Reflection

Well, here we are at the end of LIBS602.  At the beginning of the course, I didn't really know what to expect, because this is the last one in my Library Science program rather than one of the first like it was for many others.  Many of these tools I had already learned about and used in different capacities.  In a way, it made it easier since I was already experienced, but it also made it difficult because I had to find new applications to using these products!  I think it challenged my thought-processes a little bit, especially since I have recently obtained a position as a library media specialist and am now thinking in terms of everything I want to incorporate strating this fall!  In other courses I still had a bit of the mentality of an English teacher and this helped me transition the thought process.  I have always loved technology and I really like the interactive quality of all of these tools we learned about and can't wait to help the students that come into my library experience them and help the teachers in my school use them in different ways.

Conference Presentation

This week we had to create a conference presentation as if we were to present at the VaASL conference this November!  I am actually hoping to present some of these tools, if not this presentation, with another colleague!  This was an eye-opening experience, as you think about things a little differently when you're compiling information for a presentation to other educators, that's for sure! I did create a narrative that went with this, to go along in greater detail, obviously.  But you can get the general idea about these tools, some feature and limitations, and uses in classroom/library settings.  Enjoy!

McMaster LIBS602 Conference Presentation from catmcmaster

Staying Current

In the creation of my own blog and website, I have found many other blogs and websites to visit/follow.  One of these is Buffy Hamilton's blog, The Unquiet Librarian (http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/).  She became a librarian after focusing on teaching English and integrating technology in her school, which is just what I did.  I think that preparation really allowed her to dive into her work as a teacher-librarian in a different way than others that were prepared differently.  I like the fact that she focuses on the modern library and how that might be different from traditional libraries that people are used to (hence, the unquiet).  She includes multiple presentations and resources for librarians and educators to use, and her posts include links, videos, pictures, and helpful quotes (among lots of other things) to assist in daily instruction and professional development.  I can't wait to use some of her dynamic ideas and shared resources in my library starting this fall!

AASL Best Websites

In the hopes of staying current in best practices, I perused the AASL Best Websites this week.  I was happy to find many of the sites that I have come to know and use often on there, but I wanted to look through three sites that I was unfamiliar with.

The first website I found interesting was listed in the Media Sharing section – Haiku Deck (https://www.haikudeck.com/).  Using technology to present material has become commonplace in 21^st century learning and giving students fun and easy ways to present can make learning more interesting for them.  I liked that there was not only a website but an app for Ipad.  It was easy to learn about using the videos and examples that were posted on the site.  Once I entered my e-mail to get started, every option that I could use was clearly labeled with tags and arrows to point me in the right direction!  I think this would be a very useful site/app for students to use as an alternative to PowerPoint.  There are multiple themes to choose from that will easily allow students to make their presentations unique and interactive.  In the library, students could create presentations about books or authors to share with other students.

The second website that intrigued me was Kaizena (https://kaizena.com/), in the Manage & Organize section of the AASL Best Websites.  The description spoke of embedding comments on student work and providing feedback via Google Drive.  This fascinated me since I will be working in a Google Apps school this fall and thought it would be a good website to look into for assisting teachers in its use.  I thought this would be very useful for students to use to get critique on assignments no matter where they are.  I like that the mission of Kaizena was “to enable real time, continuous improvement of education.”  I thought the idea of education technology really aligned with what we strive for in library science – to prepare our students for the 21^st century workplace.  As for a use in the library, students could submit their assignments on Google Drive and the librarian could assess for use of information technology skills while the teacher assessed for content learning.

The third and final website that I found useful was Storify (https://storify.com/), which was a Social Networking & Communications tool.  With Storify, like the name implies, users can create a story but they use information from the web to create it!  Students can select material from social media posts, weblinks, articles, and more.  I thought this would be really useful for current events and having students view reports and make their own.  For the library, I thought it would be very interesting to have students create their own perspectives and reactions to different books, especially book to movie adaptations, and use media to help tell that story.  It’s almost like creating fan fiction, using things created by others!  I thought it was a fascinating concept and I think students will really get a kick out of this.  Making learning fun is key!

QR Codes

In light of recent events, I created a QR code to visit Walter Dean Myers' website.  I think QR codes would be really useful ways to link our connected students to specific webpages and important information.  I thought it was interesting that QR Code-Monkey allowed you to change the colors of the QR code (usually I only see them in black & white!) and that you could even add a picture!

I've been familiar with QR codes for a few years now.  We actually used them on the tables at our wedding so that our guests could upload their pictures to our online photo album!  It was a lot easier than buying those individual single use cameras and getting them developed.  There are lots of positives to using QR codes, because of their connectivity.  I actually didn't know there were voice codes until I looked through these materials!  I also created a voice QR with QR Voice and posted that below.

