Thing 13: Media Skills

This was a very interesting assignment, and one that I'm going to have to play with a lot more!  Initially, I wanted to work with the photo editing tools, because I recently acquired the ALA READ poster graphics software and I do not have access to PhotoShop, but then I became sidetracked with screen capture videos instead.

Now I already knew how to take a one-frame screenshot, but I did not know how to make one of those super cool screen capture demo videos, and this was something I wanted to do to add to my Library Classroom Web Page.  This assignment gave me the perfect opportunity to look into the process and to actually make a couple videos.  On one hand, I was delighted to discover that the process itself is not overly complicated, although I did find it to be extremely time consuming.

I started my research by doing a couple basic Google searches for screen capture videos, and ended up finding a great 6 minute video on YouTube that went through the basic process.  I watched it all the way through once and then went back step by step so I could recreate the necessary environment.  First I had to download Microsoft Expression 4 (free) and Microsoft MovieMaker (also free).  Expression includes a very user friendly screen capture component in addition to an encoder component.  MovieMaker is what you use to publish the encoded video.

So, I chose my topics and went through a couple dry runs first to make sure my demo would successfully show all the features I wanted to present.  Once I had a mental plan for my demo, I was ready to record!  My first video is a demo of how to search using our online catalog, OPALS.  For you and I, this is very easy.  For my teachers at school, this apparently is like learning Greek :-)

My second video demonstrates how to use the various search features of one of our Gale databases, Kids InfoBits.

The OPALS video was just over 5 minutes long and the Kids InfoBits video was just over 7 minutes.  It easily took twice that long to encode each of them, and probably closer to 45 minutes each to prep the videos for publication.  Again, I would like to point out that the process itself was not difficult - just time consuming.

So while my videos were encoding, I opened a new tab and made a YouTube account so I would have somewhere to publish my videos when I loaded them into MovieMaker.  And here are the results:

 

Thing 12: Social Learning & Learning Management Systems

This was a really great, and a really timely assignment for me.  I had set up an Edmodo account last Spring to use with my 6th grade classes, but never found the time to follow through.  This assignment came last month just as I was wrapping up a long "Library Passports" unit with 6th grade (I ended it was a trip around the world via the all new Google Maps!!).  Our next unit includes nonfiction text skills in preparation for short research assignments.  I quickly realized Edmodo would be the ideal tool to use to launch this unit and to track the students progress.

So I went in and explored my teacher account in greater depth, and then made a test student so I could see what it would look like from both ends.  I created a group, and just last week got all my 6th grade students signed up.  They LOVED that it looks a lot like FaceBook and seemed to enjoy the first assignment I posted for them.  It's definitely a learning experience for me, though - and I suspect I will end up learning as much from the kids as they do from me!

As for the rest of this Thing 12 assignment, I did check out a number of the other links and videos.  I noticed that a lot of the content was more geared towards High School applications than Elementary, though, which I suppose is to be expected.  That said, I found Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org) on TeacherLibrarianNing, which does have excellent K-6 resources that I know I will use.  

I also explored several Edutopia groups, especially one devoted to differentiated instruction and classroom management - both areas I'm quite interested in.  There, I found some interesting advice and tips that I'm in the process of experimenting with.  Furthermore, I just visted Edutopia again this morning and noticed a new group on Project Based Learning, which is something that I delved heavily into last year with training from Tech Valley.  I think I'll join that discussion and see what other's experiences were like.  My Middle School teachers did not care for it, but I found parts of it valuable, and would like to try it again this year, even if we have to modify it to better fit our traditional classroom structure.

All in all, I had fun with the assignment, and as usual, I learned A LOT!  I'm glad I have been able to take content from both of these first two assignments, and right away put it into use with my 6th grade classes.  It's good to have guinea pigs readily available :-)

Happy holidays!

Thing 11: Mapping & Geolocation Tools

Wow - Polly wasn't kidding.... During the course of this week, I have devoted hours (yes, plural) to exploring the new Google Maps interface, and embarrassingly, I think I've only covered the barest of introductions.  

