As the sun sets on the busiest semester of my grad school career I'd like to take a look back at a few of the technical programs that drove me to drink and that actually got me to think about the next school year while on summer vacation. This final blog shall follow in the illustrious foot steps of none other than Mr. Clint Eastwood. I present to you for you amusement and education "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."
The Good:
While there are just a plethora of programs that I enjoyed using this semester I must say the learning how to create my own QR codes, Biblionaisum, and Pixton are the programs and applications that I feel will be the most useful for my students and I in the up coming school year. I truly think that incorporating QR codes as an alternative to copies of handouts is a great way to use technology in class as well as save on that precious copy paper. Biblionasium wasn't my personal favorite book community but I think as far as student use this one can't be beat. It is user friendly and has a fun layout. Finally, Pixton gave me ideas for breaking up the constant paper to pen writing assignments in class. I think students can have a lot of fun with this and so can I.
The Bad:
My bad list is pretty short and is mostly for personal reasons. Tumblr is not for me. I felt pressured and just plan didn't like it. It was too in my face for me. LibraryThing was also not for me. I thought the layout was boring and it wasn't what I would call user friendly. Just plain ol' blah.
The Ugly:
There is only ONE program that I would flat out say was ugly: Screenr! This program was awful for me. I had the hardest time using it and felt nothing but defeat, even after I finally was able to use it. Without a doubt this program was U-G-L-Y.
So there it is. My list. But who am I to judge? No one really. These were my findings, you may have other experiences, so I encourage you to get on that wireless mouse and keyboard and explore these programs for yourself. Even one can change your educational career.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
You like Me- You really like me!
Raine, L. (June 13, 2013). Reinventing of libraries: The keys to the future in 7 questions. Retrieved from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/files/2013/07/6-13-13ReinventinglibrariesWorcester_PDF.pdf
Just when people have started asking that oh so annoying, kick you in the crotch, spit on your neck fantastic question, "Why do we need libraries any more, isn't everything digital now," comes Lee Raines and Reinventing libraries". It may seem like a few slides with nothing but charts and graphs but that presentation can re-affirm any librarian's belief in the power of our job.
91% of people asked say that libraries are important to their community (Raines 6). That's amazing! 9 out of 10 people think libraries are important, and I personally believe that 10th one was just being difficult. According to Raines more people have confidence and importance staked in the library than congress! (Raines 7). Granted that's kind of sad for America- but hooray for the library!
Extra bonus- people trust librarians! 98% say their interactions with librarians are positive! Translation- people like us! Just in case you didn't feel like it today- people like us!
Mining Pew pages 141- 180/ 150 (grad school assignment)
Just when people have started asking that oh so annoying, kick you in the crotch, spit on your neck fantastic question, "Why do we need libraries any more, isn't everything digital now," comes Lee Raines and Reinventing libraries". It may seem like a few slides with nothing but charts and graphs but that presentation can re-affirm any librarian's belief in the power of our job.
91% of people asked say that libraries are important to their community (Raines 6). That's amazing! 9 out of 10 people think libraries are important, and I personally believe that 10th one was just being difficult. According to Raines more people have confidence and importance staked in the library than congress! (Raines 7). Granted that's kind of sad for America- but hooray for the library!
Extra bonus- people trust librarians! 98% say their interactions with librarians are positive! Translation- people like us! Just in case you didn't feel like it today- people like us!
Mining Pew pages 141- 180/ 150 (grad school assignment)
Monday, June 29, 2015
Parents are a Library's greatest ally
Miller, C., Zickhur, K., Rainie, L., Purcell, K. (May 1, 2013). Parents, children, libraries, and reading. Retrieved from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/files/legacy-pdf/PIP_Library_Services_Parents_PDF.pdf
Confession time- I do not like dealing with parents. As a classroom teacher I am usually faced with the question "what are YOU doing wrong?" To which I naturally want to respond, "Me? I let your child stay up until 2 on a school night, I as the teacher did not turn in the student's assignment, I as the teacher chose not to follow the directions that I gave your student numerous times, etc." Not that I am allowed to respond in such a fashion. So you can imagine my surprise when I read Parents, children, libraries, and reading.
