Final Thoughts

Before starting the Library Science courses I was not in any social media.  My technology use was limited to a cell phone call, text, or email.  My family and friends would encourage me to open account in Facebook, but I was afraid of social media. Starting the Library Science courses in the Fall 2013, I had to open a Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Instagram, and Blogger account.  I think I am now up to date with the social media, but I am still hesitant in using it.  I know I have to learn more on how to use the programs and use them more often not to forget how to use them and also not to be afraid social media.  Especially because social media is the present and future way of communication.

The good

For this course I really enjoyed being exposed to all the technology available.  I enjoyed reading the PEW reports.  I found the reports interesting and eye opening.  I enjoyed making the comic strip.  The difficult part about the comic strip was what to do it about.  After deciding the content then the rest was simple.  Another helpful and useful tool is the Infographics.  Infograpihics are great to present information in a difference matter. It can give a refresh look to any presentation.

The bad

What I had a difficult time in this course was starting the blog in the beginning.  When I started the Twitter blog I had made one post for each Tweet.  The Twitter blog was left in a separate blog because I wasn't able to figure out how to make all the individual post in one single blog.  The next challenging assignment was the Screencast.  I was breaking my head and as much as I tried I was not able to use either Screenr and Screen-o-matic.  I tried it in three different computers, I used Youtube to show me how to download and use the programs, and I asked people younger and more computer literate then me, but had no luck with that.  I was able to use Jing for the screencast.  Jing was simple to download and use.  I felt a bit relief I was able to use a program at the end.

What students would benefit

What student will benefit most would be the comic strip.  I think students would love to use the comic strip to summarize a story, add an alternative ending to the story, or make their own original stories.  Infographics is also a great tool to use for students.  The visuals are colorful, artful, and not traditional making them appealing even for elementary students.

Parents influence teens

Madden, M. Teens, social networking sites & mobile phones: What the research is telling us. Pew Research Center's Internet & Life Project.  Web. 5 Dec. 2011.  <http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/12/05/teens-social-network-sites-mobile-phones-what-the-research-is-telling-us-slides/>

Teens, Social Networking Sites & Mobile Phones:  What the Research is Telling Us.

The information I found most interesting was that parent are the most influential people in a teenager's life when it comes to appropriate and inappropriate use of cell phone and online access.  Parents are well above any other person.  Surprisingly, a teenager's friends doesn't even come close to parents influence. 

Now in days parents and teenagers have access to technology at a faster rate.  I was 21 when I first had my first cell phone.  I remember being chocked when my younger sister had her own cell phone at 16.  I could not believe she would take her phone to high school and it was a normal thing to see kids her age with a cell phone.  I found myself feeling as if I was from a different era.  And maybe I was, my sister and I are seven year apart.  Only seven years apart but it seemed more (technologically speaking sever years are ages).  At that time neither of my parents had a cell phone or even knew how to use one.  I remember my point of information and questions were my friends.  I don't know if my friends were the best for advice but that was the only people I could trust at the time.  It was also 2001 and there was not much to worry about as today in social media.

To me this information is heartwarming and hopeful for my own children.  I wonder about my children (5, 3, and 7 months old) what technology will be available when they are teenagers and how much will I know about the benefits and dangers of the future technology.  I like to think that parents will always be the best persons to turn to, but who will be the second best choice when parents are not well informed?

30 Power Point slides

Only time will tell

Rainie, L. Millennials and libraries.  Pew Research Center's Internet & Life Project.  Web. 9 Apr. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/09/millennials-and-libraries/>

Millennials and Libraries

Slide 14 was the slide from the report that stood out the most.  I disagree with this statement because I do believe that students are not the same from previous generations.  I see this evident in my classroom year after year.  I have worked both in a charter public school and a school district public school.  Students from charter and public schools are coming from very diverse backgrounds that affect their development.  It is also obvious on the have and have nots this is evident because of their technology awareness.  In my experience the distinction was more evident in the public school setting because there is not enough technology opportunities for the students.  Public schools have more students to cater which means less technology to go around.  In the charter school I used to teach, there was only 100 - 120 students per grade level.  Technology was easily accessible and students had more technology exposure and use in their classroom.

I think that individuals are molded to the experiences they are expose.  I believe technology is making a great impact on everyone's life, especially in today's students.  Only time will tell how technology will impact their life.

50 Power Point slides

What the future holds

Lenhart, A. How do they even do that?: How today's technology is shaping tomorrow's students. Pew Research Center's Internet & Life Project.  Web. 9 Apr. 2013. <http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/04/09/how-do-they-even-do-that-how-todays-technology-is-shaping-tomorrows-students/>.

How do They Even do That?: How Today's Technology is Shaping Tomorrow's Students.

