USU Librarian

Saturday, February 9, 2013

How to use Skype in your school

For our last assignment I was able to install Skype and video-chat with a few of my classmates online. It was really fun! Through my readings I was able to get some fun ideas on how to use Skype in the library and classroom. Many of these ideas came from the article 50 Ways to Skype your Classroom by Jillian Terry with the website TEACHING DEGREE.

Skyping an author seemed to be my favorite. This is where an author comes into the classroom via Skype and the author gets to speak to the students and the students get to ask questions. With authors being so busy and schools not having very much money, this seemed like a wonderful solution to both problems. It allows the authors to talk to the students within the comforts of their home or office and the author visit fee could potentially be much less. This could be a win-win situation for both parties.

Another idea that appealed to me was students video chatting with students located in other communities, states, and areas around the world. A teacher could incorporate many language art requirements in writing letters and such through pen pals and include a couple of visits on Skype as well.

I also liked the idea where students could present their projects not only to their classmates, but to a parent on-line. I wonder if this would give an added incentive for the students to do better and give them and chance to 'shine' and let the parents know what wonderful things are going on in the classroom.

There were many other ideas, yet I feel that seeing and visiting with other people in the same room is much more preferable than video chatting. If video chatting was the only way to make something happen, then Skype is definitely a wonderful alternative.

As a librarian I could introduce these and other ideas to the faculty and make sure the school community had the technology to make it happen. I view a librarian’s job as one who encourages, directs, and guides the other faculty members to know of and explore the many possible media and technical opportunities available to them.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

WIKIS

Over the past week, I have learned much about how useful wikis can be. Beforehand I had a vague idea of what a wiki was from using Wikipedia occasionally, and following some of the past concerns over the last couple of years involving wikis and students. Yet more recently I learned through reading some published and professional articles how some educators are learning to embrace wikis and having them be a part of the educational process. This was the extent of my knowledge.

I now know so much more than I did a week ago, and realize there is so much more I need to find out. I am excited to learn more about wikis and plan on taking some online courses after my studies are complete. Through this exercise I have seen some very helpful and effective wikis this past week. Nearly all the wikis I explored were wonderful. In the Resources for History Teachers Wiki, I could not help but think how useful this could be for teachers and students alike. If I were a history teacher, several of my assignments would be to look up specific information on educational wikis such as this one which would be an excellent extension to any history curriculum. I absolutely loved the fun and helpful Daring Librarian Wiki that helped faculty and staff with their media endeavors. The illustrations and pictures were colorful and creative and the explanations helpful and often humorous for any teacher who needed specific directions concerning media matters in that school. From the Kern’s High School Wiki I saw the many different helps a librarian could post to help her faculty and students. I especially liked the librarian’s own video of how to check out an e-book from your phone. This past week I visited an excellent library, Albion Middle School, in Sandy. The Librarian, Marianne Bates, also had a very helpful library wiki for her students and teachers. It is titled the Albion Library Wiki.

From what I have seen, I am very motivated to learn how to create a wiki of my own. At this time, I may only be doing the very basics, but I plan on investigating this resource thoroughly and using it in the future.