Tag Archives: Resources

Materials, Resources

Free Is Good: Open educational resources are free digital materials

Open Access PLoS

From Edutopia,  By Bethany Rayl

Open educational resources (OER) are found in the public domain and can be used for free for teaching, learning, research, and other educational purposes. These materials can be retained, reused, revised, remixed, and redistributed. These “5R permissions” of OER allow you to not only access the materials and resources free of charge, but also to make them even better. Sounds good, right? But what’s really out there, and why should you use these resources?

There are several examples of OER available, including image and audio resources, books in the public domain, video and audio lectures, interactive simulations, game-based learning programs, lesson plans, textbooks, online course curricula, professional learning programs, and online learning platforms. Continue reading Free Is Good: Open educational resources are free digital materials →

Programs, Services, Tech

Top Library Tech Trends

Peacekeeper-missile-testing
This is  an excerpt from an ALA article By

“From virtual reality to gamification to security techniques, libraries are using the latest technology to engage patrons, increase privacy, and help staffers do their jobs.

American Libraries spoke to library tech leaders—members of the Library and Information Technology Association’s popular Top Tech Trends panel from the 2017 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits—to get the apps, devices, software, and best practices that you can adopt for your library right now and in the near future.

1. Take patrons on a virtual tour

Create a virtual tour of your library using a 360-degree camera and post it to your website or social media, says Cynthia Hart, emerging technologies librarian at Virginia Beach (Va.) Public Library (VBPL). Virtual tours can be helpful for both information and accessibility.

“One of our branches is 125,000 square feet. The A’s for adult fiction are all the way at the end of the building. Can you imagine if you were a person with disabilities or if you were an older person or had low mobility?” Hart says. “If you didn’t know that when you went into a library, wouldn’t it be helpful to have that virtual tour of the building? Then you could call and say, ‘Hey, can you pull that book from the shelf?’” Virtual visit statistics can also be used as a gate count metric. Continue reading Top Library Tech Trends →

Resources, Services, Tech

Software for hearing/seeing impaired patrons

Braille magazine cover example

A library person on a listserve submitted this question: “We are getting ready to set up some of our computers to be more user friendly for people who are seeing/hearing repaired and I’m looking for some software suggestions.  Anything would be helpful as we just started the search today.”

We are passing on a few suggestions shared, if you are also looking at getting this software for your patrons. Do you have other suggestions for software you like? Continue reading Software for hearing/seeing impaired patrons →

Resources, School Media Specialist, Tech

Testing with technology – What do you use?

This is from the ITEM listserve. If you have ideas and suggestions, you can leave them in the comments section below!

We are looking to move away from “bubble sheets” and scanners into something more tech based. The cost of scan sheets is incredible (~$4000/year for us) and we want a new way to do business. Are you using a technology based assessment system that you like? I am trying to identify a system or systems that are: – reasonably priced – could be paper based, but with a way to scan answers (doc cam?) – at the very least, something that can do multiple choice, but short answer, matching, etc. would be a plus. – If it is online, is there a way to prevent students from cheating (like a secure browser) Thanks for your thoughts, advice, or reflections on your experiences.

CMLE, Communication, Training

Looking for some professional development opportunities?

It’s so important to learn new things in our library careers, or to attend conferences and interact with other library people doing similar work! If you’ve been feeling the need to network or to update some of your professional skills, make sure to keep your eyes on CMLE’s Continuing Education calendar!

The calendar is located on our Continuing Education page, which features a Google calendar that is updated daily with new learning opportunities. We include a variety of events like webinars, online courses, in-person conferences, workshops, and yes, even free opportunities!

The page also has links to organizations like Library Juice, TIES, and the AASL’s eAcademy that offer their own training and development opportunities.

And don’t forget CMLE offers scholarships! Apply for one today!