Libraries in the Community

Rainie, L. (2013) Libraries + parents = innovation and success. Pew Research Internet Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/06/30/libraries-parents-innovation-and-success/

This presentation highlights the 13 key facts pulled from the Pew Internet’s research on libraries in today’s society. The most important fact is that libraries are indeed important to the community. To be precise, 91% of surveyors agree with this statement, and 76% think that libraries are important to their families. 94% of parents believe that libraries are important for their children. As an educator and a book-lover, this is a huge relief to hear! If parents think that libraries are important for their children, then that means that children are being introduced to the library by their parents. Parents think libraries are important for many reasons. I was excited to see that 84% of parents think the library is important because it promotes the love of reading and books. The fact that most parents find the love of reading important tells me that they are encouraging their children to read. This gives me hope for the future! Coming in closely behind the love of reading, parents also think the library is important because it provides resources not available at home and it is a safe place for children to be. When asked what services are most important that are offered by the library, borrowing books and free access to the computers were the two main contenders. 77% of surveyors said that free access to computers and Internet in most important. This seems to go hand and hand with the fact that patrons believe that the library provides resources that are not available at home. Although many print materials are available in the library that are not available in most homes, it is also highly valuable to have free access to the Internet if a family does not have a computer at home. Especially these days when most students are required to do or submit work online, it is nice to have a place like the public library where students can go to guarantee access to the Internet.

I enjoyed reading the reasons why people tend to frequent the library more often. Having grandchildren was at the top of this list. I think grandparents find it important to take their grandchildren to the library, because it may be where they spent a lot of time as a child and they may have good memories of going as a child. They want to give their grandchildren that same opportunity. Other reasons people increase their frequency in visiting the library include research purposes, to borrow books, to use the computer and/or Internet, and to study.

I loved the part where this presentation said that people like librarians! As someone studying to be a librarian, this makes me feel good! I always think people view the librarian as the “shusher” or the nerdy old lady with a bun, glasses, and her nose in a book. I like to hear that 98% of surveyors who visit the library have had positive interactions with their librarians. That’s awesome!

It was not surprising to read that among library users, parents do more library activities than others. This includes activities such as browsing the shelves, borrowing books, attending classes and events for children, borrowing movies, and using the computers and/or Internet. Even borrowing e-books is more common with parent patrons. 29% of the parents surveyed have read an e-book in the past year and over 60% of them own an e-book reader or a tablet. Parents are also most interested in more tech services being offered by the library. For examples, parents are interested in see an “Ask the Librarian” online service and a cell phone application for smart phones where they can access the library. I thought it was interesting, but not surprising, that mothers are more influential in library involvement than fathers. More mothers (than fathers) own library cards, visit the library, visit the website for the library, and use the computers at the library. This probably has a great deal to do with the fact that many mothers stay home with their children during the day, freeing them up to visit the library during daytime hours.

I loved reading that the public wants the library to be more engaged in education. Coordinating with local schools and offering free literacy programs are just two great suggestions that were offered as ways to get the library more involved in the educational lives of the children in the community. Sadly, I learned in this presentation, that only 22% of surveyors knew all or more of the services offered by their library. That is not enough people! As librarians, we need to be proactive in getting the public engaged in the library and aware of the services that it offers. 31% of people knew nothing or almost nothing about what the library has to offer. That is way too many people who are clueless about the library! The good news is, however, that reading is alive and well! It was relieving to see that 90% of older teens have read a book in the last year and that 85% of teens have read a PRINT book. Although many believe it, print books are not going away and they are not antiquated. Technology does also aid in the engagement of teen readers though…with 25% of older teens having read an e-book in the past year and 16% an audiobook. What I loved most about all of these statistics was that 58% of parents with children under six years of age read to them every day! And 50% pf parents with children under age 12 read to them every day. That is amazing! I know that it is hard to find time to read with your child every day, so I commend the half of these parents that finds it important enough to do every day. That says a lot about their priorities and their desire to create a love of reading within their children. As long as this enthusiasm for the library remains, then the library is here to stay!

