Videos & Q.R. Codes in the Library

Q.R codes? They are the funny looking squares with different designs on them. In order for you to know what information is behind the code, you have to download a Q.R. code reader to your smart phone or device. People use them all over the world in business, marketing, and advertising. Once scanned, they may lead you to a picture or a video.  Of course, they have trickled into education!

Librarians are also using Q.R. codes! After reading Library Girl’s blog, I learned that Q.R. codes can make visiting the library a lot more techie and interactive! In her blog, she describes ways librarians can use Q.R. codes. She used them to allow children to access book reviews and book trailers that can help students make a more educated decision when selecting the next book they read instead of just looking at the front cover of the book in front of them! One of her good friends, made it easier for parents to access the library’s Facebook page, Twitter account, or any important information. Let’s face it! Some parents don’t have a lot of time on their hands, so this is a great way to keep them in the loop! So, if Q.R. codes are present in other’s libraries, why can’t they be part of mine, too?

It’s barely the weekend, and I cannot wait for Monday to get here! Why? Well, I have some ideas on how to use Q.R. codes, but I want to be able to stand in the middle of the library, observe the children and their habits, and come up with even more amazing ideas! But for now, I plan on using them to help me promote newer titles. I’ve worked so hard to buy new books to get them to the children’s hands. But, I’ve noticed that if the author doesn’t sound familiar, they are not likely to grab the book! And, there I am sitting behind the desk (in pain) watching them place the book back. Then, I run over there and tell them how great the book is. Finally, they decide to check it out! Well, with Q.R. codes, I can avoid the suffering. I am planning on sticking a Q.R. code and linking it to a book trailer. That way, they know what the book is about, so they can give the book a try. Besides, book trailers will do a better job than me!

Also, I do not know why, but at my school, a new student arrives every other week. Ten leave; fifteen come in. Five leave, ten come in. All in a 6 weeks! I don’t want to sound lazy, but those children do not experience the whole library tour and orientation. I am soooooo going to use a Q.R. code, so new students can scan and have an idea of what my library is all about. No, I am not lazy. I am efficient! J

Videos are a great way to communicate with your students. I saw several examples in which very talented students made very entertaining videos that informed others about turning books in on time and also reminded them of taking good care of books.

Tiger Visits the Norman High Library by Calypso Gilstrap is definitely one of my favorite videos. Even though it was filmed in a secondary setting, I feel that my little Pre-K students would love this video. They are the ones that may be lost or confused when they come to the library because they are brand new to the whole "school" idea. Tiger is a fun way to teach the students all they can do at their library. I loved how he tipped toed and walked in a quietly manner towards the Nooks. That is one thing we need to teach them, to walk and not run. This is probably a video I will use next school year and make it part of orientation. Fifth Harmony Overdue Library Book Parody by bbmsmedia is also another video I enjoyed. To begin with, the tune is pretty catchy! I hope that students sing that tune as soon as they finish reading their books. One thing I have noticed is that students forget to return their books and come to the library expecting to check out more! And if it helps, I am willing to replay and replay this video on our library's monitor!

YouTube is definitely a great tool! It can help you promote your library, events, and even new books. I created a book trailer for The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton. 

Here is a summary of the book provided to you by Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23604390-the-princess-and-the-pony

“Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year. A BIG horse. A STRONG horse. A horse fit for a WARRIOR PRINCESS! But when the day arrives, she doesn't quite get the horse of her dreams...

From the artist behind the comic phenomenon Hark! A Vagrant, The Princess and the Pony is a laugh-out-loud story of brave warriors, big surprises, and falling in love with one unforgettable little pony.”

I fell in love with the plot, and it quickly became part of my faves! I used Animoto to create my very own book trailer. It doesn’t look very professional, but for being my first book trailer, I think it was pretty good. Since I was very proud of it, I also created a Q.R. code, so everyone can have access to my book trailer. Once you scan the Q.R. code, you will be redirected to YouTube. Just play the trailer and enjoy! Trust me! It is an awesome book! Instead of me giving you all the details, I invite you to scan it and prepare to be amazed! Not at my talent but at Beaton’s!

