage and encourage them to incorporate
it into their lesson plans. I will also utilize and encourage the use of
Symbloos for lessons. I have created a couple and found it to be a very useful
teaching tool when giving students guidance and resources when researching.
It is also a goal to create an online presence for my library as well. I plan to create a website and include many of the technologies that I learned about during this semester on the website. Although social media sites are restricted in my school district, I will consult with my principal about the benefits of a social media presence for our library. And hopefully the students and parents could at least access it from home.
I truly enjoyed exploring the different types of technology
tools and feel prepared to effectively perform my job as a library “media
specialist”.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Media is the Message...
I found the reading The
Media Debate to be quite interesting. Even though the debators had very
different views on media and technology, I feel they both had valid points. Whereas
I can relate to the point that Richard Clark made about media and technology
being “mere vehicles”. I do believe that they are vehicles, but that vehicle does
in fact drive (and influence) student motivation, student interests, and
various levels of instructional capabilities. So in this case, I am leaning more towards Robert
Kozma’s theory. Kozma points out that there are many capabilities that make up
the total media or technology program. These capabilities are what encompass
the overall influence of student achievement.
Technology is a tool that supports learning. Kozma poses the
question: “How does media affect learning?”. I believe that through the capability
tools that Kozma lists, various levels of instruction may be embedded into
technology and used for the purposes of learning, tutoring and guidance.
Through these capabilities comes student achievement. However, the method in
which the technology is used requires real world instructional support from
teachers. Teachers decide how to implement technology in the classroom setting
to optimize the student’s success.
The Media Debate took
place in the 90’s. Through the years, many things have changed within technology.
Technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace. I believe that in today’s
society, it is apparent that technology influences student achievement. More
educational programs are being created with every success story. Educators are
even honing in on the educational benefits of social media. Students all have
different ways of learning. Although I don’t believe that learning should be
100% technology based, some students learn more from it than they would by
sitting all day in a classroom, listening to lectures. There should be a healthy balance.
Technology offers the capabilities of experiencing hands-on (virtual)
learning, auditory learning, gaming to learn, networking, etc. The possibilities
are many and technology today helps to motivate students, captivate their
attention and help them to learn concepts on individual levels.
References
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Podcasts
click on the picture to hear a brief lesson on Nursery Rhymes
Podcasts are useful tools in the classroom or library. it could be used to make important announcements, to initiate a read aloud, to give a writing prompt and to give instructions to an assignment. The podcasts could be posted on the library's website for students, teachers, or parents to refer back to as needed.
However, Podcasts are not as easy to use as Screencasts. The program that I used was Podomatic. I was a little disappointed that there is no way to record directly to the website. Users have to record their voice in a voice recorder program first and then upload the recording onto the site. The recording has to be a MP3 file or the program will not read it. So, if it is not an MP3 file, the user will need to convert it and then upload the file. So, in that aspect it is somewhat difficult to figure out but the results are worth the time and effort.
(One other challenge is that Blogger didn't like Podomatic's embed code so I wasn't able to embed, I had to link the URL instead.)
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Cartoons and Comics
ToonDoo.com
This website was very easy to navigate to and the interface inviting. A lot of color and message to click on so that you can get started with creating your cartoon comic strip. When you click on the register link and create the credential so you can begin creating a comic strip, it tells you that the email is already taken even through it is you first time. I tried different emails and password and the same message occurred. Just through trail and effort, I went to forgot password and used credential from the last register attempt, and it allow me to create a new password. After logging in, it was straight forward with creating a comic strip. The art work to choose from was average and the tools to create the comic was easy. Not the best artwork to choose from but ok enough to create a comic strip. It would not allow you to add cells and it also did not have good background content.
<
Pixton.com
Pixton website and sign up and in process was fast and easy. Signing up with a free account was quick and straight to the point. Received an email to verify the account and the next moment I was in the website selecting backgrounds and characters. The interface to search for content was intuitive and easy to manage through. I was very pleased with fining the content for the idea in my head for the comic strip. It also allowed you to add more cells when you are creating your strip. This site also allows you to copy the embedded code for future blogs, websites, and social media post that you may like to do. This was easiest and most user friendly cartoon comic strip creation website.
