Big6 Information Processing

Later in the semester, I will be presenting at the English symposium here on campus. I will be talking about the Big6, which is an information processing model that can help students do their research. The steps of the Big6 are:

1.Task Definition
2. Information Seeking Strategies
3. Location and Access
4. Use of Information
5. Synthesis
6. Evaluation

Here is a video that goes into the Big6 in more detail:

Just like the video says, anyone can use the Big6 method to do just about anything, from deciding which movie to see to writing a PhD dissertation. My presentation will go into more depth about how to teach each step of the process separately, so that students are guided through the process to their final product, a research paper, and then evaluate the process. When students are explicitly taught how to perform each step in the Big6, they will be able to replicate the process later in their education (or on any free afternoon), and be much more successful!

Tweet Tweet

I am a big fan of Twitter. I don't post a lot, but I usually open it up at least once a day to see what's going on in my neighborhood and the world. If it weren't for Twitter, how would I ever have known about The Dress?

I have always planned on using Twitter in my library. What better way to keep students updated on what's going on in the library? Most of your students will be on Twitter, and it's a great way to bring your library to the forefront of their minds, even if it's only for a few seconds a day. Librarians can use Twitter to announce events, promote the library itself, and even recommend books. Using hashtags creates an additional way for students to interact with the school library, and following others connects your library to a worldwide network of school libraries, teachers, and authors.

Here is a great article on how to use hashtags on your library's twitter account!

I recently set up a librarian-specific Twitter account. I followed a lot of authors, book review & news sources, and fellow librarians. Check out my page here!

No Blogger is an Island

So how many librarian blogs can there really be? I know there are at least 13 others, because there are 13 other people in the class for which I created this blog. Well, as it turns out, there are quite a lot. And some of them are really quite good.

When I first went about creating this blog, the first URL I tried was abbythelibrarian.com. I was sad to see it was already taken, but it forced be to be more creative, and I came up with a fun rhyme! Anyway, I was researching the best librarian blogs, and Abby the Librarian came up. Of course, I clicked on the link (librarians named Abby are my favorite kind of people) and the blog is actually really great! She is a librarian in Indiana, and she has a lot of really cool ideas. One of her ideas is called Reading Wildly. All of the staff at her library reads a different book from the month's specified genre, and they report on what they read. That way, all of the librarians get a much wider range of books from which to make recommendations to patrons!

Another blog that isn't library-related per se, but is educational in nature, is thenerdyteacher.com. I have been following this blog for a while, and I really enjoy it! It is run by a high school English teacher, with a strong emphasis on how to incorporate instructional technology in the classroom. This guy has so many ideas! Check out the experiment he did in his classroom with Evernote.

Do you have any librarian/educator blogs that you love? Share them in the comments!

Diigo

Yesterday, I signed up for a Diigo account. I have played around with it a bit, and while I'm definitely not an expert, I already have a few ideas for how I can use it in my future library!

Diigo stands for "Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff". At its core, Diigo is a "social bookmarking website" - basically, a way to organize, store, and share any website! You can bookmark any website and tag it according to its content. You can also annotate and highlight the webpage for your own records or to share with others, either in a group or via a link.

Here's a handy video that gives a few ideas for ways to use Diigo in an educational setting:

I like the ideas this video brought up. While it focuses mostly on the organizational aspect of Diigo, I really liked the idea of using Diigo to create a class group where students can go to watch videos and read articles bookmarked by the teacher or librarian. Students can easily access the links and make comments using Diigo. You could also make a group for teachers in the school, which would easily facilitate teacher collaboration. For example, if a teacher is going to bring a class into the library for a presentation, the teacher could share a link to an article with the librarian that they think would be helpful to use in the presentation. The teacher or the librarian could also share links with the students for them to access before or after the presentation to further their understanding of the topic.  

I'm sure as I continue to explore Diigo, I'll discover new ways to use it in a library. If you have found a great way to use Diigo, let me know in the comments!

LibraryThing vs. Goodreads

I recently set up a LibraryThing account, and I have posted a widget that allows you to see the books in my library, right there on the right side of the screen! You can set up your own account by clicking here.

I also set up a Goodreads account about a week ago, and I have been having some fun playing around with it. Set up a Goodreads account here.

LibraryThing and Goodreads have a lot of similarities. Both sites are designed to help you organize your books online and share the books you love with other people.

LibraryThing seems to be more geared toward people who want to catalog books they actually own. I have many books on my Goodreads page that I have gotten from the library and read, or read for a class. But LibraryThing assumes that you own the book unless you move it to a shelve titled "read, but do not own". This emphasis makes sense, given the names of the respective sites. 

LibraryThing also has this really cool feature for librarians, where you can sync your LibraryThing account with your OPAC. This includes "tag-based browsing, book recommendations, ratings, reviews, series data, awards information, stack maps, virtual shelf browsers, and more"!

Goodreads, in my opinion, has a more user-friendly interface. And while both websites link to your social media sites, Goodreads has a lot more of a social aspect for me, because none of my friends are on LibraryThing. (Maybe I just need more book-loving friends?)

Both are great for organizing your books, sharing your opinions about them, and getting recommendations. Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments!

Paradise

Using Skype in Your Library

When you think of an author visit at your library, something like this probably comes to mind:



But what if it looked more like this?



Services such as Skype or Google Hangouts are good for more than just face-to-face conversations. they can also be used in your library to facilitate an author visit that might not otherwise be possible.

Doing author visits via Skype is a wonderful way to give students the opportunity to interact with an author, and there are several reasons why Skyping is often even better than a real visit. It may sound counter intuitive, but Skype visits can be more intimate. Authors usually Skype from their own homes or workplaces, allowing students to see the author's creative environment up-close. Skype calls are also much less expensive than traditional author visits. There is no need for the school to pay for travel or lodging for the visiting author, which will save a few hundred dollars.

So are you ready to set up your first author Skype visit? Here are a few websites that can help you find an author and get in touch:

• https://education.skype.com/partners/14-penguin-books
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/tradebooks/inviteanauthor.htm
• http://www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skype-with-classes-book-clubs-for-free/

After finding an author to Skype with, there are some things you can do before and during the visit to ensure everything goes smoothly (adapted from ALA's Checklist for a successful Skype with an author).

1. Make all of your email communication with the author very clear and specific. Put the name of your school and "Skype" as the subject line, and include all of your contact information in every email you send. This makes it easier for the author to remember who you are (many authors deal with more than one school at a time), and facilitates easy inbox searching on their end. 
2. Visit the author's website to see if they have any special instructions regarding Skype visit scheduling. make sure you specify the type of session (Q and A, workshop, or presentation) ages of participants, number of participants, length of session, and date and time (keep time zone differences in mind). Ask permission if you would like to record the call or take photographs at the event, and make sure to be specific about who will initiate the call. 
3. Before the call, Skype someone else from your library to make sure that the webcams are working properly and that the call is clear. If you are planning on using a hand-held microphone, test that as well. 
4. As with all author visits, it is a good idea to make sure all of the students have read the book that the author will be discussing, and have them write down questions to ask the author. It may also be helpful to let students rehearse asking their questions, and to review the questions beforehand. 
5. Make sure you have the author's phone number on hand, so that you can contact them in the event of technical difficulties. 
6. During the Skype visit, make sure that the students are having the best experience possible. Place the screen where everyone can see the author, and where the author can see them as well. make sure to keep the call within the agreed time. 

Skype calls are an easy and fun way to get an author into your library. So, what are you waiting for?