The End.....of summer that is.

For my final post of the summer I would like to share a presentation with you about technology tools that I have encountered this summer.  The script can be found below

https://www.dropbox.com/s/slmdmkue4qf0ejy/Almost%20Cyborg%20script%20-%20Copy.pdf



 Looking to become more comfortable with technology as if it was embedded in your very skin?  Come check out QR codes, Videolicious, Big Huge Labs, and Aurasma for some ideas that will actively engage students and make you almost cyborg.  Elementary standards covered.  All levels welcome!

http://www.slideshare.net/HeatherBaucum/almost-cyborg

I have really enjoyed this summer and learning more about being a librarian.  It is great fodder to help me talk to teachers who may not understand my role.

AASL Best Sites 2013

I checked out three very cool websites today that would be really helpful in the classroom or the library.  Click on the picture or the link to check out each site.

https://www.biblionasium.com/

The first website that I enjoyed was BiblioNasium.  This was is a site that is similar to the Good Reads website that we are currently using.  However, this allows students to be in contact with one another in a safe forum.  They can link to their teacher, librarian, principal, and parents to really show a community of readers.  This would be a great tool for a child growing up to keep track of all of the books that they have read in their life and to see how they have grown as a reader.  This is something that I always wanted to do.  This is also a great tool for teachers and librarians to use to make suggestions to students to broaden a student’s reading.

http://www.socrative.com/

The second site that I checked out was Socrative.  This is a site where you can have students use their own devices or school devices to interact in the classroom or the library in real time.  Rather than having to ask students what they are thinking individually, you can get everyone’s response all at once.  This would be a great help in the classroom as you can constantly monitor understanding to help build remediation groups.  In the library, this would also be helpful during lessons to easily present to all students directly at their tables rather than having to move groups to see your projection area.

https://www.smore.com/

The final site that I looked at is one that I am already planning on using this coming school year.  Smore is a site that makes newsletters.  However, these are not your traditional classroom or school newsletter.  Smore creates newsletters that embed links, audio, video, and so many more things.  When sending out your newsletters it works on smartphones, tablets, and facebook.  This site really opens up the world of digital communication to your community at large.

QR Codes

QR codes are one of the bigger technologies that many SBTS are trying to pull into the classroom lately.  I know of one elementary SBTS who has covered the school in them.  The only difficulty with them in elementary school is the mandate that if we see a student with their phone out that we have to take it from them.  The Bring Your Own Device initiative has been helpful with many students and helping to try and bridge the technology gap in schools.  However, we still need to try and find other ways to get students connected electronically if they cannot bring their own devices.  iPads in the library or iPods could help this situation.

Here are two QR codes that I created for my blog this week.

This first QR code will take you to the site we have been working with a lot in LIBS 602, Good Reads.  I never thought about an electronic way to keep track of books that I have enjoyed and could then grab them for students with reviews.  It is a great site.

This second QR code will take you to a site that will read a sentence to you.  This is a very cool thing for students to do in the classroom to add a quick description to a piece of work in the hallway.  What a great idea for a Back to School Night or a Literacy Night.

Infographics

You know, once you realize what you want to do, it definitely comes across easier.

The Tweeting Librarian

Most of us have heard of Twitter.  Some of us even have Twitter feeds.  My own brother says that I need to stop using Facebook as a Twitter feed, but I have more friends on Facebook so why change platforms for 140 characters.  These are some of the things that school librarians need to think about when it comes to using Twitter in the library.

I chose to look at Twitter feeds in the school library because I have not seen much use of it in the elementary school classroom.  I looked at Newton South High School Library twitter feed and saw a lot of positive things about it.  You can link photos in your Twitter feeds where you can share student's work or even pictures of teachers with their favorite books.  They also linked to websites about world events and book reviews by students.  These librarians did not limit themselves to just the walls of the school.  They were trying to talk to students as global citizens, not just inmates at the school.  