On Tuesday, I started with the introductory video, and then as the week progressed, I jumped into the Google Maps eCourse.  I have to admit, I was only able to complete the first 4 units before I started to lose interest and skip around.  Please don't get me wrong - it wasn't that the content wasn't valuable or useful - it is just an awful lot to digest and it became a bit overwhelming.  I do plan to go back and finish the other unit activities as time permits.  They are valuable exercises.

In particular, I enjoyed the short videos and activities, and I really liked the classroom connections  provided at the end of some of the activities.

I also explored the Google Maps in Education link, and especially liked the World Wonders project, which I plan to use with my 6th grade class later this year.

It is just mind-boggling what Google has been able to do with this web tool!  And a little creepy :-)  My husband just wandered in while I was playing with it, and told me about the YouTube videos of all the bizarre and inappropriate things supposedly captured by the Google van people while filming video footage.  Of course,  I then abandoned my real homework, and took a little side trip.... no driving directions required:

Thing #10: Future Trends

Well, no gold stars for me this time, but I think I should be in the top 10 or so :-)

Anyway, it's funny that this is our last assignment, because it's something I have given a lot of thought to recently.  I did read a couple of the other Thing 10 posts, and a few articles recently, and it's really made me wonder what the future holds for libraries - and librarians.  As I mentioned in my first blog article, I have worked in several capacities in the library world, so I think I can look at this question from several perspectives....

First, as an elementary librarian, I still see the need for a solid media center in 2020 - headed by a competent LMS.  There is no getting around the fact that we live in the "information age" - and success down the road for our children can largely be measured by how well they can locate, evaluate, synthesize, and disseminate information - all skills we as librarians teach.  There will be a place for LMS faculty in schools as long as there is a need to organize and access information - and my crystal ball does not see an end to that coming any time too soon!

And like Beth Disque noted in her blog, it is interesting that children's fixation for print books has not diminished as one might have suspected.  I think there will always be something alluring about a beautiful, brightly illustrated picture book, or an enticing series like 39 Clues that uses trading cards as a catch.  Just as kids will always love getting prizes out of cereal boxes, they will also always love getting "extras" out of print books.

But that said, the media center will surely have evolved just a little more by 2020.  In our case, we could use more online databases - and better online databases.  I don't know if I'm alone here, but I'm rather disappointed with the limited scope of some of our databases.  Sometimes we are forced to use the Internet because we just can't find enough information on such topics as sports personalities and other popular culture icons which are not covered very well (or at all).  Furthermore, as we build e-book and other electronic collections, we need to think about whether these will replace print editions, or simply supplement them.  Also, how do we keep a "level playing field" - where all patrons have the same access?  I don't see us as a school being able to provide e-book readers to all the students, but is it fair that some have them and others don't?  Using e-books on a portable device is much more attractive than uploading them to a standard computer.  Anyway, my point is that the media center will probably look different in 10 years - just as it looks very different now than it did in 2000.  Will we need less shelf space for once?  Will we need more dedicated a/v space for multimedia production?

I think the biggest changes, though, are going to occur in the college-level sector.  Already RPI looks far more like a computer lab than a traditional library.  I can see where students will want mostly electronic resources for their research (and leisure).  Electronic resources are constantly updated, easy to search, and remotely available.  There really is very little need for books in that environment.

Finally, the public library sector is the natural bridge between these two strata.  People will always love a good book, but they will also demand updated electronic resources, delivered directly to them.  We're already doing that now, but we'll have to do that more to stay relevant in tomorrow's ever changing culture.  We're going to see the continued evolution of services geared towards at-home use rather than on-site use.  What does this mean for the future of public libraries?  Yikes.  With fewer people physically coming in, will public libraries need less staff?  Fewer open hours?  Dare I say it - Less space?!

It's a great irony to me that in today's world where people are more connected than ever before in history with social networking, etc, they are connecting less and less physically.  I'm sure public libraries will still have young families coming to use the on-site collections and to attend programming (just to get out of the house!), but how about adults?  Will public libraries have an uphill battle getting patrons to come in to use the collection and to attend programming when they have everything they think they need right at home?  If this is the case, then we're losing something VERY important here - and it's not just libraries.

Think about that.