Makebeliefscomix.com
This site was the very fast to start creating a cartoon comic site because you did not need an account to create the cartoon comic site. This site allowed you to jump right into creating a comic strip. The only draw back that I notice right away was that you must remember to download your comic strip after you are done creating it because their is now way to save it on the website. They don't host accounts. The user interface to create content was very easy to use, and straight to the point. Like another website used to create a cartoon comic strip, this one also had mediocre art work. it was also not that easy to find the content you wanted. This cause for a little frustration and creativeness in the final outcome of the comic strip.
The comic strip cartoon can be used in various ways to help aid students in how they can better us library services. The cartoons can be posted on school library webpage, social media, and other web content that attracts students. The cartoon comic strips can also be printed to had out to students. This could be used for instructions, awareness, and directions for students. It is a very creative way to bring content and new information to students in a fun way.
This website was very easy to navigate to and the interface inviting. A lot of color and message to click on so that you can get started with creating your cartoon comic strip. When you click on the register link and create the credential so you can begin creating a comic strip, it tells you that the email is already taken even through it is you first time. I tried different emails and password and the same message occurred. Just through trail and effort, I went to forgot password and used credential from the last register attempt, and it allow me to create a new password. After logging in, it was straight forward with creating a comic strip. The art work to choose from was average and the tools to create the comic was easy. Not the best artwork to choose from but ok enough to create a comic strip. It would not allow you to add cells and it also did not have good background content.
<
Pixton.com
Pixton website and sign up and in process was fast and easy. Signing up with a free account was quick and straight to the point. Received an email to verify the account and the next moment I was in the website selecting backgrounds and characters. The interface to search for content was intuitive and easy to manage through. I was very pleased with fining the content for the idea in my head for the comic strip. It also allowed you to add more cells when you are creating your strip. This site also allows you to copy the embedded code for future blogs, websites, and social media post that you may like to do. This was easiest and most user friendly cartoon comic strip creation website.
Makebeliefscomix.com
This site was the very fast to start creating a cartoon comic site because you did not need an account to create the cartoon comic site. This site allowed you to jump right into creating a comic strip. The only draw back that I notice right away was that you must remember to download your comic strip after you are done creating it because their is now way to save it on the website. They don't host accounts. The user interface to create content was very easy to use, and straight to the point. Like another website used to create a cartoon comic strip, this one also had mediocre art work. it was also not that easy to find the content you wanted. This cause for a little frustration and creativeness in the final outcome of the comic strip.
The comic strip cartoon can be used in various ways to help aid students in how they can better us library services. The cartoons can be posted on school library webpage, social media, and other web content that attracts students. The cartoon comic strips can also be printed to had out to students. This could be used for instructions, awareness, and directions for students. It is a very creative way to bring content and new information to students in a fun way.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Videos and QR Codes in the Library
After careful review of several library videos, I was able to decide which videos would be most interesting and helpful in a classroom setting. It was hard to choose only two videos on some Channels because each of the videos were high quality and seems to be able to grasp the attention of not only the students but faculty and staff as well. The BBMS videos are my favorite.
The Unquiet Library:
Videos that seemed most helpful:
Students would most like:
The NHS Library:
Videos that seemed most helpful:
Students would most like:
Pikesville HS Library:
Videos that seemed most helpful:
Students would most like:
BBMS Library:
Videos that seemed most helpful:
Students would most like:
Animoto
I truly enjoyed working in this program! It was so easy to use and I will be using it in my library throughout the school year. I anticipate creating book trailers for new books or books that I would like to highlight each month. I like that the program limits the time to two minutes. Videos would be just long enough to capture the reader's attention and get them interested.
I used Animoto to create a trailer on a book I just recently read, Zane and the Hurricane by Rodman Philbrick. Below is the QR code to the book trailer:
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Screencasts, Instagram and Vine
The two programs that I chose for my screencasts were Screencast-o-matic and Adobe Spark. I found that they are two totally different programs. Screencast-o-matic allows the user to go in and give a full lesson with few boundaries or time limits. I noticed that Adobe Spark does give time limits and will signal when the user is getting close to the allotted time limit.
