Makerspaces

The article I chose focused primarily on the initial set up of a Makerspace within the library.  In summary, the article highlighted the need for appropriate space for a Makerspace area as well as the appropriate staff knowledge for running the day to day operations of the area.  Crumpton also discusses two possible methods of funding and maintaining the equipment:  fees and grants.  Finally, he discusses the need for passing on fines to patrons if equipment is used incorrectly and fines are generated to the library (Crumpton A, 2015).  He does recognize that need for technology to be more readily available and that the library is an appropriate place for this: "As part of the effort to broaden the appeal of enjoying library space and to participate in transformative learning activities, many libraries and museums are transforming part of their space into Makerspaces" (Crumpton A, 2015).

This idea of broadening the appeal of enjoying library space mirrors the 6th common belief that information technology should be integrated and equitably available.  So while he does appear to be a proponent of a fee based structure to weed out the less serious patrons, he does also discuss ongoing grants as a method of maintaining the technology (Crumpton A, 2015).  This idea of an ongoing grant would help make the technology more equitable.  Until technology becomes less expensive, I believe there will continue to be challenges with making the use truly equitable.  Even with a fee per use for something like a 3D printer, I think you will see less creativity and exploration if those without the resources are unable to tinker until they get it right.  

References

Michael A Crumpton, (2015) "Fines, fees and funding: makerspaces standing apart", The Bottom Line, Vol. 28 Issue: 3, pp.90-94, https://doi-org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/10.1108/BL-04-2015-0004

No Death By Powerpoint

This week's module gave me so many ideas, many of them related to my day job.  But, nonetheless, there are some great tools.  I was very intrigued more by the curation tools than the presentation tools, but the presentation tools were also very inspiring.

My first inclination was to use Smore for this week's assignment, since we are considering it for our Maker Faire project.  But, once I delved into it, I wasn't sure how easily it corresponded to the assignment.  I liked the easy formatting of the tool and could see myself using it now during my day job and in the future. 

I also feel that Prezi is more targeted toward the business community.  I liked that it focused on the concepts of visualization and storytelling and that the presentations are designed with that focus in mind.  I didn't select it for this assignment, because none of the sample templates spoke to me for this particular assignment. 

Haiku Deck was getting closer for my needs for what I wanted to do for the assignment.  I liked that the images are advertised as coming from Creative Commons, and I feel this would be a great tool for working with students in a school environment. 

At the end of the day, Emaze seemed to have a good balance between professional and educational templates that were easy to approach and customize.  I found the tool very simple to use right off the bat and they had a great template for a journey.  Their pages were a good combination of thought slides and chart/image slides.  This site will likely be a go-to for me in the future.

Here is the link to my story.  We just got back from my sons' karate tournament at the Kalahari Falls resort in the Poconos, PA:  https://www.emaze.com/@AOOORCQRL/road-map

Living in a Virtual World

I was working on my website when I took a break to complete the QR Code assignment.  Since I had my website on my mind, I created a QR Code to take a reader of my blog direct to the website.  It seemed to make sense at the time.

For Christmas last year, we all received Virtual Reality headsets from my husband's aunt.  Personally, I find them relatively nausea inducing, since most of the mainstream apps for the headset center around things like roller coasters and other "experiences".  I can generally keep it together for a roller coaster when I am out in fresh air, but I'm sadly one of those people not enthralled by virtual reality.  On the other hand, I am fascinated by what can be done with augmented reality.  I have been to some museums that leverage the technology and we have really enjoyed it.  Both my sons also love the Color Alive coloring books that turn the colored page into a moving image once you scan in the picture.  We also have an endless supply of apps that allow the boys to scan in their toys and play with them in an electronic version of the game as well.  And, our digital-native children don't know a world without it.

Because children are already so exposed to the technology before they even enter a classroom, I think it is important for educators to be aware of the technology, even if they aren't using it in the day to day schedule.  It is very easy to envision using augmented reality to have students scan a poster or book, and link to biographies of the author.  Imagine an elementary school library where every book had a QR code on the back which took them an article online about the author or more information on the topic.  So, a book about elephants could be QR coded to take you to National Geographic content about elephants and their population.  I could also envision having sections of the library with the names of popular books and a "if you liked this" QR code which could take them to a digital collection of other books the students might want to read.

I could imagine using augmented reality in so many different ways in the library.  While I don't think it's viable to attack the whole library, I think featured books could be connected to augmented reality - where the student scans the book title and it takes them to an entire lesson on the author or the genre.  These lessons would be curated sessions developed by the librarian and packaged based on themes for the month for example.  I also like the idea of having an augmented reality map of the library.  For a larger library, this would be a great well to help students learn the areas of the library - it could not only be practical in helping students navigate the room physically, but the maps could include book reviews of popular books in the section  as well -by other students at the school which could be updated with what is popular that month/season.

Animation vs Documentary

When I first thought of this assignment, I imagined I would simply be taking a video of my boys doing something silly and post it.  Once I started looking at the tools, I realized that there were options for learning to how to create videos with animation as well.  Since this would be an immediate benefit to my day job, I decided to focus on looking at the tools for animating videos rather than looking at the slide show or documentary type video tools.

The first tool I investigated was PowToon.  What I liked about this tool is that you work with each slide individually and they have some preset templates you can start with if you need inspiration.  I saw templates that could be leveraged easily by a student:  book reports, resumes and "5 facts".  This would be an easy way to introduce students to creating animated videos.  I could see giving the students an option to create a report in an animated form, which would allow them some creativity over a simple paper.  However, there are a limited number of templates, so in most times, they would have to start from the beginning.  I ended up using this tool for my assignment, but I found a serious limitation in the free version:  you cannot download the end file as a video file without a paid account.  For many people this would not be an issue, as you can share the link via You Tube and other social media sites.