Carmel Middle School shocked me when I saw that they only have 5 followers for their whole Twitter feed.  This can be an issue if you are trying to reach a bigger audience.  You have to think about what tactics you can use to get more people subscribed to you.  Justin Bieber has 45.6 million followers.  We need to think about what we are doing in our library to make it as popular at pop culture.  Another con I found with Twitter was that schools are just using it to make announcments and not linking to students work or even to outside websites for curriculum.

The final Twitter feed I looked at was Our Lady of Lourdes.  This feed seemed to be spotty.  There were a lot of time in between Tweets.  This is another factor that we have to think about in supporting and promoting our school library.  One thing that I noticed above all else with all of these library blogs is that there  are no direct invitations to teachers to use links. 

 As I looked at some of the followers to the bigger Twitter feeds, I noticed that many of the followers were adults and not the students or parents from the school community.  It made me think about what is the most important part of the Twitter feed.  Is it to connect your community to the library or to connect the world to your library.  

Audio tools

Having worked in the classroom for a while, I came to know Audacity REALLY well.  I used to publish a monthly podcast with my students from my language arts class integrating either science or social studies.  We would build the plot and script together, making sure that our script had enough speaking parts for each student (between 8 - 16 each time).  I taught my students how to do sound editing in the fourth grade and they were able to use those skills in the fifth grade to work on their GATP.  Those podcasts were some of the most fun times that we had our classroom since we did them during AAP pull out and I wasn't allowed to teach anything new for that hour every week.

Voki was something that was very new to me.  It really intrigued me because it seemed similar to other voice things that I have seen like Blabberize and Crazy Talk.  We used Crazy Talk this year in the fifth grade for doing projects and the kids thought that it was the coolest thing.

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=8339339&height=267&width=200

I liked using Voki because it could be another way for non-verbal students to give themselves a voice.  This is also a fun tool where students could create a character to share out knowledge with the class.  You can really create just about anything on this site and have them say.....ANYTHING!

Putting all the pieces together

After spending so much time online, the stacks, and in between the pages it can be hard to see the bigger picture.  So often we are looking at the leaves that we forget to see the forest.  Small pieces come together to make something beautiful at the end.

This week at ODU was one of those experiences in seeing the forest.  This week we looked at a lot of the newer things going into our libraries.  On Monday, I worked with Mary Duvall on a QR code presentation with a program called Videolicious.  I learned quickly that if you wanted your WHOLE picture to be in the presentation, then you needed to make sure that it is taken in landscape.  Videolicious and portrait style are not friends.  It is a good program to make quick videos, especially if you are working on a quick presentation, but you do get what you pay for.  This program would be a good one to use with students in giving them another format to present their findings in a fun and different way.  What kid doesn't love to make videos?

Tuesday we heard from a representative from Mackin and some librarians about electronic books and eReaders.  It was definitely something eye-opening for me because we continue to talk about the digital divide in schools.  However, this is something that can be hard to implement or for some people impractical.  It really helped me to think more about how I would make changes in my own library and work with teachers, administrators, and the county to help close the gap between students.  That day I also looked at putting together a portfolio.  I think that this is going to be a great product that I will be able to take to a principal when looking for jobs next year.

The final day on campus we met with Dr. Jamie Colwell and talked about literacy.  It was funny to talk as both librarian and teacher and parent.  In the school, we wear many hats.  It was just another great reminder to me about what a benefit it is that many of us are coming into the library field from the classroom.  We also gave book talks which was definitely fun and a different experience with the avatars.  I am used to giving book talks with my own students and having them do the same with me.  However, working with electronic kids was something different.  It just reminded me once again about the importance of body language and knowing your audience ahead of time.  What can I do to get them in the library or in a good book.

Overall, it was a lot of fun and I am excited to add more to my education in the library sciences.

Videolicious

Woooo!  What a day on campus!

I got to work with the lovely Mary Duvall on a videolicious project.

We worked on QR codes and introducing them to the school librarian.

Interested in them?

Check it out here!

Infographics, let's try this again.

