Instagram and Vine

Instagram and Vine

 

Social media is becoming more and more a part of our daily lives. This week I took a look at how a librarian can incorporate Instagram and Vine (Instagram’s video sharing partner) into the library.

 

Instagram: 

 

Instagram is a picture sharing site that can be used in many ways. It is well know for the hashtag as well. You can take a photo and then post it to your Instagram and share for the world to see. If you attach a # (hashtag) to the picture it will allow you to see other people's pictures that have the same hashtag. I would most likely use Instagram in the same way as Facebook, as a way to share information and show students, teachers and parents different things that are happening around the library. It would be a great way to show different displays that have been created or student projects. I also used Instagram as a way to congratulate the students who have earned 100 A.R. Points! I think that is is another way that librarians can connect and exchange ideas. I plan to keep up with it and use it more often for the library. I will most likely create an Instagram for the library as well as a personal one. Below is the link to my Instagram page!

 

Instagram

 

 

Vine:

I was not familiar with Vine until I started looking into Instagram. I discovered that it is a partner of Instagram. Vine was created for video sharing, while Instagram is for pictures. After looking into all the possibilities that this could be used for I found a ton of great ways to use it in the library or classroom. You could have the students create videos over anything that you are covering class. They can make videos about anything with only time limiting them, which I also discovered that it makes them think outside the box and be creative. I was talking about Vine with my fourth grade class today and was blown away by how many knew what it was and how many had an account. So I told them that I wanted them to create some Vine videos about genres and the library and they had a blast. You can watch what they created on my Vine account by clicking on the link below. I also used Vine today to capture one of my Kinder classes leaving the library dressed as Indians and signing their chant. Like Instagram and Facebook it is also a great way to share information with teachers, students, and parents.

 

Vine

 

 

There are so many different projects that can be done with either site/app and they are both very easy to use. They are both right at your finger tips since everyone normally has their phone on them at all times. I really enjoyed both and plan to use them in the future.

Screencasts

This week I took a look into screencasts and how to use them in the library and what site was the most user friendly. Screencasts can be used in a variety of ways. I think their best use in the library is to use them to teach students how to use the resources and the online catalog. I find myself saying the same thing over and over again to explain how to use the different resources that are provided for the students. I think that the way I would use screencasts in the library is to create a different screencast for each resource that they will need assistance with and post them on my website. That way if they need help and I am not around or they are home they will be able to watch the screencast and know what to do. I also have a colleague that helps me when I am not sure about how to find a report on Renaissance Place or Destiny by sending me a screencast because she says that it is easier to watch over and over again then for her to explain it over and over again on the phone because we are at different schools.  So screencasts can be used to show someone how to do something on the computer without you having to be there. They are very useful for many things an can help you from saying the same thing over and over again. To make screencasts I looked into Screencast-o-matic, Screenr, Jing, and Explain a Website.

Screencast-o-matic: http://screencast-o-matic.com

This is a free site that just requires you to set up an account. It is very quick and easy to do. You can also purchase the Pro version for only $15 a year if you would like to ability to edit your screencasts. I chose not to upgrade yet but might consider it in the future. There are also tutorial videos to help answer questions or tell you how to get started. I found it to be very easy. When you are ready to record it guides you through. I did have to upgrade my Java settings but that didn't take very long and I am not really sure that I really had to do that, it was just recommended and so I did. I really enjoyed making this screencasts on this site and was so relieved at easy it was to do. I really had no trouble and was very pleased with this site and highly recommend it. Below is the screencast that I created to show my students how to access and search for books using the online catalog. Please ignore the part about my home screen. I am still working on that page, sorry.

Screenr: https://www.screenr.com/

When I went to look into the site Screenr I was unfortunately given the news that the website was no longer in service because their recording capability is based on Java which is becoming very outdated. A lot of browsers are no longer running Java so the screencasts that are created on Screenr will not be able to be played anywhere so they are shutting down. This is a picture of the screen you will see when searching for Screenr.

Jing: https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

This is another great site that I think would be very user friendly. They offer great step by step tutorial videos that you can watch before you start. There are a lot of really neat features to this site as well. The only downside to this is that you have to download their program on to your computer and I can not do that at the moment so I was unable to really dig deeper and try one for my self. The videos though make it look very easy to use and something that I plan on looking into when I am able to download their program.

If you have an iPad and don't mind spending a $1 there is also an app called Explain a Website that you can download to make screencasts. I was unable to explore this app at the moment because I do not have access to my Wi-Fi due to moving and Comcast issues. I did just want to mention it though and let people be aware that there is an "app for that"!