Sources:

Girl, L. (2012, January 5). The 10 Best Feed Reader Apps for RSS, News, and More [Web log post]. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://www.librarygirl.net/2012/01/from-tech-trend-to-teaching-tool-taking.html

Tiger Visits the Norma High Library [Video file]. (2015, May 4). Retrieved October 29, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeUhXLvFAi4

Fifth Harmony Overdue Books [Video file]. (2016, June 13). Retrieved October 29, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIpc4Hnj_HU

Illustration of a sword [Illustration of a sword with a transparent background]. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/15567

Make great videos. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from https://animoto.com/

Pink googley-eye bird [A funny-looking pink cartoon bird with big eyes.]. (2013, November 9). Retrieved October 30, 2016, from https://openclipart.org/detail/183310/pink-googleyeye-bird

Hearts in a Heart [Multiple hearts in a bigger heart.]. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2016, from https://www.goodfreephotos.com/vector-images/heart-in-heart-vector-files.png.php

Kate Beaton. In Flickr. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/5of7/5881972829 (Originally photographed 2011, June 19)

Finger Face with a Question Mark. In Flickr. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/86979666@N00/7623744452 (Originally photographed 2012, July 22) 

Instagram, Vine, and Screencast-o-matic

There are many ways to engage our students! Do they like to use a pencil and paper, use their talents, and create something amazing? I am sure they do! But, there are many tools out there that can spark their creativity and catapult them into the spectacular world of technology.

I'll be honest! I am totally old school, and I fear technology. I love being in a safe place where learning and messing up is not required. But I overcame my fears (some, not all) and gave Instagram, Vine, Screencast-o-matic, and Adobe Spark a try. You may ask, "Wh-wh-what are those?  Don't panic!

Instagram and Vine are social networking services that allow you to upload or share your videos and pictures. They are great tools to share what you are up to with your friends, but you can actually use it as an educational tool as well. The only tricky thing about Vine is that your video can only be 6 seconds or less! Screencast-o-matic is a screen recorder that allows you to teach others anything you want to teach on your computer screen. The possibilities are endless! And, Adobe Spark allows to create videos by adding your voice, pictures, change its themes, and add music! Viola! You got yourself an awesome writing prompt if you are a writing teacher. No more boring single illustrations that children need to create an essay from. Can you imagine? Your students are going to be extremely excited! I know I am!

Just last week, our book fair arrived. And, it is a great opportunity to fundraise. Scholastic brings a large amount of books to your campus, and all you have to do is sell. And sell! And sell! If you reach your goal of $2,500, you get $500 in cash. After many budget cuts, I thought it would be great to use that money for new books! Instagram is a great way to get the word out there and let the community know that the book fair has arrived, and that they can come support their library.  I also like the idea to share with kids a little activity I came up with. I plan on using Instagram to show a cover of a book, cover the title, and ask the kids to come up with a new title and story using the front cover of the book. I am going to have fun with that one! I cannot wait to see what the children come up with.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL7OxT7jsmmC-2nuORJ03WTJ2BQOkKrUwK4MGw0/?taken-by=rosalia.rohr

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL7Ms3CDzjooARC17piH9058D1UEU8MlOjRt180/?taken-by=rosalia.rohr

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL8zoPwjOPkwlbPbH5l_sgw4BmGoxoUPjzSViQ0/?taken-by=rosalia.rohr

Vine is a fun tool as well. It is affiliated with Twitter. Thanks to Vine, you can upload videos on Twitter. But, if you are a Facebook lover, you can upload your Vine videos on there as well. You can upload it on Pinterest too.

I love reading to my students the latest books (when possible). On Fridays, I always tell them what book I will be reading to them the following week. But, it may get kind of boring. I show them the cover, read to them the title, and say, "Next week we will read this book!" Well, Vine can help me do that in a more entertaining and efficient way. Take a look at my Vine video, but please do not make fun of my funny "commercial" voice!

https://vine.co/v/5dzgM9wpl7W

Screencast-o-matic has literally saved my life. Okay! I am being dramatic, but it did save my voice. When I have to teach students how to do something, I repeat it about twenty times. With Screencast-o-matic, I say it once and show the video to all my classes!