So here is my newest infographic.  It was time consuming and I really did have to have a plan of attack before I even began, but I like it.  I know that if I had professional training in graphics design, this would look much better.  But it's not bad for a teacher!

Digital Story Telling

First I began with the Domo Animate site, but that seemed a little too tricky for me.  So I tried SimpleBooklet and this is what I came up with.

Booklet

While I know that this is not a story, it was one of the first PDFs I had available.  I realized that students could easily make a Power Point story and then convert it to a PDF and be able to do the same thing.  I have several students this year who have taken to Power Point to do their writing.

The other site that I used was Story Birds.  Some of the art on this site is quite strange.  But it would make for a great creative writing lesson.  Students would be excited to try to write to different pieces of art.  I know that in my own fifth grade class, this is something that they really like to do.

The final one that I went to was Pic Lits.  This site, children can use a picture, but have a set of words to pick from.

Pic Lit Poem


I think between the three of these sites, I would probably use SimpleBooklet for Elementary.  Work could easily be created in Power Point and then converted for the site.  Many students enjoy the use of clip art in Power Point and the different elements of design that can make a Power Point their very own creation.

Infographics....Not for the faint of heart

So after seeing several infographics I thought how cool it would be to create one.  They all looked colorful and creative.  Then I began working on one.

I went to about three different sites to try and create an infographic that I felt worked.  This is definitely not a project that you go into thinking that you can create one in 30 minutes.  Finally I picked Piktochart.  I struggled at first to move things around.  It reminded me of the training that I received in high school about webpage design.

I did my infographic on quilting.  Next time though, I definitely will have a better idea of what I want to do and how to do it.  This ties in to what I want students to remember.  You never go into anything without a plan.  I would also have students continuously think about their audience.  All of the traits of writing that I use to teach can easily be converted into teaching infographics because it is another form of literature.

Blooms Taxonomy

I enjoy using Bloom's Taxonomy when working in social studies especially.  The levels make for great cube questions.  I have also used it in Math as well.  These lead to some VERY interesting discussions.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USF35-1326]

Digital ID: fsa 8a02984   Source: digital file from intermediary roll film

Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information?	List what is in the alley way behind the girl. Repeat what the girl is wearing
Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts?	Explain where this little girl is. Discuss the kind of life this girl may have if she lives here.
Applying: can the student use the information in a new way?	Dramatize the life that this little girl may have at home. Write a story about where this girl lives.
Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts?	Compare this picture to the street that you live on now. Contrast the girl’s clothes with her surroundings.
Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision?	Evaluate the idea that this girl is lower class. Argue for or against the safety of her neighborhood
Creating: can the student create new product or point of view?	Write a diary entry from the girl’s perspective about a day in her life. Develop a city plan that would help this girl’s family to live in a cleaner place.

Image Play

So as an elementary school teacher, there are a lot of things that I do graphically.  Just this past week, I created a new review booklet on the fifth grade Science SOL (I'm happy to share by the way if anyone would like it).  Yet, there are so many cooler things that we can do now with apps and internet right at our finger tips.

Big Huge Labs - I have used this site before to make movie posters for my students' writing pieces.  They love the fact that they get to take complete control over it and even sometimes print in color.  I have also used the movie poster feature to create posters advertising what we will be covering in a school year for Open House.  Both students and parents are really impressed by them.

Imagechef  - The word mosaic on Imagechef is much like Tagxedo.  This would be a great tool to use for students to do a vocabulary dump for subjects.

Foldbook - Okay this is really the site that I wanted to talk about.  Never have I seen such COOL stuff for teachers and kids to do online with their photos.  The coolest thing is the photo hexagon.  I can already tell you that this is something that my students would eat up if I used this to make a review tool.  I would probably have to confiscate them actually because they would play with them during instruction time.  Below is an example of the hexagon.  This would be a fun tool for those students who need to keep their hands moving.

Tagxedo

I have first heard about Tagxedo at a VAASL conference this past March.  It was EXTREMELY cool to everyone there.  This is a tool that I have taught my own fifth graders to use as well.  This tagxedo is a list of all of our fifth grade science vocabulary.  I have been working on a major science project for next year, so this seemed fitting.