This report follows the technology growth since the birth of Elizabeth born in 1995 to present day.  She will be the first from her siblings to go to college.  Elizabeth was born in an era of technology, but how well prepared is she for college?

Even though technology has been advancing and is continuing to advance it does not mean all students are being expose to the advances or devices.  The question is how much technology is good for education.  Educators have their pros and cons.  Some schools have implemented the bring your own device to school.  Some teachers love the idea of students following or integrating the lesson to their device.  Other teachers think it is more of a distraction than a benefit.

During the summer my friend's sister was talking to me about how she thinks bring your own device to school a major distraction in her classroom.  She said she tried it but had no success.  She said she started to pick up the devices in the beginning of class and then she would begin her lesson.  She teaches a foreign language and in a way I do feel that in a way technology can only do so much in that subject.  Technology will be able to help you learn a language to some extend but without human interaction or practice you will not be able to progress.

Technology will always have pros and cons.  It is the balance of what works for each individual to be successful and progress in their education or professional life.

At the end of the presentation there is a picture of Katherine, she is only 8 months in that picture.  What technological advances hold for Katherine's generation?

Recommendation: TED Talk by Matt Mills "Image Recognition That Triggers Augmented Reality."

http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_mills_image_recognition_that_triggers_augmented_reality?language=en#t-191059

43 Power Point slides

Amazed!!!

Rainie, L. The internet of the things and what it means for libraries.  Pew Research Center's Internet & Life Project.  Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/10/28/the-internet-of-things-and-what-it-mean-for-librarians/>.

The Internet of the Things and What it means for Libraries

At first I did not understand what the report meant by the Internet of Things.  It took me some time and viewing the two videos from the presentation to have a better understanding.  After I viewed the videos I was amazed on how much technology has evolved and will evolve.  Technology was a great impact in everyone’s life.  The question arises when it comes to libraries.

 Video 1. “A Day of Glass” by Corning.  As if I was watching a Science Fiction movie.  I was amazed with all the advantages and learning opportunities available with this technology.  I do wonder who will be able to really take advantage of this type of technology and how will our privacy be affected?

Video 2. “Sight” was so surreal.  In the present day this video still looks like a Science Fiction movie.  I have read articles about technology being used in watches, and other small devices, but not in a person’s body part.  It was disturbing yet astounding how a person’s eyes are integrated into technology.  I am 34 years old, and I wonder if I will be able to see or use this kind technology in my life span.  

While reading this report I thought about how all this technological advances will impact libraries.  I wonder if a library will become an app anyone can download and be able to use from the comfort of their home, school, or office.

52 Power Point slides

Information Omniver

Zickuhr, K.  From distant admirers to library lovers - and beyond.  Pew Research Center's Internet & Life Project. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/03/13/library-engagement-typology/>.

From Distant Admirers to Library Lovers - and Beyond

Interesting research data.  I was very intrigued with how older and educated people value the library more in the community than less educated or younger people.

The library users are divided in four categories; 30% high engagement, 39% medium engagement, 17% low engagement, and 14% no personal library use.  From this four categories each category was then divided by subcategories.  In high engagement there are two subcategories library lovers and information omnivore.  After reading the categories and subcategories I realized I was an information omnivore.

I do believe the library plays an important role in the community.  Even though my children and I have the amenity of having books and internet at home I take my children to the library to check out books and be involved with the upcoming events.  They like to look for books they are interested.  My son whom is older loves dinosaurs.  He loves that there is a section just for dinosaurs.  He’s too young to read the majority of the books but loves to see the pictures.  During the summer the library is a great place to take the little ones.  The public library arranges entertaining activities for children to participate.  My children have seen a dinosaur presentation, which my son loved and they have also gone to watch a movie with kids their age. 

I thought this report was an interesting and thought provoking.  This report gives sufficient data to know find out what kind of library engagement one has.

8 page report

Instagram and Vine

Vine

After watching many tutorial videos on how to use Vine, I finally figure out how to use it = )  I was amazed at the amount of ways one can use Vine.  Even though it is only a six second video there is many things one can say or do in that amount of time.  I was impressed with some of the Vine videos where people have edited them with music and all.  I will definitely continue using Vine and find ways I can use Vine as a librarian.  I think a good use for Vine would be a quick book presentation.

https://t.co/DT3xf3BNnn
— Alejandra Martinez (@AleMtz0780) November 22, 2014

https://t.co/YCbqBt6znz
— Alejandra Martinez (@AleMtz0780) November 22, 2014

Instagram

I am a technology challenge person and  I found this app very easy to use.  I was able to just take pictures and post them.  This app will be great as a librarian to post new books, upcoming events or pictures from a guess speaker or any special event that happened at the library.