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cD6Z2KjEcp

Video Spark is probably one of my favorite tools. When I first clicked on the webpage,  I was clueless! But after playing around with it, I realized I could easily use it in the library. I love writing, and I am passionate about writing with my students. Well, this is a great tool to use in writing class. Students can create their own stories and then add more details on paper. I am also planning on starting a story and having the kids choose their own ending. Check out my sad, sad story. It almost made me cry!

https://spark.adobe.com/video/pngB02JvECVZz

All these tools are great! But they have unique features. You basically have to decide what you want to do or want to teach to the students. Once you have made your decision, it is your job to decide which tools is best for your task. Knowing what you can do in Instagram, Vine, Screencast-o-matic or Video Spark is a good way to start. Once you have brainstormed ideas, you may then move on to the next step and ask yourself, "Which tool should I use for this?"

Sources Used:

Instagram. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from https://www.instagram.com/

Vine. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from https://twitter.com/vine

Screencast-O-Matic. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from http://screencast-o-matic.com/

Adobe Spark Videos, images and stories made in minutes. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from https://spark.adobe.com/ 

Infographics/Easel.ly

Infographics

I remember my first year teaching and being introduced to Dina Zike's foldables (http://www.dinah.com/index.php) at a G.T. conference. She provided graphic organizers that children could create with simple tools: a paper, pencil, scissors, a glue stick, and markers (to make it more interesting and colorful). These would help children organize information in a way that made for sense for them and then glue them to a journal to keep all their work in one place. Dina Zike is definitely a genius! I couldn't wait to go back to the classroom and implement all I had learned. Fast forward ten years later! Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! Today, I am introduced to foldables on steroids: INFOGRAPHICS. Infographics remind me of those foldables but allow children to use the technology that surrounds their everyday lives. They are visual representations of information that tells a story of what they have learned. It allows students to use graphics and lots of color to share with others data that may be confusing if just explained with words. There a different sites that allows children to create these for free. I will be discussing three: Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogr.am. My favorite one is (drum roll).....Easel.ly! Why? It is simple and great for beginners! My students would start with Easel.ly and then let them experiment with the others once they are comfortable with infographics.

Easel.ly

Easel.ly provides you with different templates that can be easily modified to your needs. You can experiment with it and have lots of fun posting objects, changing the template's color, adding images from your files, and even adding a header to type all your teacher requires of you to let her know it is your work. It is pretty simple to use, but don't panic if you are a little confused. What I loved about Easel.ly is that if you get stuck they share with you resources to help you move forward such as Tips on Creating Infographics (on the bottom, right corner) and a live chat. If you feel you are an expert, go ahead and get the Go Pro membership for only $3.00 a month and have a lot more access!

Piktochart

Creating an account on Piktochart was easy since I logged in with my already existent Google account. It does give you the option of logging in with Facebook, but I simply chose Google. As soon as I created an account, it welcomed me with a pop up message that provided an e-book and in their own words, "to help me create beautiful content." Piktochart gives you the option to create different items: infographics, reports, banners, or presentations. It offers free and paid templates with a variety of themes and allows you to add charts, maps, videos, and other neat stuff. When you are done creating your masterpiece, you can share it via e-mail or on social media.

Infogr.am

Creating an account for Infogr.am was also very simple. If you get overwhelmed with a very busy site or with a colorful background, Infogr.am may be perfect for you. As soon as you create an account, you see a dark background with only a few items to choose from. You can create an infographic or report, a chart or graph, or a map. When creating an infographic, you won't be bombarded with an overoald of choices since you have 10 to 11 themes to choose from. If you want more choices, I suggest you upgrade and have access to ProThemes. Infogr.am allows you to include charts, pictures and videos from YouTube. And if you can't wait to show your friends your creation, you can certainly share it on social media.   

Sources:

Rainie, L. (2013). Parents, Children, Libraries, and Reading. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/01/parents-children-libraries-and-reading/

Create and share visual ideas online Easel.ly. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from https://www.easel.ly/

Create Easy Infographics, Reports, Presentations Piktochart. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from https://piktochart.com/

Create online charts & infographics infogr.am. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from https://infogr.am/

Feedly

Organization! That is probably one of my favorite words! I love to be organized, and if you are part of my everyday life, you would see that chaos and I do not get a long! Everything has to be in order. Come to my home and you will see labels in the kitchen and my clothes organized by color and style. By the way, I do need more clothes! But, that is another story!

