Glogster Posters

This was another UELMA conference suggestion.  It is a little bit funny to use.  But you can create great posters.  You can make these very involved with them but I don't like things to be too busy.  Here is one done for the UELMA conference that is much busier.

Scoop.it

Scoop.it is a fun site to make an online magazine for others to use.  It is quite easy to use.  (I used the websites recommended at UELMA to make this magazine.)  It is also fun to put together the site collection.

http://www.scoop.it/t/library-website-resources

I can see all sorts of ways this could be used in a library.  The way I think would be the best is for limiting student sources for assignments.  Many of the librarians I have talked to said that students really struggle to find information when offered too many sources.  This technology allows the teacher or librarian to limit this.

A Deaf Librarian!

In looking at the various videos, I thought about the deaf.  I wondered what videos existed for the deaf, that shared books or even if it was possible to "read" a book in ASL.  I also wondered how a librarian might incorporate services for groups with disabilities like the deaf.  In looking at what videos existed, I fell in love with watching this librarian share different books with the children at the deaf school she worked at.  It made me think a lot about the students I might as a librarian need to serve.

I am amazed at the energy she puts into her reading and how much you can learn about the story without knowing ASL.  It is inspiring.

Twitter vs. Facebook

After looking at Twitter, all I wanted to do was go back to my Facebook account.  They are quite similar, but one can be turned off without turning off the computer and the other is always on.  I prefer to turn off things when I am not using them.  I do this with electricity, water and I just cannot get my head around the idea computer programs must be always on.  I do not even like telephones because I cannot turn them off.  Perhaps this is why I prefer Facebook.
 
Both formats have a use in libraries.  Constant updates definitely are preferred by technologically savvy youth.  They cannot even understand not answering the telephone.  If my classroom phone rings in the middle of class and I am busy, I will ignore it.  It drives the students up the wall.  They are so programmed to answer it, now.  So for them, Twitter might be a better choice, since it stays on.  In my setting though, set times for twitter updates would be necessary, since they are not suppose to be answering their electronic devices during class time.

Twitter is also a better interface for librarian question and answers, and time sensitive announcements like, "The power is out at the library."  But for most library announcements, Twitter seems a bit inconvenient.

Facebook works better for those who only want to look at announcements at certain times that are convenient for them.  For most library announcements, I think Facebook is the better choice.  Announcements about library programs and events do not require immediate notification.

This means that both Twitter and Facebook are good sources for libraries to use.  (But I still like Facebook better.)

Subscribing to Blogs? Why?

Time flying,

          What ya doing,
Reading someones blog,
     Things to do ... waiting.

So much to do,
           What ya doing,
Reading blogs,
      Why? ... What is the point?


With the limited amount of time each of us has, I just don't get why anyone would subscribe to a blog.  It is obvious that people do but I cannot understand it.

Having said this looking at blogs, blog readers, and blog indexes is interesting.  I think I prefer to read the blogs outside of the reader though.  The reader distorts the posts and makes it so boring to read.  I like it better when the posts and the pictures interface together.
In looking though various blogs on both genealogy and school librarianship, I notice I tend to choose those which look more like the magazines that I enjoy reading and less like personal writing stories or prompts.  For instance, I quite enjoyed reading some articles in the magazine Teacher Librarian and the blog is similar. I also like Lemme Library.  Though how anyone could ever find a particular post idea for use at a later time baffles me.  I know I could never remember what date the post appeared.

I like how blogs connect from one to another.  It is a nice thing to use those links to find other information.  It would be nicer if one could be sure of a blogs veracity.  I just don't understand why anyone would care what some stranger says without references.