There are many available apps to read QR codes, but one negative about them is that you need to have decent internet service to make them work.  A lot of times you will get an error otherwise.  I tried a few that were online and thought it was great to see all of the ideas for the library!  I think it would be really fun to use QR codes as a sort of scavenger hunt during student orientation to the library and will look into using these in the fall!

Website      Voice

Video Tools

This week we exlored different video tools.  I ended up playing around with all of the tools in the "toolbox" but wanted to expand on Animoto, Wideo, and Pixiclip.  I didn't want to spend too much time on the applications because not all schools have access to devices for applications and I wanted something more universally accessible!

Animoto (http://animoto.com/) is a tool I actually played around with in one of the first library courses I took.  I decided to give it another go, because I couldn't really remember much about it, other than I know I made a video.  I found it to be very user friendly and didn't take me as long as I remember the first one did some time ago!  I like that you are able to use both pictures and video and that the program takes a lot of the guesswork out of arrangement.  There are lots of different themes and songs available for use, plus you can upload your own, which makes the possibilities endless and unique!  I decided to make a video chronicaling my weight loss journey (in 30 seconds, which is difficult), since it's something I've been focusing on greatly in the last four months.  I have attached it below.  In a library setting, I think this will be very useful for book trailers to get kids reading the literature we bring in, and to use in library orientation to make learning procedures and processes in a more entertaining way!

Another tool I looked at was Wideo (http://wideo.co/).  This one drew my attention because of the cute, little animated characters.  I didn't like that you had to sign up to even play with the program, but nonetheless it had a lot of interesting templates to use and useful tutorials on how to get started.  I think Wideo would be a great tool for students to introduce different topics and features to other students.  It can also be used to make presentations for character studies in a book club or class.

Finally, the last tool I really liked was PixiClip (http://www.pixiclip.com/beta/).  I think interactive whiteboards are a really good way to get students to interact with each other and other students, and PixiClip was able to combine doodling along with recordings and video.  I thought this would really increase the variety of ideas that could be completed with this website.  I have a touch-screen computer, so writing was a lot easier (until I had to dot my i's haha).  I'm sure it would be a great application to use on a touch-screen device in technology-rich schools.

Library Sites

I was really excited for this week's "homework!"  I have had multiple websites over the years and am eagerly awaiting creating my own!  I am starting as a librarian this fall and I know the other librarian I will be working with has already started ours, but I'm sure I'll have lots of things to add after looking through others' sites!  I decided to perform a Google search for "school library weebly sites middle school" since I wanted to see how middle school librarians, specifically, set up their sites, since that's where I'll be!  I am sticking with Weebly since it seems very user friendly and I loved how customizable it seemed to be, looking at ones others had created.  Many of the ones I browsed had features I thought were great to include and pleasing to the eye, but two stood out for multiple reasons.

1.  Wellesley Middle School Library (http://wmslib1.weebly.com/) had a great site set up for teachers, students, parents, and community members.  There were multiple tabs along the top that dropped down when you hovered over them to preview what they contained.  The colors weren't distracting and the information stood out with the use of headings, subheadings, colorful images, and columned sections that weren't overdone.  It was very organized and easy to find what you were looking for by just moving your mouse around.  It really helped me to see how easily accessible all of the linked sites were.

2.  Nevada Middle School Library (http://nevadamslibrary.weebly.com/) really stood out to me at first, because of its organization using columns.  It reminded me of our slidedoc/infographic assignment, because it had a lot of the same features - three columns, selective colors and fonts, and simple images that didn't distract from the text.  I liked that this website had the drop-down menus like the first one I mentioned, though it was less developed.

Through looking at others' sites, I found lots of interesting ways to organize information and some of the things I'd love to include in my own site!  It was helpful not only looking at the sites made via Weebly, but I got some ideas of programs and features I could have displayed on our own library page!  Can't wait to try my own!  But obviously, again something I noticed on others' sites, it will always be a work in progress!

Podcasts

I decided to visit Google Educast, part of the EdReach Network, because the school I am joining as a librarian this fall has partnered with Google Apps.  I wanted to see if there were some podcasts that regarded using the Apps in the classroom and good ways to learn about what was available!  

I watched/listened to the podcast "Teach Ideas, Not Apps" - http://edreach.us/2012/04/13/google-educast-043-teach-ideas-not-apps/.  They had the YouTube link with the video of them doing the podcast on the same page.

I liked that this episode included a list of some Google Apps for Education resources to help in classroom use.  Though it will take some time to learn about using Google Docs, Google Plus, Google Hangouts, and even Project Glass, I think this network will really help me to obtain the knowledge I need to acclimate myself over to using Google products educationally.  