Mining PEW – 19 pages (127 total)

Technology and Education

Lenhart, A. (2013) “How do [they] even do that?”: How today’s technology is shaping tomorrow’s students. Pew Research Internet Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media//Files/Presentations/2013/Dartmouth_Student%20of%20the%20Future%20040913v7_fin_clean_PDF.pdf

This presentation on how technology is changing today’s learning environment was very informative. As a 30 year old, born in 1984, I feel like I have seen a huge transformation in technology in my lifetime. It was really interesting to follow Elizabeth’s childhood in this presentation and compare my own experiences to hers. Being 11 years older than her, I feel like our experiences are completely different! I know 11 years is not that long, but when talking about technology it is! I can’t imagine how generations older than me feel when reading a presentation like this!

Hearing the age of some technologies was alarming to me…like email being 27 years old and PC’s 20 years old. I am surprised that email is almost as old as me! I know we didn’t have it in our home that long ago, but then again, I’m sure most people didn’t. The PC pictures in this presentation looks like the one I remember from when we first got a computer. Wow how things have changed. Equally alarming are the percentages of teens with access to technology. I am not surprised that most teens have a computer in their home, but the fact that 67% use email does shock me. After teaching 8^th graders at my church, I am convinced that 67% may HAVE email, but only about 10% USE email. I also noticed that teens tend to change email addresses often. They want a cute name to match their interests for the year, and then change it when the next fad comes in. I remember creating me first email address in high school, and I still use the same personal email address…15 years later! I also find it hard to believe that cell phones are 17 years old…then again, I forget about the mobile phones that were in cars only before the actual portable phones came out. The fact that 78% of teens have cell phones does not surprise me at all. I have fourth graders in my class with cell phones! I got my first cell phone about half way through my freshman year of college, because I was living in OK and my family in TX. This generation, growing up never knowing life without instant communication is living an entirely different childhood than I did only 20 years ago or so. Not only the fact that they can communicate with anyone at any time…but also all of the other features the smart phones offer. Driving directions, facebook, calculator, calendar, bank access, etc. Everything is at our fingertips! I know the tiny little Nokia phone that I first got could only make calls, and possible text message…I can’t remember! As stated in the article, “Mobile devices have fundamentally changed the relationship between information, time, and space.” So true!

As for all of the data about Internet usage, I think it is wonderful the world we have access to via the Internet. Today’s younger generations are so blessed to be able to access information so easily and so quickly online. I was surprised by the statistic that 14% of teens keep blogs. This encourages me to keep a classroom blog. I thought teens could care less about blogs…much less writing their own! Maybe having my students keeps a blog of their own would be a good idea. That would be a good way to integrate technology, encourage writing, and monitor learning. I am not surprised that 70% of teens use Wikipedia as a source for information. I am not sure I like that fact. Wikipedia is not known for being an extremely credible source, and I know that most students depend on it as their primary source. I think this site is a good starting point for research to get an overview of a topic or find basic information to research further, but should not be the only source used in research. Does this generation know what print encyclopedias are? Do classrooms and libraries typically have a set, or do they only use online versions?

As for Facebook, it is crazy to think that it has been around since Elizabeth was in elementary school! It does not surprise me that 82% of online teens use social networking sites, but I do wonder how many are on them with their parents’ permission and if their parents monitor what they post, who they interact with, what they read, etc. In Elizabeth’s lifetime, many social sites like this one have become available, many of which can be used in the classroom. YouTube came out when she was in 4^th grade. This can be a great educational tool, if used correctly. I was surprised that only 27% have recorded videos on YouTube. I thought more teens would have experimented with this media. It was scary to read that 37% of teens use video chat! Who are they chatting with…grandparents via Skype, or strangers?! I was also surprised that only 11% of teens use Instagram and only 3% use it the most often of all social sites. I thought most teens were leaving Facebook and going to Instagram. I wonder what social media site they are migrating to? I love Instagram, and now that I have ideas of how to use it in the classroom, I hope to use it even more! I guess it is a good thing that less teens are on it than I thought, because that means less teens are taking photos of themselves and their friends and posting them publicly.

