Friday, June 30, 2017

Infographics

Hello Everyone, I am back again with yet another exciting discovery for this digital immigrant. I have come across the world of infographics, and I think I have fallen in love. As an 11 year veteran in the teaching field, I could have really used this at the start of my career. None the less I am excited about  implementing infographics in my classroom this coming year. This is such a wonderful tool that helps the teacher or student highlight and visually share the most important parts of the information they are sharing. Below you will see a link to an infograhic I created, along with the three sites that I think you guys will love.


Click On Link Below To See My First Infograhic:


Easelly :http:http://www.easel.ly/

I created my infographic using this site. It was really easy to set up an account, and I loved how easy it was to use the site. Prior to designing my infographic, I was inspired by the many templates that this site provided for the user. I finally chose one, and it took me directly to the creating pad. The user interface was very user friendly and told you exactly what to do. It was very easy to move around the information that was on the template, and even easier to erase. I also loved how easy it was to upload images to my files on the Easelly site. I highly recommend this site for any newbies out there.

Piktochart :http://piktochart.com/

I did not choose this site for my infographic, but I does not mean that I did not like it. It was very easy to create an account and get started as well. While I was exploring this site, I noticed that there was an inspire me button, which I pressed. I was taken to an ocean of templates that as you can guess, were ment to inspire your work. One other think that I really liked about this site that Easelly did not have, was a wonderful tutorial. It went frame by fame and taught you the ins and outs of the programs. If you are someone who has to constantly refer back to the user's manual, this site is definetly for you.

Infogram: http://infogr.am

Infogram is another site that you can use to create infographics as well. Like the other three sites it was quite easy to create an account and get started. This was the least of my favorite out of the three sites that I explored in reference to infographics. Being a digital immigrant, I need tutorials, and a user interface that will help point me in the right direction, or provide template for me. There was a three minute getting started video, but I pressed it numerous times, and could not get it to work. Being a newbie to the infographic world, I might have missed it, but I did not see any get inspired section, or rows of templates that were ready for me to use either. Although the directions on the creation board of this site were pretty clear cut, the only themes that I could change were those of the charts. One thing I did like about this site was the graphic part of the creation board. Your could search for any graphics that you wanted, and wonderful images that poped with color would appear.

Bibliography For My First Infographic:

 Rainie, L. (2017, May 29). The future of free speech, trolls, anonymity and fake news online. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/
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Monday, June 26, 2017

Blogs/Blog Readers

     About a year ago I got introduced to the world of blogging through some school work that I had to complete for some graduate courses that I am still knee deep in the middle of. I did not think much about the blogs that I was creating, and was truthfully just focused on following the specifications that my professor had laid our for me. Today I am challenged with a different assignment, but this time I am intrigued by BLOG READERS. This technology is new to me, and truthfully I was a little nervous prior to diving into this new world. When creating blogs in the past, I never realized the effort that went into keeping up with the bloggers one followed. I just always though that you typed in the url address and took a look at their new posts. Being a Digital Native myself, I am slowly discovering that there is so many things that make life easier when it come to technology that I am unaware of, one of them of course being the Awesomeness of BLOG READERS also known as RSS Reader Apps.

    RSS stands for Really Simple syndication, and I have come to discover that there are two kinds of RSS readers which are online RSS services and native RSS apps. Online RSS services run automatically finding new information as soon at it is published. Native RSS apps can sync feeds right to your device, and work with most RSS services. RSS readers help you by gathering all the different sites that you follow and puts them in one location. Through the blog reader you can access all the latest blog posts for your favorite bloggers without having to type in the url address for your desired websites. 

    The blog reader that I chose to explore and use was Feedly, which for a digital native like me seemed like a good choice. I did not choose a native RSS app, because I did not want to sync any feeds that I might get onto of my devices. I am content with using my personal computer to keep up with the blog posts that I have decided to follow. Another reason that I chose Feedly is because I really liked the layout.  It does not have an excess of information crammed into one place, and it has a simplistic layout that is very easy to read. One of the other things that I liked about Feedly is that it allows the user to group the sites into collections, which they can tag anything they want. For example I was looking at different library sites, so I chose to tag my collection for the various blogs library. There is no rocket science involved in the user interface, which is another reason that I love this site. As a future librarian, I have also become an advocate for library services, and I like that Feedly can connect with my facebook account which allows me to share important information that I might find with the world.

     Blog Readers are definelty something that I will continure to use, and I am glad that I got the opportunity to learn about them. I am so excited about being able to access all my favorites in one place. Being that I am currently taking graduate courses to acquire my Masters in Library Science Degree, I have provided a few links that anyone in this field might find helpful. Below I have included the url addresses for each, so please feel free to explore these sites and add them to your own Blog Reader accounts, God Bless.

BLOG SITE LINKS:

Annoyed Librarian http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/annoyedlibrarian/
On this site you will find that the posts are from the point of view of a very free spirited perspective. The Annoyed Librarian shares her views about the what is happening in the library wold, but adds a twist that makes her posts interesting to read. Her post are about copyright infingers, library advocates, and so much more. 


On this site you will find information provided to you by the blogger Abby Johnson. She has a wonderful site that provides the reader with story time activities, and even provides future librarians with a lot of use ful information  about the profession. I really enjoyed how creative she got with her story time presentations, and hope to recreate some of her lesson in my own library one day.