Citation: 

Delventhal, Fred.  (2012, April 13).  Teach Ideas, Not Apps [Audio podcast].  Retrieved from 

http://edreach.us.

Audio Tools

While exploring the different audio tools this week, my wheels were definitely turning for uses in the library. Today was my last day as a classroom teacher (bittersweet!) and I have to transition myself to thinking differently!

 I couldn't get Vocaroo to load my microphone for some reason, but I really liked the simplicity of it. It was ready to record right when you visited the site. Students wouldn't need as much instruction for that since it's pretty straight-forward.

AudioPal is what I tried next and I really liked all of the options. You could record your message using your microphone, calling in, or using the text-to-speech technology. I liked that you could even upload mp3's as well and it was very easy to embed it on this blog. Free is always good, too! ^_^

Voki I learned about awhile ago and I think it is so neat to be able to use avatars to do the talking for you! It really helps those students especially that don't like public speaking. It's an interesting and creative way to present information and is very interactive. I like that there are so many choices for avatars but I do find it a little creepy that the avatar follows your every move haha. This one had the most customization available, which could be good or bad depending on time allotment. Kids might take more time creating the avatar for the product they have to create than on the product itself.

 In regards to the other audio tools, I really like VoiceThread. I was actually just introduced to this recently in my Foundations class for my Masters in Library Science. We use it in our research discussions and for the professor(s) to give their lectures and get our comments. I like that you can type your response, as well as call in or record a message, and even add doodles as you comment. It's a very interactive tool that gets everyone talking and keeps discourse going. In a library setting, I think it would be interesting to use that for a library orientation activity!

Finally, I've listened to Pandora for years, but didn't really think about educational value until just recently! One of the project options I gave my students for their final novel project was to come up with a playlist for the important events and characters in a book they were reading. Many authors publish their own "soundtracks" for novels, including Stephenie Meyer when she was writing the Twilight series. I think it would be a great idea for a book club to share their ideas and maybe play the playlist during the next meeting or library lesson.

AudioPal!

My first experience making an infographic!

Though I have been studying library science since last spring, when I was offered a position for this fall I had to do some soul searching to decide if I was completely ready for this change so soon.  In light of this, I decided to make an infographic comparing school librarians to middle school teachers.

I chose Piktochart and decided on a premade template to help with the process.  I found it difficult to find a color scheme that worked since I couldn't figure out how to change the color of the banner.  Finding the way to change the icons for the charts was simpler than I expected and I liked how many options I could change for free.  I could definitely see the benefit of going "pro" since it offered a lot more.

Something else I found difficult was the information I was going to include.  I have a personal list of pros and cons for my specific jobs that I was comparing, but I wanted something legitimate to include as data.  I visited the Occupational Outlook Handbook and used the information that was listed there in various ways.  When using these with students I will have to make sure to remind them to cite any information they get from outside sources, including pictures beyond what the program offers.

All in all, I really enjoyed the experience!  I love infographics and have seen them a lot in use in our Scholastic textbooks that we adopted two years ago.  They are very colorful, normally organized ways to present information to our students and I think they enjoy them just as much.  I look forward to playing around with this tool and using it in whatever capacity necessary!

Image Editing Tools

I created this name badge using BigHugeLabs!

I really liked all of the tools we had to peruse this week.  All of them had great options for the library setting, as well as across curriculum.  I liked Big Huge Labs for this name badge, because I thought it would be a really creative way for the students to introduce themselves to one another and point out one thing they were passionate about or willing to share with others in the classroom.  Library specific: They could be printed on labels and worn during library orientation, or stuck to posterboard in the library entrance to allow students to learn about others they may not know!  ImageChef had a word mosaic maker, which brought my thoughts right to concrete poetry.  English teachers could use it to have students recreate poetry they enjoy or create their own!  Library specific: I thought it would be useful to use that during poetry month and encouraging creativity in students!  Finally, I thought FoldPlay would be useful in creating a booklet that had pictures of different elements of a novel that students have read for Language Arts or History classes.  They could dedicate pages to characters, setting, conflict, important events, and theme.  They could use pictures to depict those elements and share them with others to promote reading that book.  For any course, it could be used to introduce a prominent figure in a flipped classroom.  Library specific: I thought it could be very useful for librarians to use student recommendations for others in reading, or and maybe share during read-aloud of that book.

Wordle

I love Wordle!  This school year I had my students create them to introduce themselves to the rest of the class/team!  They used adjectives to describe themselves and other words of things they showed interest in. They can be used for so many things in education - including the library! I have attached an image of one I created with words to describe me and my interests.