Podcast

 Podcasts are the new “talk radio” as I see it. You can find podcasts about almost any topic you are interested in. Ok, so you heard about this interesting podcast about the War in Russia/Ukraine you want to listen to. First is to find where to listen to a podcast. There is not  a  “podcast” radio station available. You must use a web browser like Chrome, Safari or Microsoft Edge or an app like Apple podcasts or Google podcasts. If you are using a web browser, you search for the web page and click on the player. If using an app, go to the search page and type the name of the podcast you want to hear. Vola! You now have hours of entertainment available.

You ask, “what if I want to make a podcast?”  You have something to say to the world. You have the cutest dog, Fluffy, and you want to share funny stories about him. For this you need a podcast hosting platform. It is where you store your podcast audio files. It is possible to host your own audio files, but these files can require a lot of storage space and bandwidth to be streamed. Having tons of people listen in at once could push your hosting plan over the limit—or simply prevent your website from functioning properly. Unless you have the mega super-duper internet package,  I wouldn’t recommend hosting your own podcast.

Below are three podcasting tools that I have explored. You can use these to make your own podcast.

 

Podbean

Podbean is free, but also offers a paid subscription mostly for businesses. It helps you launch your podcast, embed it on your website, and get basic stats on your podcast’s performance, all for free. Podbean’s free plan includes five hours’ worth of storage space and a 100GB monthly bandwidth. It has a help desk, forum, and phone support. There are training videos available.

Pro’s: beginner-friendly, episodes are hosted indefinitely (as long as you don’t exceed the 5 hours) and it has varied monetization options if you want to make money on your podcast (you will need  the subscription for this).

Con’s: slow chat support and limited website templates.

 

Anchor

 Spotify owns this platform. It allows you to record, edit, and upload your podcasts in one place. This podcast hosting platform is also unique in the fact that it is 100% free and does not offer any paid plans at all. There are no limits on episode uploads, downloads, or episode duration. To keep its platform 100% free, Anchor takes a cut from ads that it inserts in your podcast episodes, or from monthly donations that listeners send your way. These features help you monetize your podcast at the same time, so it’s a solution where everyone benefits!

Pro’s: completely free, all podcast tools in one place, easy monetization

Con’s: only one show per account, it is Spotify-owned (potential bias), monetization- they take a cut from what you make.

 

RedCircle

This platform is generous when it comes to getting started with podcasting. If you are serious, but just getting started, this platform is for you. Their free plan offers unlimited storage and bandwidth along with monetization options. It also includes historical analytics that never expire. There are also paid options with more advanced features.

Pro’s: Generous free plan, monetize your podcast for free, excellent customer service.

Con’s: The embeddable player will include non-removable RedCircle branding, even if you’re on a paid plan,  smaller, less well-funded platform  (how likely will it close up shop?)

We both were Podbean users but decided to try Anchor.  It is easy to use and everything is in one place.  

 Podcast episode: https://anchor.fm/vanessa-briz/episodes/Young-Adult-Advocation-and-Literacy-Margaret-Edwards-e1h11mt

Educational Podcast:

This one is for teachers:  Teaching Chanel Talks

This is an article that lists 35 of the best podcasts for students in elementary, middle, and high school.  Best Podcasts for Kids       

References

Garcia, J. (2019). Best podcast hosting: 13 free and paid platforms tested and compared. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://www.tooltester.com/en/blog/podcast-hosting/

This blog post is done collaboratively by Angela Gibbs and Vanessa Briz

Cartoons and Comics

 Fotojet

About me...

The Fotojet site is good for collages, and formal documents (invitations, etc), but you can’t create an actual comic strip.  The site also limits you if you don’t have a paid subscription.  I downloaded my comic collage above, but I couldn’t share the link. 

 

Pixton

How to open a bank account:

I like Pixton’s ability to actually make a comic strip. You can control your background, characters, and conversation.  The problem is you can’t save or share it without a paid account.  I snipped these pictures of the comic I created.  If students are willing to do that, then it is great!

 

 

MakeBeliefsComix

By far my favorite!  I had such fun creating this comic.  Kids would love to turn in assignments in this format.  It is so creative!   It was easy to use and gives you lots of choices on starters, characters, backgrounds, etc.

 

I would share comics with my teacher-colleagues by creating a weekly or biweekly strip of useful information about technology, books, etc. that they could use in the classroom or pass on to their students (like the examples above). The makebeliefscomixs was very easy to insert into this document or you can email them from the site. 

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

 People today young and old alike love watching videos.  I see my students and even my own children watching everything from how to decorate a cake to how to solve a math equation. My husband sends me these silly videos of people falling off of things or tricking someone to eat a hot pepper.  I myself have looked up videos on how to fix various things around the house. I will take advantage of this new pastime by using videos in several different areas in my library.  I will create instructional videos about how to use equipment, skills when doing research, and any other helpful information I can pass to my students.  I will share videos of fun and exciting things happening in the library.  This may interest a student who might not visit the library on a regular basis. 