It would depend on what type of presentation I am giving as to which I would choose. If I am wanting to present detailed information as opposed to a short preview, I would use Screencast-o-matic.
I did like the fact that Adobe Spark was easier to navigate than Screencast-o-matic. If there was an error in the narration, I could easily correct it by deleting and rerecording only that section of the presentation.
Screencast-o-matic
Adobe Spark
I was able to start an Instagram account and a Vine account. I have heard the students talk about Instagram and I can see how both programs would be entertaining for them. In an effort to grasp the students' attention, I pondered ways of using these programs in the classroom.
One way of using Instagram in the classroom is to save pictures on the class Instagram page and have the students to use the pictures as writing prompts or inspiration for Art or Science projects. Vine could be used to help introduce a subject or to evaluate the students' interpretation or understanding of a particular subject matter. Below are some things I posted to my new pages:
It would depend on what type of presentation I am giving as to which I would choose. If I am wanting to present detailed information as opposed to a short preview, I would use Screencast-o-matic.
I did like the fact that Adobe Spark was easier to navigate than Screencast-o-matic. If there was an error in the narration, I could easily correct it by deleting and rerecording only that section of the presentation.
Screencast-o-matic
Adobe Spark
I was able to start an Instagram account and a Vine account. I have heard the students talk about Instagram and I can see how both programs would be entertaining for them. In an effort to grasp the students' attention, I pondered ways of using these programs in the classroom.
One way of using Instagram in the classroom is to save pictures on the class Instagram page and have the students to use the pictures as writing prompts or inspiration for Art or Science projects. Vine could be used to help introduce a subject or to evaluate the students' interpretation or understanding of a particular subject matter. Below are some things I posted to my new pages:
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Infographics
In today's technology driven society, it seems that the way to gain the viewers interest is to get right to the point of the driven content. Providing visual media, data, and road maps to new data is the direction of online media. An Infographic gives the viewer all the things and more. The visual experience that can be create using an Infographic can draw the viewer to stunning visual aids, while at the same time, provide information that can be very useful to the reader. Students in an academic settings can gain quick information, while the graphic content will keep the interest to promote comprehension to the desired data.
Of the three different online programs to create a Infographic, Piktochart seemed to be the most comprehensive choice for creating the graphic. Easel.ly and Inforg.am seems to be very easy to use and had a straight forward interface for creating the media. However, Pikochart had templates and features that made it easy for me to understand the method of creating a Infographic. I also include a feature to download and a picture for other uses.
The podcast by Connie Malamed was a good starting point to understand the purpose of an Infographic and how to design a real Information Graphic. Alberto Cairo is a professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and director of infographics and multimedia at El Mundo. His commentary on the functionality into creating and using an Infographic was an excellence source of understanding how an Infographic operates. The podcast was a great resource for a beginner.
My Infographic focused on my direction for academic K-12 libraries. I want to push the academic libraries focus on technology applications that students need for their future. Not only software but hardware also. Makerspace sections in current libraries are supercharging student creativity and understanding of how technology integrates with academics.
This is the link to the Pickochart: https://magic.piktochart.com/output/14708236-valeries-guide-to-a-makerspace-library
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Blogs and Blog Readers
During my search for different library blogs, I was able to explore two Blog Readers - Tumblr and Feedspot. I chose to use Tumblr because it seemed more user friendly and not as hard to figure out. I was able to start an account and quickly began to follow different blogs. The link to my Tumblr page is: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/libraryladydaigre
Although I explored several library blogs and feel many of them could be helpful in the area of Library Science, I narrowed down the choices to my topic 5 picks:
Book Riot
http://bookriot.tumblr.com/
According to the blog, Book Riot is a blog covering book-related news, reviews, commentary, advice and information along with the latest in book-reading technology.
True Adventures of a High School Librarian
Youth Book Review
Although I explored several library blogs and feel many of them could be helpful in the area of Library Science, I narrowed down the choices to my topic 5 picks:
Book Riothttp://bookriot.tumblr.com/
According to the blog, Book Riot is a blog covering book-related news, reviews, commentary, advice and information along with the latest in book-reading technology.