Internet had truly changed our world, both socially and educationally. Today’s generation will not have the problem of not being able to keep up with their friends after they leave high school. With social media sites, cell phones, Skype, etc. they will have access to their friends nation-wide and even world-wide! I remember at my high school graduation party in 2002 getting calling cards to help me be able to call my friends and family. Once I got a cell phone, this became so much easier! And now with Wi-Fi almost anywhere, students can access e-mail, video chatting, Facebook, etc. to keep up with the friends and family. Education itself has changed tremendously due to technology. I was not shocked to hear that 270,000 youth go to virtual schools. My sister-in-law teaches on a virtual school for students who are competitive athletes, behavior cases, severely ill, etc. These students can access her classroom and school work anytime from anywhere. They complete their work independently for the most part, and self-direction is a driving factor for her students. I loved the quote from the article that “Young people are desperate for learning that is relevant and part of the fabric of their social lives, where they are making choices about how, when, and what to learn, without it all being mapped for them in advance.” The Internet gives students the freedom to guide their own learning. I thought it was interesting that some schools are moving to the “flipped” classroom, where students watch lectures at home online and in class they are doing activities, practice, etc. I think I would love to see this in action and see how the students handle it. It sounds like a great idea!

Technology is obviously a huge part of today’s classroom, virtual or not. I remember only having an overhead projector in my classrooms as a child, and now students have digital projectors, computers, digital cameras, smart boards, tablets, and the list goes on! I feel like the possibilities are endless with the ways in which technology can support and enhance instruction. I found it interesting that teachers differ on their opinions of how technology effects the classroom. Teachers that are not impressed with the changes say that students are too easily distracted, overloaded with information, and have a hard time finding credible sources on the Internet. I think these problems could be easily fixed with some training on how to integrate technology and how to teach the students to use the Internet and technology. The teachers that love having the Internet in their classrooms say that students get a wider range of resources, their research habits improve, and they become more self-sufficient. Technology and the Internet definitely bring lots of change and confusion, but more importantly it brings opportunity for growth and learning that did not exist before!

Mining PEW – 43 pages (108 total)

Instagram and Vine...

Instagram

I have been an Instagram user for about a year and a half, and I love it. I joined the site because I was an 8th grade Sunday School teacher, and my girls basically told me I was loser for not being on it! Haha. They were right. :) It is so true that many of the younger generation has left Facebook and moved to other social media sites, like Instagram. I use them together...whenever I want to post a single picture to Facebook, I do it in Instagram so that I can crop it and edit it, and then I share on Facebook simultaneously. I love it! This allows my friends on both sites to see it without twice the work. Here are some recent pics of my family that I have posted....








I had never thought of using Instagram in the classroom, but the articles that we were sent to gave some great ideas! Here are the ideas that I like the most:

1. Providing an image on Instagram as a writing prompt
2. Students posting images of ecosystems for science class
3. Showcase student work/artwork
4. Feature a student of the week
5. Field trip memories
6. Imagine what a favorite character would post
7. Share reading recommendations
8. ABC Scavenger Hunt (or any scavenger hunt for that matter!)

These are all great ideas, and I look forward to trying them! I do think it is important to set up a new Instagram account for the classroom and have students use it only. The privacy settings should be set to very secure and all students and parents should have access to view and post of the feed. There will definitely be some security measures to think through to make Instagram doable for the classroom, but that is a challenge that I am OK with! 

Vine

Here are some fun Vine videos that I made this evening at home...

This about sums up tummy time:


My super star 3 year old:


Sweet brothers:


Here are my favorite ideas of how to use Vine in the classroom:

1. Creating videos for the class to watch and then make inferences based on the videos
2. Recreating scenes from books that the class is reading (or maybe making a book trailer to get classmates to read their favorite book)
3. Helping students to memorize important concepts (repetition is key!)

I think students would LOVE using Vine because they can be creative! And what students doesn't love seeing themself on the screen?! I think this is an excellent way to integrate technology and engage students in the classroom activity.

Loved this assignment. :)

Information Overload!

Information overload in a GOOD way! :) I have really enjoyed exploring these information curation sites and getting updated on all of the things that matter to me!