According to the findings of Miller, Zickuhr, et al, 94% of parents of children 18 and under feel that the library is important for their children. 84% of those parents say the library is important because it "libraries help inculcate their children’s love of reading and books," (Miller 2). That's fantastic! Just when you had lost all hope for parental involvement. Parents are also more likely to know about the services the library provides and support the implementing of new services. Just when I was focusing on how to notify the students I learn that notifying the parents is the key to my success.
Parents, children, libraries, and reading goes even deeper into what type of parent is the most concerned with library services and technology. their findings indicate that lower income parents are more likely to encourage the use of the library resources. They seem to especially be interested in learning and using eReaders (Miller 8). I honestly would have thought it would have been the exact opposite as I figure the higher income households would have the funds needed to purchase an eReader. Apparently if the library provides it they will come!
Parents, children, libraries, and reading took their research a step farther and asked parents what services the library offers that they would say is very to extremely important for their children and themselves. Granted at this point they are speaking about a public library but I feel that their findings can be applied to the school setting as well. Below are their findings (Miller 50):
(Grad school info- mining pew pages 49-140/ 150).
Confession time- I do not like dealing with parents. As a classroom teacher I am usually faced with the question "what are YOU doing wrong?" To which I naturally want to respond, "Me? I let your child stay up until 2 on a school night, I as the teacher did not turn in the student's assignment, I as the teacher chose not to follow the directions that I gave your student numerous times, etc." Not that I am allowed to respond in such a fashion. So you can imagine my surprise when I read Parents, children, libraries, and reading.
According to the findings of Miller, Zickuhr, et al, 94% of parents of children 18 and under feel that the library is important for their children. 84% of those parents say the library is important because it "libraries help inculcate their children’s love of reading and books," (Miller 2). That's fantastic! Just when you had lost all hope for parental involvement. Parents are also more likely to know about the services the library provides and support the implementing of new services. Just when I was focusing on how to notify the students I learn that notifying the parents is the key to my success.
Parents, children, libraries, and reading goes even deeper into what type of parent is the most concerned with library services and technology. their findings indicate that lower income parents are more likely to encourage the use of the library resources. They seem to especially be interested in learning and using eReaders (Miller 8). I honestly would have thought it would have been the exact opposite as I figure the higher income households would have the funds needed to purchase an eReader. Apparently if the library provides it they will come!
Parents, children, libraries, and reading took their research a step farther and asked parents what services the library offers that they would say is very to extremely important for their children and themselves. Granted at this point they are speaking about a public library but I feel that their findings can be applied to the school setting as well. Below are their findings (Miller 50):
- Eight in ten parents say that borrowing books (83%) and free access to computers and the
- internet (81%) are very important library services.
- Roughly eight in ten (79%) parents say that librarians helping people find the information they need is a very important library service.
- Three quarter of parents say that quiet study spaces for adults and children (78%), providing research resources (77%) and programs and classes for children and teens (76%)are very important.
- Seven in ten (68%) parents say that providing free events and activities, such as classes and
- cultural events for people of all ages or job resources (68%)
- is very important.
- Fewer than half (46%) say that providing free public meeting space is a very important service the library provides the public (although an additional 42% say this is somewhat important)
(Grad school info- mining pew pages 49-140/ 150).
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Climbing "Vines" Instagram-ly
So the past few years I have discovered something about today's kids, especially teen age girls. They LOVE to look at themselves. I myself don't get it- I could look at a lot of things more than me and be really happy about (see previous posts about Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling). But they do for whatever reason. I say as educators we use this to our advantage. Let's take Instagram and Vine and let's us them to our advantage.
Instagram- Turns out I already had an account. Who knew? It had one picture of my husband uploaded from at least a year and a half ago. It now has four. These are just a few pictures that I snapped or uploaded to illustrate. I did use the app Overgram to add text to my pictures. You can't do this in Instagram so do it first then upload. Overgram was also free.