App Reviews School Library Journal http://www.slj.com/category/reviews/apps/#_
This site does exactly what its title entails, it reviews apps for the reader, and keeps them updated on the new and trending ones. I love that this site take a humanistic approach when explaining how to use the various apps, it puts newbies like me at ease when it comes to technology.


David Lee King is a blogger who's post focus on the social web, emerging trends, and libraries. You will even find some book review embedded throughout his posts. 

The Daring Librarian http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/
On this site you will find a plethora of information of all kinds. The Daring Libraian posts about gamefication, summer reading lists, social media, QR codes, and so much more. I really enjoyed exploring this site, I was on informatin overload as I read her posts. Loved it.

I have also included the link to my Tumblr site below, where I will be adding more UseFul Links, God Bless.

Tumblr: 
https://www.tumblr.com/customize/introspectivereader?redirect_to=/settings/blog/introspectivereader
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Friday, June 9, 2017

Twitter and Facebook

Facebook:

 The last couple of days I have been surfing through facebook and looking at different library pages, and found that most of the pages are used for the same thing. Facebook pages are used to update patrons of coming events, or to make announcements in regards to the out come of past activities. Through facebook, libraries also hightlight the various services that they have available for their patrons. For example, I saw one library who had images of students attending TECH Tuesday, there for giving patrons who have not yet attended a sneak peak of what they should expect. I also noticed that library facebook pages are also a wonderful way to promote book fairs. I came across many pages who posted images of thier bookfairs in progress, creating a lot of hype in the comments below the images. I loved how some of the library pages gave tech advice on devices that they had available through their programs. I know this is one thing that I would value, especially since technology is changing every day.

I feel that having a facebook page for your library has a lot of advantages. It allows you to always be connected to your patrons, and gives you imidiate feedback on how they may have felt about certain events.The messages (IM) feature on facebook, also allows for librarians to answer any questions a patron may have in reference to information, or a general question about an event. Facebook also has a really cool feature, that allows your patrons to rate your library and the programs that take place in it. Patrons are able to write reviews which highlight the parts of your program that they have enjoyed. The only draw back that I see with having a facebook page, is that it opens up the floor for many types of conversations between patrons. A librarian might want to set his or her page up for a particular purpose, but patrons have free rain in the comments area. A librarian needs to also be aware that along with poitive comments, there may also be some negative ones.

Twitter:

 When it comes to twitter, I would like start by stating that I am definetly a newby in this sector. I started a twitter account this last August because it was required at a tech conference that I attended to participate in some of the activities. I kept the account open, but never really used it until this past week. I like the user interface that this social network has, it is pretty easy to navigate, even for beginners.

I started my twitter journey exploring various ed tech leaders, to take a glimpse into what interest they may have when it comes to technology and our world. I discovered that although they are all different, they are all fundamentally interested in the same thing, which is tech and education.

Jim Lerman's page was really interesting, because I noticed he was really interested in a lot of the sites that had to do with virtual reality. He also posted advice on podcasts, and instagram for the classroom. I loved one of his rescoopes that talked about mine craft and how we need to turn our students into creators. Below you will find an example of one of his tweets.

  Jun 8
What Place Do AR And VR Have In Learning? 10 Key Points From The eLearning Network’s Event via

Linda Braun although still interested in tech and education, her focus was on the net neutrality battle, and how to use technology is used in education. She had tweets about newsletters that would keep the reader updated on connected learning. Below are some her tweets.

  Retweeted
  12 hours ago
The net neutrality battle has serious implications for libraries. Let the FCC know why you care about

  Retweeted
  Jun 8
How to Make Peer Mentoring Work, 3 Provocative Talks on Tech & Learning, , Minecraft Camp Opp, & More

  Jun 6
The Silicon Valley Billionaires Remaking America’s Schools, via

David Warlick's twitter page was about the ariel photography he seems to enjoy, and his political views on education.  Below is one of the tweets that I really found interesting as an educator and a future librarian. It talks about how we are not letting our children be creative, and we are burning them out with tests. David Warlick has many political views, but I love how he adds humor to get his point across.

  Feb 15
Jobs will go to those who can do what machines can't. So why do schools make children behave like machines?

  21 Sep 2016
My state is facing a frightening teacher shortage. To blame is the Cuckoo Party that runs our state government:
4 likes
 
 
 

Kathy Schrock's page is definetly one of the pages that I would go to, if I were interested in getting  tech advice. She has many tweets where she gives updates on many programs, and even fills the reader with program uses they may have not known about. Along with her tech advice Kathy Schrock is also a promoter of creativity in the classroom.

  Jun 3
Just found out Alexa can now interact with my iCloud calendar! w00t! Works great!

  Jun 1
New Kathy’s Katch blog post: Promoting inventiveness in the classroom. 6/17.

I think my favorite twitter page of all was the Daring Librarian's Gwyneth Jones, she has a lot of cool tweets that draw the reader in. She gives tech advice, and is also interested in creativity in the classroom. I loved one of her tweets that included a video that had alot of truty behind it. I have also included something that she retweeted, because I belive as educators, in the end we just have to do what is best for our students.

  Jun 8
Today's story Creativity! Video - Embrace the ARTS!

  Retweeted
  Jun 5
Sometimes asking for permission is not the way.....just beg for forgiveness after you've done what works best for kids.
5 retweets18 likes
 
 
 
If you get a chance I would encourage every one of you to visit the twitter pages of all these facinating people. They are paving the way for new ideas, and fighting so that they can find a place in our classrooms.

 
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