When I was first introduced to Symbaloo, a free social bookmarking service, it was "love at first click!" I could not believe that I no longer had to be like a chicken without a head trying to remember the website I had used the previous day for an online timer that my students loved! Geez! I wasted precious time clicking here, there, and everywhere! Now, thanks to Symbaloo, I have all my favorite websites in one area making me the most efficient librarian in my school! Oh, wait! I am the only librarian in my school!

So, when I learned that you can organize blogs, I was totally in love again!  I was not aware that there are feed readers that allow you to access your favorite blogs. Where have I been? (Eating donuts, probably!)

I dropped the donuts and decided to have my own feed reader! (Not Just any kind of donuts. I am talking about the powdered, cream filled ones.) I was not too sure which one to choose, but I did feel more comfortable choosing one that many, many people already have. According to Vicky Cassidy, author of The 10 Best Feed Reader Apps for RSS, News, and More, Feedly is among the most popular feed readers. It's not that I am a "follower," but it is probably pretty good if a large group of people use it already.  Cassidy used words such as clean, simple, and casual to describe Feedly. So, it has "Rosalia Rohr" written all over!

Creating a free account was very easy.  We all love free. (I wish donuts were free!) I went to feedly.com and it asked me if I wanted to create an account using Facebook or Google. I chose Google, and in less than 3 seconds, I had an account and joined the millions of Feedly users.

Navigating Feedly was pretty easy; I was able to categorize my favorite blogs using folders. It can be organized by topics, it's personalized to your likes, and reflects who you are! Feedly is all about you! I cannot wait to open those folders and start reading!

One thing that caught my attention was the fact that Feedly gives you a chance to learn about topics you probably didn't ever consider reading about nor thought you would love.  Blog writer, Vicky Cassidy, says, "Feedly also curates "starter kits" of content focused around a certain topic, which can be a great way to discover new websites." I gave it a try, and now I have a blog about integrating technology in the classroom patiently waiting for me. Because Feedly allows its users to share on social media, I will share it on Facebook after I finish reading it. Many of my teacher friends will certainly benefit.

There are five blogs on my FAVORITE BLOGS list. Library Stuff (http://www.librarystuff.net/) and School Library Journal (http://www.slj.com/) are great since they both  provide information that can help you be more aware of what is going on in the world of libraries. I know my flaws, and I may be guilty of just focusing on what is going on around my 5 mile radius. Learning important news pertinent to librarians and education is definitely a must for me since I want to improve every day. Library Displays (http://schoollibrarydisplays.blogspot.com/) is another blog I plan to check out daily. In all honesty, I am aware of my talents, but creativity is not one God blessed me with. It provides awesome library displays that children would love to see in my library.  It's creator describes it as a blog filled with "creative ideas that promote books from your library collection." Following blogs such as The New York Times book reviews (http://www.nytimes.com/section/books?partner=rss&emc=rss) and Goodreads (Bloghttps://www.goodreads.com/) can certainly keep me up to date with the most popular children's books. It is almost impossible to read every single book that is released, so reading reviews can help me better serve my patrons when it comes to recommending a new release based on their favorite authors or genres.  

There are several feed readers out there, but I preferred Feedly. It does the job, and it does it well. If you want to learn more about the different feed readers out there, I suggest you read Vicky Cassidy's article The 10 Best Feed Reader Apps for RSS, News, and More. You can find it by copying a pasting the following link: https://zapier.com/blog/best-rss-feed-reader-apps/

 I have much to read and much to share. With knowledge comes responsibility, and all I learn through my blogs, I promise to do my best and share with colleagues. But I also like to have fun! Tumblr is a great site that is similar to Facebook but allows you to have more privacy. You create your own username without having to use your real name. On the very top of your Tumblr, there are 7 things you can choose from: text, photo, quote, link, chat, audio, or video. When you are ready to share, click on one, and start sharing away! To learn a little more about my craziness, check out my Tubmblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/blessedlibrariansmiles

Source:

Cassidy, V. (2015, September 22). The 10 Best Feed Reader Apps for RSS, News, and More. Retrieved October 06, 2016, from https://zapier.com/blog/best-rss-feed-reader-apps/