iBooks comes on your iPhone or other Apple product and is very easy to use. You can buy books through your Apple ID account. You can easily search for top recommendations or by price. Once you select the book you'd like to purchase it will instantly download to your device. If you have more than one Apple device that are connected your purchase will download to all of your devices so long as they are connected to the internet. As you read your devices will update where you are at when they are connected to the internet. When you purchase books they can be found in your library which is easily customizable. You can sort your books by author, title, or other subjects you set up. iBooks uses bookmarks to keep your place. You can also zoom in and change your font size for easier reading. At the bottom of the page it keep tracks of how far you are in the book - tells you how many pages you've read, how many are total, and how many you have left to read. There are also links to the table of contents and back to the library at the top of each page.
You can also purchase audiobooks through iTunes. These download to your Apple device the same way music does. You can listen to your book on an Apple device or through stereo systems that you can plug your device into. Make sure you don't have your device on shuffle! Itunes will keep track of where you are and start back where you left off when you pause.
Our school is not using ebooks yet, but we do offer some audiobooks. I can definitely see the benefit of providing ebooks for check out as more and more students acquire ways to read them. It could also be nice to have ereaders available for students or staff to check out. I could see providing five or so that way teachers could use them for reading groups. Starting with offering ebooks and then moving into checking out ereaders would be a good way to start. Audiobooks are always good to have especially for students who are not proficient readers yet. Many of our elementary classrooms have listening stations where students can listen to audiobooks and practice their fluency. As a classroom teacher it would be beneficial to have more audiobooks in the library so I can switch out the ones I have in my room. Older students are often very busy with extra curricular activities and audiobooks might help them get school work done while they do other activities like work out or during long bus rides.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Sierra Automation System
Name: Sierra
Services Platform by Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
Description: Sierra Services Platform is
replacing Millennium ILS from the same company. It has an open data structure
and more features than the previous program.
Functionalities:
- · The new system offers many more reports for libraries. You can gather data about the collection, circulation trends, patrons, and financial information. Patron information is more detailed. For example you can see who placed a hold, when, and if it was frozen or not. You can also search for patrons who owe different amounts of money.
- · It processes print, digital, and e-resources for patrons to search.
- · Option to check for copy cataloging
- · The company also offers many supports such as their blog, which I found the most helpful
Newer capabilities:
- · Mobile, desktop, and laptop options/views
- · Integration abilities with other applications
- · Push notifications can be set up by the library
- · Updated staff user experience including facets, web-style browsing and rich browse screens
- · Access to local and global searches which can be controlled by the library
- · Librarians can control policies and rules for fulfillment through the program
Would you recommend that a Teacher
Librarian research this product further – does it seem suitable for a K-12
library?
I
would recommend a library to look more in depth at Sierra. It has gotten great
reviews and many libraries are purchasing it. The blog is very helpful for
gaining information, asking questions, and learning how to use the program.
There were several capabilities and features mentioned on the site that used acronyms
that I was not familiar with. The blog was much better at explaining parts of
the program in greater detail. From what I could find it seems that the program
has a lot of features that are customizable by the library. This would make it
ideal for a school since the librarians could have more control over what young
patrons could do with the program.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Library Websites
I looked at the library website for the school I worked at in McMinnville, OR before moving to Japan. You can check it out! Sue Buel Elem. Library. This website is a part of the school's website. It had some basic information, but was not as in depth as our readings described.
I would like to include these items when creating a library website:
1. Links to school databases - I think this is really important so that students have easy access to online resources.
2. Links to other resources - The library page I looked at included links for parents about helping students read. I like the idea of including resources like that as well as links for students and teachers. It could be a great place to keep popular links that teachers use for classes as well.
3. Accessibility tools - While many people with disabilities will have tools built into their own computers if students are using the computers at school they may not have access to their regular tools. I think it is important to provide links and access for all students. This includes making sure that fonts can be changed, colors can be changed, and items can be read aloud. This can also help young students who are not yet proficient readers.
4. Basic School Information - There are a lot of schools and websites out there. I want to include basic information to help make sure patrons know that they are in the right spot. Some basics would include full name of the school, names and photos of important library and school staff members, contact information, calendar, and library policies.
5. Current Events/Student Work - It is important to publicize what is going on in the library. The more ways the information is out there the more people will have access to it and be able to participate. It will be very important to include details about special events and activities that are going on in the library. Providing a space for students to share work (names would have to be removed) is also very important. This provides students with a reason for doing their work as well as an intended audience. It also allows parents and other staff members to see what students are creating. I created a summer website for my class last year. Towards the end of the year the students all completed a book recommendation computer project which I was able to add to the class website. The students could then visit the site to get book recommendations and parents could see their student's work. I had to take off names, but their work was easy to find as it was organized by their book's title. Parents just had to know which book their child recommended. You can visit that site (which is now outdated) if you'd like.
I would like to include these items when creating a library website:
1. Links to school databases - I think this is really important so that students have easy access to online resources.
2. Links to other resources - The library page I looked at included links for parents about helping students read. I like the idea of including resources like that as well as links for students and teachers. It could be a great place to keep popular links that teachers use for classes as well.
3. Accessibility tools - While many people with disabilities will have tools built into their own computers if students are using the computers at school they may not have access to their regular tools. I think it is important to provide links and access for all students. This includes making sure that fonts can be changed, colors can be changed, and items can be read aloud. This can also help young students who are not yet proficient readers.
