Videos and QR Codes in the Library

Today I will be reviewing three technology tools that can be use by teachers and students in the school library and classrooms to showcase, create, and facilitate learning. Like everything else they have their pros and cons, which I will address as well, and at the end of each review I will give you ideas on how to use the tools with students.

Animoto

Animoto is a video creation tools that makes creating and sharing videos fast and simple. Short 30- second videos are free, but teachers or librarians can create a free account to create longer videos. For new users of Animoto, simple step-by-step instructions guide users from the first step to the finished product.

One starts by simply clicking "create" and it automatically takes you multiple free backgrounds that can be use. Once the background is chosen, images and text can be added very easily. Images can be uploaded from the computer, social media, or from their free stock content. If using images from the web, make sure they're Copyright Free. Sites such as Creative Commons, Pics4Learning, and Britanica Igame Quest provide images that can be use for educational purposes.  Animoto also provides a range of free music that can be added to the video. You can preview the video and edit it as many times as you need. Once you are done, is ready to share through various social media channels, email, or embedded. The only downside is that the 30-second limited free version only allows few photos and text and a watermark appears on the videos.

Librarians and teachers can use Animoto to create book trailers for students to promote reading. Students can also create their own book trailers to be share with others or to showcase their understanding. Videos created with Animoto can be use across all subject areas, such as videos showing an animal's life cycle, the water cycle or a food chain. The possibilities are endless.

I used Animoto to create a video for the Newberry Award winning novel, Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

One summer’s day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries – and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It’s because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it’s because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just about everything that happens that summer is because of Winn-Dixie.

QR CODES

A QR code is a barcode that is used to encode text, links, or other data so that it can be quickly read by a QR code reader. Many websites help make and download QR codes for free like QRStuff, Delivr, and Kaywa.

Scan the QR code below to see the book trailer. If you don't have a QR Code scanner, download it from your app store to your Ipad or smartphone for free. What is extraordinary about QR Codes is that they connect the physical to the virtual. 

Here are some useful ways QR codes can be use in your school library:

• Give a virtual tour of the library
• Link to the library's website, blog, or other social networking site
• Make the library's display more engaging by incorporating electronic media, book trailers, and recommending further readings
• Provide additional information on promotional posters, flyers, or other print media
• Scavengerhunt
• Provide basic information about items in the library or an instructional video
• Complete forms such as reserving a room or volunteering in the library
• Information on how to find an item
• QR codes on bookmarks leading to the library's catalog, website, and other relevant sites

I don't think there is a negative side to QR coding, besides organizing all the created incase they need to be printed or copied again. QR code gives student the opportunity to explore the library and lends opportunities for inquiry. If use in a creative way, QR codes can be a meaningful tool that can extend learning in the library and the classroom.  

YouTube

YouTube channels are a great way to reach a greater audience. The following is a list of videos from different school libraries that are using YouTube as a way to reach out and connect with their users and the community. Under the videos I reviewed on how the videos are informative and engaging to students.  

Video from The NHS Library-

Getting Started with the NHS Library Website

Video from the NHS Library-

Tiger Visits The Norman High Library

The NHS Library
1. The first video, Getting Started with the NHS Library Website, I believe to be the most helpful to students because it gave a complete tutorial on how students can access the informations they need when using the site.
2. I think students would enjoy the second video the most because is fun and interesting when the school mascot is part of the library's users.

The Quiet Library-

Student Reflections on Inquiry, Choice, Participation, and Information

The Quiet Library-

Roots Music Club

The Quiet Library
1. The video that shows student reflecting on their learning is helpful to other students because it shows their peers explaining the importance of why these learnings add to their knowledge. Is very important that students here and learn from each other, the activity is student centered.
2. Roots Music Club playing in the library gives viewers the opportunity to see the exiting evens happening in the library. The video ties students' personal interests incorporated into the library program. The Quiet Library doesn't always have to be quiet.

Pikes Ville High School-

FAFSA

Pikes Ville High School-

Senior Party in the Library

Pikes Ville High School

1. The most beneficial video is where the students are encouraging others to complete the 

FAFSA application before their senior year ends. This video gives information about what is FAFSA, its benefits, and what steps to take to get started. This is valuable information, especially for seniors and students with need of financial aid.

2. A fun video students will enjoy is the Senior Party in the Library.  It gives student the idea that the library program is part of their academic success and it needs to be celebrated, even if it means dancing on the tables and throwing paper in the air.

BBMS Media-

MLA Citation Review

    

BBMS Media- 

I'm the One by DJ Khaled

Overdue Library Books Parody

BBMS Media

1. The BBMS media included multiple informative videos geared to information literacy. The one that I think was most informative for students is the review on how to cite information in MLA. Citing information correctly can be challenging for some students, but is a skill that they will need and use in their future academic career. 

2.  Making parodies to popular songs about overdue books is a great way for kids to have a good time in the library while practicing their technology skills and creativity. The video is funny and at the same time covers a subject the library needs kids to remember.

Screencasts, Instagram, and Flipagram

Our 21st century learners communicate through social media daily. This is their number one way to stay communicated and on the loop with everything that interest them. Social media is making its way to education in order to help teachers teach the way our new generation best learns, by creating and personalizing their learning. In this posts I will talk about the pros and cons of Screencast-O-Matic, Instagram, and Flipagram,  my experience with the tools,  and ways to use it in the classroom.