Sorry that one got a little cut off- live, learn, and read Firelight by Sophie Jordan- it's awesome. And of course-A photo posted by @sunnicrumrine on
Vine- What could you do or say in 6 seconds? That's all you get with Vine. 6 seconds to say or show whatever it is you have to say. What a great idea to get kids down to the theme of a story! You have 6 seconds to tell me what this is about- go! Bully! And with that I just came up with warm-up ideas/ exit ticket ideas. Fun stuff! As this was my first foray in to this program I haven't worked out the kinks but here is my son showing off his favorite book.
Screen Casts= Love HATE relationship.
I was really looking forward to learning how to do a screen cast. The professors in my grad school all use them and I kept thinking "how do they do that?" Well now I know. I set out to try a couple of free programs online to figure out which one would be right for me.
With computer usage an everyday occurrence in a lot of classes having step by step directions ready to go just makes sense. Enter screen casts! You get it all- audio and visual. The double whammy of instructing. Plus kids can follow along on their computers while you play the screen cast on the projector and you add in the hands on element. Below are the screen casts I created and teh sites I created them on.
Screenr- This program is the DEVIL! I hope the creator of this program enjoys the depths of Tartarus. I was in tears, nay I was bawling from this program. It was easy to use for certain. You click launch recorder and you're good to go. Unless you have problems with your Java. Then you will have to take a few to figure that out (did that). Then you create a nice little screen cast- free version is no longer than 5 minutes. Then you get the news- only members can download or publish their video. I suppose the rest just sit and stare at their screens after making theirs. So I signed up first through Google. It would never complete my registration. I tried 13 times- that's right 13 confirming emails and still no go. Then I gave Twitter a go. Taking this route took 6 tries but finally I had an account. I can download my video now right? WRONG! "Please confirm your email again" Well, here we go again. I think it took 5 additional tried before it would finally give me an embed code- still no download. So after hours of frustration, no less than 19 emails, many tears, and a glass of wine here it is- as the title says (despite the spelling error that I wouldn't chance it to correct) this was not worth the trouble.
Screencast O Matic- This program was the exact opposite of the one previously mentioned. I had zero problems with this site. I went there, began using the record device immediately and when I was done I was given the option to download my video right away. Like Screenr you have the ability to create a 5 minute screen cast without registering for anything. This site also has a few helpful links. I liked the links for "what teachers are using screen casts for". It obviously gives a few ideas for screen casts in the classroom. I will be using this program again. I will even be using it to re-record the video I made in the other program. Below is my first and only attempt at this site.
With computer usage an everyday occurrence in a lot of classes having step by step directions ready to go just makes sense. Enter screen casts! You get it all- audio and visual. The double whammy of instructing. Plus kids can follow along on their computers while you play the screen cast on the projector and you add in the hands on element. Below are the screen casts I created and teh sites I created them on.
Screenr- This program is the DEVIL! I hope the creator of this program enjoys the depths of Tartarus. I was in tears, nay I was bawling from this program. It was easy to use for certain. You click launch recorder and you're good to go. Unless you have problems with your Java. Then you will have to take a few to figure that out (did that). Then you create a nice little screen cast- free version is no longer than 5 minutes. Then you get the news- only members can download or publish their video. I suppose the rest just sit and stare at their screens after making theirs. So I signed up first through Google. It would never complete my registration. I tried 13 times- that's right 13 confirming emails and still no go. Then I gave Twitter a go. Taking this route took 6 tries but finally I had an account. I can download my video now right? WRONG! "Please confirm your email again" Well, here we go again. I think it took 5 additional tried before it would finally give me an embed code- still no download. So after hours of frustration, no less than 19 emails, many tears, and a glass of wine here it is- as the title says (despite the spelling error that I wouldn't chance it to correct) this was not worth the trouble.