Pixiclip also allows you to create an animated video, but requires you to either draw or use uploaded images.    I looked at some of the sample videos, and it seemed that they all focus on a single image with audio in the background.  I had trouble with this tool determining how you could build a story with it, so I'm not so sure how I would include it in a classroom setting, unless it was simply for having students video themselves talking and having the embedded video as part of them sharing an image on the slide.

Finally, I looked at Wideo.  This company also provides templates for use, but many are true business use, and may not have a direct school application.  However, there are definitely some fun templates that students could use to learn how to navigate the tool (Holiday wishes, car selling, web instruction).  Once they get the hang of it - I feel they could use the features that allow them to start from scratch and could then use it for many different applications.  Unfortunately, some of the templates I feel would be most useful (like the instructional video) are only available on the pro version and are not free.

Exploring the Interwebs

I was a little nervous about this assignment.  We've all seen so many ugly websites on the internet, and I didn't want mine to become one of those.  As I browsed through some school library websites made in Weebly by using a general Google search, I was at first discouraged, as I wasn't seeing many that I really liked.  I found some were just not graphically interesting to me, and I was worried about whether or not I would like working within the tool.  Thankfully, though, I finally came across a few sites I felt were well presented and easy to navigate.

The first is the Solanco High School library:  http://solancohslibrary.weebly.com/.  I felt the site had a very modern feel and very clear navigational tools.  There was adequate white space within the page and I liked the clean look obtained by using limited fonts.  I liked that site had a page dedicated to research resources and citation tips and tricks.   All in all, the site information was presented clearly, had good features including links to reviews and their Goodreads group, and their reading Olympics.  

I also liked the look and feel of the Belton High School libarry:  http://beltonlibrary.weebly.com/.  I didn't find as many features I liked on the site compared to the Solanco library, but I did like the look and feel of the site and the method of navigation.  Again, this one encouraged me that Weebly is a good tool for creating my website.  

The reason I focused on looking at Weebly was based on the discussion during office hours and the feedback other classmates have given.  Additionally, as I started working with Weebly, I learned that the site creates a references page for you IF you select images through their search tool and select images available for use through Creative Commons.  I didn't spend much time looking at the other tools, because I thought it would be best to go with a tool that has shown to be successful in the past!

Can You Hear Me Now?

As I was working with the different items in the sandbox this week, I made some early guesses as to which ones I might like and which ones I wouldn't.  I was very surprised at the end result after I played with a few of the tools. 

I thought that the Voki would be my winner, as it gave you an option to have both an audio and visual.  Since so many people are visual learners, I thought this would help engage the audience.  I struggled with this tool for a few reasons.  One, once I finished customizing my avatar and making my recording, I wasn't happy with the outcome.  The final product was a bit too creepy for my taste when the avatar I selected started talking.  The other challenge I found was getting the resulting file posted.  Many of the methods for posting were not included in the free version (including posting to blogger).  I think, though, that this tool would be very engaging in the classroom because the students would be engaged by the avatars.  I think you could use it for class announcements or other brief messages. 

The next tool I reviewed was Blabberize.  This one was also rejected quite quickly, as the idea of talking pictures has never been high on my list of things I like.  However, I felt that it was useful to have learned about the site and how it works, because I think kids probably think this is hysterical, and it would be good to know how to use it and be able to teach them how to make audio clips for their own use.

Finally, I remembered why simple is sometimes best.  I had previously skipped over Audiopal and Vocaroo because they are both tools that just create audio clips.  After my dissatisfaction with the other tools, I went back and recorded in both Audiopal and Vocaroo and was happy with their simplicity.  I hadn't originally thought to use Audiopal because of the time limitation.  But, with the ease of use, it was great.  My final recording was in Vocaroo.  I loved that it posted directly to Blogger and created the start of my blog post for me.  Personally, I find this type of tool would have limited use in the classroom, as I can't imagine a time when I would create an audio cast vs a webcast.  But, maybe those of you working in the classroom have experience with times when a purely audio cast is preferred. 

Listen to my clip for an additional observation I had while creating my audio clips.
Vocaroo Voice Message

I Never Knew

Well, I have to say, this assignment could not have come for me at a better time for me professionally.  I recently started a new job in July, and I am being asked more often to create info graphics and short communications out to our company.  Not having a design background, I didn't have the know-how to do an info graphic in Adobe Photoshop.  It never occurred to me that there would be multiple online tools.  I loved this assignment, as it was especially relevant for me and I was able to build something I could use immediately for my work.

So, below you will find the info graphic I created.  I used a Canva template.  I found that the tool itself does not work well with Internet Explorer, and had a much easier time editing it and making it my own in the Google Chrome browser.  In IE, I couldn't easily see all the text boxes in the template. So, if any of you are struggling with the templates on that site, I suggest trying out a different browser.  I think that is one thing I would recommend to students working on creating their own designs - remember that not all online tools are friendly with all browsers.  Also, they should not be discouraged if they don't find a good template on one site, as there are many more available on similar sites.  Finally, a tool like Canva makes it easy to start from the ground up - as they have blocks of headings/content/etc that are drag and drop for you to work with if you don't find a template that meets your needs.

I anticipate I will be using these sites daily in the upcoming weeks for my job, so as I learn additional tips, I will add them to the blog.  Hopefully, all  of you will benefit from my info graphic - as it has some good tips for keeping data secure in your workplace!