I will start with Scoop.it. I really liked that this site offers both the web-based option and the smart phone app. I was able to create my account online and create and follow topics there. Once my topics were selected, I could them view them on the iPhone. I could not add more topics from the iPhone. It told me that I had to create more topics on the website. That is one disadvantage to Scoop.it! I had decided to create my account by connecting with Facebook, because I thought that would be easiest. But now when I want to log on at school, I can't, because my school has Facebook blocked. Therefore, I would suggest creating an account with a username and password, so that you can access it from anywhere. I could access it from school on my phone though...but again, I couldn't add topics. I do like the layout of Scoop.it and the ease of use. The articles available are great as well. I have a topic entitled "Library" and it is way too broad...I would suggest being more specific with your topics. Like maybe "Elementary School Library." Overall, this site was good, but not my favorite.

I will discuss Paper.li next. I really like Paper.li! The biggest disadvantage to this site is that it does not have a smart phone app. I would love to use an information site that allows me to access it from multiple devices. Catching up news and topics is something I want to do from anywhere, so only having access on mt computer is a pain. That is the only reason why Paper.li is not my first pick. The layout of the site is great, and I really like how each topic that you follow is listed in a large box with the title...and a picture sometimes! This makes it easy to look through and pick which one you want to read. Each topic is so well organized! Once you click on the topic that you want to explore, there are several headings. For example, under "Technology in Lower Elementary", I can choose headlines, stories, technology, education, kids apps, kid lit, or all articles. This gives me more options in narrowing down the results to things that I am specifically interested in or seeing the bigger picture. You can subscribe to updates from specific topics that you follow, and you can share any article on any platform. It really is a great site!

Prismatic is a great tool as well. The biggest disadvantage to this site is that it is ONLY available on the app. I will say that this is better than web-based only, but it is nice to be able to access form any device. I wish they had both web-based and app based. Anyways, the app is great. The set-up process was easy and it walked me through selecting topics to follow so that I would be ready to read once I got in! I followed a wide range of topics and it only took a minute to select them. The topics are far more broad than Paper.li, but that's OK. I follow topics such as Netflix, Celebrity Gossip, Soccer, Children's Books, Parenting, etc. Like I said, broad topics but a huge variety. Under each topic, the articles are relevant, easy to scroll through, and almost always include a picture. I really really like this app, and I would recommend it to anyone. It's very attractive and user-friendly...plus, it's FREE!

 Zite is another one that is app only, and I found out that it has been acquired by Flipboard. So eventually these two apps will be combined. I do really like Zite. When you first open the app, after you have gone through set up and picked the topics you want to follow, it will show you articles from your topics that you can scroll through. If you hit the menu button, it gives you a "Quicklist" of the topics you have chosen. If you choose one of these, like "School Library Journal," it shows you articles just for that topic. Easy! I love the School Library Journal feed, by the way! There is also a way to view your recent articles, so it tracks your history. This is a great feature so that if you are trying to remember where you read something you can look back at your recent reads. Overall, this is a great app, and I think with it combining with Fliboard, it can only get better.

I will discuss Flipboard next. It is also app-based only. I think Flipboard is my favorite, simply because of the unique style and layout. When you first open the app, after setting up and selecting topics to follow, it opens to a main page with cover stories. The app draws your attention to topics and stories using pictures...not a ton of words. Then after you click on a high interest topic or article, there are more words of course. To scroll down in Flipboard, you scroll your finger like normal, but the app acts as a magazine and looks like you are flipping pages. It's really neat! So you can scroll through your favorite topics like this, and once you select a topic to explore, like "Childrens and Teens Books," you scroll through the articles in the same way. I think that relevance of the articles is great too. Flipboard is really easy to use and eye catching. Also, once Zite is fully integrated into the site, I think that the relevancy and availability of articles will be even better! I think this is my favorite, even though it doesn't have a web-based version. Like I said, if I had to choose one format, it would be the app because it's accessible anywhere.

Lastly, I will discuss Google Currents. This app (yes, app only) is great! It is really easy to search topics and subscribe to them. You simply click "Add" next to a topic you're interested in, and it adds it to your library. Once you click on a newsfeed, or topic, the articles are well organized and easy to search through. There are lots of relevant articles with pictures to grab your attention. Once you click on an article you want to read, the font size and format is very easy to read and attractive. There is also a "Breaking Stories" section that gives latest news stories...I really like this feature. Without TV in my house, I always feel lost on the breaking news stories, so it's nice to have an app that tells me immediately. This is a great app, and I would recommend it.