Book Riot has a lot of information of different
types and genres of books. They provide interesting book reviews and trailers
in a way that is very entertaining.
l
True Adventures of a High School Librarian
k The author of this blog is Nikki D. Robertson. Nikki is a veteran educator, librarian and Instructional
Technology Facilitator for James Clemens High School . She is passionate about
1:1 Digital Initiatives, collaboration with other education professionals, and
assisting students in becoming well informed critically thinking digital
citizens.
I started following this blog
because Nikki has interesting information about different ways in which to use
technology in the library and ways to promote its use in the classroom. Nikki
is an advocate of Makerspaces, 3-D printers and 21st century
technologies and social media sites. She has a lot of innovative ideas that she
has implemented in her own library at James Clemens High School in Georgia.
Authors of this blog say it is about sharing the love of the libraries and all that they do for the masses to view.
I decided to follow the Abilene Public Library
because while browsing the blogs on school libraries. Abilene
Public Library seems to share a lot of helpful information on the children’s
programs that they provide. Currently, they are blogging on their Summer
Reading Programs. This information could be useful to school librarians for
ideas during the school year and as a reminder that collaboration with public
libraries is beneficial to the school program when promoting services for summer and during the school year.
Poets.org
Poets.org
This blog is a product of The
Academy of American Poets. It is the largest membership-based nonprofit
organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and
supporting American poets. For
3 generations, the Academy has connected millions of people to
great poetry.
I am following this blog
because of my love of poetry. The blog provides information about featured
poets and it also gives ideas of how to teach lessons on poetry through
the "Teach This Poem" series and the "Poem a Day" series.
The Blog offers teachers actual classroom activities to use while teaching
certain poems.
Youth Book Review
Kim Ammons is a 27 year old female who lives in Vermont and loves talking about her love of books almost as much as she loves reading them. Kim is an avid Young Adult book reader. She reads, rates and reviews YA
books regularly. I decided to follow her blog because she gives helpful insight into
what books and topics young adults are interested in reading.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Facebook/Twitter
Facebook
Utilizing social media is a great, free and easy way for
libraries to establish an online presence stay relevant to it’s users. During
the age of digital technology, it is imperative that we grab students’
attention in ways that they are accustomed to. Gone are the days of the card
catalog and the one or two dimensional resource base. Technology provides us
with various resources and databases. Facebook is a free resource that
could be used for promotion of libraries and programs in the library – which is
a great advantage of utilizing Facebook.
I took a look at a few school libraries that have a presence
on Facebook and even though they were similar in nature, each of them achieved
the goal of breathing life into their programs through their posts.
I first looked at the West Brook High School Library out of
Beaumont, TX. West Brook uses their page
to post updates, announcements, newsletters and a few pictures. West Brook has
a Book Club and it seems they use the Facebook page to communicate about the
dates, times and books they will read. There are book trailers displayed on the
page and information regarding their book fair.
I then looked at the Freedom High School Library out of
Chantilly, VA. Freedom’s page opens with a beautiful picture of their library
as a cover photograph. Freedom has many posts with links to their Twitter
account. On both accounts however, they are promoting their library in every
way. Each post highlights some event, project, program or author. There are
also post regarding important dates and fundraising for their library.
My favorite page is that of James Clemens High School
Library out of Madison, AL. Clemens also opens up with an awesome picture of
their library as the cover photo. The particular picture shows books on display
in the leisure reading area and several computers in the background. Clemens’
Facebook page not only highlights library programs but whole school activities
as well. It is apparent that the library here is truly the heart of the school
and many school activities are somehow in conjunction with the library.
Makerspace activities are highlighted, showing various creations that originated
in the library’s makerspace.
Lastly, I evaluated the Hermon Elementary School Library out
of Hermon, ME. Hermon. There were not as many primary schools on the search
list than secondary so I wanted to compare the Facebook presence of both types.