A few more things to go through to finish unpacking. http://t.co/BU9fgiAMG1
— Alejandra Martinez (@AleMtz0780) November 22, 2014

Worth all the added stress of unpacking http://t.co/qW5UdOsKxj
— Alejandra Martinez (@AleMtz0780) November 22, 2014

Screencasts

Screenr and Screen-o-matic

Unsuccessful

Screenr

I was not able to use this program at all.  It was asking for Java which I already have downloaded in my computer.  It will prompt that I did not have Java.  I clicked to verify Java and it would show that I do have Java.  I thought it was only on my computer that I was having this difficulty so I tried Screenr at work and tried my sister-in-law's computer and I had the same luck.

Sreen-o-matic

I was not able to use the program.  When I would click on to record it would prompt me to make other downloads.  I did try this program at work and other computer with no luck.

Jing

I was able to download and use Jing.  I saw the tutorials and the videos were helpful.  I am not very technology savvy and I was able to follow along.  I know that with more use I will become better with this program.  I really liked using Jing and thought it was easy to use.  I did not mind that I had to download Jing. I was just happy to be able to use a program to make a screencast.

http://screencast.com/t/JzHc5XDy

Cartoons and Comics

By axm097 | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

ToonDoo

ToonDoo was easy to use and easy to save and share.  In my opinion it did not have much to characters to select from.  I would recommend ToonDoo to students because it is easy to use for first time cartoonist.  I like ToonDo for character or vocabulary illustrations.

Pixton

Pixton was easy to use and I felt it had the best selection of all three.  It is easy to save but difficult to share.  I tried to embed the page but was not successful.  I like Pixton because you can manipulate the moves and expressions of each characters.I would recommend to students because it makes you change the characters expressions and body movement by body parts.  Students will be excited to use Pixton to create there own personalize characters.  



 http://Pixton.com/ic:h0frukdk

 Comix

Comix is easy to use, but does not have much character selection.  I had a very difficult time saving or sharing this page.  After many attempts and redo of the same cartoon I gave up and just made a screenshot of the page.  I would recommend to students only if they work on the comic and then print

Online Book Communities

Good Reads

I have used Good Reads before and I think is easy no navigate and shows all the needed information.  The only disadvantage with Good Reads is that if you misspell the title an error pops up and their is no suggestions or corrections on the spelling.

Library Thing

Library Thing was very similar to Good Reads.  The navigation was easy and this site does make suggestions on misspelled titles.  I didn't find all the titles I was looking searching.  Which makes me think that maybe Library Thing has a more limited collection.

Shelfari

Shelfari is the most visually appealing to me.  I did have a harder time navigating through this site.  I was going back and forth on adding the books to the correct shelf.

Book Likes

Book Likes is also visually appealing to me.  The site is easy to navigate.  From the four sites this was the one I enjoyed using the most.  I would choose Book Likes to my students because it is user friendly and visually appealing.  

Podcast

This is my second time using a podcast. I have used Podbean before and I was able to use it with ease. For this assignment I chose to use Podomatic. From the other two choices Audioboo and Soundcloud I thought Podomatic was easier to follow through.


 


There are my ways to use and implement podcast in the classroom.  The first thing that came to my mind was using it to help my students refresh on the chapters from the first chapter book they are reading in third grade.  My third grade students are reading their first chapter book, Charlotte's Web. I would love to teach my students how to use podcast and maybe later in the year they can make their own.  I think they would love the experience.

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNHSLibrary/video

Video that is  most helpful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9MTxVcI41s&list=UUs2szQkuGCqZoqH3gYU5gvA

This is a helpful because students are explaining how to use google docs.

Video that students would like the most

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2UP8eCpXyo&index=4&list=UUs2szQkuGCqZoqH3gYU5gvA

Students would like this video because librarians are really rocking!!!
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https://www.youtube.com/user/theunquietlibrary/videos

Video that is most helpful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_8YhsRCyD4&list=UUQNFeBXPQbHh0UGaHrSgQQg
Any of the mini lesson are great tutorials

Video that students would like the most
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTG83MjMDRc&list=UUQNFeBXPQbHh0UGaHrSgQQg
Shows student collabaration
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https://www.youtube.com/user/pikesvillehslibrary/videos

Video that is most helpful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ygMwAtNKYo&index=39&list=UUwirpw2WYfFRu9TfJLJe7cg
The AP teacher description of the course and students' comments on the course

Video that students would like the most
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE3aZMkPnRI&list=UUwirpw2WYfFRu9TfJLJe7cg
Having fun at the library!!!