All in all, my favorite is Flipboard, but they are all great. I will definitely be using one or two of these apps/sites to keep updated on news and topics that I am interested in.

Screencasts

I have enjoyed making screencasts! Unfortunately I was unable to make one using Screenr. I tried and tried, but I kept having an issue with java. I looked up this issue online and many others have had the same issue with Screenr and Windows, and there is no solution that would work for me. After a solid two hours trying to make it work...I had to move on. So I decided to make two screencasts using Screencast-o-matic and Jing.

Here is the screencast that I made using Screencast-o-matic...

This site is great, and it is really easy to use! It is web-based, so there is no download necessary. You just go to the site, click record, it will give you a count down after you select your screen size, and you go from there. Once you stop recording it gives you the option to save the video to your files, which is what I did. Easy! I think this would be a great tool to use as a teacher or librarian to show screencasts to your kids on how to do an assignment or any online assignment. Especially if you are going to be absent and want to leave them instructions. I can see a librarian using this tool to post videos on the website for all students to access. Great tool!

This next video I created using Jing...

I really liked this program as well! The main difference was that you had to download Jing to your computer, but it was the fastest download ever, and I had no complications. Jing was also easy to use, and you can use it to not only capture video but images as well...like screen shots I guess. I honestly am not sure which tool I prefer, but I will say for the classroom Screencast-o-matic may be better, simply because the students wouldn't have to go through the download process. Other than that, I think these two tools are equally user friendly and wonderful for their purpose. I am excited to see what all I can do with these tools.

***Added note: After writing the above paragraph, I had a horrible time trying to get the Jing video to attach. It saves as a .swf file, and apparently blogger doesn't like that??? So, I can't do it either. I will attach the video to my blackboard submission and see if that works.

Again, I apologize that I could not create a screencast using Screenr (or Jing), and I hope that they get this issue resolved so that I can try it out!

Word Clouds and Quips

I created the above word cloud using Tagxedo. The only trouble I had in creating this is that I had to install Microsoft Silverlight first. That was a quick dowload though and only took a minute. It was well worth it, because this site was the easiest to use! It was so easy to change colors and fonts, and there were lots of shapes to choose from...or I beleive you could even upload your own shapes. You could also alter the layout in which the words appear. I did not have to do anything to choose these words. I just uploaded the URL to my last blog entry, and it chose the words for me. I love the words it chose as important and the words that stand out the most! Awesome!

I created this image using Tagul. It was must more difficult to use, because it did not choose the words for me. I uploaded the URL, same as before, but it create an image with every little word. I then had to go into a table of all words in the selection, and I have to delete the words I didn't want...including "I", "and," "the." That took forever and was very annoying. I love the end result, but WAY too time consuming!

I create this last image using Wordle. Can I just say...ugh! It took forever to get this done. I had issues with my java script...I had to download several things, change settings, etc. What a hassle! And for this end result....yuck! I downloaded the same URL, and it also used senseless words that were unimportant to the main idea. However, it did not give me the option to then go and delete any words I wanted...I was stuck with them. Hence why "that" and "and" are primary words in my picture. No thanks!

For Word Clouds, I would definitely use Tagxedo the most in my classroom. It was super easy and made a great quality image. I could use this tool by asking students to create word clouds for their own writing, for stories we read, for project involving research, word play, etc. This tool is a creative outlet for students to use to connect them with the words they learn and use and to bring enjoyment to words. I love it!

For these Dr. Seuss quotes, I created the top one using Recite This and the bottom one using Quip.io. I will say that both tools were easy to use. I liked Quip.io, because it was usable from the iphone. This will be easier for students. However, for this assignment, it made things a little bit more difficult, but only a little! I like both a lot!

I created these quotes using the same tools in the same order. Again, I love both. I will say that Recite This has way better choices for styles and creative looks. I think students would like this better. I could easily see students using these tools to share with me and their classmates their favorite quotes from books they are reading. I could also use these sites to create images to hang in my classroom or library to get students interested in books.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!