Screencast O Matic- This program was the exact opposite of the one previously mentioned. I had zero problems with this site. I went there, began using the record device immediately and when I was done I was given the option to download my video right away. Like Screenr you have the ability to create a 5 minute screen cast without registering for anything. This site also has a few helpful links. I liked the links for "what teachers are using screen casts for". It obviously gives a few ideas for screen casts in the classroom. I will be using this program again. I will even be using it to re-record the video I made in the other program. Below is my first and only attempt at this site.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Comic Chameleon
Disclaimer- I do not read comic books- I say comic books because thanks to Sheldon Cooper I am given to understand comics are located in the "Funnies" section of the newspaper and back when newspapers were delivered and not downloaded I did read comics. The exception is Captain America (obsessed over here).
That being said I have never tried to create my own. Stan Lee achieved the perfect one the first go around. Who knew that you could use them to educate? Not to mention the awesome circulation power of graphic novels. But thanks once more to our pal the internet a new method of creating is upon us! Behold- the comic creating websites (and they're free too!).
I gave three different sites a test drive to figure out how and when I might be able to use my new found technology ace in the hole- I mean can you imagine how cool your principal would think you are if you presented her with student created, educational comic strips? Hello good PDAS. Below you will find my reviews of each site.
Pixton- This site is so fun. It is by far the most sophisticated of the sites I previewed. You can design your own character, select layouts, backgrounds, everything. Plus you can change your character's pose and facial expressions as you go. No other site offered that. Unlike the other sites you could add as many frames as you needed to tell your story. I had a lot of fun with this site. My ELAR kids would eat this up- and I think they will come Halloween when we will be illustrating our own stories rather than just writing them this year! They can design the comic in class before hand and then using either a computer lab or COW (computers on wheels) make and print out their very own comic! Down side- the free version doesn't let you download your comic. But it does offer a deal for educators- I just didn't have time to check it all out. I did snip my from the screen so you could enjoy. P.S. I do kind of look like my character- similar build, hair (yes it's purple for the summer), glasses, etc but I would never wear those clothes.
Comic Book!- This is a totally free site which is great for schools. Its really easy to use. You select your layout, your background, all that jazz. The up side, this site lets you chose whether to make a strip or an entire book- can you cay group project??? You can also upload images to use and this site has tons of clip art. The tools are simple and could be demonstrated in maybe 10 minutes. Drawback- once you select which layout you want there's no adding to it. You can't stick an additional frame in at the end if you need to. It does let you share your comic as well as let others edit it so you have a nice way for people to share a project. You can also down load your final results. However, this site is much more juvenile than Pixton. Old kids might get bored quickly.
See what I mean? I really needed an extra frame to show the librarian getting the book but I couldn't add one- bummer.
Make Beliefs Comic- If you teach elementary level students this is probably the best site for an intro into making comics. There is no registration required so you don't have to stress about 6 year olds not having email addresses. You just go there and get busy. That being said this site is BASIC. What you see is what you get. No fancy uploads, facial expressions or changing poses here. Point and Click. But again for younger kids this works great. For older kids you could always throw this is for a quick warm up if you have the equipment to do so. You can save your comic before leaving the site.
I really wanted to increase the font size without increasing the balloon but didn't figure out how to before I moved on.
That being said I have never tried to create my own. Stan Lee achieved the perfect one the first go around. Who knew that you could use them to educate? Not to mention the awesome circulation power of graphic novels. But thanks once more to our pal the internet a new method of creating is upon us! Behold- the comic creating websites (and they're free too!).
I gave three different sites a test drive to figure out how and when I might be able to use my new found technology ace in the hole- I mean can you imagine how cool your principal would think you are if you presented her with student created, educational comic strips? Hello good PDAS. Below you will find my reviews of each site.