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https://www.youtube.com/user/bbmsmedia/videos

Video that is most helpful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KCXFiyKw0I&list=UUaFgTzaKe8ZOonSKznOGkgQ
Book reviews to stir students' interest

Video that students would like the most
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jo1RLPoD6s&index=2&list=UUaFgTzaKe8ZOonSKznOGkgQ
Any of the overdue videos are hilarious and very creative
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QR Codes

I would like to use QR Codes in the library using them as scavenger hunts for students to find information or books.  It would be an interactive activity students would enjoy.

Blog Readers

During my search for my choice of Blog Reader I explored Digg Reader, NewsBlur, Feedly, Bloglovin, and Tumblr.  The one I least liked was DiggReader because I could not search any blog unless I sign up.  I also disliked NewBlur because the home page is more for marketing, I did not think it was user friendly.  Feedly and Bloglovin were good contenders.  Both are nicely organized and easy to navigate.  I did like the way they present the blogs, but I ultimately chose to use Tumblr because it is most visually appealing to me.  I liked the overall presentation of the blogs in boxes.  I like that you can add any visual to the blog.  The short videos or video exerts give the blog more personality.


I chose to follow the following Blogs:

http://thepinakes.tumblr.com/

The blog is created by a librarian, Joshua Beatty.  He has written many criticism of the 2000 ACRL Standards and the new draft Framework for Information Literacy.  Beatty's posts are interesting he has many ideas to share.  

http://everyprettybook.tumblr.com/

This blog is great for all book lovers.  I like the quote use in the personal description, "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.'' I also like the other blog post.  Specially the Ban this book post.

http://text-block.tumblr.com/

The blog created by Jennifer Parson, a librarian from a library consortium from the American Midwest.  Parson is a self proclaimed book nerd.  She post interesting findings and is open to for anyone to ask her any question to help.

http://childlitfan.tumblr.com/

This blog is helpful to find elementary school library ideas and more.  I like this blog because it has a variety of information and I like the quotes used in the blogs.

http://school-library.tumblr.com/

This blog is a nostalgic remembrance of the past.  The creator of the blog looks back on the books he read when young.  I choose this blog because I want to see the difference in books from the past to the books students are reading now in days.

Where teens seek online privacy advice.

Lenhart, A.  Where teens seek online privacy advice. Pew Research Center’s Internet & Life Project.  Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensandPrivacyAdvice.pdf>.

In the report, Where teens seek online privacy advice, the report interviewed teenagers ages ranging from 12 - 17.  The results state that teens seek online privacy advice mostly from friends and peers, 42%.  Secondly ranked, teens consult with their parents for online privacy advice, 41%.

I was surprised at the report's findings.  Even though some teenagers say or seem more independent they still rely on their parents' input.  The investigation separated the results by gender.  75% of female seek online privacy advice from any source including parents.  Compared to 66% of male that seek online privacy advice from any source including parents.  These results were interesting to me.  It made me think about if females are more cautious on the information they display on their online profiles or posts.  Are women more cautious with online information?

17 page report

Infographics

Infographics are great to present information in a more visually appealing manner.  The three websites I explored are Easelly, Piktochart, and Infogr.am.

Easelly

I found the most visually appealing.  It also has a more variety to choose from templates than the other two websites.

Piktochart

Very visually appealing, but has a limited selection of templates to use.  You have to upgrade in order to have access more templates.

Infogr.am

Visually appealing and easy to use both on infographics or charts.  I would personally use Infogr.am to present data using the variety of charts available.  The infographic templates are very much alike, just a change in color.

For the Mining Pew assignment I choose the topic:

Lenhart, A.  Where teens seek online privacy advice. Pew Research Center’s Internet & Life Project.  Web. 19 Sept. 2014. < http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/08/15/where-teens-seek-online-privacy-advice/>.

17 page report

http://www.easel.ly/create/?id=https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/527318/MiningPew1&key=pri

Facebook

I know about Facebook, but I have never used it until now.  I know it is a great tool for communication.  Social media is the way all young people communicate.  I am still learning how to navigate.  I hope to get comfortable to use and implement Facebook in the future.

The Brownsville Public Library has been on Face book since 2013.  Compared to other public libraries Brownsville Public Library is fairly new to Facebook.

During the summer the Brownsville Public Library offers activities and movies.  Because I did not have a Facebook before I would use a summer calendar for the dates and activities offered.

From Austin Public Library

I searched for any local high school that have any Facebook page, but no luck.  I did find public high schools further north that had a Facebook page.

After searching around Facebook and reading the comments I realized that Facebook can be a great communicative tool.  There are many benefits to communicate through Facebook.  Libraries can keep patrons informed of coming events and contest.  

I have been in hiding for too long.  I think it is time to go out and explore social media.