Infographics

Libraries and Learning

When I first started this assignment, I had never heard of infographics.  An infographic is a visual image like a chart or diagram used to represent information or data.  It can help you simplify difficult data or information to ways people can understand.  It can captivate the audience by visually engaging them with a presentation.  You can use graphs, maps, videos, graphics, text features, and backgrounds to make it appealing to your audience.  The audience needs to understand the information you are trying to portray.  As I explored all three websites that were recommended,  I decided to go with Pikochart.  It was very user-friendly. I liked all the features it allowed me to use. Instead of using a outline that was already provided, I decided to create my own design.  I was very entertained designing it.

I chose to read the article, Libraries and Learning, from the Pew Research Center.  I created an infographic to allow readers to dissect the information and data by a visually engaging presentation.  

To view  my Infographic presentation click on the link below:

learninghttps://magic.piktochart.com/output/14747123-libraries-and-learning

This is just the picture in jpeg.  To view the video click on the link provided above. 

The pros to using infographic is that you create awareness about key issues or highlight important information.  It can promote any kind of data or information, condense large amount of data into appealing images, and you can create a connection to see through the complicated data.  Some cons are that sometimes the information does not get presented accurately and people use to much text instead of graphic or charts.  I had a lot of fun creating my infographic.  I will definitely be incorporating and using infographics with my students. 

Blogs and Blog Readers

I have never used a Blog Reader before and did not know anything about it.  Through this assignment, I learned that a blog reader allows users to organizer their favorite blogs in an efficient manner without having to visit each blog individually.  The blog reader that I chose was Bloglovin’.  After exploring Feedly and Zapier, I felt like Bloglovin’ was the most user-friendly and it allowed me to search easily, add blogs, and categorize them.   

To go to Bloglovin’ go to:  https://www.bloglovin.com/. 

Here are some of the blogs I decided to follow:

Blue Skunk Blog: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/

Blue Skunk Blog is kept by Doug Johnson.  He blogs a lot about library ethics for non-librarians.  He also blogs about how to technology is important in our classrooms. One blog that I found interesting was about how hiking is good for the brain.  I love hiking and as I hike I have always felt calmed and relaxed outdoors.  I agree that being outside is good for both our physical and mental health as well. 

A Fuse #8 Production:  http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/

This is a blog from the School Library Journal.  Most of the blogs are review for books and some are book trailers. Other blogs are about authors and their books.  One blog that caught my attention is Crazy Cool Things Librarians are Doing.  Some of the cool things that librarians have in their libraries are Redbox-like DVD dispensers, Ebook Kiosks, mechanical paper airplane launchers, and meeting rooms.  As a librarian, I would love to be able to incorporate some of these in my library one day.

Mighty Little Librarian:  http://www.mightylittlelibrarian.com/

The blogger on The Mighty Librarian is Tiffany Whitehead.  She loves to read, use social media, and is a technology geek.  She is a librarian at Episcopal School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.   She was named one of the 2014 Library Journal Movers and Shakers.   One thing that I noticed is that she is passionate about genrefication in the library.  In her Ditching Dewey: Choosing Genre Categories, she goes into detail how she categorized her fiction and nonfiction books.  I like how she states that choosing to genrefy your library, you can make changes as you go to what fits yours students and the curriculum. 

Watch. Connect. Read.:  http://mrschureads.blogs

Mr. Schu is the blogger for this blog.  He is a K-5^th grade librarian.  This blogs explores children literature through book trailers.  The book trailer to Grumpasaurus is about a dinosaur who gets grumpy when something does not go his way like his toy breaks.  Its trailer catches your attention and entices you to read it.  I like how this site is dedicated to promote books through trailers. 

Awful Library Books:  http://awfullibrarybooks.net/

This blog site is dedicated to weeding books from your collection.  There are four categories the blog is divided into which are:  why we weed, will weed for food, submissions, and practical librarian.  One blog I enjoyed reading was Dealing With the Staff Hoarder. This blog gives you strategies on how to weed a book.  First, develop standards and general guidelines, next gather data, then develop a routine, and lastly go small and slow.  Weeding books may be difficult to some people, but it needs to be done.  Following some standards can be helpful with the "staff hoarder."