Pixton- This site is so fun. It is by far the most sophisticated of the sites I previewed. You can design your own character, select layouts, backgrounds, everything. Plus you can change your character's pose and facial expressions as you go. No other site offered that. Unlike the other sites you could add as many frames as you needed to tell your story. I had a lot of fun with this site. My ELAR kids would eat this up- and I think they will come Halloween when we will be illustrating our own stories rather than just writing them this year! They can design the comic in class before hand and then using either a computer lab or COW (computers on wheels) make and print out their very own comic! Down side- the free version doesn't let you download your comic. But it does offer a deal for educators- I just didn't have time to check it all out. I did snip my from the screen so you could enjoy. P.S. I do kind of look like my character- similar build, hair (yes it's purple for the summer), glasses, etc but I would never wear those clothes.
Comic Book!- This is a totally free site which is great for schools. Its really easy to use. You select your layout, your background, all that jazz. The up side, this site lets you chose whether to make a strip or an entire book- can you cay group project??? You can also upload images to use and this site has tons of clip art. The tools are simple and could be demonstrated in maybe 10 minutes. Drawback- once you select which layout you want there's no adding to it. You can't stick an additional frame in at the end if you need to. It does let you share your comic as well as let others edit it so you have a nice way for people to share a project. You can also down load your final results. However, this site is much more juvenile than Pixton. Old kids might get bored quickly.
Make Beliefs Comic- If you teach elementary level students this is probably the best site for an intro into making comics. There is no registration required so you don't have to stress about 6 year olds not having email addresses. You just go there and get busy. That being said this site is BASIC. What you see is what you get. No fancy uploads, facial expressions or changing poses here. Point and Click. But again for younger kids this works great. For older kids you could always throw this is for a quick warm up if you have the equipment to do so. You can save your comic before leaving the site.
Booking dot Yeah!- Online book communities
Well, I think I have found yet another online addiction to help ween me off of Pintrest (not where you thought I was going with the whole online addiction thing right?) Online book communities. Hello sites, good bye wallet. These sites are amazing for any lover of books.
Online book communities are sites that you join and then look for books. It sounds like a no brainer when simplified to that degree but its true. You type in what genre, author, subject, or even type of book you are looking for and it can search over 700 different sources to find them for you. You can create book shelves to house your wish list for books, keep track of books you are currently reading (what- you mean everyone isn't currently reading 5 different novels of various age groups?), and list what books you have already read. You can even write and read reviews of the books you have read. I like to find people who have similar tastes as me and read their reviews to help guide in the direction of the shall we say more stellar works of literature. I didn't want to flat out say stay away from bad books because hopefully every book was liked by at least one person.
Behold- the book communities I have recently joined along with a few pics of my shelves on each. Hopefully this can help you find an online book community that's right for you.
Library Things- I did NOT like this site. Sorry to flat out dis a site like that but better to do it like a band aid then pussy foot around the truth. I found it hard to use and the layout was very business like. I had a hard time finding books and authors that I wanted to read and when I wanted to add books to my wish list I tried the "add book" button. This led me to a list of books that matched my search. I could then click on the title and it would add it to my list- sometimes. Other times it made look for the books again. When I went to the list of books they had recommended for me the same thing happened- click on a book, go to search, click on the book. Why couldn't I simply click the "add book" feature? I got frustrated fast. Not to mention one of my favorite authors- Sophie Jordan had several of books listed but only in the German version- um what??? Definitely not the site for me. Here's my book shelves:
Biblionasium- What a fun site! So perfect for school use! This site is so easy to use and completely appeals to the younger user. Books were super easy to find and the shelving process was available on every books- just click Wishlist, I Own it, I have read it , and/ or Its a favorite. You have the option of rating books but it's not required. There is even the option to go straight to Amazon and buy the books. One and only complaint is this, say I look up Harry Potter and I get a list of all the the different Harry Potter Book. I click on Prisoner of Azkaban (obviously the best one) add it to my shelf. If I want to select the rest there is no "back to results" button on site. I used the one on my screen but it didn't always work right away. I still really liked it, I can see myself using this at school as well as with my 5 year old son. A look at my shelf:
Book Like- This is a really good site. It was easy to use, had a nice friendly layout, the books were easy to find. It's your one stop site to find, rate, review books. I have no complaints and was really close to saying "I'm home". There was only one thing that turned me off- the blog. I have a blog- obviously! I don't feel the need to keep adding more and more. My thoughts aren't always gems, they only need to be put out there once. Yet this site forced me to make one before I could look for books. P.S.- mine says that there is nothing there and it will probably stay that way. Here's my book shelf-
End results- Personal use Shelfari
School/ Student Use- Biblionasium
Online book communities are sites that you join and then look for books. It sounds like a no brainer when simplified to that degree but its true. You type in what genre, author, subject, or even type of book you are looking for and it can search over 700 different sources to find them for you. You can create book shelves to house your wish list for books, keep track of books you are currently reading (what- you mean everyone isn't currently reading 5 different novels of various age groups?), and list what books you have already read. You can even write and read reviews of the books you have read. I like to find people who have similar tastes as me and read their reviews to help guide in the direction of the shall we say more stellar works of literature. I didn't want to flat out say stay away from bad books because hopefully every book was liked by at least one person.
