Thing 5: Curation Tools

Thing 5:  Curation Tools

I read the article Curation by Joyce Kasman Valenza.  She gives an excellent argument for the necessity of curation and that school librarians already possess the tools be effective curators for digital and print sources.  I appreciated her statement, "They are talented at scouting, identifying relevance, evaluating, classifying, organizing, and presenting aggregated content for a targeted audience."  She points out that librarians can curate for faculty, administrations, students, and parents.  When I was reading this article, I was already thinking of ways to curate digital sources for my teachers and students, but I had not thought about how curating for parents.  This is a great idea and one that I am definitely going to work on in the future.  It will be a great way to share sources and online tools with the parents in our district.

I also read Content Curation:  Tools and Strategies for Teachers by Monica Fuglei.  The main point that struck me with this article was, "curating content is an essential skill to share with students."  Once again I was thinking of the benefits of the librarian curating for teachers and students.  I had not thought of the benefits of having the students curate.  The author lays out a great argument for the value of students as curators.  She states that it is important for students to learn to filter and organize information, so that the amount of information is not overwhelming.  Utilizing the skills of filtering and organizing will also make it easier for students to make connections among different sources and pieces of information.  The author also emphasized the importance of modeling the process of curation and the tools used in curation.

My favorite reading was In School Libraries, Differential through Curation by Rebecca S. Morris.  I am always trying to find ways to differentiate my teaching to meet the needs of all my learners.  I find this particularly challenging when I only have 20 minutes of teaching time per class.  This was much easier to accomplish when I was a classroom teacher.  The author emphasizes that curation of articles, images, websites, etc. will allow for differentiation of instruction needed for diverse learners.  Done well, it can meet multiple reading levels and can provide varied instructional support. A quote that has stuck with me from this article is, "curated collections are uniquely created with intention and purpose."

In addition to the above articles, I did enjoy the Infographic, Content Curation Done Right by Heather Lister and the EdTechChat: Student and Teacher Curation by Caroline VanderArk.

I decided I would like to try one of the learning playlist tools.  I ended up trying all three. Learnist was the first one that I attempted.  I feel a little silly because I could not figure out how to use it and I could not find a Help feature.  Next I tried BlendSpace.  I had a bit more success with this tool, but I could not figure out how to add articles from our online databases and encyclopedias.  I have spent a great deal of time getting my students to use our online databases, so I would definitely want them included in creating a learning playlist.  The other difficulty I had with this tool, was that when I would put in my search term and get a list of results, the results did not seem to have any reading level or grade levels attached.  This seems like a tool that a person would need a great deal of time to be able to utilize it in an effective manner.  Lastly, I tried Lesson Paths.  I did like this tool the best of the three.  It seemed a bit more user friendly as far as figuring out how it works.  I created a quick learning playlist about hurricanes.  I was able to add links to articles from our online tools and databases.  I did send you an invite to view this, but you probably won't see much without our library login information.  I have two questions regarding this tool.  First, I wanted to change the order of the sources in the list, but could not figure out how to do this.  Second, when I first started with the tool, I thought I saw a way to create a class, but once in the tool I could not get back to that feature.  Overall I liked this tool and would definitely use it to create a learning playlist for students if I was a classroom teacher.  I do not think I would use it in this way as a librarian because it feeds the articles to the students, rather than having them find the articles themselves.  I do think that I would like the students to use this tool to curate their own sources for a research project.  I'm wondering if this would work well with my sixth graders.

I have some colleagues who use Symbaloo, so I thought that I would like to give that a try.  I decided to create one for myself that includes all the technology tools that I would like to try or have tried and wanted to remember.

Symbaloo is very easy to use.  I love this tool!  I feel like I have a very easy to access and organized curation of the digital tools that I would like to try.  I think that I will definitely use this tool with my faculty and students.  Here is a link below to my Tech Tools Symbaloo.

Tech Tools Symbaloo

My standard question, are there any curation tools for student use that do not require an email to use?
Thanks!

