As the semester comes to an end, I can't help but wonder "Where does the time go!?" I had such an amazing experience with Dr. Karin Perry's LSSL 5391 Internet for School Librarians class. I loved how each week we explored different technology to be integrated in both the library and the classroom. With such an overwhelming list of choices to use, the list from Dr. Perry was a great guideline to valuable technology sources that have been tested and used. Each week I would share my new learning experiences with my colleagues and my students. I now have the title "techy guru"! Too funny! I still have a lot to learn, but I feel that with this class, I have narrowed my choices and look forward to integrating the technology into my classroom and librarian lessons.
My overall experience with this class was very positive and supportive. All the lessons are presented in a clear and concise manner. If I had any questions, I emailed my professor Dr. Perry. Her response time was fast and informative.
My favorite lessons with technology include: using the LINOIT website and app to create virtual cork boards, Facebook and Twitter are a great way to reach out to the community to promote the library and projects. I really enjoyed creating my first Infographic. Another definite favorite was creating QR codes.
One of the difficult assignment I encountered as creating a screencast. I used Screen cast o matic without problems but, screenr gave me a headache! I did learn how to create a screencast and it will be useful in future flipped classroom lessons.
The technology I feel is most useful for my students is QR codes. QR codes are very beneficial for the students because they can use their smartphone or device to snap a picture of the QR code and obtain all the information. QR codes can include study notes, spelling words, book recommendations and school information. Wordle, Instagram and Vine are also fun and friendly apps to use and student will be engaged in their lessons.
I'm so excited to continue my journey as a graduate student in the Sam Houston State University Master of Library Science department. I'm looking forward to applying gained knowledge in my future endeavors as a teacher and future librarian.
A big Thanks goes out to my professor, Dr. Karin Perry for making this class fun, informative and very useful.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
The Changing World of Librarians by Lee Rainie
Rainie, L. (2013, April 24). The Changing World of Librarians. Pew Research Internet Project. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.pewresearch.org
With today's ever changing, fast paced, informational world, the role of the librarians is changing. However, according to the following study, people value and like their librarians and libraries. They find them valuable to their communities. The following information is about how the role of the librarians is changing.
With the digital revolution, collections moved from atoms to bits, more volume, velocity and variety of information is available and there is more self starter searches.
The mobile revolution causes real-time, just-in-time searches and availability change process of acquiring and using information.
The social networking revolution caused the composition and character of people's social networks to become important channels of learning, trust and influence.
So what does this mean for our libraries? The role is becoming more technological and informative responsible. People like their librarians and state they are given guidance and support at their libraries. People take pride in their community libraries.
25 pages
With today's ever changing, fast paced, informational world, the role of the librarians is changing. However, according to the following study, people value and like their librarians and libraries. They find them valuable to their communities. The following information is about how the role of the librarians is changing.
With the digital revolution, collections moved from atoms to bits, more volume, velocity and variety of information is available and there is more self starter searches.
The mobile revolution causes real-time, just-in-time searches and availability change process of acquiring and using information.
The social networking revolution caused the composition and character of people's social networks to become important channels of learning, trust and influence.
So what does this mean for our libraries? The role is becoming more technological and informative responsible. People like their librarians and state they are given guidance and support at their libraries. People take pride in their community libraries.
25 pages
10 Things To Know About How Teens Use Technology
Purcell, K. (2013, July 10). 10 Things To Know About How Teens Use Technology. Pew Research Internet Project. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.pewresearch.org
If you have a teen at home, you're probably wondering how much technology they use, how it affects them social and educationally and if your teen is responsible online. Well, teens and technology seem to go hand in hand now a days, the following 10 facts about teens and technology is very interesting.
1. Teens 12-17, social network site growth has slowed (particularly Facebook), but Twitter use is growing.
2. Teens are sharing more personal information online.
3. Teens do care about online privacy.
4. Today's teens take active steps to manage their online reputations.
5. Parents of teens are very aware that online content can impact their teen's lives.
6. Most teen's educational environments include the use of at least some digital technologies.
7. The Internet has altered how teens do research.
8. Digital tools can benefit teen's writing skills and abilities, according to teachers.
9. Teachers are divided as to whether "digital natives" are all that unique.
10. A digital divide persists in the area of education and technology.
46 pages
If you have a teen at home, you're probably wondering how much technology they use, how it affects them social and educationally and if your teen is responsible online. Well, teens and technology seem to go hand in hand now a days, the following 10 facts about teens and technology is very interesting.
