Online Book Communities
Goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari, Booklikes, Biblionasium

In this blog, I'll be discussing different Online Book Communities.  What is an online book community? It's simply a place for book lovers to communicate online with other book lovers and members, anywhere in the world.  Online Book Communities are also a great way to keep books organized.  Members of the sites allow most to organize books by creating your own personal book shelves, based on books you've read, books you want to read, and books you're currently reading..  You really don't have to be a book lover to join an online book community, but once you join a community, it's bound to happen.

Goodreads
This is a great website for readers, those looking for books, and those looking for book recommendations.  I've always been a fan of Goodreads, I joined a few years ago for another course I was taking and have regularly visited.  I found Goodreads  pleasing to the eye, and easy to use.  I like that creating a bookshelf is so incredibly easy! I also like their community reveiews.



Library Thing
Was not pleasing to the eye, the site looked very plain, boring.  I didn't like that I had to type in the title of a book, author's name, or ISBN to pull up a book list. Once you're in, you can easily catalog your books and join different interest groups. I did like the way the books (my choices) were displayed on the screen afterwards. 

Shelfari
Pleasing to the eye, initially seemed user friendly, I liked that the empty book shelf is the next thing you see, it was time to search.  I didn't like the process on how you had to search for books, either I was tired at this point because it just became a little frustrating for me.

Booklikes
The main page was set up nicely, very eye catching, a  it was a video, it wasn't confusing, more geared towards blogging about books.  I did like that there was a long list of book genres to choose books from and then it walked you through the steps of setting up a blog.

Biblionasium
Colorful and bright, kid friendly-centered, also for parents and educators.  I liked the site a lot, I like that it allows kids to actively participate and create bookshelves for themselves.  As an educator I like that there were several options for me to create shelves for students using Lexile, DRA, Reading Counts etc.  I couldn't find anything that I didn't like about this site.

Final Comments: If I had to choose one of the following sites that I like the best, it's Goodreads.  I will continue to use Goodreads because I find that it suits my needs when I'm looking for book recommendations and reviews.  I like  knowing that other librarians and educators go there and I can find good recommendations.  I would recommend Biblionasium  for students and teachers.  The reason I chose this site was because it was very kid oriented and there were so many things students, as well as teachers could do, like make book trailers and blogs.  I would encourage all to join an online book community.

Podcast

What! A podcast? I know what you’re thinking. Sounds complicated. Sounds expensive. Sounds, well, technical. I learned that creating a podcast or listening to one in your classroom/library couldn’t be easier, or cheaper, even free. If you have a computer and an internet connection, you already have all the equipment you need.  Podcasts are serial recordings, posted regularly online. Producing  a podcasts is the technology based equivalent of oral storytelling.  Similar to oral stories and news that has been shared with listeners by storytellers, and others.  Podcasters share news and stories with their listeners, who download the files online.

Podcasts can be used by teachers and librarians for any purpose a text might serve, they can tell fictional stories, poems, share and comment on recent events, inform listeners about a topic, and persuade listeners to take an action or adopt a stance. Podcasts are great tools for teaching students to use spoken language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes and collaborating with other students.  They're good  alternatives to use in the classroom for students who need remedial support, and allowing students to share their learning experiences with other students and with other students at different schools.

Before recording my podcast, I created three free (podcast) accounts using SoundCloud, AudioBoo, and Podomatic.   I played around with all three to decide which one I would use to produce my podcast.  I found all three user friendly, but ultimately, I went with AudioBoo for my podcast, it was just worked for me, but you be the judge.  Try them out for yourself, they're free!

I thought Soundcloud was easy to navigate through, but it seemed to be geared towards listening to music, adding music to your podcast, and downloading music. I found Audiboo also easy to navigate through and record as well, in addition to that this site seemed to be geared more towards making it easy for educators to create and share podcast with others, though you are only limited to 5 minutes of recording. All three sites allow you to create podcast pretty easily, but Podomatic seemed geared more towards offering services that allow you to look for podcast of interest, and just didn't do it for me.

 

Take a listen to my podcast featuring the October book of the month: Frangoline and the Midnight Dream by Clemency Pearce.

*Please excuse the background noise

 

Information Ethics

Since it is often that librarians have the skills to access information from specialized databases, it is important that librarians keep ethics in the forefront. Information ethics:

1. A set of principles of right conduct, motivation based on ideas of right and wrong.

2. A theory or system of moral values.

In the article K.I.S.S. and Information Ethics, Richard Severson's Four Principles of Information Ethics are presented:

1.) Respect for intellectual property-involves copyright, librarians should discourage illegal photocopying and plagiarism of all.