Thing 3: Online Communities & Personal Learning Networks

Thing 3:  Online Communities & Personal Learning Networks

Twitter is very new to me and somewhat intimidating.  I was planning on doing Option 1:  Note ready to join Twitter?  Then simply explore instead.  Then a couple of weeks ago I was talking with one of my principals and he asked me to send him a link to the library book fair, so that he could send it out on Twitter.  I then said to him that I was currently working on a module for my online class that involved using Twitter.  He told me that he uses Twitter a lot, that it is a great way for instant professional development.  Then he told me to search for his Twitter account and he would make it so that I could follow his list for professional development sources.  Therefore, I now feel obligated to do Option 2:  I'm ready to join!, so that I do not disappoint my principal.  Those administrators are
always great to push us out of our comfort zones to be better educators!!! :)

I now have a Twitter account and I have used it to explore tlchat, edchat, and slscooltools.  All of these are great!  I especially enjoyed tlchat.  Just going through quickly, I found great information on makerspaces, book lists, ebooks, etc.  Immediately, I found two quick ideas that I will use in the next month in my library.  My question is this, is there a way to bookmark(used this term, but not quite sure if it is the correct term) a great tweet that I find, so that it is easy to go back to it later?

I did begin following my principal, Joyce Valenza, and Library Girl.  They all look like they have interesting tweets and good information.  I know that I can't "follow" tlchat, but is there a way to once again bookmark it somewhere on my Twitter homepage?  I am afraid that I won't remember the name of it, if it is not noted somewhere on the page.  Also, already I have a few friends and family following me.  I really want to use this as a professional tool, not a personal social tool.  Is there a way to make this happen?

Thing 4: Digital Storytelling and Presentation Tools

Thing 4:  Digital Storytelling and Presentation Tools

This was the best "Thing" so far.  I would like a whole course just on the tools listed in this "thing."  It was a great reminder for tools that I have learned about before and forgotten and for introducing new tools to explore.  Some of the tools new to me that I looked at were HaikuDeck, Dipity, and the National Archives Digital Vault.  I really liked each of these tools.  Haiku Deck is a great alternative to PowerPoint and Prezi.  I am eager to share the National Archives Digital Vault with our social studies teachers.  I must admit I spent a good deal of time playing their Pathways activities.

I am very grateful for the timeline suggestions.  Probably two or three times per year I am asked by teachers for a good timeline builder.  I did like Dipity very much.  One timeline builder that we have had success with is ReadWriteThink Timeline.  This was also mentioned in the cybraryman's list.

Although not a digital story presentation tool, I did appreciate learning about Photos for Class from the article "6 Reasons You Should be Doing Digital Storytelling with Your Students."  This appears to be a very helpful resource.  The article also mentioned Quick Rubric.  Do you know if these are subscription sites?

I hope you don't mind, but for my activity I chose a new tool I found that is not listed.  With my sixth graders we do an endangered species research project.  Typically we use Glogster as their presentation tool.  Although I like Glogster, I do find that because there are so many amazing choices to make when using this tool, that the students get bogged down making aesthetic choices rather than focusing on how to best present their research.  Admittedly, I have the same issue when I use Glogster, I spend too much time making it pretty and exciting and lose focus on the content of the initial project.  Therefore, I was looking for a new presentation tool for their project.  My criteria for the tool was:
     *that it fit the purpose of the project
     *free
     *easy to use
     *engaging, but not too many choices
     *no emails required for using the tool (our elementary students do not have emails, I find requiring emails for registering to be a downfall of many digital tools)

I feel very lucky because I came across my new tool, when I was looking for a good image source for the sixth graders.  It happens that PBS Learning Media has a great endangered species photograph collection.  In reviewing this collection I also learned that they have a free storyboard tool.  It is working perfectly for the sixth graders.  When I am logged in as a teacher, I am able to create an assignment for the storyboard and then given an assignment code to give the students.  The students can then login and type in the assignment code.  Once they have done this, they can read the assignment and then begin their storyboard.  Below is a link to the example that I made for the students.
Storyboard URL: http://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/tools/storyboard/view/72452bdf-0761-45bb-92e7-e3125793928c/ 

The PBS Learning Media Storyboard is very easy to use and the students are very engaged in the tool.

Thing 2: Photo Fun

Thing 2:  Photo Fun

This "thing" was lots of fun and very informative.  I tried many of the tools that were advised from this module.  I am very appreciative to have learned about Pixabay and Photopin and to have explored the Creative Commons Website.  I am always encouraging my students to use images in an ethical manner by using Google Advanced Image Search and images from our subscription online tools and giving credit for the images.  It will be great now to have other tools for the students to utilize to find images that they can use for their school projects.