Overall I feel screencasts will be used in the future in my library to help not only my students but me as well. It will save time and allow students to be able to understand how to use resources while they are at home or when a teacher is not available to help them. I feel that students can also make some really neat projects using screencasts and can teach their peers about different websites and resources. There are many ways to use screencasts!

Comics!

This week I took at a look at a few different websites that allow you to make comic strips. Comic strips are a great way to connect with your students is a fun way. They are also a great way to get the students involved with technology. Students can create a comic strip to help them show their understanding of several different TEKS across all subjects. They can make a comic to represent a story summary, meaning of vocabulary, sequence of events, or just to write their own story. You could have them use a comic strip in social studies and science to show a timeline or the sequence of important events in history or a science experiment. With math the students could make a comic explaining how to complete a math problem. There are several ways to use comics in the classroom. They are not just for the classroom though anyone can make a comic as a way to give students information. In the three examples I created I used one to talk about the Bluebonnet books, and two just about reading in general. You can make a comic to represent library or class rules or procedures. I encourage everyone to explore to possibiliites they can have with comic strips!

I have explored four different comic creating websites this week, ToonDoo.com, Pixton.com, MakeBeliefsComix.com, an on my iPad Tellagami. All of the sites that I explored had positives and negatives.

ToonDoo: http://www.toondoo.com

I really enjoyed this site. I found it to be easy to use and work with and the most Elementary kid friendly. I really like how they offered a variety of characters to choose from and the backgrounds were really nice and colorful. My main flaw with this site was that it took a really time to load everything. I thought that it was just my computer at home but I also tried the computer at school and ran into the same problem. I also wished that they would offer more layout options. The largest number of frames that I found was only four. That is great for most of the project ideas but I wish that there was at least an option for five frames because we teacher our students the, Somebody/someone wanted but so then, strategy for summarizing and that would need five frames. It is not a big problem because they can combine two frames and it will work but just something I was thinking about. Overall great site for kids!

 

<a href='http://www.toondoo.com/cartoon/9404590'><img src='http://static.toondoo.com/public/h/k/i/hkirk84//toons/cool-cartoon-9404590.png' border='0' width='450' alt='Reading can...' title='Click to View Full Size Image' ></a><br><div style='font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; width: 100%;'>By <a href='http://www.toondoo.com/user/hkirk84'>hkirk84</a> | <a href='http://www.toondoo.com/cartoon/9404590'>View this Toon at ToonDoo</a> | <a href='http://www.toondoo.com/'>Create your own Toon</a></div>

 

 

Pixton: https://www.pixton.com

This site was really cool once I figured it all out. The possibilities are endless with this. I do recommend taking the time to watch the How To videos. It will save you time! I would recommend this site to older students and teachers but I think that it might be a little too much for my Pre-K through 4^th graders. I really like how you can change all the backgrounds and the facial expressions and everything about the characters and their movements but wished that they had some younger kid characters that I could have used. For this site you also have to create an account and then wait for approval if you ae creating a school account which is what I did. It did not take long but it was an extra step that the others did not require. Overall once you get the hang of it making the comics will be easy and very useful on this site.

<iframe src="//www.pixton.com/ca/schools/embed/qacow5dq" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="384" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

MakeBeliefsComix: http://www.makebeliefscomix.com

I found this site to be very similar to ToonDoo without as many options. It was very kid friendly and colorful and had some fun characters choices but still was very limited with the backgrounds, and props. It also only allowed you to have three frames. All of the tools were easy to use and I was able to create a comic in no time. I feel like this could be a good site to use for a quick and easy assessment of a lesson for a quick check for understanding. There is not a lot of room to really dig deep and tell a story without each frame being text only. I was also disappointed that you could not create an account because you cannot save your comic after you are finished creating them. Your only option is to print or email them. Overall, this site will be good for short and quick comic strips.

 

Tellagami: Available through the App Store

This was a fun app you can play with if you have an iPad. It is similar to making an avatar where you can choose what the person looks like. You are able to choose the background and record your voice to be able to make the person talk. It was a lot of fun to play with. I have not yet created one to be published yet but I plan on spending more time with it because it was a lot of fun. To be able to fully explore the app you do have to pay to unlock the other options. I hope you explore it and I highly recommend it!

Overall these websites were all great it just depends on how you plan to use the comics and with what age group. If is it for the younger kids I would go with Toon Doo but if it is for middle schoolers or high schoolers I would go with Pixton. If you are looking for something to be done quickly and for a “ticket out the door” type comics then I would go with Make Belief Comix. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.