Thing #9: e-books

Does it count that I have a title in my hold list?  I just went on www.uhls.org (Upper Hudson) and perused their e-book titles, and found one I'd really like to try, The Bird Sisters by  Rebecca Rasmussen, but unfortunately it was not available for immediate download (Oh, the horrors of delayed gratification!).  So I went ahead and added it to my hold list and apparently I'll be emailed when it becomes available, at which time I'll have 3 days to put it in my "digital book bag".  Oh, my....

Anyway, yes, I admit this was to be my first e-book download.  Yup, I'm a fan of the plain, old paper variety of books.  Not to say that I won't like their digital counterparts - I just haven't needed one yet.  It does sort of crack me up, though, that for my first experience looking for an e-book, every adult title I chose was unavailable and had several people ahead of me in the queue.  I guess these are indeed popular!

But to have the experience of uploading, I did eventually find a Magic Tree House book that was available (hallelujah!) and nabbed that.  Perhaps my son will want to cozy up to the computer screen tonight to read a few chapters?  Not quite as fun as when we snuggle in bed together to read, but hey... If he likes this, maybe I'll suck it up and buy a portable reader device :-)

Oh, and it just so happens that I've been talking to Terry Small about Follett's e-book bundles for my school library.  We're K-8, and although I don't think I want to try to push these on the K-5 set, I do think it might fly with 6-8, who are more likely to have iPads, etc.  I'm also strongly leaning towards their Professional Collection bundle as that's an area I've been working on a lot lately, and I'm still struggling to get the staff to touch the books I'm buying.  Maybe they'd like the ease of uploading from home when the mood strikes?  I've been putting out feelers and we'll see....

Thing #8: Video

So here's my dirty little secret:  I have been madly in love with Dave Gahan (front man for Depeche Mode) since I was 12.  I have imaginary dates with him every day when I'm on the treadmill and my children can sing-along to countless Depeche Mode standards.  Not only that, but I actually spent $600 for third row seats (thanks eBay!) to see my sweetie pie in Boston a couple years ago, hoping in my feverish fantasies that he would spy me in the audience like that girl in the Bruce Springsteen video and suddenly realize I was the woman of his dreams.....  But, no.

Instead I keep my girlish crush alive through YouTube videos like this one that actually shows his apartment (address: 99 Jane Street, NYC - 11th floor.  Really, I'm NOT a stalker...).  If I pretend really hard I can almost see myself curled up on the red sofa right next to him - can't you (tee hee!)?

Opps!  Back to the assignment.  How can video sharing be helpful to libraries?  Well I think the Web Junction guys summed it up way better than I can.  You can use it to promote upcoming events, show off your resources, give online tutorials and tours, and just generally bring your services and space to the masses.  How would I use it?  Hmmmmm - maybe I should've tried the video editing assignment to see if I could photoshop myself into Dave Gahan's apartment.... (wavy lines indicating that Linda is about to have another day dream sequence)

But seriously - just this morning I used YouTube to try to find someone reading Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root because I can't figure out how to sing it to my 1st graders.  Sadly I found only two videos of it being read, both by children, and neither doing any better with it than I can.  If YOU happen to know what tune would work best with it, can you give me a call - or better yet - set up a web cam and meet me on Skype and show me just how it's done!

Enjoy!

Thing #7: Productivity & Collaboration Tools

What a fun project this week!  Usually I post my "homework" right away, but this week I had to slow down and do some real exploration! 

The two tools that I chose to focus on for this assignment are Delicious (bookmarks) and Only2Clicks (full page of web links).

Delicious will be really handy for when I'm working online at different locations (most notably, home and work).  I have already started loading it up with all my most necessary go-to spots.  This is a great way to consolodate my most needed web adresses and to make them easily accessible from wherever I am.

Only2Clicks should work out well for my students.  I already have ways of giving them web links for projects and general use, but I really like the visual format of this lay-out.  I just created a page for my 4th graders who are working on a reference packet in my class, and I'm sure they're going to love it.

Like so many others have posted, this is a lesson that I am sure to visit and re-visit time and again.  Thank you, Polly, for putting this handy list together.  Although it is not all inclusive, it certainly contains enough resources to keep someone busy (and happy) for a long, long time!