Ebooks are an area of technology that I think all Librarians are a little sceptical and wary of. I am a bit of traditionist and love the feel and smell of books and think that an ipod or ipad or computer screen can not possibly have the same attraction as a genuine book. However, I am not that much of a Luddite to not see the various possiblities that ebooks have,eg for out of print books and for people who live in remote areas. My biggest fear is that ebooks will be our future and replace the printed book altogether. Concerns about cost, the environmental impact of paper usage and so on could really mean that this will be in the future. The current generation are used to accessing information online, via ipods and interactivity, so for them ebooks are an extension of what they are used to. I really hope that the book doesn't disappear, it is much easier to use and just as portable, doesn't rely on battery power and so on. But the video link I saw to schoollibrary.com is convincing in it's attractiveness of having everything at your fingertips as you need it!
Hopefully there will be a place for ebooks and real books in the libraries of the future. At present I think that there is. I was impressed to find google ebook searchr and have added it to my delicious page.
Audio books on the other hand are something that I have used and have in my library. At my current school we had a student who was vision impaired and I was conscious to try and add to the audio book collection regularly. In fact it was funny that Ifound that other students in his class liked to borrow these books too. I have used audio books myself on long journeys and find them a great way to pass the hours, and they were on cassettes too. Once my children didn't want to stop our journey and get out for lunch, they wanted to keep listening to the story!
For students learning to read audio books have a role to play and I have even started using stories read out loud on my IWB for my primary and infants classes. The children seem to enjoy them a lot.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
#21 Online videos
I could spend hours researching and exploring this topic but had to stop myself from doing that.
My favourite sources are YouTube and TeacherTube because I really think they have the best videos and being the most popular are the first place to start searching for a video on anything.
I have been using youtube for videos in my classroom on the IWB this year on certain occasions and find that this resource is so well received by all students in the class. It appeals to most learning types, especially if the clip is not too long.
I really like the fact that in YouTube and TeacherTube you see a thumbnail of other related videos on the same topic, so you can find even more resources ( and get more sidetracked!)
The video that I have chosen to share on my blog is one I searched for about biodiversity. The reason I chose this is because I am working with my gifted and talented class on biodiversity this term and wanted a really easy video to show them that puts a definition of biodiversity into a format they could understand.
My favourite sources are YouTube and TeacherTube because I really think they have the best videos and being the most popular are the first place to start searching for a video on anything.
I have been using youtube for videos in my classroom on the IWB this year on certain occasions and find that this resource is so well received by all students in the class. It appeals to most learning types, especially if the clip is not too long.
I really like the fact that in YouTube and TeacherTube you see a thumbnail of other related videos on the same topic, so you can find even more resources ( and get more sidetracked!)
The video that I have chosen to share on my blog is one I searched for about biodiversity. The reason I chose this is because I am working with my gifted and talented class on biodiversity this term and wanted a really easy video to show them that puts a definition of biodiversity into a format they could understand.
#20 Podcasts
Podcasts are great for people like me who don't always get a chance to listen to favourite radio shows because of time. I have a link on my iphone to the Hamish and Andy radio show and I will often download a podcast of an episode that I will have missed.
I haven't done much looking around for educational podcasts until doing this weeks searches, and whilst I didn't find anything immediately useful for my lessons today, I think I will bookmark the linking for learning site as one to keep an eye on for future reference.
I think podcasts are great for our lives today as most of us are busy and will often miss something useful so we can catch up with our interests at a time that suits us.
The ABC Australia site was very informative and I can see that it would be useful in classrooms, particulary in the high school.
I haven't done much looking around for educational podcasts until doing this weeks searches, and whilst I didn't find anything immediately useful for my lessons today, I think I will bookmark the linking for learning site as one to keep an eye on for future reference.
I think podcasts are great for our lives today as most of us are busy and will often miss something useful so we can catch up with our interests at a time that suits us.
The ABC Australia site was very informative and I can see that it would be useful in classrooms, particulary in the high school.
#18 and #19 Wikis and Rollyo
I have change my thoughts about wikis after exploring the various options listed. I can see the communal and collaborative benefits, particularly for conference organisation or classroom collaboration are extremely beneficial, from the point of view that editing can be done easily, collaboration is easy and the flexibility is great. This feature alone makes it more versatile than a blog or a webpage.