Tumblr:

This is my Tumblr account:  https://www.tumblr.com/blog/monicasilvaposts

Tumblr was launched in 2007 by David Karp.  It is a social media network with a blogger platform.  Librarians use Tumblr because it is easy to use, it has social features, they are able to communicate with each other, and understand the online community.  Adding pictures, uploading videos, post texts, host audiofiles, embed YouTube videos, and linking songs are done by using simple steps compared to other blog sites like Blogger. 

Bloglovin’ has some pros and cons.  Some of the pros are that it has an iphone app, subs are listed in alphabetical order, you can categorize blogs into folders, it has a clean look, and it easy to transfer from Google Reader.  Some of the cons are that you can’t read a post on a reader, it opens up a website and you cannot transfer your Google Reader starred items. From personal experience, there are more pros than cons and I did enjoy using it.  It was easy to navigate and will be using it from now on.  

Facebook and Twitter

Twitter and Facebook are both two of the post popular social media networking sites.  On Twitter, you have the ability to follow thousands of people and organizations, such as friends, news sources, celebrities, etc. You are also able to make others aware of ideas or articles by either retwitting them and making them a part of your timeline, or by addressing someone specifically in a comment about an idea or article.   Facebook is another popular social media where you can create a profile, share posts, videos, pictures, and send messages to keep in touch with family, friends, and others.  Personally, I tend to use Facebook a lot more regularly than Twitter. I need to make using Twitter a regular habit.  Both social media sites allow you to communicate with parents, staff, and the community. 

Twitter

Linda Braun @lbraun2000

Linda Braun was able to bring awareness to Do Space by tweeting about their library with no books concept. I found this article interesting because it is a great example of providing young individuals with 21^st century resources that can help them create and enhance their learning by using free advanced technology.

There is a lot of truth to this tweet. Internet access brings a new level of learning that can more rapidly expose learners to a vast amount of information about any given subject. Connected learning allows for students to stumble upon new ideas and subjects at their own pace of discovery without feeling like they are being lectured to or in a structured environment.

Kathy Schrock @kathyschrock

Kathy shares the above information  on how to untagging yourself on unwanted posts.  In social you always run the risk of someone tagging you on pictures or information that may not depict your character or behavior.  With the ever increases pace of social media, a post with wrong information can sometimes lead to negative exposure.  Making sure we set our privacy setting is important.

Buffy Hamilton @buffyjhamilton

Buffy Hamilton shares information on her media center page The Hooch Learning Studio.  There at the learning studio she engages students and on her page she blogs about the activities that have occurred and shares pictures about it.  She also shares important information about other topics that would interest readers.  I think it is valuable to have a current site that can continue to bring relevant information to readers. I would like to incorporate something like this when I become a librarian this fall. 

The Daring Librarian @GwynethJones

Gwyneth Jones shared a Makerspace infographic which caught my attention because gets her message across using a simple infographic, yet eye catching and informative to the reader. Infographics are ways to take lengthy information and translate them into graphics with minimal words and easy to understand.  You have the freedom to design your information in a create way and is very beneficial to the visual learner.

 Jim Lerman @jimlerman

Mr. Lerman tweets about various Information Technology sources that would be beneficial to read for teachers. The sources give creative ways for teachers to enhance student learning through the implementation of technology.   

Facebook

Ann Richard School Library

This school is for young women.  Their posts are geared towards the young adult population and often times posts about technology, current events, and books.  It shares posts about how storytelling telling could possibly be the secret sauce to STEM educations. They posted a video on how two young men invented gloves that would convert sign language into spoken word or text.  There was another post from the Texas Teen Festival about how Author John Corey Whaley was featured in a People Magazine.

Curry Elementary School Library

This library shares important information on current school events.  There are several posts about the Author Michael Finklea.  The post about the various activities that will take place during his visit.  She also posts about returning overdue library books.  She uses cute quotes, pictures, and emojes to catch the reader’s attention.  There are also several posts about Dr. Seuss week activities that students will be able to participate in. 