1. Teens 12-17, social network site growth has slowed (particularly Facebook), but Twitter use is growing.
2. Teens are sharing more personal information online.
3. Teens do care about online privacy.
4. Today's teens take active steps to manage their online reputations.
5. Parents of teens are very aware that online content can impact their teen's lives.
6. Most teen's educational environments include the use of at least some digital technologies.
7. The Internet has altered how teens do research.
8. Digital tools can benefit teen's writing skills and abilities, according to teachers.
9. Teachers are divided as to whether "digital natives" are all that unique.
10. A digital divide persists in the area of education and technology.
46 pages
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Instagram and Vine Videos
Instagram and Vine videos are a great resource to use in the classroom and library settings. The possibilities are endless. Both Instagram and Vine are popular social media sites and can be valuable teaching tools. The students can explore a variety of ways to use both in their academic settings. I'm a huge Instagram fan and now I really enjoy Vine too.
My Vine Videos:
The videos were fun to make, easy to upload and a breeze to share on various social media sites.
Instagram
Instagram will not let you post any writing onto the pictures so I downloaded the app Overgram and used it to create the writing for the pictures. It's a fun app to help add personalization to the Instagram pictures.
Overall I see many educational and inspiring opportunities where my students can use both Instagram and Vine videos to create projects. Book pictures, quotes, quick favorite book parts can all be shared with the class through the use of both Instagram and Vine videos. I can't wait to explore more options where I can use these wonderful social media apps with my students.
My Vine Videos:
The videos were fun to make, easy to upload and a breeze to share on various social media sites.
Instagram will not let you post any writing onto the pictures so I downloaded the app Overgram and used it to create the writing for the pictures. It's a fun app to help add personalization to the Instagram pictures.
Overall I see many educational and inspiring opportunities where my students can use both Instagram and Vine videos to create projects. Book pictures, quotes, quick favorite book parts can all be shared with the class through the use of both Instagram and Vine videos. I can't wait to explore more options where I can use these wonderful social media apps with my students.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Information Curation
| "Curation is the act of individuals with a passion for a content area to find, contextualize, and organize information. Curators provide a consistent update regarding what's interesting, happening, and cool in their focus. Curators tend to have a unique and consistent point of view--providing a reliable context for the content that they discover and organize." Steven Rosenbaum |
Information curation is a great way to focus on your interests, find reliable sources, and share them with your fellow colleagues, friends and family. This act of sorting out information is not new, librarians have been curating information for years, but the information curation via social media sites is the trending idea now. The following sources are great ways to start your own information curation. As with any new techy source, it's up to you and how you want to use the sites to your advantage.
Scoop It
Scoop it is great for beginning curators (like myself) to start curating information they want to share. I chose topics from the education, science, and technology sections. Then my topics appear in the page I created. It was very user friendly and visually appealing to use. I can't wait to further explore this site.
Paper li
https://paper.li
Paper.li is another source available for use for information curation. The site is very visually appealing and provides an explanation for its purpose. I created a free account but found I was having trouble getting my information together. I plan to further explore this site and become more familiar with it.
Prismatic
http://getprismatic.com/home
Prismatic is a great information curation source to use to get started. I love the layout, very visually appealing and user friendly. You can get started by signing up for a free account, you can use your email, twitter or Facebook account. Then it prompts you to pick 10 topics. Topics to follow include many, so your free to choose your interests. Of course, I chose education, technology, science, etc. to follow. Then I was quickly given topics on my homepage to read about. I really enjoyed setting up my Prismatic account and look forward to utilizing it for education and personal growth.
Apps available for information curation
Apps available for download on the iPad for information curation include Flipboard, Zite and Google Currents. All are available for free.
I started with Flipboard first and I immediately loved it! I linked my twitter and Facebook accounts and set up topics to follow. I was hooked! I started sharing information and reading all about the different topics I chose. I will definitely continue to Flip.
Zite is somewhat familiar with Flipboard but not as visually appealing. I had a harder time navigating through the different options.
Google Currents was not very interesting to me. It was not very visually appealing and I couldn't navigate through the topics are well.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the sites available for information curation. My favorite is definitely Flipboard. I really enjoyed the user friendliness, visually appealing and informative set up. It was easy to share within my social media sites. Plus, I love the idea that's it's on my iPad mini.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Screencast
Screencasts are a great way to flip your classroom or library. As teachers/librarians, we are constantly striving to compete with technology for our students' attention. Why not use technology to our advantage...hence, the screencast. It's an effective tool to be utilized in the classrooms. The possibilities for its use are limited to the creativity of the educator. I tried several sites and created my own screencasts for my students.
