Wordle for the Media Center

This is my last posting for the 23 things in media. I have decided to try wordle. net. This is a fun and interactive site that can be used by both students and teachers. I thought I could add it to my website for readers to preview books. I could highlight the Sunshine State Readers for my 4th graders as they are reading the 15 books on that list. I thought I would do it by each book at and character traits, settings, and words that describe the book to help get them excited about reading it or as a review to those that had read it. I absolutely love this site and have had fun using it. I could also use it to show titles of new books arriving in the media center. Students could even create their own wordles that I could post to share with others. This is a great media tool for everyone!

Schooltube vs. Youtube

I was trying to think of what to try next in the 23 things list. I thought about youtube since that is so popular for every age group. I have never spent much time on it but my 14 year son watches it all the time. I had heard from a colleague that there was something called schooltube for educators. The youtube site is blocked on my school computers so I thought I would try schooltube. I think I am addicted. What a great tool for educators and one that I can definitely use in my library. I thought a good way to utilize it would be for trainings. I can video myself giving different trainings, orientations, and tours of the library. It would be a great way to share new books or to just show students how to use the library. I could even use it to train students on how to use the card catalog system on the computer. The ways this site could be used are endless. I can even link it to my own website for people to view. It also would be available for others to view and get ideas as I have done the same with their videos on schooltube. This was definitely a tool that excited me almost more then any of the others. I am very anxious to continue using it and finding more ways to utilize it.

Flickr for the Media Center

I have always heard about Flickr and found it when searching for photos online. However, I had never used it nor considered using it especially with my media center. I decided to go on and create an account to see what it was all about. I discovered that it is an amazing tool that can be used to share pictures of what is happening in my media center. I was concerned about who would be able to view this pictures for the safety of my students. However, I happily learned that it can be closed to be viewed only by specific friends of the site.

It was so easy to use. I was able to download pictures to Flickr and then have them sent to my media facebook page. Wow, I am really coming along in the world of technology! The photos could also be sent to Twitter or to any blogging pages. I haven't tried that out yet. I was really excited to see that a slideshow could be created with the photos and then uploaded to a website. That is my next project. I thought that would be a great way to share photos with families too.

I think this is another great tool that can be used to communicate and stay in contact with my media community. It is important for them to know what is going on in my media center and to feel in touch. I think Flickr is a great way to accomplish that goal.

Facebook for Media Centers

I have always enjoyed having a facebook account. It allows me to stay in touch with friends I have known for many years and get back in touch with some. When I first got the account I was absolutely addicted to it! Funny, that I never considered having a facebook account for my media center. I have seen other people have accounts for their businesses and there is even an account put together by parents to complain about decisions the school board is making! I have been leary about creating an account for my media center. But the more I thought about it, what a great way to let parents know what is happening on a daily basis. It is a way of keeping my school community informed of what is going on. Interestingly, the parents don't tend to check my school website but they go onto facebook. I created my facebook account for my media center. It was pretty easy to do since I already had a personal account. I advirtised it and am starting to get friends onto it. I am posting on a weekly basis what I am doing in the media center for each grade level. It is a great way to advirtise projects, activities, and fundraisers. I am enjoying watching it grow. It is just another extension of reaching out to my school parents to keep them informed.

Podcasting

I have been thinking about how I could use podcasts for my elementary media center. I finally had the idea that I could use them to record myself reading stories or doing book talks. I can also record students doing book talks. Book talks are a great way to encourage other students to read. When a child recommends the book other kids are more likely to be interested and read the book.

I had my daughter use her Itouch to record me reading a story for St. Patrick's Day. I put it on my website. Kids love to be read to. One of their favorite sites is one of celebrities reading stories. So I thought I would try one of me reading to them.

I am trying to find ways to get the students in my school to use the website more often. I thought this would be a great way to get them to do that.

The other idea I had to use podcasts was to film new things in the media center. We just had a mural painted on our wall and this is a great way to share it. I thought using podcasts to share new books that have just arrived would be a great use for podcasting.

This is all new to me so I am excited about trying out some new ideas!

Blog Set-up and Frustration

Well, I seem to have managed to get this blog up and running but it is pretty basic. I took my instructor's advice and went to blogger to set up an account since I have never done this before. I didn't have any idea where to go. My blog is very simple. I honestly haven't figured out yet how to add pictures. I did manage to get my profile posted and chose the design of the pink. There weren't a lot of choices and this one seemed a little more appealing. I will continue to play with it and see if I can make it more interesting to people reading it.

I had to link my blog so that my instructor and classmates could click on it and come to it. Well, I am pretty good at doing basic things like that but for the life of me have never been able to get it to link. So my instructor told me not to worry about it. That was probably the most frustrating part of this whole blog experience! I am going to go to the list of 23 things in media and decide what to try out next and add to my blog. See you again this weekend!

Blogging About Reading

I saw a great idea on one of my fellow media specialist's webpages today. She is blogging about her reading to her students. It is a similar idea to using Good Reads to show students what you are reading. But by blogging about her reading she is reaching out to her students in an updated fun techy way to share what she is reading.

I have also seen media specialists blog about what they are doing in their media centers on a weekly basis. I have even found some great ideas for different grade levels by reading some of their blogs. This is a great way to reach out to parents to let them know what is happening in the media center.

I have never thought about having a blog for my library. But I am beginning to think I need to get with the times. This is a great way for students and parents to interact with the media specialist. It is also a wonderful way to share the media center with the public and that goes beyond just the school. Other people can look at it just as I have to get new ideas.

I am beginning to enjoy the idea of blogging! Who would have ever guessed! :)