Crockett Intermediate School Library

Crockett Intermediate Library posts reminders, links, pictures, and information on important topics and current events so that parents and students may be aware of what is happening.  There were several posts, links, books, and videos that were shared about the Scholastic Book Fair.  There is another post about Dav Pilkey.  He shares a video on YouTube on the life-changing power of reading.  In his video he is drawing as he explains the importance of reading.  He gives his life story about how he loved to read even though he was dyslexia.  He gave a powerful message in a catchy way.

There are many advantages and disadvantages in having social media accounts in Twitter and Facebook. 

Having a Facebook library page you are able to quickly share current information and events that are happening in the school, you can get immediate feedback from others, share important links and pictures, and it can serve as a teaching took to enhance learning.  Parents, teacher, and students can be aware of all these things in seconds.  Some disadvantages of Facebook are that people can steal your profile and start posting inappropriate things and it can be very addictive and can cause you to be counter-productive because you get lost in looking at other posts.  Another disadvantage is that you need to make sure that when you post pictures of other students, you have the parent’s consent.

Twitter has many advantages like it is free, easy to use, it has security, you can use it on smartphones, and follow anyone and they can follow you.  You can tweet your blog post, you can retweet other posts, and easily mention people on your tweets. Best of all it is a massive social media where you can develop of following and relate information. Some disadvantages are that you are limited to 140 characters, you must first develop your network to be truly effective, there is spam and fake twitter accounts, and it is more link based than sharing pictures or videos.

Social media is here to stay. As a future librarian, I for see myself utilizing social media as a resource to connect to the community around me. 

Prensky's View and Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

In reading Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy, Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything and watching Prensky’s presentation on Digital Native, one thing is certain that technology is in everything that we do.  Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy and Schrock’s Guide use technology tools to facilitate learning in the classroom, but Prensky believes that is should be the foundation in which we build learning. Technology plays a vital role in our children’s learning and everyday life. 

In order for our children/students to thrive in a technology rich environment, as educators we must head into the digital world in our classrooms.  Today’s educational landscape is immensely different from that of yesterday.  With the vast amount of technology available to educators, many do not know where to place them in the hierarchal guide.  Therefore, I do not think it is necessary to break down technology into levels.  As a teacher, I can see how we can use Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy as a guide in what we teach, it should not be the foundation in which build learning.  Prensky states in his video that children are growing up interacting with technology and as teachers we need to keep up and make sure they are connected to their learning and make it relevant to them.  As a first grade teacher for 13 years, I know that if I stand up in front of the classroom and lecture my students, I will lose them in no time.  Students want to be able to discuss, collaborate, interact, and be engaged in their learning.  By using technology, you put the information you are trying to teach them in their hands and they can interact and learn with it. 

When requesting an app for the library, I would use Prensky’s views.  I would explain how our student’s will be engaged with this app and give examples of how the app would be used.  I would explain how it would filter their knowledge, enhance it, and maximize their ability to learn the objective that is being covered.

Librarians play a vital role in the 21^st century learner.  As librarians, we are the original information specialist.  The library can be a learning environment were students are able to access the digital tools and media-rich resources that will help them explore, enhance, and learn.  Librarians and teachers can collaborate so that teachers can have access to tools and resources they need to teach and integrate 21^st century skills in the classroom.  We must create learning practices that are relevant to  21^st century learners. 

I do fall short of Prensky’s views in the classroom as use more of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy way, but has an educator, I know it is my responsibility to be motivated to move forward.  Change isn’t always easy, we need to adapt to the ways children are learning in the 21^st century, as Prensky’s call them “Digital Natives.”  I see it with my own personal children, sometime they are explaining to me how a certain app works, how to play a game, or how to use software.  Although it will take some researching, learning, and adaptation as educators, we need to be willing to change old habits. 

Work Cited:

Bloomin" App. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2016, from http://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

Churches, A. (n.d.). Boom's Digital Taxonomy. Retrieved June 7, 2016, from https://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/bloom's Digital taxonomy v3.01.pdf

Prensky, M. (2005-2006, December/January). Listen to Natives. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 8-13.