Behold- the book communities I have recently joined along with a few pics of my shelves on each. Hopefully this can help you find an online book community that's right for you.
Library Things- I did NOT like this site. Sorry to flat out dis a site like that but better to do it like a band aid then pussy foot around the truth. I found it hard to use and the layout was very business like. I had a hard time finding books and authors that I wanted to read and when I wanted to add books to my wish list I tried the "add book" button. This led me to a list of books that matched my search. I could then click on the title and it would add it to my list- sometimes. Other times it made look for the books again. When I went to the list of books they had recommended for me the same thing happened- click on a book, go to search, click on the book. Why couldn't I simply click the "add book" feature? I got frustrated fast. Not to mention one of my favorite authors- Sophie Jordan had several of books listed but only in the German version- um what??? Definitely not the site for me. Here's my book shelves:
Good Reads- This site was fun to use. It had a nice layout- reminded me of Barnes and Noble's site. The books were easy to find. I searched by author and genre. Again I could shelf books I wanted to read, had read, and were currently reading. The one thing I didn't care too much for was that I had to review 20 books to get the site to recommend some for me to read. I kind of felt a little used, like "we'll withhold our literature unless you do this first." you're a book community- give me my books!!! Here's my book shelf
Biblionasium- What a fun site! So perfect for school use! This site is so easy to use and completely appeals to the younger user. Books were super easy to find and the shelving process was available on every books- just click Wishlist, I Own it, I have read it , and/ or Its a favorite. You have the option of rating books but it's not required. There is even the option to go straight to Amazon and buy the books. One and only complaint is this, say I look up Harry Potter and I get a list of all the the different Harry Potter Book. I click on Prisoner of Azkaban (obviously the best one) add it to my shelf. If I want to select the rest there is no "back to results" button on site. I used the one on my screen but it didn't always work right away. I still really liked it, I can see myself using this at school as well as with my 5 year old son. A look at my shelf:
Book Like- This is a really good site. It was easy to use, had a nice friendly layout, the books were easy to find. It's your one stop site to find, rate, review books. I have no complaints and was really close to saying "I'm home". There was only one thing that turned me off- the blog. I have a blog- obviously! I don't feel the need to keep adding more and more. My thoughts aren't always gems, they only need to be put out there once. Yet this site forced me to make one before I could look for books. P.S.- mine says that there is nothing there and it will probably stay that way. Here's my book shelf-
Shelfari- I LOVE this site! It is my new bestie and we will get tether everyday to discuss our other friends (the books). Who has gotten big, who isn't popular any more, who has been seen where. It will be magic. Take all the great things about the other sites and put them here. Ease of use, large selection, rating system, you name it. Plus it's powered by Amazon- my other BFF. I also preferred their version of the book shelf- one that swiveled as opposed to scrolling down the page. Rating the books was easy cheesy, they use a 5 star rating system and you just click how many stars you'd give it. You can add comments but it's not required. This will be my own personal book community. My shelf:
School/ Student Use- Biblionasium
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