Instagram
Even though I did not had a personal Instagram account I do have save on my favorites links Instagram users accounts that I follow. I personally like using Instragram to learn about destinations and places that I want to visit, but I have never used it for my classroom until now. Instagram is an online photo sharing app that is available to download in all types of devices. It also allows users to share their photo with hashtags so people can find it according to topics and it allows for others to comment on the photo and "like" it. Most of all, Instagram is a way of communicating and sharing with others through photos. Some of the positives to using Instagram for learning is the easy way that students can share images with each other. The negative is that Instagram does login the places the picture was taken, so make sure that feature is disable in settings before posting. I teach elementary level students, so for that age range I think is best for the teacher to have a one public account and share it with the class, that way everyone can post pictures and have access to the same account. Students can insert pictures of their field trips, projects, school events, daily work and much more, it will be like their own personal yearbook and is another form of communicating with parents, especially those parents that can't make it to school events. The teacher can also post photos of places and people students are learning in a certain subject and have a discussion or write about the photo. Another way to use this tool is in reading, the class can post photographs to represent what the character might be feeling, doing, or thinking or photographs a character might post if he/she had an Instagram account.  I created an Instagram post to showcase the students' products during our Multicultural Night.

Multicultural Night

A post shared by Yuri Castilleja (@yuricastilleja) on Mar 24, 2018 at 1:07pm PDT

Screencast-O-Matic

I have used multimedia videos created by others in order to learn how to do something, but I never created one until now. Screencast is a screen-capture service that lets you record your screen, yourself, or both at the same time using a webcam. You can record yourself while explaining, editing, manipulating, creating, or working on your computer screen. Screencast-O-Matic is free to use, the free application lets you record uploads limited for 15 minutes or you can upgrade and pay $15 a year to receive more editing and distribution functions. The downfall to Screencast is that once the video is published there is no way to edit it, you have to start a new recording. Overall the tool is very simple to use, one has to download the software which takes a couple of minutes, and after that you are ready to record. Another thumbs up for this tool is that it lets you crop the screen to the size you need, without having to close tabs you don't want to show in the video. 

This tool is great to record steps for students on how to use a technology tool such as creating a slide presentation, how to search the internet, how to share work through Drive, and any other topic you have taught the whole class how to do but you know it will take more than one time for students to feel comfortable doing it on their own. Instead of explaining or showing something twenty times, students can access your recordings and learn at their own pace or simply need a refresher. The tool can also be use by students to record their understanding of their learning or by the teacher to explain a missed assignment to absent students. Screencast-O-Matic is definitely a tool I will use in the future in my classroom. 

I used Screencat-O-Matic to show my students how to create a Google Slide Presentation. 

On my second recording I explained to the students how to search the school's library catalog.


Flipagram

Again my first time using this tool, but was excited to learn how easy is to use. Flipagram is a tool to easily crate slideshows with photos that can be uploaded from a device. The user can control the speed of the slide show, add music or narration, and basically tell a story with photos. Best of all Flipagram is free to use and it does not have to be share on social media, students can just easy store their creations in their private gallery in the technology tool they're using. It also connects to Instagram, so it gives students another chance to use Instagram in the classroom and learn best practices and gather ideas from other Flipagram users. The only downside is it does not provide a tutorial, but is simple enough that one is not needed. Students can use this in the classroom to create animated slideshows to showcase what they have learned in class or retell a story. The teacher can use it to showcase students' exemplary work or make a quick slideshow of a field trip and post to Instagram to share with parents in that moment. For me the tools was easy to use and kid friendly.

I created a Flipagram to showcase my school Multicultural Event and shared it on Instagram.

A post shared by Yuri Castilleja (@yuricastilleja) on Mar 24, 2018 at 3:11pm PDT

Bibliography:

Facebook, & Google. (2015, March 26). Mr P's ICT blog - Tech to raise standards! Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://mrparkinsonict.blogspot.com/2015/03/making-most-of-flipagram-in-classroom.html

Hudson, H. (2017, July 04). 10 Surprising Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://www.weareteachers.com/10-surprising-ways-to-use-instagram-in-the-classroom-2/

Leppla, M. (2018, February 01). Flipagram. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/flipagram

Moore, A. (2012, June 07). Using Instagram in the Classroom. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://prezi.com/fvbrbbznr7ee/using-instagram-in-the-classroom/

Shannon Holden. (2014, December 05). Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://digitallearningtree2.com/flipagram-in-the-classroom/

Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogram

The highest level of Bloom's taxonomy is create. Infographics give students the opportunity to blend visuals, statistics, information, and design to represent and personalized their learning. They are also a great way to teach students to interpret data on charts, graphs, maps or any visual they might encounter on standardized tests. Infographics can also be used for summative assessments, debate, and projects. Infographics help teachers and students present information in an interesting and innovated way in any subject area while gaining experience in technology.

Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogram are free tools and offer the ability to put together an infographic fairly easy. Easel.ly has great templates and flexible features. It provides limited themes and images for free, that if used well can still make connections to content material. The con for using Easel.ly is the time the teacher has to spend guiding students to use the tool effectively since it doesn't provide built-in help.

Piktochart provides well design professional looking infographics. Icons and images are design by subject ,making it easy to narrow or broaden a search. Grouping and organizing the information in Piktochart can be somewhat challenging for some students. Detailed video tutorials for each step are available.

Infogram is the easiest to use out of the three tools, is basically just adding information into preexisting templates. Students can focus their time on the content of their infographic rather than learning how to use the tool. Both Infogram and Piktochart allow you to sign in with your Google account, one less password to remember. Infogram provides an "integration" icon that lets the user upload files from their Google Drive account. At my school all teachers and students have a Google account and all projects and assignments are saved in Drive, making Infogram the perfect tool for my classroom.

Below is an infographic I created using Infogram.

Step by Step Charts
Infogram