Course LSSL 5391 Digital Technology for the School Librarian was challenging,
but so worth it and so incredibly necessary to us as librarians in this
ever-changing educational world. I feel empowered
to have learned about all these amazing resources this semester.
Blog Readers
I really enjoyed learning about Bog Readers, like Feedly.I have been using this resource almost every
day to keep my blogs, website, and articles organized in folders.
Social Media
I learned so much
about how social media can be a great resource for educators.
Infographics
Learning about Infographics was the most difficult
for me but was able to create one after a few attempts thanks to Piktochart's
user-friendliness.
Screencasts
Creating screencasts was the most exciting tool
learned in this course for me. I've seen many tutorials done with screencasts
and had always wanted to know how to do them. I am definitely going to use this
technology to my advantage in the library.
Youtube, Animoto, & QR
Codes
I've used QR codes before (as a consumer), but now I know
how to create them. I will use these to
have the students create book talks, book trailers, read alouds, and many more
activities.
Cartoons & Comics
Kids love Graphic Novels and I know having students
create comic strips digitally will be a hit in my school. I can't wait to
introduce them to this resource.
Podcasts
I love to listen to
Podcasts and learning how to use them in education was amazing. I found PodBean to be very easy to use.
Digital
Storytelling
I had so much fun
creating a digital storytelling book using Bookcreator.com. It was so easy and fast to create. I see this tool as one that can be most beneficial
to students, since they can create their own book to retell a story, share
experiences, present new information in a creative and exciting way, homework,
or group projects.
I created a digital
book using Bookcreator.com You can find it using the following link:
Thank you, Dr. Gross,
for introducing us to all these technology tools that we can incorporate in our
libraries and for making us move from consumers to producers!
Podcasts are rising in
popularity and they have been causing quite a lot of noise lately. Podcasts are series of audio files that are
available online. They are organized using
episodes focused on varied topics and usually featuring special guests. In this multi-tasking era, listeners can
subscribe to these podcasts and listen to their episodes, while doing other
activities such as driving, cooking, cleaning, among other tasks. For this blog post, I will focus on using
podcasts in education.
Podcasts can be
incorporated in the classroom and libraries in numerous ways. I reviewed the following three podcasting
platforms to have a better understanding of the features they offer.
PodBean is
a well-established podcasting website and app where you can search, download,
and listen to your favorite podcasts, radio, and audiobooks anywhere and
anytime. It has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create,
publish, and manage your podcasts.
Features:
High
Performance
Free Website
Builder & Full-Featured Podcast Site
24/7
Cloud Hosting
Unlimited Storage
and Bandwidth
Personalized Domain
and Branding
How can PodBean be used in the school library?
Students can create and share Book Talks
Invite guest readers, speakers, or authors to discuss library topics
Audioboom is
an all-in-one platform for individuals who are starting their podcast or for master
podcasters. This website and mobile platform
makes podcasts accessible and profitable for podcasters and advertisers.
Features:
Publish Up To
5 Episodes Per Month
Up To 10,000
Plays Per Month
Distribution Via
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, GooglePlay, iHeartRadio, & Spotify
Embeddable
Player for Your Website and Social Media Integration
Money Back
Guarantee
Audio Hosting
Podcast
RSS Feed
Network App Listing
Advanced Analytics
Social Media Integration
How can Audioboom be used in the school library?
Students can summarize
books they are reading
Students
can deliver Library News weekly or monthly
Sound Cloud is a
music and podcast streaming online platform that enables its users to upload,
promote, and share audio around the world. I did notice they have many restrictive terms for
their users, as well as a huge rumor that surrounds the company of its potential
financial trouble.
Features:
3
Hour-Unlimited Hours Uploads Per Month
Basic Embedded
Players
Basic
Analytics Stats
How can Soundcloud be used
in the school library?
·Share
Music
·Oral Report/Presentation
& Provide Feedback
Podcast:
I
helped create a podcast using PodBean with my classmate Jessi Barr on the topic
of Digital Citizenship. We
already had a PodBean account, so we chose to use it for this assignment, because
of its user-friendliness to create and publish podcasts. You can listen to it HERE.
You can find some educational podcasts can be found on:
Cartoons & comics are on the rise, when it comes
to education. They help motivate and support
struggling readers, as well as enrich their reading skills. They provide the opportunity to look at pictures
in order and follow the story. As
educators we can incorporate comics and cartoons in our classrooms and
libraries. We do not have to be the best
artists in order to create comics and help our students. There are many sites that allow us to create and
customize our own comics and cartoons. I
have evaluated three sites that both students and teachers can use to create
comics and cartoons.
ToonDoo:is a fun and
user-friendly comic strip creator site.
Easy to Create? This was the first time I created a comic
strip and this site made it very easy to navigate and create it.
Easy to Save? It took me a little while figuring out how to
save and download it.