Creative Commons

Oh how I miss you chocolate cake.  With this pregnancy, my gallbladder has decided that it is no longer my friend.  And so this means, diet.  Who ever heard of dieting when you are pregnant?!  But if labor is a 10, then gallbladder attacks are a 9.  If this means no chocolate, then I guess I can handle that until nearly Christmas time.

Source: Emilydp via Flickr (2011)
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6071/6045690529_3ef8cf79ef.jpg


Now for some information on creative commons licenses.  Didn't how handy this would come in right now since I have a friend who is dealing with this battle right now on her own blog!

Attribution - This allows others to use your work and change it even for commerical reasons as long as they give you credit for it.

Attribution-NoDerivs - This allows for distribution and commercials uses so long as the material remains unchanged and credit you.

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike - This allows others to use your work for noncommercial reasons only as long as they credit you.

Attribution-ShareAlike - This allows others to use your work even for commercial purposes so long as they credit you and license their own new creations the same way.

Attribution-NonCommercial - This allows others to use your work for non-commercial reasons, but they still have to credit you.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs - This is the most restrictive.  Allows others to download and share as long as you are credited.   They cannot make changes or use them commercially.

Standards

We each come into teaching with our own set of expectations.  Mine started out first with thinking that I was going to teach high school English.  It is a passion of mine and I am an avid reader (when I can find the time) and a writer (again, when there is time).  In my time in college, I quickly had to get settled in the world of education because I was in a serious relationship with an actor and knew that one of us had to make the real money.  So I began to sub.  And as luck would have it, I fell in love with elementary school.

Elementary school brings its own set of needs.  I had no idea walking into the world of education that I was choosing to become educator, mentor, babysitter, nurse, counselor, referee, a moving target, and an emotional punching bag.

In my first year of teaching I worked in fourth grade, but only taught reading, writing, and science.  It gave me time to become very familiar with what I would be held accountable for when it came to the SOLs.  The next year, my principals changed our scheduling and I was then responsible for ALL subjects.  So I had to learn all the math and social studies standards while my students were learning them too.

This year, with an almost two year old, I am now teaching fifth grade at a new school, on a new team.  So of course, all the material and standards are changed.  I am doing my best to keep up, but sometimes it can be a real struggle.

Now that I am working on becoming a librarian, I am now looking into standards that I never thought that I would have to learn about......HIGH SCHOOL.  In elementary, I know what each grade teaches in terms of social studies and science.  In reading, we all focus on the comprehension of fiction and nonfiction.  We typically integrate our social studies or science material into our language arts time because truly there is not enough time in the day to cover everything.

Now I am in the trenches again, trying to figure out the standards that relate to high schoolers.  What they are studying is not too far off from what I learned when I was in high school, not too long ago.  Yet, the amount of teacher and librarian collaboration has definitely increased.

Anyone who thinks that a librarian in a school is not a teacher is quite ignorant.  They have to know more standards than most classroom teachers.

It's that time again

It's always that time I feel like.  Time to introduce myself to a new group of people while here in the real world I am struggling to make it through with the group of 24 that I have been gifted with this year.

SOLs are upon us and my crazy new home owner, 13 week pregnant, already a full time mommy brain says "Yes, let's take on more responsibility!"  But that's always been the way it is with me.

My name is Heather and my mother says that I have an issue with keeping my hands still.  Productive ADHD I guess you would call it.  25 years old, already married with a child, another one on the way.  Graduated college in three years, completed my Masters by 22 and now I am ready to take on another challenge: the library.

I was born and raised and still work in Fairfax County, Virginia.  I am a die-hard Redskins fan since before I was even born and I love to quilt.  After a crazy and I do mean crazy year back to teaching after taking maternity leave, I am ready for this summer!

There is still so much to do, so much to learn, so much to READ, so much time to spend with my daughter who turns 2 this summer, and to prepare for #2 this Thanksgiving.