Thing 9 - Slideshare

Slideshare is a very interesting idea. I like the concept of being able to post and share your PowerPoints, but I don't know how necessary this is at the elementary level. In our district students have access to their own folder on our network, so they don't necessarily need a place to store their PowerPoints. We also have a share server in our district, so it would be easy for a teacher to set up a folder for her class and have everyone post their PowerPoints there where they would be available for sharing with others.

I looked at authorSTREAM and uploaded a PowerPoint to it. I was impressed with some of the features that authorSTREAM had to offer. For one thing, you can upload a PowerPoint and set the timings, then save it to a video format that can be saved to in iPod or an iPod Touch. This would be a great use of the iPod Touch, especially if students could share their PowerPoint creations in this manner. Here is the authorSTREAM I uploaded:

Learning About Biographies

See more presentations by BookNookGirl Upload your own PowerPoint presentations

I also briefly looked at 280 Slides. This looks like a great tool to use if PowerPoint is not available, or if you are just trying to introduce your students to some new tools that are available free online and are not subject to software budget cuts!

Thing 8 - Screencast

Loved this! I looked at several of the options, but after reading several different post, I finally settled on Screencast-O-Matic. It was easy to use. I created a brief and not very polished screen cast on how to find a book using our online catalog, Meriwether. Here is the link:

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/c6ji3Pj3l

A few things I learned about Screencast-O-Matic:

• You have to create an account before you are able to fully use this tool and navigate between websites.
• There are a few demo videos available that show you how to get started.
• There is some editing features available, more if you purchase the "Pro" version.
• You have several options for what to do with your finished screencast including posting to YouTube.

I think screencast are a great tool for students and teachers. As teachers, we can create screencast to help supplement instruction. Students can create screencast to teach each other how to do different tasks on the computer. I hope to use these this year in the library.

Thing 7 - Video Resources

I never cease to be amazed at the sheer volume of information on the Internet! This "Thing" was all fairly new to me. Of course I knew there was a tremendous amount of video available online, but I had NO IDEA of the vastness of it!

I had just learned about Hulu this summer, so it was fun to explore this. I was also aware of videos available on PBS, but spent time exploring these more in depth! I am amazed that there are so many full length videos available! I had seen the National Archives Videos on Thing 4, but really delved into them on this entry - amazing! Here is a video clip from the National Archives on the Declaration of Independence -


This would be great to show 5th grade when they are studying the American Revolution and the start of our government.

The second video I looked at was on Hulu and it was of the Hubble Telescopes' pictures of Saturn. This video did not have an embed code but the link is posted below. This would be a great video to share with 3rd grade when they are studying space.
http://news.discovery.com/videos/space-hubble-captures-saturns-aurorae.html

Thing 7 has left me with many more things to explore!!

Thing 6 - iTouch Apps

Our library was fortunate to receive several iTouches this past year. We have found many educational apps and the students love using them. We have some for art, music, language arts, social studies, math, and science. It is fun to watch students who aren't really interested in learning their math fact become totally absorbed in a math app that teaches math facts on the iTouch. Other great apps we have used are those that deal with logic and puzzle solving. These are great for students who need a little extra enrichment.

Other things that students can do with the iTouches:
Send them on a scavenger hunt/obstacle course with the iTouch. Have them make their way through a set of assigned apps in order to obtain a goal.
Using the RockStar adapter, you can have 5 students using one iTouch as a listening center. We have used our iTouches with some of our special ed. students for audio books.

Perusing the articles listed on this post, I continue to be blown away by the number of apps available! There are some really cool ones out there! I will be downloading some for myself and some for school!

Thing 5 - Microblogging

Okay, I will admit - I am not a Facebook fan! There - I said it. To be quite honest, I just don't have time for Facebook, nor do I feel the need to tell the world every little thing that I am doing. However, I do see benefit in creating a group page for your library. I am still debating this at the moment since I found out that Facebook will now be blocked on our elementary campuses. I do realize that my opinion of Facebook is not the popular opinion and that many people are on Facebook, so I do see benefit in setting up a group page for my library. However, I am not sure if you can just set up a group page and not a personal page. Something I will look into!
Having a page for your library will be a great way to post quick updates as to what is going on in the library for students and parents.

Needless to say, I feel the same way about Twitter, but do see benefit for groups and organizations to have a page.

Now, I do see educational benefit in back-channeling. I have used Today's Meet and TinyChat at several different professional development venues and I am definitely going to try this with students! Especially 4th and 5th graders!

Thing 4 - You Tube

Uploading a video to You Tube was so much easier than I would have ever thought!! I uploaded a video I made last year to show off the entries into our Pumpkin Decorating Contest. This was fun! I have used You Tube and Teacher Tube many times during instruction. Online video sites have advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages: Great way to have access to videos anywhere there is Internet access. There are many great educational videos available for use. I especially loved the Library of Congress You Tube channel! This is also a great venue for students to post their work. I think students love to see thier work posted online. In the past I have posted student work on my library web page. Students LOVE to see their work online and are eager to share with family and friends.

Disadvantages: The main disadvantage I see is helping students remain safe when online. Allowing open access to YouTube for elementary students is not, in my opinion, a responsible decision for educators. Of course TeacherTube is a much more reliable option.

Here is my video:

Thing 3 - Skype

Skype - love it!! We have been using video conferencing at my school for the last 2 years. We are fortunate to have a Video Conferencing unit that allows us to do some more formal video conferencing with places like National Parks, NASA, and zoos. We are also able to connect with multiple locations at the same time and have done activities like the Texas History Mystery.

This past year we started using Skype as well. One of our more fun and unique uses of Skype came during our morning book club time that we call Books and Breakfast. One of the teachers that was leading a group was scheduled to be out of town one week and instead of trying to find another teacher to come in at 7:00 am to cover her group, we decided to try Skyping her in to lead her group! It was a huge success. She took her laptop with her on her trip and then we set up Skype in library. The students loved it!! They were thrilled to discuss their book with their leader in another state! She even took her laptop and camera out on the balcony of her hotel to show the students the view!

The uses of Skype in the library and classroom is tremendous. You can Skype with an author, a specialist in an area, or other classrooms from around the country. Every classroom that has used Skype has loved it!! This is a great tool and one everyone should try!!