Tag Archives: Social Media

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Producing Student Digital Storytellers

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What is Digital Storytelling?
According to edSurge’s recent article, “digital storytelling uses video, audio, social media, blogging and other tools to convey ideas and information effectively. The emphasis is on empowering students to create authentic products that they can share with others beyond the classroom walls, and to allow for audience interaction and feedback.” A long definition but Digital Storytelling can be as simple as having students create a video poem or photo montage as a visual interpretation of an existing poem being studied by the class.
From English to Science, in the article they give some practical subject-specific ideas for digital storytelling. But why should we have students be digital storytellers? There are many reasons like improved writing and critical thinking, but these projects can also have impact, develop digital citizens, or even be used in student’s digital portfolios.
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Your Peek at the Data: A Few Survey Results

Recently, staff in CMLE member libraries had almost one month to respond to an online CMLE Needs Assessment (survey). We sincerely thank the 152 people (20%) who took the time to share their thoughts, feedback, and dreams for library support services in Central Minnesota. CMLE serves 320 libraries in 12 counties, and one of the biggest challenges is understanding your specific needs while also trying to spot opportunities to convene academic, public, special and school librarians when a topic cuts across library type. In the next few weeks, we will highlight a few questions/responses  in order to provide manageable bites of data.

This week we highlight data about who participated, and
how they engage with various tools including social media!

Makeup of the Needs Assessment Respondents

na_1* Of K-12 respondents, 50% were in elementary schools; no surprise as there are more elementary schools overall.

 

The following chart shows tools that are blocked for use at work. Tip: Sometimes, these tools can be used in the  workplace by requesting special access for the specialized work you do!

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Social Media Use by Respondents: Professional and Personal Use

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Other interesting, notable facts!

  • 85% of respondents currently receive the Weekly Review email every Thursday from CMLE
  • The Tech Bits and Ideas, and Resources You Can Use categories of weekly blog posts, are the two highest ranked categories in the Weekly Review lineup
  • 44/46%  of respondents felt either there would be value, or there might be value in having a place online with others in Central MN for asking questions and getting answers.
  • Read the From the Director post to get my commentary on these results!

Do any of these results surprise you? How so? We would love to know….admin@cmle.org

Watch for a new set of Needs Assessment results next week!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Collaboration 2.0

Collaboration is no longer painful – or precious. Vince Clarke.

Arboretum ParkHave you ever read a blog post, and no matter how hard you tried to put your spin on it, you just kept going back to the post? Like….the author just said it all so perfectly?! That is how I feel about a recent post by Leah Mann, Texas middle school librarian, as she writes about how we all have time to collaborate!

In a recent post I did about the Library Technology Conference, I saw strong evidence that people there understood what Leah is saying about collaboration through social media. But don’t take my word for it, read Leah’s post and make time to expand your world beyond your worksite. Read Leah’s post here.

 

General, School Media Specialist

Central MN students don’t fear social media

Fork in the road, decision tree, September, Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington, USATypically the message to students regarding social media is: “watch what you post.” But now many parents, students, and colleges are turning social media from something to be feared during admissions to something that can help.

A recent article from the St. Cloud Times highlighted opinions from students and processes for admission from many area colleges as they relate to social media. It discussed how students can use social media to help during admissions, both in selling themselves but also in gaining awareness of a future college or university.

Many of the high school students interviewed by SCTimes weren’t aware that colleges or employers are looking at their social media accounts. On the flipside, some future St. Cloud State students are using #futurehusky or #stcloudstate in tweets to “develop a community before they’re on campus.”

At the heart of the discussion is the issue of digital literacy. CMLE knows that many Media Specialists, Librarians, and Library staff are at the front line of Digital Citizenship for many students.

“A student’s digital literacy depends on the family and school, she said, and much of the time it’s overlooked by both.”

What types of things are you teaching your students about social media? Should students be wary of social media? Or should students be using it to their advantage?

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/kpm6w6b, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Ways That Libraries Use Instagram!

Fuji X100 with Gordy's Camera StrapThere are some great ways libraries can utilize Instagram.  The New York Public Library is a great leader to look to.  They use some really great “hooks” for followers – from posting old book reviews to #bookfacefriday.  This is a way that they use to encourage followers to contribute.  Users can connect with The New York Public Library and send images to them.  You might end up on their Instagram, like these two from Palm Beach County Library!

While having some simple fun is great, Instagram can help you get more patrons in the door for those great events you’re planning!  Amy Mollett and Anthony McDonnell, of The London School of Economics and Political Science, have a great blog post about more ways to use Instagram.  A couple things they recommend are posting teaser pictures of event posters, or of people getting ready for the events.  Let your followers know what’s going on at their local or school library, and encourage them to contribute to the conversation!

Are you already on Instagram?  We’d love to see what you’re posting.  Please share your library photos with us (via Facebook, Twitter, or even e-mail)!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/nsrltvb, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0