Hermon also opens with an authentic picture of their library on the cover. Hermon
utilizes many pictures to give a visual of what is actually taking place. There
are several pictures of a recent book fair and some of class projects in the
library. They announced the purchase of Kindles for the library through a grant
that was won as well. There is also information shared on the page that parents
and or teachers could appreciate. This
primary school library is in line with what most secondary campuses are posting
on their pages.
And so it seems that each school library has the common goal
of displaying and promoting itself while giving valuable information to
students, teachers and parents. However, I do notice that not many people
respond to posts on any of the library pages that I viewed. Some posts were
simply “liked” by 1 or 2 (some posts were not “liked” at all). And there is
hardly any actual dialogue on posts, if any. This is a major disadvantage of using
Facebook. Viewers may be either frightened to comment, prefer to remain silent
or may not agree with your posts. Librarians could ask for feedback in order to
get a better response.
Twitter
Twitter is also a good tool for Librarians to utilize with
not only communicating with students and other library users, but to also stay
abreast of the current trends in the world of library, educational technology
and digital media services. Several companies, gurus, groups and organizations
have a Twitter presence and several hundred followers. Any Librarian would find
it beneficial to “follow” some of these pages, as it would help to keep one
informed on all the most recent and important trends in library media services.
I have had the opportunity to follow a few gurus in the
field and recorded some of the things that I found while following them:
The Daring Librarian
The Daring
Librarian (Gwyneth Jones) is an avid blogger, and International Keynote
Speaker, and social media champion. Aside from promoting books on Twitter, she
promotes her Blog entitled The Daring
Librarian. A lot of her tweets are regarding updated posts on her blog. She
gives tips and retweets a lot of good, helpful information. I can also tell
that she is a fan of the Bachelorette
television series.
Got Charge? BYOD Charging Lockers at @hcpss_mhms https://t.co/9CYHcUU00T @hcpssoit @hcpsslibmed #HCPSSBYOD pic.twitter.com/Gy7W4d3lN3— Gwyneth Jones (@GwynethJones) June 3, 2016
Linda Braun
Linda Braun
is YALSA’s past president and a learning consultant. Ms. Braun promotes a lot
of YALSA activities and ideas. She tweets in response to other educationally
informative tweets and retweets great information as well. Ms. Braun helps to
facilitate a Twitter group that meets in a private session. The next meeting
will be held on June 24th.
Have u seen all the professional learning opps @yalsa has 4 u this summer https://t.co/Z65Q6o2A3m there’s a lot 2 take advantage of— Linda W Braun (@lbraun2000) June 7, 2016
Kathy Schrock
Kathy
Schrock is an Educational Technologist and speaker. She will be speaking at
ISTE’s conference this year and she tweets and retweets information regarding
the conference. She also tweets to promote new technologies that are available.
Ms. Schrock has a website and blog as well and she promotes them through
Twitter. Her blog is extensive as she blogs about subjects such as student
engagement, technology support, BYOD and the classroom.
Don't forget to find me @ISTE #ISTE2016 to get your special ribbon! (Selfie optional!) pic.twitter.com/xLyJ5fvxsx— Kathy Schrock (@kathyschrock) June 6, 2016
Buffy Hamilton
Buffy
Hamilton is a teacher librarian and tweets to promote suggested books,
inspirational quotes, thoughts and ideas. She tends to retweet interesting educational
information. She seems to tweet about her daily life (weather, teaching, foods,etc)
and hobbies (watching basketball).
Summetimer self care of the heart, the body, and the soul w/ great books, writing, exercise, and bold decisions. #findyourjoy— Buffy J. Hamilton (@buffyjhamilton) June 7, 2016
Jim Lerman
Jim Lerman is teacher, author and speaker. He curates a blog entitled 4th Era, where he advertises and highlights different articles on or about technology or other articles that interest him (i.e. - his daughter is a famous tap dancer!). He tweets to promote his blog and to give tidbits of information from the articles on the blog.The Rise of Games and High Performance Computing for Modeling and Simulation https://t.co/rP0EByLVCH pic.twitter.com/xGFibW42VY— Jim Lerman (@jimlerman) June 8, 2016
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