I love Montana Library 2 Go - it's one of the first places I check when I want to read a book, or if a student needs a book that we don't have at the school. I have cards for the Bitterroot Public Library, Darby Library, and the Missoula Public Library - all of them link to Montana Library 2 Go. When I first started using it a few years ago, it was more difficult to use - you had to download the book to your laptop and then switch it over to my iPad. It's so much easier now. If you have overdrive loaded on your iPad, you can click on it and it will download directly to the iPad. My mother uses a Kindle sometimes, and we have had good luck downloading to that as well. We also found that the Missoula Public Library librarians are very accomodating and easy to work with if you have questions about how to download.
Books that are very popular have a long wait list, but you can stock a few in your wait list. It just emails you when they are ready for checkout. I didn't enjoy reading books on my laptop, but I don't mind using my iPad to read books (although I still like a real, paper book to read!).
I use Montana Library 2 Go with students. Most of our students have Darby library accounts and quite a few of them have e-readers. If they need a book for a class or one that we don't have in our library, I use Montana Library 2 Go. I have also used it for audio books for students - especially ones that are poor readers. I will download the audio book for them onto their ipod or one of mine and they can listen to the audiobook as they read. It's one more way to get books into the hands of kids, and I am thrilled that it's an easy resource to use and to teach to students.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Library Automation Systems
I am not a teacher librarian, but am hoping to become one in the near future! Our school library only recently became online, but I don't know what system they are using. So far, the way it's set up is that you can scan in books or check them out, but we are not able to search online for anything. Bearing that in mind, I looked at Follett because the assignment description mentioned that many schools use Follett for their integrated library system.
Looking at their website, I noticed that it is very school friendly. It has a community for educators and an iPad / iPhone app for e-readers in which students can check out books on-line but read them without wifi access - which is pretty cool!
The automation article on Digital Shift mentioned that Follett is 3rd in amount of personnel but the number of libraries served isn't comparable between schools and academic and public libraries. It also mentions that it's popular in school and small libraries, and that it's older products still remain viable. It's newer products are growing in popularity and have been expanded. Follett seems very suitable for a school library - my impression is that it caters to school libraries.
The library management software also offers a mobile app for teachers and students to use to search the library's resources that also would probably be helpful as the library administrator. There are "add ons" that you can use to have students search by their reading level and "Title Peek" that might help students as well. There are parts to help with inventory and other library tasks. It looks like it covers the major fundamentals like acquisitions, cataloging, and statistic reports.
There are probably other systems that cater to schools as well that would be worth looking into when making the decision for your library. Follett does seem to be a solid choice for a school library that would effectively help you to manage the school library and its resources efficiently.
Looking at their website, I noticed that it is very school friendly. It has a community for educators and an iPad / iPhone app for e-readers in which students can check out books on-line but read them without wifi access - which is pretty cool!
The automation article on Digital Shift mentioned that Follett is 3rd in amount of personnel but the number of libraries served isn't comparable between schools and academic and public libraries. It also mentions that it's popular in school and small libraries, and that it's older products still remain viable. It's newer products are growing in popularity and have been expanded. Follett seems very suitable for a school library - my impression is that it caters to school libraries.
The library management software also offers a mobile app for teachers and students to use to search the library's resources that also would probably be helpful as the library administrator. There are "add ons" that you can use to have students search by their reading level and "Title Peek" that might help students as well. There are parts to help with inventory and other library tasks. It looks like it covers the major fundamentals like acquisitions, cataloging, and statistic reports.
There are probably other systems that cater to schools as well that would be worth looking into when making the decision for your library. Follett does seem to be a solid choice for a school library that would effectively help you to manage the school library and its resources efficiently.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Website Assignment - Part I
When I began thinking about library websites, I immediately thought of the ones I use frequently - the Darby Public Library http://darbylibrary.net/ , Hamilton Public Library http://www.bitterrootpubliclibrary.org/ and the Missoula Public Library http://www.missoulapubliclibrary.org/ (none of which are schools!). I also use MontanaLibrary2go often. I find myself going to those websites frequently because of my proximity to the libraries and because the sites are easy to use. I especially appreciate the calendar that the city websites have. Reading the websites through the eye of accessibility, I understood why I appreciate the Darby website. It's extremely easy to use and understand.
Our school does not have a library website (I am not currently the librarian at the school I teach in). To look for ideas on school websites, I used Montana OPI's Library Media wiki http://opi.mt.gov/groups/mtl/wiki/40459/Montana_School_Library_Web_Sites.html. The websites that appealed the most to me had a simple layout with easy to follow links. I especially liked Lewis and Clark Elementary's website, although I might have fewer graphics or a less complicated graphic. I liked that Evergreen's library had a picture of the library on it. Whitefish High School's website was easy to follow as well. I would have liked to have seen a calendar on the webpages with the library's activity and liked the websites that had a blog or something that kept the webpage current with the happenings of the library and school.