Lots of Variety? It had lots of options without feeling
overwhelmed. It was easy to find what
you needed.
Student Friendly? This
site is geared for upper grade students, maybe 4th grade and above. Even though it was easy to use, upper grade students
could navigate it more with ease, with minimal directions.
Pixton:is a comic book software
with pre-made templates. With its
click-n-drag motion, the comic strip creation is super-fast.
Easy to Create? The premade templates made this comic strip software
extremely easy-to-create and use.
Easy to Save? It was easy to save, yet if I wanted to
download it or print it, I had to snip it or take a print screen and copy it to
my document.
Lots of Variety? It’s not customizable, yet it provides many
templates for users. It offers the
freedom to choose your character’s gender, hair color, facial features, and
more. It has enough variety for beginners
like me or for students who are learning how to create comics for the first
time.
Student Friendly? This
site is geared also for upper grade or middle grade students, as it requires
more buttons to click and drag. Once
they get a hang of it, this site can be a quick way to create their comics.
Makebeliefscomix:this comic generator
allows you to create comics online and offers an abundance of teaching
resources free. It does not require for
users to register, which is always a plus, when working with students.
Easy to Create? This site was super easy to navigate and use.
Easy to Save? It was easy to save, as well as email it and
share with others.
Lots of Variety? It had a limited amount of options, yet the
options are plenty for students to use.
Student Friendly? This
site is student friendly, because of it simplicity and easy-to-use features.
There are lots of options for how teachers can incorporate
comics and cartoons into their classrooms and lessons. The following list are examples of options
for teachers to think about.
Sequence
of Events
Digital
Storytelling
Story
Elements
Presentations
Introduction
of topic/skill
Scientific
Method
Social
Skills: Scenarios
Instructions
Writing
Process
As librarian, I encourage teachers to try one of these
comic creator sites in their classroom and see how engaging the lesson can be. Not to mention, the benefits comics and
cartoons bring to their students’ reading achievement. This is a perfect lesson to collaborate with
teachers and to an ensure comics are taught across subjects in the classroom.
Tellagami: is a wonderful mobile application that allows
users to create and share a quick animated video called Gami.
I created a short Gami and boy did I have fun doing
it. It was easy to use, and I can totally
see our students having fun doing them.
I know once I introduce this app, our library iPad carts will be constantly
check out. Teachers can ask students to
create one after they finish reading a book or a reading passage. I see this used in classes for short
summaries or even for prompting questions.
Due to its 30 seconds (free) limit, I felt a bit rushed, but still was
able to make a short book talk of The Bad Case of Strips by David Shannon, one of
my daughter’s favorite book. https://tellagami.com/gami/2UUOWQ/
YouTube is a wonderful resource tool
that can be used to enhance learning in the classrooms and in our
libraries. It can add quality instruction
and provide quality videos to reach a mass audience. The following school library YouTube channels
demonstrate how they utilize YouTube for educational purposes and keep up with 21st
century learners.
The video below shows how the
librarian explains the steps it takes to get started with the library website
and how to navigate it. This is a very
helpful video for students to reference back to, whenever they don’t know how
to find the NHS Library website. I would recommend having the link to this video
on the school’s home page as well.
The video above shows the school
mascot, Tiger, utilizing the library and having fun. I am sure students would love to see this video,
since it showcases the library and its resources, and they get the chance to
see some of their friends there too.
The video below, shows the librarian
demonstrating how to search Wikimedia Commons for copyright friendly photos, using
a screencast video recorder. This video is really helpful for students, as she
presents how to find these photos and provides tips on how to access the page
or what to do if the page is blocked.
The following video of a surprise
and impromptu holiday choral performance would be best liked by students, because
students like to watch their own performance and see how they looked or sounded. The musical and cheerful performance sure engages
the audience.
The video below would be the most
helpful to students of Pikesville HS, because it reminds them of the requirements
and process of completing their FAFSA application.
The following video shows how students
from Pikesville HS had fun and danced in the library. The students would like this video the best,
as it demonstrates how fun the library can be.
The following
video can be the most helpful for students, especially if the school has new
students enrolled. The library media
specialist reminds students of the policy and procedures of the library through
short videos and a presentation.
The
video below is one of the many “Overdue” book parody videos created to show students
the importance of returning their books to the Media Center on time, yet it is comically
done with students’ performance. This
video is a parody of Meghan Trainor “Me Too.”
A concerned that is often expressed
at our campus is that YouTube is blocked for students, when using the district
network. Fortunately, teachers do have access to YouTube and can show the
videos as needed. However, as librarian,
I would embed the library YouTube videos on the library website, by using Clipconverter.cc, or any other free
media conversion application. I would
recommend teachers to do the same and embed their videos to their teacher webpages.
This way, students have access to these wonderful videos through a clean and
ad-free site.