I am also very grateful for the information regarding Creative Commons Licensing and the Copyright-Friendly Toolkit from Joyce Valenza.  The toolkit information regarding fair use, public domain, creative commons, and lists of image sources will be invaluable to me as I work with students. I will definitely be using this with my upper level students.  She always has such great resources for librarians!

I already use Shutterfly in my library and Shutterfly and Picasa at home.  One project in which I use Shutterfly is for our Lois Ehlert author/illustrator study in second grade.  After reading many Lois Ehlert books and her biography, the students create their own collage illustrations using found natural materials and everyday materials from school and home.  They choose a piece of paper to put on the table as their background, then they choose objects to place on the paper as a collage.  When they are done, I stand over their illustration and take a photo from above.  The students then write a caption to go with their illustration.  When all is finished we use Shutterfly to make a photo book of their Lois Ehlert inspired illustrations.

For a new tool, I made a magazine cover from Big Huge Labs.  This was a lot of fun.  I am going to try to attach it to this blog, but I'm not sure if I know how.  Right after I used this tool, I told one of the high school English teachers.  For one of the novels that she reads with her class, she does a research project about the 1930s.  This year she decided to have the students do the project in magazine format, including a magazine cover.  This tool will fit perfectly with this project and will allow me to emphasize how to ethically find an image for the magazine cover and demonstrate some of the sources mentioned above.  I did notice that there was a template for a whole magazine.  I think that I will try that next.

Thanks Polly, for all the tools listed in this "thing."  What a valuable resource!

A couple of questions:  My school blocks Pixabay and Photopin. Do you think there is a good reason for this?  Also, am I supposed to be following other Cool Toolers blog posts and if yes, how do I do this?

Thanks again!

Karen Fronhofer

Thing 1: Blogging

*Who am I?
My name is Karen Fronhofer.  I live a small rural area.  I am happily married with four children.  One boy and three girls ranging from nine years old to 17 years old.

*Where do I work?
I work at Salem Central School in Salem, New York.  It is a small, rural K-12 public school.  I am the K-12 school librarian.  It is a great place to work!

*Why are you taking part in this program?
I am taking part in this program because it has been highly recommended to me by several other librarians who have previously taken the program.  Also, I am eager to update my use of technology, so that I can use these tools with my students and aid my teachers in using technological tools as well.

*What I've learned during this session.
I have  learned a great deal during this session.  The point that stands out the most to me are that students can benefit from blogging because this is a comfortable tool for them to use to share their learning and their reflections.  I really appreciated the point made in the article Empowering Students Thru Blogging, stating that when students publish work online "they want it to be good" because their peers will be seeing it as well as their teachers.  I also really liked that idea that blogging is a worthwhile authentic  assessment tool.  Many of the articles/videos pointed out that it is a good tool for giving feedback, for showcasing work, for documenting progress, and for forming a better understanding of your students.

The Teach Thru Technology articles were very helpful.  I like his idea to have the students research what a blog is before they begin the blogging process.  The idea to start slow and use a question on a large piece of paper and have the students use post-it notes to answer the question and to respond to others' answers seems like a great way to begin the blogging process.  I also like the idea from the Blogfolio video regarding having the students create their own commenting policy.

Another great use of blogging mentioned in a couple of the articles is to teach about cybersafety, cyberbullying, and online etiquette.  This seems like a great format for these lessons.  I also liked that on the EduBlog page there was a lesson on "Images, Copyright, and Creative Commons."

I would definitely like to use a blog to start an online book club in my libraries.  I have been struggling to find a good time for book clubs to meet, so I think that this will be a great alternative.  I did see on the blog list several libraries who use a blog for communication in regards to what is happening in the library.  I would like to see some examples of how blogs are used in library lessons, particularly at the elementary level in fixed class situations.

*End Note:
Just a little more information about me.  I did sign up for this class once before and was overwhelmed by the fact that we would have to write regarding each lesson, so I did not continue with the class.   I love teaching, reading, and technology, but I do not love writing.  It is something that I dread and feel that I am not very good at, so please bear with me as I write these posts.  I am staying with the class this time because I feel that learning the technology is so important to my continued learning as a librarian.