Videos and QR Codes in the Library

The 21^st Century has been filled with many changes in the way we live out our daily lives. Access to the internet has connected people globally by the use of email, instant messaging, social media, and video conferencing. You might consider YouTube as a source of entertainment, but now educators are discovering ways use YouTube to connect with their learning communities to deliver instruction, present information, and to also allow students a chance to produce products that demonstrate new understanding while integrating needed technology skills. YouTube is one of the most versatile mediums for broadcasting video content in the classroom and beyond!

Here are a few ways that some libraries are using their YouTube channels to share information with their schools. 

Norman High School Library

I found this video to be one of the most helpful videos on this channel. The Norman High School librarian demonstrates how to access research materials from both home and school by using EBSCOHost.

 

This fun video introduces students to the library facilities and their procedures. It's probably a student favorite.

The Unquiet Library

Tillery Tutorial Video: Creative Commons 101 for Senior Project Slides: Although this video was created for seniors as they work on their senior project, most students on campus can benefit from the information found here and in the videos that follow it.

Scenes from the Unquiet Library: This is probably a student favorite because students can see their classmates and all the activities happening in the library.

Pikesville High School Library

Parksville High School FAFSA: This helpful student video is fun and creative. It features students in the video to remind other students to apply for FAFSA.

Senior Party in the Library: Students on campus probably enjoy watching this fun video of their classmates’ flash mob in the library.

BBMSMEDIA

NoodleTools GAFE: Students will find this tutorial video helpful as it walks them through the process of joining their new NoodleTools account to their GoogleApps account.

Don’t Wanna Be Overdue - Meghan Trainor Library Parody: My favorite and obviously a student favorite, too (over 1,000 views). This awesome musical parody reminds students to turn in those library books!

Interested in Creating Your Own Videos and Book Trailers?

There are so many creative ways to promote your library by using videos. Here are a few ways I plan to use them in my library:

-Create a facilities tour.

-Demonstrate library procedures.

-Promote Makerspaces.

-Share book trailers.

-Allow students to video their own book talks as a way to globally share a favorite book.

-Produce student announcements and reminders.

If you’re ready to get started, here’s a tool you’ll find helpful. You can use Animoto, a Web 2.0 tool, to create your own short digital presentations that include music, photos, and videos. These professional looking videos can be shared by providing the URL of the saved project or by uploading them to your class YouTube channel. Once on your YouTube channel, you can embed the video in your Google Classroom, school website, or in a blog. Here’s a book trailer I created. Just scan the QR code and it will take you directly to my YouTube post.

Sweet by Emmy Laybourne

Synopsis from the publisher:

They'd kill to get thin.

The luxurious celebrity cruise launching the trendy new diet sweetener Solu should be the vacation of a lifetime. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting her friend Viv's invitation. She's already completely embarrassed herself in front of celebrity host Tom Forelli-the hottest guy ever!-and she's too sick to even try the sweetener. And that's before Viv and all the other passengers start acting really strange.

Tom knows that he should be grateful for this job and the chance to shed his former-child-star image. His publicists have even set up a 'romance' with a sexy reality star. But as things on the ship start to get wild, he finds himself drawn to a different girl. And when the hosting gig turns into an expose on the shocking side effects of Solu, it's Laurel that he's determined to save.

                         

 

QR Codes: How Easy Was That?

Almost everywhere you look, you can spot a QR code. Since they’re easy to create and you can link text and video content to them, you might be interested in how you can use these in your library. Download the free QR Reader App and visit www.the-qrcode-generator.com and get started today! Here are a few ways I plan to use them in my library:

-Use a code to provide a link to my library website.

-Place them near online catalogs to provide students with instructions for logging on.

-Link to tutorial videos that teach students how to access and use the databases for research.

-Create a Dewey Decimal System scavenger hunt! (I’m thinking gamify here!)

-Mystery QR Codes: Post them all over the building without a title. Have them linked to book trailers of all the hottest new titles in the library.

QR codes can provide a fun and engaging way to promote your library with your learning community. And you never know; a QR code just might lure in that reluctant reader to the library and open up a whole new universe of possibilities!