Here are some Youtube channels and videos and my recommendations on each:

Theunquietlibrary

This video students will like the best:

Media 21 Cohort 2011-2012 Celebration Video

This video is most helpful for students:

Finding and Using Wikimedia Commons Images

 

Pikesvillehslibrary

This video students will like best:

Wii Like to Party @ The Panthers Library

 This video is most helpful to students:

PikesvilleHighschool FAFSA

Bbmsmedia

This video students will like best:

Issues by Julia Michaels Overdue Library Parody

This video is most helpful to students:

NoodleTools - how to create a book citation

One way to use videos in your library is by creating book trailers.  Again people love anything visual.  One of my favorite books of all time is Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  (I know, but I am fascinated by the whole beautiful and good vampire thing.)  Just in case you have been under a rock the last 17 years, here is the synopsis: 

   

 "Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the         most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen,         Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn.

    Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he         lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers      find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife -- between desire and danger.

    Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our     instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite." ( Amazon.com)

Please scan to view my book trailer for TWILIGHT (I was completely creative, no pics of characters from the movies!)

QR codes are another great tool for the library.  You can make book trailers or any other information about a book (reading level, synopsis, AR points)  I would make a display that I change periodically, highlighting different books I think students would enjoy, but might not pick for themselves.  I would do a QR code with information and a book trailer to spark their interest. 

I could do a QR code with information about the library.  I could link the library catalog, social media pages, the informational videos I discussed earlier, or even link e-books to QR codes.  

 

Screencasts

 Screencasts

What is a screencast?

A screencast is a digital video recording of your computer screen and usually includes audio narration. Screencasts are just one of many different types of instructional videos.  When you look at a tutorial for something in Google, you are more than likely watching a screencast.

Screencasting not only saves you time answering the same questions over and over, but as teachers, we know that viewers recall a video better than when reading the instructions.  Kids love watching videos.  I know my personal kids spend hours watching videos.  The more entertaining you make it, the more like they will watch it.

I worked with two different screencast sites for this post.  The first is Screencast-o-matic and the second is Snagit.

 

Screencast-o-matic

Screencast-o-matic is a free screen capture utility.  It has a subscription option that is $1.50 per month.  I made a how-to video on finding books on my school’s online catalog, and it turned out fine.  It was easy to use.  Some pros: video editor, mobile companion apps, and online storage and publishing.  Some cons: no OCR functionality, only exports images as PNG files and no scrolling capture.  Here is the video I made with screencast-o-matic:

 

Snagit 2022

With Snagit, I had to use the free 15-day trial to use it.  It has two main components: the screen capture tool and the comprehensive editor tool.  There is good software support from TechSmith (the creator). You can simultaneously record your screen and yourself with a webcam. You can control the size and placement of the webcam. Some pros: easy to use, seamless screen recording capability, picture-in-picture video, unified format for different OS, multiple capturing options.  Some cons: some plans are a bit expensive (no free version available, only 15-day trial), video editing lacks advanced functionality.  Here is the video I made with Snagit 2022:

Overall, I liked screen-o-matic the best.  I don’t need a lot of fancy features, so if you need something simple, this is the screencast software for you.  If you are looking for more advanced features, look into purchasing Snagit.  

Infographics

 What is an infographic? An infographic is a big picture that summarizes a topic. It is a one-page publication that presents information in a graphic way. Simple icons, symbols, maps, and charts combine to explain the data. Text is only used as labels or to briefly describe facts. The viewer explores the content by studying each section of cartoon-like images.

Why Use an Infographic?

An infographic is a simple but powerful way to communicate. There are many reasons to use it:

• catches the interest of the viewer
• outlines many facts in a compact space
• conveys data quickly using images
• informs without lots of written information
• engages the viewer to think about the topic because they must explore each part
• makes a complex issue easy to understand

 

I reviewed three different web apps that can be used to create infographics.

1. Piktochart

Piktochart is free with paid optional upgrades. It has great step-by-step tutorials. It is easy to use. You can pick from several different formats, including a traditional infographic size, presentation size, poster, and report. You can create your own style or select from templates. There are a limited number of free templates.

2. easel.ly

Easel.ly is free with paid optional upgrades. It has special pricing for teachers and students. It has a free design sandbox you can play in without even registering for the service. It is easy to use. When you begin on their main page, just pick one of the many templets they offer. You can search their library by category. You can also start from scratch. It provides a variety of tools such as backgrounds, shapes, text, and charts.

3. infogr.am

I chose infogram to create my example for the blog. It is free but has paid plans. The paid versions offer SQL connectors, data analytics, link tracking, and engagement analytics. These are in dept, so if you want to go above and beyond, this is a good one. Its ease of use is intermediate, but I did a simple infogram and it wasn’t difficult to maneuver. It is good for numbers and data. The artwork is limited. The free users have fewer choices. I couldn’t download my graphic, so I am including the link for it to be viewed.