I would promote videos in my library
by having students create their own book trailers or book talks to promote our
library books. Students can utilize the
library’s set of iPads or Google tablets of this assignment. I would post these book trailers or book
talks on our school library’s web page or social media page. Instruction students or staff on how to use
the library’s databases and web resources, is another way to integrate videos
in the library.
Animoto:
I created a book trailer for one of
my favorite children’s book of all time, Corduroy by Don Freeman, using Animoto.
I created the video using Animoto’s free version. It was fast, simple and easy to use.
Synopsis from Goodreads.com:
Have you ever dreamed of being
locked in a department store at night?
the endearing story of Corduroy paints a picture of the adventures that might
unfold for a teddy bear at least) in such a situation. When all the shoppers have gone home for the
night, Corduroy climbs down form the shelf to look for his missing button. It’s a brave new world! He accidentally gets on an elevator that he
thinks must be a mountain and sees the furniture section that he thinks
must be a palace. He tries to pull a
button off the mattress, but he ends up falling off the bed and knocking over a
lamp. The night watchman hears the
crash, finds Corduroy, and puts him back on the shelf downstairs. The next morning, he finds that it’s his lucky
day! A little girl buys him with money
she saved in her piggy bank and takes him home to her room. Corduroy decides that this must be home
and that Lisa must be his friend.
QR Codes:
Another
great tool to use in the classrooms and in the libraries is Quick Response (QR)
codes. They work like a bar code, except
they are made of a configuration of blocks that are scanned with a mobile device,
such as smart phone or tablet that has a QR reader downloaded to it. QR codes instantly take you to the desired destination
without having to go through several links.
There are many ways to use QR codes in the library. The following are just a few examples of how
I would like to use them with my students.
YouTube
read aloud videos
eBooks
Presentation
of projects/displays
Scavenger
hunts
Short
educational videos
Book
Talks
Book
Trailers
Scan the following QR Code to watch the
Corduroy book trailer that I created using the QR Reader app on my iPhone.
Screencasts are a great
way to make videos and provide instruction or tutorials to students and
staff. I had a great time researching
different screen video recorders and finally decided to use Screencastify and Screencast-O-Matic. I do apologize ahead of time, for the length
of the videos. This was my first time
using these two tools and it took me a while to figure it out (not to mention,
I have poort reception at home). I do plan
to keep my videos short and sweet for the kiddos.
Screencastify is a screen
recorder for Chrome and it allows users to capture, edit, and share videos free
within seconds. You need to create an extension on Chrome in order to use the program. It has editing options
like, pen tools, focus spotlight (mouse), crop, and trim. These two last options are for premium
members only though. I do have to mention,
however, that I did not like that I had to keep pushing the record option every
time I switched web pages. It got very
annoying and I had to redo the video several times because of I would forget to
switch and click record after opening a new page. The free membership allows users to make 50 videos per month and the
videos can be up to 10 minute long. To
be honest, I think that as educators we don’t really need more than this. Ten-minute long videos are more than enough
to provide a quick instruction or review, and we probably won’t need to make
more than 50 videos a month. This is a free tool for teachers to use, as it works perfectly with Google Chrome
and can easily be shared with students using their Google Drive. Teachers can send videos of lessons through
Google Classroom or share the link on their drive, when they are absent and
still need to assign a project. If users
would like the paid features, the cost for Screencastify is $24 annually. Using Screencastify, I created a video tutorial
for my students to know how to access the library’s OPAC.
Screencast-O-Matic, is a
straightforward screen recorder that allows you to record what is happening in
your computer screen, so that you can provide instruction, how-to tutorials, or
directions. You are able to capture any
part of the screen, add narration using the computer’s microphone, add
captions, add music, and trim the videos.
The saving features, were simple yet provide the ability to save the
video for free to your computer, upload it to Screencast-O-Matic, or to YouTube
if you have the Deluxe account. It
allows videos to be shared to Facebook, Twitter, and Google Classroom. I really liked that it allows users to record
15-minute videos using the free account.
The website does not specify how many videos can be made during each
month, but it does mention the free account has 2GB bandwidth a month. Honestly, I do have to mention that if someone
wants the paid features, the monthly fees are very affordable. Deluxe members pay $1.50/month and Premier
members pay $4.00/month. This is also a
great resource for teachers to have, as it provides numerous opportunities for
them to create videos to use with the students or for students to use it for flipped
learning. Imagine the possibilities for students to create their own video and
share their learning with their classmates.
With Screencast-O-Matic, I created a video tutorial on how to access on
of our databases, MackinVIA.
It is important to choose
the right free screen recorder depending on what you intend to use it for. Different recorders offer a great range of
features and options, and there are a lot of choices out there, so selecting
the right one might need for you to do a little research. In my case, I chose Screencast-O-Matic
because of the ease and quick time it took to make videos. I created and saved a
couple of videos for my library in less than 10 minutes. That was awesome! I will definitely make more videos to show
students and teachers more ways to incorporate databases into their lessons.