Having explored the various examples, I particularly like the Westwood school one and the example on Traditional Tales. The traditional tales one is like a newer version of webquests and I am tempted to try it out on my year 2 classes this term!
I would love to establish a collaborative wiki with classroom teachers regarding library lesson content, but I have a feeling that staff are not up to using the technology, many are still struggling with using IWB's and email! However, it is an option that can be explored at a later date and one that I will think about seriously. Again, there is a great opportunity to use this with my gifted and talented class on their projects this term, so I will work on that.
Had a look at Rollyo and signed up - www.rollyo.com/kimbeesley. I am not too sure that I will find this tool as useful as delicious, but I could see that it can be applied in the classroom to be a subject specific site directed just to students rather than have them see all of my favourite websites.
I am starting to become overwhelmed by all the possibilities!!
Having explored the various examples, I particularly like the Westwood school one and the example on Traditional Tales. The traditional tales one is like a newer version of webquests and I am tempted to try it out on my year 2 classes this term!
I would love to establish a collaborative wiki with classroom teachers regarding library lesson content, but I have a feeling that staff are not up to using the technology, many are still struggling with using IWB's and email! However, it is an option that can be explored at a later date and one that I will think about seriously. Again, there is a great opportunity to use this with my gifted and talented class on their projects this term, so I will work on that.
Had a look at Rollyo and signed up - www.rollyo.com/kimbeesley. I am not too sure that I will find this tool as useful as delicious, but I could see that it can be applied in the classroom to be a subject specific site directed just to students rather than have them see all of my favourite websites.
I am starting to become overwhelmed by all the possibilities!!
#17 Delicious
If I have learned nothing else from this course but about delicious then I will be happy. I can see why it is your favourite Fiona, I think I will quickly become a fan too. At this stage I have signed up and added only a few bookmarks, but I know that this will grow very quickly.
What do I like about this? Probably the main thing is that you can access it from any computer, not just restricted to searching your bookmarks only on the computer you are using at the time. I commonly access 3 computers so this will be very handy for me.
I also like the tag facility, as it really makes you think about the content of the page you are adding and how it is useful to you and others.
I also like the fact that you can view other peoples bookmarks, who knows where that will lead you! I have already found a fantastic webpage on a great topic through this course that I am sure I wouldn't have discovered otherwise so I look forward to having time to explore more through delicious.... who knows what I will find!
I can definitely see the potential for it's use in the classroom, if you are having trouble adding links to things for students to use you can easily direct them via this bookmarking site, and with the tag option and comments it should make it clear why the site is useful. The fact that you can access it anywhere is a bonus.
What do I like about this? Probably the main thing is that you can access it from any computer, not just restricted to searching your bookmarks only on the computer you are using at the time. I commonly access 3 computers so this will be very handy for me.
I also like the tag facility, as it really makes you think about the content of the page you are adding and how it is useful to you and others.
I also like the fact that you can view other peoples bookmarks, who knows where that will lead you! I have already found a fantastic webpage on a great topic through this course that I am sure I wouldn't have discovered otherwise so I look forward to having time to explore more through delicious.... who knows what I will find!
I can definitely see the potential for it's use in the classroom, if you are having trouble adding links to things for students to use you can easily direct them via this bookmarking site, and with the tag option and comments it should make it clear why the site is useful. The fact that you can access it anywhere is a bonus.
#16
Some of the links listed on this reference didn't work, I have seen one before by CommonCraft and I like the way it clearly explains the difference that RSS feeds makes.
Of the suggestions I think I would use the Recent Australian publications feed as it would be good for sourcing new publications, but more so if I was in a High School Library. In a primary school library the new resouces I get are dictated by a limited curriculum and then include already selected fiction titles from people like Australian Standing Orders. I really don't have a lot of time to spend on sourcing too many texts for teachers. However I can see this site as a useful one if I was in a different type of library.
I have added RSS feeds to my google reader aggregator on things I am interested in on a leisure basis, not just for work!
Of the suggestions I think I would use the Recent Australian publications feed as it would be good for sourcing new publications, but more so if I was in a High School Library. In a primary school library the new resouces I get are dictated by a limited curriculum and then include already selected fiction titles from people like Australian Standing Orders. I really don't have a lot of time to spend on sourcing too many texts for teachers. However I can see this site as a useful one if I was in a different type of library.
I have added RSS feeds to my google reader aggregator on things I am interested in on a leisure basis, not just for work!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