 

When I began looking through these three, I randomly choose inforgram  to create my infographic. After looking a bit closer at the other choices, I would have used easel.ly. Here is the link to my infographic:

What Forms of Books do Americans Read?

 

References:

Faverio, M., Perrin, A. (2022, February 2). Three-in-ten Americans now read e-books. Pew Research

Center. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/06/three-in-ten-americans-now-read-e-books/

 

Love, C. & TechnoHella. (2021, February 17). What is an infographic? TechnoKids Blog. Retrieved 

        March 6, 2022, from https://www.technokids.com/blog/technology-integration/what-is-an-                      infographic/.

 

Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

 

Facebook

I am a frequent user of Facebook. I am familiar with its formats and tools. When I searched school library pages on Facebook, I was surprised at what I found. They didn’t seem to be viewed much. There were few likes or comments.  Some things I saw posted were bookfair announcements, AR party announcements, information about visiting authors, project displays, club announcements, and promotions to attract more visitors. The advantage I see to using Facebook to promote the library is it has the potential to reach a large audience. The disadvantage of it is the audience that it reaches. I may reach the parents of the students, but not so much the students themselves.

 

Twitter

I am not familiar with Twitter. This is the first time I have actually explored and learned what it has to offer. I did notice right off that there are many more younger users of Twitter. (my children included)  I located the Twitter feeds of some of the biggest names in educational technology today and read parts of their feeds. This is some of what I found:

Jim Lerman @jimlerman

            Did You Know Your iPhone Has a Built-in Dictionary? Here’s How to Use It

https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-use-iphone-dictionary/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

5 instructional practices that drive student engagement

https://t.co/Gl2x8Mwrun

 

The Daring Librarian @GwynethJones

            Black History Month | All About the Holidays

https://lpb.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/fa375094-c2f2-48eb-b65b-51861b5666e0/black-history-month-all-about-the-holidays/

 

Why are certain schoolbooks being banned in US?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60261660    

 

Linda Braun @lbraun2000

Partnering with Future Ready with the Library: Lessons Learned from Working with Rural and Small Public Library Staff

https://clalliance.org/publications/partnering-with-future-ready-with-the-library-lessons-learned-from-working-with-rural-and-small-public-library-staff/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=CLA&utm_medium=social

Teens on a Year That Changed Everything

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/learning/teens-pandemic-art.html

 

Lathy Schrock @kathyschrock

            Teaching Podcasting: A Curriculum Guide for Educators

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/15/662116901/teaching-podcasting-a-curriculum-guide-for-educators

Something she does differently than the others in her Tweets, she has more personal interactions with her followers. It’s not just a list of good articles. If you read her feed, you can get all sorts of ideas about using podcasting in teaching.

 

Instagram

I am also not familiar with Instagram (again, my children had to school me)  It is not very user-friendly. I added a few photos that included text on the pictures, and I found some pictures that I put into my highlights. I probably have duplicates in various places, but I am a new user.  I like Instagram, it is just going to take some practice working with it.  I can see its value to schools and libraries. You can post photos of your own library, events, books. It is creative, and this makes it attractive to students. Here is the link to a post on my Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ5cP4Xrqhi/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

While there, I have some great library ideas in highlights. 

Blogs and Blog Readers

 When looking for a feed reader, I tried out several from https://bloggingwizard.com/free-rss-feed-readers/ I  chose the Feedly Blog Reader.  Feedly was the most user-friendly. When I searched for articles, it provided me a list of other choices to follow that were similar to what I entered into my search. It made it simple to create new folders for each blog I decided to follow. It tells how recent the posts are updated, so I can unfollow any that are not up to date. You can create boards to keep helpful articles with easy access for future projects. It was easy to find the websites of each blog because there was a link at the bottom of each article that takes you to the website.

Featured Blogs 

1. Knowledge Quest: Journal of the American Association of School Librarians

https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/

Provides up-to-date articles on anything to do with school libraries. Some of the recent article topics range from website evaluation to literacy through comics and graphic novels to using grants for funding.

 

2. ALSC blog

https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/

Provides up-to-date articles on school libraries with a focus on children. Some current articles highlight children’s summer reading programs, technology in the library and circulating hotspots.

 

3. Emerging Education Technologies

https://www.emergingedtech.com/

Provides information on topics pertaining to technology in education. Some of the current articles discuss using student data to drive instruction, ethical hacking, and how to implement a genius hour in your classroom.

 

4. Watch. Connect. Read.

http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/

The following is from the website: “John Schu has made a career out of advocating for the people and things he cares about most: kids, books, and the people that connect them. John is a children’s book author, part-time lecturer at Rutgers University, and the children’s librarian for Bookelicious (Bookelicious.com). His greatest joy is sharing his love of reading with countless educators and students around the world.”

  

5. 100 Scope Notes

https://100scopenotes.com/

This is a School Library Journal blog. The following is from the website: “Children's literature news, reviews and assorted school librarian oddities. Combine one part kid's books, one part school librarianship, a splash of absurdity and you get 100 Scope Notes. Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee.”