2.) Respect for privacy-responsible and ethical use of e-mails, as well as librarians protecting students request for information and their circulation records.

3.) Fair representation-Be smart before purchasing products from vendors and the sort.

4.) Non maleficence (or doing no harm)-gauging our decisions and actions.  Students should be taught what's considered harmless vs- intentional when on the school computer.

The dilemma the librarian shared with me involved the principle of Respect for privacy and 

protecting a certain students' circulation records.  A teacher at a middle school went to the 

library/librarian to discuss a certain student in her class, and the issue(s) the student was displaying. 

The teacher asked the librarian if she could get a copy of the books students the student had checked

out, to which the librarian had to inform the teacher that due to information ethics students are 

protected under the respect for privacy and even though they were good friends, should could not 

give the teacher a print out of that students circulation record.  In my assessment, I believe that a

high standard of ethical conduct was achieved.  In a situation where the librarian and teacher were 

obviously co-workers and good friends, the librarian did not go against what was morally and 

ethically right.  An alternative action for the teacher could be to discuss this matter with the principal 

to find out what information the teacher could legally get on the student, with respect to the students 

privacy.

Bell, M. (1998). K.I.S.S. and Information Ethics. TAET Journal, Spring 1998.

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

In today's blog post I will be highlighting the use of YouTube, Animoto, and QR codes in school libraries. Teens in today's society love technology, so it is important to incorporate technology into the school library program.  Let's start with YouTube in school libraries. There are so many ways that YouTube can be incorporated into school libraries. For example, YouTube can be used to upload and view book trailers, library procedures videos, and to highlight library activities. As I explored YouTube and how it was used in school libraries I took a closer look at some school library YouTube channels. The first school I looked into was the Norman High School Library.
Tiger Visits the Norman High Library-
I added this video because I thought it was fun and that the students would enjoy watching it.  It also gives them a great look at what's available in their library.  I thought it was such a cute idea to promote the use of the library.

Getting Started with the NHS Library Website -
This is a great tool for students to use that shows them how to use the library website and how to find the resources that they might need.

The Unquiet Library

Finding and Using Wikimedia Common Images-
This is a useful video for students on how to find copyright friendly images.

 

 

Mini Lesson: How to register or Login to Easybib-

 I thought this would be a great video for students to watch to give them step-by-step directions on how to register for Easybib that they could  follow themselves.

 

Pikesville High School Library
Hashtag Awesome School Counselor-
I thought this was a great way for the librarian and the counselor to collaborate and show this video to classes that came to the library.  Students would enjoy watching it.

 

 

 

The Panthers Library @ Pikesville HS-

I added this because I felt it showcased what students at the school were reading and how they participated in different library activities.

 



 

 

BBMSMEDIA
Old Spice Overdue-
This was a great video starring the students from the school in a PSA for overdue books. I thought it was pretty creative, it pokes fun at the Old Spice commercials on tv.  Students like to be involved and on camera.

 

 

 

Twilight  Overdue-
Another great student created PSA video about overdue books.  I thought teens would love this since they're such huge fans of Twilight.



Animoto
The next tool I want to talk about is Animoto. When I initially read that our next assignment was to create a book trailer.  I became very nervous, because I thought it would be a difficult to do.  I've seen book trailers on YouTube and I always thought they were pretty awesome, but figured they were difficult to make.   It took me some time to put it together, but I had a good time making my book trailer.  Animoto is a user friendly tool that makes creating book trailers pretty easy.  I signed up for the free educator account and it was a matter of adding pictures/images, music, and text.
Lastly, I went to www.qrstuff.com and I created a QR Code for my book trailer. It was really simple and all I had to do was select the data type, enter the video’s URL, and select the color for my QR Code and then it is ready for download. I liked using Animoto and QR Stuff  because they were both easy to use and very effective.
QR Codes
QR Codes are a fun way to get students engaged in the school library program. Not only will students enjoy discovering what the QR Code will lead to, but they will also enjoy scanning the code with their electronic devices. QR Codes can also be used for research, library tours and listening centers.  Below you will find information about the book that I selected for my book trailer and QR Code: How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills.
Scan the QR Code to view my book trailer.

 

Learn to read with this New York Times-bestselling picture book, starring an irresistible dog named Rocket and his teacher, a little yellow bird. Follow along as Rocket masters the alphabet, sounds out words, and finally . . . learns to read all on his own!With a story that makes reading fun"and will even help listeners learn to read"this book is ideal for kindergarten classrooms and story hour or as a gift for that beginning reader. Fresh, charming art by Tad Hills, the New York Times bestselling author/illustrator of Duck & Goose, will make this a favorite.

 

Enjoy the book trailer!