4. Basic School Information - There are a lot of schools and websites out there. I want to include basic information to help make sure patrons know that they are in the right spot. Some basics would include full name of the school, names and photos of important library and school staff members, contact information, calendar, and library policies.
5. Current Events/Student Work - It is important to publicize what is going on in the library. The more ways the information is out there the more people will have access to it and be able to participate. It will be very important to include details about special events and activities that are going on in the library. Providing a space for students to share work (names would have to be removed) is also very important. This provides students with a reason for doing their work as well as an intended audience. It also allows parents and other staff members to see what students are creating. I created a summer website for my class last year. Towards the end of the year the students all completed a book recommendation computer project which I was able to add to the class website. The students could then visit the site to get book recommendations and parents could see their student's work. I had to take off names, but their work was easy to find as it was organized by their book's title. Parents just had to know which book their child recommended. You can visit that site (which is now outdated) if you'd like.
Monday, July 1, 2013
RSS
The first site I looked at was Prismatic. I was able to sign up with my google account, but then I had a hard time using the site. I could not find a way to add sites that I wanted to follow. It started by generating stories and then I could delete them or save them for later. My understanding is as I save more articles it will get more specific and learn from what articles I save or delete. I looked up directions for how to add sites, but I couldn't find anything that explained what to do. The one site that I did find was not helpful as the directions did not match what I saw on my screen. This seems like a good site for keeping track of news articles, but not for following student blogs if it is this tricky to add sites to follow. Maybe one of you can figure it out, but for now I'm stumped.
Next I looked at Zite. This RSS looks great, but it is only available on mobile devises. As a teacher that is not necessarily the most beneficial or useful. I did not look into Zite anymore after I saw that it was not available for my school desk top computer (where I would be doing most of my grading of student blogs).
Finally, I looked into Edmodo some more. I mentioned this site before because my school has recently joined. It is a free social network site that looks similar to one of Facebook's older styles. The benefits of Edmodo is that the school can create the student account and students are not able to message each other privately (this reduces chatting and cyberbullying). Students can still participate in class wide discussions. For younger students the fact that private messaging is missing is not as big of a deal. I can see where private messaging would be beneficial for older students especially if they are working on a group project. While this is not a RSS site it does provide teachers with the space to have students turn in work. With a teacher account I can add assignments along with due dates. Students can then submit their assignments (word documents, blogs, or other attachments and links) to the site. It is similar to Moodle, but has a more primary look to it. Edmodo would allow teachers to log in to one site and see all student submissions. Teachers can see when students have posted assignments, questions, or in forums. It requires students to use the site instead of a regular RSS which would allow a student to post on any site because the teacher is subscribed to those sites already. It is easier to get students an Edmodo account, than say Twitter, since it is free and monitored by the school. It provides more privacy for students. Maybe RSS sites and tools are going away because other sites are including that aspect along with other tools.
Prismatic and Zite would definitely help you stay connected with news articles and updates, but more inclusive sites like Edmodo might be better for collecting student work.
Next I looked at Zite. This RSS looks great, but it is only available on mobile devises. As a teacher that is not necessarily the most beneficial or useful. I did not look into Zite anymore after I saw that it was not available for my school desk top computer (where I would be doing most of my grading of student blogs).
Finally, I looked into Edmodo some more. I mentioned this site before because my school has recently joined. It is a free social network site that looks similar to one of Facebook's older styles. The benefits of Edmodo is that the school can create the student account and students are not able to message each other privately (this reduces chatting and cyberbullying). Students can still participate in class wide discussions. For younger students the fact that private messaging is missing is not as big of a deal. I can see where private messaging would be beneficial for older students especially if they are working on a group project. While this is not a RSS site it does provide teachers with the space to have students turn in work. With a teacher account I can add assignments along with due dates. Students can then submit their assignments (word documents, blogs, or other attachments and links) to the site. It is similar to Moodle, but has a more primary look to it. Edmodo would allow teachers to log in to one site and see all student submissions. Teachers can see when students have posted assignments, questions, or in forums. It requires students to use the site instead of a regular RSS which would allow a student to post on any site because the teacher is subscribed to those sites already. It is easier to get students an Edmodo account, than say Twitter, since it is free and monitored by the school. It provides more privacy for students. Maybe RSS sites and tools are going away because other sites are including that aspect along with other tools.
Prismatic and Zite would definitely help you stay connected with news articles and updates, but more inclusive sites like Edmodo might be better for collecting student work.
Blog Experience
One of the first classes I took for my Master's program was about using technology in education. I had to create a blog for that class. You can view my old blog here. My conclusion is what comes up first as it was the last assignment that we had. You can scroll back through to see other tech projects that we did for the class. Blogger is very simple and user friendly. I have not used it since that class finished, but I'm finding that it is all coming back to me quickly. The user guides are very helpful.
I have not used blogs with students because in the past blogger was blocked on our computers at school. We now have google chrome download to all computers and I'm on blogger at school right now. I'll have to have my students check and see if they can access blogger as well. If so, I would definitely look into using for class!
I look forward to hearing about how people have used blogs in the classroom and/or library!
I have not used blogs with students because in the past blogger was blocked on our computers at school. We now have google chrome download to all computers and I'm on blogger at school right now. I'll have to have my students check and see if they can access blogger as well. If so, I would definitely look into using for class!
I look forward to hearing about how people have used blogs in the classroom and/or library!
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