For me, I think the top 5 things that I would like on my library webpage are are the library's mission, it's hours of operation and types of services it offers, ways to contact the librarian and school, databases and helpful online links, and an online card catalog. I probably cheated by adding the word "and" into my five things. It's difficult to narrow down the amount of information a library website can offer to five things! But it is important to keep the information accessible and easy to use. Keeping the website current and the website updated also helps make it more usable. I also liked the idea of links to teacher pages or teacher resources. I'm feeling inspired to dig in and start working on a blog type website for my classroom!
Our school does not have a library website (I am not currently the librarian at the school I teach in). To look for ideas on school websites, I used Montana OPI's Library Media wiki http://opi.mt.gov/groups/mtl/wiki/40459/Montana_School_Library_Web_Sites.html. The websites that appealed the most to me had a simple layout with easy to follow links. I especially liked Lewis and Clark Elementary's website, although I might have fewer graphics or a less complicated graphic. I liked that Evergreen's library had a picture of the library on it. Whitefish High School's website was easy to follow as well. I would have liked to have seen a calendar on the webpages with the library's activity and liked the websites that had a blog or something that kept the webpage current with the happenings of the library and school.
For me, I think the top 5 things that I would like on my library webpage are are the library's mission, it's hours of operation and types of services it offers, ways to contact the librarian and school, databases and helpful online links, and an online card catalog. I probably cheated by adding the word "and" into my five things. It's difficult to narrow down the amount of information a library website can offer to five things! But it is important to keep the information accessible and easy to use. Keeping the website current and the website updated also helps make it more usable. I also liked the idea of links to teacher pages or teacher resources. I'm feeling inspired to dig in and start working on a blog type website for my classroom!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
RSS Feeds
The first site I looked into was Digg Reader http://digg.com/reader/, based on Anne's recommendation. It was easy to sign up for using my Google account (I could have used Facebook or Twitter too). I like that it has an iPhone / iPad app that syncs with the website - I am in love with my iPhone and love anything that works with it. The layout of Digg is really simple - it was a snap to add my feeds in. I have no Google Reader experience, but I imagine it was fairly similar to Digg. For aggregating blog work, it's probably pretty good. I was able to put all of my group's blogs in easily and can follow them all on my Digg account. It's ease might also be an advantage to students, as well as the "Digg" button. There are probably some students who use the Digg website frequently and would feel very comfortable using Digg Reader.
The second site I explored was Feedly http://cloud.feedly.com/#welcome, because the CNN article warned that Digg Reader is new and could possibly not make it out of its beginning stages. Feedly also offers an iOS app. I was able to login using my Google account. Feedly offers simple sharing to Twitter and Facebook. I was able to easily add our LIBM 466 blogs to my account and create a folder for them at the same time. Digg Reader also offers folders, but it didn't pop up quite as quick as Feedly's did. The folder's feature would be especially handy for multiple classes' blog work. I could also change the theme on Feedly...not necessary but kind of fun! You can "save for later" or use the "Today" function as well.
I think both readers offer a good solution for following student's blog work. It might be a matter of personal preference. I will be curious to see what others think!
The second site I explored was Feedly http://cloud.feedly.com/#welcome, because the CNN article warned that Digg Reader is new and could possibly not make it out of its beginning stages. Feedly also offers an iOS app. I was able to login using my Google account. Feedly offers simple sharing to Twitter and Facebook. I was able to easily add our LIBM 466 blogs to my account and create a folder for them at the same time. Digg Reader also offers folders, but it didn't pop up quite as quick as Feedly's did. The folder's feature would be especially handy for multiple classes' blog work. I could also change the theme on Feedly...not necessary but kind of fun! You can "save for later" or use the "Today" function as well.
I think both readers offer a good solution for following student's blog work. It might be a matter of personal preference. I will be curious to see what others think!
Blog Experience
I have to admit that I am completely new to blogging, or at least creating my own! I do follow some blogs, but this is the first time I have tried writing one. So for now, I kept it under a pseudonym, because I think this is going to take some practice on my part.
My experience in creating this blog was that it is relatively easy to create, and the upkeep could be fairly minimal, if I chose it to be. I haven't ever used it in a classroom only know of a few teachers in my school who use it, but I don't think theirs are updated very frequently. I would like to create a blog for my classroom after I get comfortable using it. I think that in order for my blog to be relevant, I will need to keep it updated frequently. The text convinced me of the power of blogging, and I love the idea of a digital portfolio for kids. I also like the sharing of ideas that it offers. I could post to my blog, and have students use the blog as a discussion forum. Very cool!
My experience in creating this blog was that it is relatively easy to create, and the upkeep could be fairly minimal, if I chose it to be. I haven't ever used it in a classroom only know of a few teachers in my school who use it, but I don't think theirs are updated very frequently. I would like to create a blog for my classroom after I get comfortable using it. I think that in order for my blog to be relevant, I will need to keep it updated frequently. The text convinced me of the power of blogging, and I love the idea of a digital portfolio for kids. I also like the sharing of ideas that it offers. I could post to my blog, and have students use the blog as a discussion forum. Very cool!
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