Videos and QR Codes in the Library

I have to give a huge thank you to the students of Bonnie Branch Middle School for making this Twilight spoof PSA for overdue books. Yes I'll admit that I read the entire Twilight series, twice, including the 5th,  not published, online only, half done book Midnight Sun, which is the first book retold from Edward's point of view, but I digress. Don't judge me.

Now to the nitty gritty. There are loads of schools that have their own youtube channel. When it comes to making videos for your staff or student body, you've got to balance entertaining with information. I'll highlight a few different channels and show you two videos, one that is great for information, and one that the students will absolutely love.


The Norman High School Library youtube channel has only 13 videos. A couple are entertaining, but more so for the staff than for the students. The others are quite good for information though. They include screencasts. I love screencasts! They're perfect for those visual learners, who need to watch someone walk through the steps.

The first video is the entertaining one. I can see high school students giggling watching this.

 The second video is super informational. It gives students an introduction to using Google Docs. I love using Google Docs! I use it all of the time! With older students, it can be quite handy for homework, classwork, and projects. Teachers, you'll never have a student 'lose' work again because it's forever in the Google Doc!





The Unquiet Library has a plethora of informational videos suited perfectly for students participating in library and research activities. I need to set aside some time and really work through these videos, because honestly, I'm new to the librarianing world, and many of the niche ideas like creative commons, citations, intellectual property, and so on, are so new to me, I'm a bit overwhelmed. Instead of having a professor spoon feed me, I need to get out and figure this stuff out on my own. 

First, the fun video that students will love. Looks like they have a great music club. They record practices/meetings, and I particularly loved this one. I do love me some bluegrass!


The second video is a short tutorial for finding creative commons friendly images on Flickr. I used this a tiny bit when creating a book trailer on Animoto. Random CC images question, do I have to cite my sources when using a CC image?



The Pikesville HS Library is by far the most interesting, well for me as an educator. They are using youtube in a way that I would never have thought of! There are Animoto videos of the fun stuff that students get to do, student reflections, and the coolest of them all, the teachers created videos introductions of their classes so that students know what they're in for when they sign up, or to possibly peak students' interests into signing up for their course.

This first video that students will find most interesting is an Animoto slide show of a fun night called 'Wii like to party'. Looks like some of the students got to stay and play Wii games together. What a fun incentive to work hard and do well!



The second video, showcases the Human Geography teachers. They each give a brief summary of the class, some of the activities students will participate in and the overall learning objectives for the year. I think that students and parents would love to get a sneak peek into the classes they are signing up for!


The video at the beginning of this post is from the insanely creative kids at Bonnie Branch Middle School. They have an Advanced Film Production class, and boy are those kids invested! What an awesome use of student talent!

The first video is one that students would find interesting and entertaining. BBMS has tons of overdue library book parodies, but this one is by far my favorite. I felt bad watching it though, like I shouldn't be laughing at such a serious piece of history. But the kids at BBMS totally get my sense of humor.


This second video is one that, if I were a student at BBMS, I would totally ask this guy (the librarian I think) to make more of. He has a few book reviews on the youtube channel, but this is one that I am going to definitely check out myself. I LOVE 1984, and yes sequels can be horrible, but it's not really a sequel, just a continuation of the idea of the story. So we'll see. I'll let you know when I check it out and what I think of it.



I know that I can't really have the same level of videos as some of the middle school and high school channels in an elementary school setting, but I can do my best. I'd love to have book talks and book reviews on my future library youtube channel. I'll also throw in some Animoto or GoAnimate videos to showcase some of the fun school happening. 

Can I tell you that I have NEVER used QR codes before. I'm sorry, I'm ashamed. I'm fairly with it when it comes to tech stuff, but QR codes are just something that I haven't had the time or desire to really dive into. Today that changes! I have this grand idea of creating book reviews or trailers, then setting up a book display in my library with the QR codes next to them. When students or parents come in, they can scan the code, watch the video and decide if it is a book worth checking out. Good idea right? I'm so late and behind on this, I'm sure librarians have been doing this for years. 
Here is my first, of hopefully many, book trailer for Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Scan the QR code (you can download a QR code scanner here) and go watch my book trailer. 
Here is the Good Reads synopsis:
After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.

Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family . . . 

Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

I found a great resource for ideas on using QR codes in the library here. I could set up a beginning of the year get to know me and the library QR code scavenger hunt. I can highlight the different areas of the library, genres, tables, etc. Right now my brain is rigged for elementary libraries, but who knows what the future holds? Right now, my idea for QR codes really focuses on parent involvement. Parents are in the library during registration, I can have QR codes set up for different teacher's classroom websites, during the book fair, I can have QR codes with book summaries and videos at the display tables, and during holiday events, I can have QR codes set up with recipes for the many treats available, with directions for the crafts being made, and even a code linked to the video I'll be making with photos of that particular event. Am I on the right track here with QR codes? I feel a bit bush league here. I may not be ready for the major league yet, but with some practice and helpful colleagues and professors, I can get there.