Screencast-o-matic
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com
Click on the link below to view my screencast.
Screen-o-matic is very user friendly. The features are very easily mastered and anyone can learn quickly. I created a screencast on how to create a ToonDoo. I want to upload the video to my website so my students can access it as needed. Overall, I eased into the creating of the screencast with Screencast-o-matic.
Screenr
http://www.screenr.com
Sceenr is another great source to use when creating your own screencast. I watched the tutorial and it seemed very user friendly. However, I tried to use it on my mac and it would not show an audio option. After many tries, I felt very frustrated about the whole thing. Hopefully I will resolve the issue and be able to try it out.
Many apps are also available for the iPad. One app I downloaded for my use is the Explain a Website. It is very user friendly and visually appealing. I had fun creating my first EAW.
Overall, I feed screencast-o-matic was the easiest to use because I downloaded the app to my mac computer at home. With Screenr, I couldn't get the sound turned on and was very frustrating. It might be easier for pc users but until I figure out how to properly install the sound, I will be using screencast-o-matic. I can't wait to explore it further and upload tutorials to help my students.
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Screencast-o-matic
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com
Click on the link below to view my screencast.
Screen-o-matic is very user friendly. The features are very easily mastered and anyone can learn quickly. I created a screencast on how to create a ToonDoo. I want to upload the video to my website so my students can access it as needed. Overall, I eased into the creating of the screencast with Screencast-o-matic.
Screenr
http://www.screenr.com
Sceenr is another great source to use when creating your own screencast. I watched the tutorial and it seemed very user friendly. However, I tried to use it on my mac and it would not show an audio option. After many tries, I felt very frustrated about the whole thing. Hopefully I will resolve the issue and be able to try it out.
Many apps are also available for the iPad. One app I downloaded for my use is the Explain a Website. It is very user friendly and visually appealing. I had fun creating my first EAW.
Overall, I feed screencast-o-matic was the easiest to use because I downloaded the app to my mac computer at home. With Screenr, I couldn't get the sound turned on and was very frustrating. It might be easier for pc users but until I figure out how to properly install the sound, I will be using screencast-o-matic. I can't wait to explore it further and upload tutorials to help my students.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Playing with Words
Words, words, words. Words can be fun, playful, educational, inspiring, life-changing and the key to open knew opportunities. Letting our students use different sites to create word clouds can be very beneficial. As educators we must model the use of different sites to help our students credit word clouds. The following are different sites are tried out and enjoyed exploring.
Wordle
http://www.wordle.net
This is a great site for students to use with their reading assignments. The site is free, no account is needed and is very visually appealing. The choices to create word clouds are many and its ease of use will motivate all students to create their own word clouds.
ReciteThis
http://recitethis.com
Quipio and ReciteThis are great sites to use for quotes, thoughts, and ideas. Quipio is available on the app store as a free download. The app is user friendly, visually appealing and fun. ReciteThis is a web page where you can create you own quotes. Both offer an opportunity to share your creations. This is a great tool to use for book discussion, favorite quotes and poetry lesson.
Overall all the sites and apps offered great resources for both educators and students. They are all easy to use and can offer a multitude of creative possibilities. I really enjoyed Wordle and Tagxedo and I plan to use these sites to help introduce themes for my students.
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Wordle
http://www.wordle.net
This is a great site for students to use with their reading assignments. The site is free, no account is needed and is very visually appealing. The choices to create word clouds are many and its ease of use will motivate all students to create their own word clouds.
"Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends."
Tagxedo
Tagxedo is another source for educators and students to explore and use to create word clouds for reflection, discussions, and presentations. This site is visually busy and but can be easily mastered with practice. The great thing about Tagxedo is the ability to shape the word clouds into uploaded images or preset images. The possibilities are endless.
Tagul
Tagul is another choice for creating word clouds. This site requires registration. You can create a free account to begin to access the features. Overall it is a good source for students to explore and create their own word clouds. This site offers tutorials to help the user develop more creative projects.
Quipio
A free app available for download from the App store.
ReciteThis
http://recitethis.com
Quipio and ReciteThis are great sites to use for quotes, thoughts, and ideas. Quipio is available on the app store as a free download. The app is user friendly, visually appealing and fun. ReciteThis is a web page where you can create you own quotes. Both offer an opportunity to share your creations. This is a great tool to use for book discussion, favorite quotes and poetry lesson.
Overall all the sites and apps offered great resources for both educators and students. They are all easy to use and can offer a multitude of creative possibilities. I really enjoyed Wordle and Tagxedo and I plan to use these sites to help introduce themes for my students.
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