Videos and QR Codes in the Library

In today's world, videos are huge when it comes to helping anyone (not just kids) learn.  When I want to do something for myself, one of the first places I go for help is YouTube.  People have actually made careers out of explaining how to do things on YouTube!  Our students are no different.  In fact, they are making their own videos as well!  This week, I had the opportunity to explore some YouTube channels, Animoto, and created a QR code for my Animoto video.  I felt somewhat confident that I'd have a pretty easy time with this assignment, since I have a little experience with YouTube, Animoto and QR codes, but I did run into a few bumps.  All in all, I got to see some pretty great videos, add to my list of ideas for things I want to implement in my library when I become a librarian, and I got a little more comfortable with different aspects of technology.

I explored a few different YouTube channels used in libraries.  I've included two videos from each channel that I visited.  For each channel, there is a video that I think students would find most helpful and a video that I think students would like best.  Exploring these YouTube channels gave me some helpful ideas for the future.

Normal High School Library's YouTube channel

(found at:  https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNHSLibrary/videos )

The most helpful video for students:  I think this channel had a few good helpful videos.  The video that I think is most helpful is the Getting Started with the NHS Library Website.  This video does a lovely job of touring the website so that students know what is available and how to access different resources.

The video students would like best:  I think one video students would probably like best is the Tiger Visits The Library video.  The school mascot visits the library and uses various resources.  It's funny and informative, as it shows different aspects of the library and resources available.  

The Unquiet LIbrary channel

(found at:  https://www.youtube.com/user/theunquietlibrary/videos )
This channel had so many good videos!  There were so many helpful videos to choose from, it was hard to pick just one that would be most helpful!  I like that they covered a variety of subjects for tutorials.  The most helpful video would depend upon what type of project a student was doing.

The most helpful video for students: I think copyright issues are such a big issue, I chose one of the videos tutorials on how to find creative common images, in the video Finding CC Licensed Images in Advanced Flickr Search , using Flickr.

The video students would like best: I think the video students would like best is the Scenes from The Unquiet Library because it high lights students in the library and happenings.

Pikesville High School Library YouTube channel:

(found at: https://www.youtube.com/user/pikesvillehslibrary/videos )

The most helpful video for students: This channel had a lot of helpful videos to choose from, as well.  I think one of the most helpful videos, for the library, is the Snapshot of The Panthers Library because it does just that, gives a snapshot of all the things the library has to offer.

The video students would like best: I think one of the videos students would like best is the The Panthers Library in Action- Fall 2013 because, again, it shows students in the library and what they've been up to that year.

Bonnie Branch Middle School Library YouTube channel:

(found at: https://www.youtube.com/user/bbmsmedia/videos )
This channel might be one of my favorite of the four that I explored.  It's also the most updated.

The most helpful video for students: There are many Noodle Tools tutorial videos on this channel.  I like Noodle tools because it's a great citation generator and I think this will really help students with copyright and intellectual property issues.  I picked the Noodle Tools- How to Create an Account because that is where one would need to begin, in order to use Noodle Tools.

The video students would like best: This channel has a number of parody videos about various problem issues in the library (mainly overdue books)  that I think are entertaining and funny.   I think one of the best videos is the Overdue Games video.

I would use videos in various ways, to promote my library.  I love the idea of using book trailers!  I think this is a great way to get kids reading books they may have not ever picked up, otherwise. When I was exploring YouTube channels, I saw that one library used videos as a way to do book reviews.  I like this idea, as well.  I also think that video tutorials are beneficial for students and teachers, alike.  I believe that videos are a great attention grabber, as well as an easy way for people to learn, rather than having to read through various directions and look at still pictures.  I feel similar to videos as I did the screencasts in my last blog.  I thought the YouTube videos where the students were involved (especially the parody videos, were so funny and creative.  That could be a fun project for the future).   There are so many ideas for how to use videos in libraries, as shown on the many YouTube channels I explored this week.  I'm excited to try out some different things, when the day comes that I am a librarian.

I decided to make a booktrailer for Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry.  This is one of my all time favorite books, and one I've enjoyed using as an ELA teacher.

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads: 

"Ten-year-old Annemarie JOhansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war.  It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town.  When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family.  Soon Annemaries is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life." 

Exploring QR Codes: 

You can scan the QR Code below, to view my booktrailer. 

I would like to use QR codes in the library for various things.  I could lead students to booktrailers I've created (or other students have created), there could be a QR for a direct link to the library website, a QR code for upcoming events, or one that leads to a bio about me or other teachers and/or administrators at the school.  When I was reading about how to use QR codes in school libraries, I saw ideas like, using them for a scavenger hunt, embedding author information, and guiding students to curated material.  

Using YouTube, Animoto, and QR Codes in the library really has many benefits.  I think the students and teachers will appreciate all three (and teachers will probably use these techie tools in their own classrooms, after they see how fun and influential they can be, in the library!)