Videos and QR Codes in the Library

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

Creating videos for the library can be used for many purposes. Videos can be used to showcase all that the library has to offer, a tutorial on a particular website or application, a book trailer, and more. Videos are an effective way to promote your library and its resources to the community.

I plan to make a YouTube channel for my library that has both informational and recreational videos. I want to create videos that are fun and inviting for the library, but also have videos that students can utilize when accessing library resources. 

I took a look at several library YouTube channels to get ideas on videos to create for the library. For each YouTube channel that I visited I selected a most helpful and most enjoyable video. The videos I selected and the channels I visited are shown below.

I visited the YouTube channel of Norman High Library first. This channel contained great informational videos that show students how to use several library websites and resources. 

Most helpful for students:

This video was a screencast showing students how to access and utilize EBSOHost. I think this video provides great information for users on how to effectively find articles for research purposes. 

Most enjoyable for Students:

This video is fun and engaging for students to watch. In this video, the school mascot explores the library and showcases all that it has to offer.

The Unquiet Library YouTube channel contains instructional videos, student perspective videos, and more. 

Most helpful for students:

This video is a screencast on how to effectively locate images on Wikimedia Commons that are copyright friendly. This is a great resource for students to use when searching for pictures to add to their assignment without worrying about copyright infringement. 

Most enjoyable for students:

This video has over 1,000 views. I think getting a student’s perspective on library resources is a great idea. 

Pikesville High School library has a Youtube channel that contains videos mostly made by students or teachers. There are a couple of videos on this channel that show students having fun in the library. 

Most helpful for students:

This video encourages students to fill out their FAFSA. The video shows the importance of filling out a FAFSA application and is also entertaining to watch.

Most enjoyable for students:

In this video students are dancing and having fun to a popular song in the library. This video is perfect for showing students that the library isn't such a scary place.

I also watched several videos from the BBMS Library YouTube channel. I thought the channel was filled with entertaining and engaging videos. The channel had various parody music videos on popular songs, videos on puzzles, and library commercials. The videos do a great job in promoting the library as they set an inviting atmosphere for students. 

Most helpful for Students:

This video explains how and when to create annotated citations for an assignment. This video contains great information that students can refer to for assistance. 

Most enjoyable for students:

I think students would enjoy this video because it is based on a popular song and catchy to listen to. 

Some districts may have YouTube blocked due to inappropriate content and advertisements. If a district has YouTube blocked, SchoolTube is a great alternative. SchoolTube ensures that all content is safe for classroom purposes. This website allows users to upload videos, share lessons, watch educational videos, and more. 

I made a book trailer for the book The Fault in our Stars using Animoto. This was my first time creating a book trailer and using Animoto, so I was a little nervous. To my surprise, Animoto made it so easy to create my book trailer the way I wanted. I am excited to keep exploring this program and all it has to offer.

 Publisher’s Synopsis:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Here is a QR code that I created for my Animoto book trailer. Iphones and some android devices allow you to scan the QR code using just the camera. If this does not work, you can use a QR reader.  

QR codes make it easy to access videos and websites efficiently. As a math teacher, I print out QR codes for my students to cut and paste into their interactive notebook. Students scan these QR codes to watch the videos we create on the concepts we cover. Most students are able to scan the QR codes with their phone to access the material desired. QR codes allow users to access content quickly and effectively to enhance student learning.

Screencasts

Screencasts

Screencasts are recordings of a computer screen, usually with a voice narration. They are often used for tutorials on different websites, applications, and more. I had never made a screencast before, and was excited to give them a try.

I used two different screencasting programs to make my videos. The first screencast I made was with the program called Screencast-o-matic. I have seen many of my professors use this program and was excited to be able to use it. Screencast-o-matic was simple, straightforward, and easy to use. I liked the large buttons and the option to record using the screen only, webcam only, or both. Once recording, you are able to pause your video and even view a playback of the content you have recorded so far. If you are not satisfied with your video, there is a trash can that allows you to delete the video and retry. The program made it easy to save the recording to my computer once finished.

I decided to make a screencast on how to access and utilize our school library catalog. Here is the video I made using Screencast-o-matic:

For my next video, I decided to try a different screencasting program called Snag-it. This one was not as straightforward as Screencast-o-matic. For this program, you have to draw out, using the cursor, the area of the page that you want to be screen recorded. This is a nice option if you would only like a certain part of your screen to be recorded. The only thing that I disliked that each time I wanted to start a new video, I had to redraw that portion of the screen that I wanted. This program also did not allow me view a playback of the content I had just recorded when paused like Screen-o-matic did. 

I decided to make a video on how to use Brittanica School. Here is the video I made with Snag-it:

I enjoyed making these screencasts, and was pleasantly surprised with how easy and fun they are to make. I think they can are a great tool to use when trying demonstrate how to use a certain digital website or application. I'm excited to keep using screencasts now and in my future as a librarian. 

Infographics

Infographics 

Infographics are a visual image that are used to represent data, mostly through charts and diagrams. They make viewing and understanding data easier as they are modern, clear, and effective.

I explored 3 different websites that are used to create infographics, Easelly, Piktochart, and Infogram. I attempted to create an infographic on every single one of these resources to see which one I preferred. I ultimately decided to use Picktochart to create my visual. I thought it was the easiest to use after playing around with all three. I opted out of using one of Piktochart's many suggested templates. I decided to start from scratch and customize my own infographic. The one I created is shown below:

Here are my thoughts on each resource:

Easelly

Overall Easelly was user-friendly and simple to create an infographic. I liked how you can click on each tab and drag down whichever tool you need onto your canvas. I thought the charts offered were a bit limited. I would have preferred a wider selection to represent my data. Also, I was a little overwhelmed when first creating an account with Easelly. They had many suggested infographics all clumped together each with large amount of statistical data and images. 

Infogram

I liked that Infogram had many features to pick from when creating your infographic. I also enjoyed the option of being able to easily add a Youtube video to my infographic. Inserting a map into your visual is also an option for this resource, although the only free maps that are available are the world map or the United States map. The icons on this resource are small, and don't contain a description of what each one is used for, unless you hover over them. Infogram had the most modern feel to it, and was easy to use. 

Piktochart

I decided to use Piktochart to create my infographic because of how clear and simple it was to use. This resource contains large icons, each with a description of what they are used for. Piktochart made it easy to create my infographic from scratch. It was simple to design my visual the way I wanted it from the colors to the graphs. I look forward to exploring this resource more. 

References

Perrin, A. (2018). Nearly one-in-five Americans now listen to audiobooks. Retrieved from https://pewresearch-org-preprod.go-vip.co/fact-tank/2018/03/08/nearly-one-in-five-americans-now-listen-to-audiobooks/