I enjoyed exploring screencast with Screencast-o-matic, I found it easy to use and thought of many ideas how I could use this application. I could create a library prelesson to share with the students before introducing them to a new concept. I could also make videos for my staff for professional development or videos they could share with their students before they come in the library. I made a few screencasts of reading a book. I am hoping to put at least one on our Facebook page so the students can listen to a storytime with Ms. Pierson McCarty. I also creating a screencast reading from one of our database books. Using a screencast to demonstrate to students how to use the library catalog was fun to develop as well. The only trouble I had was trying to embedded the video straight from screen-o-matic to my blog, the embedded link was not working correctly. The video quality is not great when shooting with a web cam. I also tried to embed them by downloading an MP4 which was one of the options given by Screen-o-matic. The only way that work for me was to upload them to YouTube and embed them from there to my blog. Here are some examples of my screencasts:
Instagram:
Instragam was familiar to me and I had dual accounts before but it had been awhile. I had to google how to add another account but it was relatively easy to do. I liked the different ideas given to our class by my professor and the materials I read. Documenting plants growth was something I hadn't thought of prior. I post many pictures on Facebook about the activity in the library and believe that Instagram would serve well in that purpose. I am not sure about my district's policy but will explore it further. I believe that parents particularly at the age of the students I serve want to see their kids and like to connect with the school. I have already added pictures of the staff lunch the last day of school to my new library account. I would recommend Instagram to librarians and teachers for connection with parents, community and students. It is easily to use and most everyone has a Instagram account. I will incorporate Instagram to my library social media presence.
My Instrgram account: https://www.instagram.com/msmlovesbooks/
Flipagram:
Flipagram was not a favorite application I examined. It was not difficult to connect to Instagram and add pictures. The problem I had was adding audio to my pictures. I added many pictures but when I shared them as a video from Flipagram to Instagram, I had to shorten it to 60 seconds. Also, I had to work with the text several times before it fit the frame after sharing it to Instagram. I did like the video feature of Flipagram but the time spent outweighed the productivity of the application. I feel that Instagram has many features that I am familiar with and other applications are a bit easier to use. I will probably not use Flipagram much in the future.
Here is the embedded video from Flipagram from my Instagram account:
My favorite new techonlogy/app was the Screencast, I enjoyed all the new ways I can implement it into my library program and will share with my staff during professional development. I can see more applications for Instagram and will share ideas via a Smore with staff during PD as well.
I agree that screencasts are a great way to share ideas and technology with staff and students. I was able to embed the screencast-o-matic into blogger, but it took a while to download....plus, the look in blogger before it gets played is grainy. I also like Instagram....it's quick and easy to share and promote library happenings to parents and students.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea of using screencasts to create a book read for students. The videos really help assist students with navigating the library catalog. Instagram can be a great tool to advertise events at the library. However, I am still unsure about using this for elementary students, since we have rules about cellphone use etc.
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea of using screencast to read books to your students during the summer. I might have to try that out next summer! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI liked your Flipogram video. I had a hard time coming up with material to record since summer school is over and not being in the library I had no previously taken pictures.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot from this module. I never had an instagram account before. Your post is very encouraging for continuing to familiarize myself with it and explore how I can be use it in education. I start by setting up another account as you described.
ReplyDeleteCynthia,
ReplyDeleteInstagram is a great resource for the classroom and library. I know that elementary parents love to see what's going on with their child's classroom and education. We have a teacher at our campus that posts an instagram and twitter post a day. She shares it with her parents as Day 1, Day 100, Day 125 etc. It's really fun to see how much the kids have changed from day 1 to the end of school. This is a great resource for the library as well to show off all of the great learning that is going on there.