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LIS724 Instruction

This week our group assignment was to give a lesson using technology. We had to target a specific audience and provide a 20 to 30-minute lesson that included activities. We the biggest challenge we had was deciding on what lesson we would teach. After a lot of back and forth we came up with a topic. Our topic was Google Deep Search cheats. I was actually worried that the class would not find the information useful. Plus, this was the only idea we came up with that included a technological aspect. We were able to incorporate the tools we learned in class and our target audience was the class of (future) librarians.

We discussed filter bubbles and ow technology has censored our information while we are unaware. For more on Filter Bubbles watch this TED Talk

The class really enjoyed the presentation. I think our topic was appropriate and a good skill for every information professional to have. If you have never used a google deep search cheat here are a few to try:

allintext: allows users to search for a words or phrases within a site

Examples: allintext: “brain cancer”, allintext: “brain cancer” treatment

site: allows users to search specific sites

Examples: site:.edu or site: tumblr.com

Combine them together : allintext: crime statistics site:.gov

Links: http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html

http://searchengineland.com/google-power-user-tips-query-operators-48126

http://neilpatel.com/blog/google-search-operators/

https://www.greengeeks.com/blog/2017/02/28/top-google-search-secrets-that-will-make-you-look-smarter/

https://moz.com/blog/mastering-google-search-operators-in-67-steps

#lis724 #Instruction #filter bubble #google search

AmeRacism

When you choose your hate, over your life, than death shall be your reward.

LIS Database Tutorial

This week we created database tutorials using screen cast software. I chose Screencast-o-matic, which is has a free version that allows you to capture up to 15 minutes of video. The software requires you to download what is basically a control panel. The free version does not allow you to edit your video. You have to pay for that.

Watch my tutorial

Our tutorials were restricted to 2-4 minutes in length. I choose to use that database from my brochure, African American Communities for my tutorial. My first attempt at recoding a tutorial yielded a 4 minute video and I had not demonstrated any functionality of the database. The time restriction made this a little difficult as the load time for search in the database was horrible. Just spinning, and spinning and spinning. The audio quality was not bad considering I used my iPhone headphones with the mic.

After I recorded about 6 minutes of vide demonstrating just the search functions of the database, I used iMovie to edit the tutorial. I removed the dead silence and video portions that where just shots of the search results generating, because no one wants to watch spinning.

I would recommend Screencast-o-matic.com if you need to capture something quickly. The download was quick and it works on Macs and PCs.

#lis724 library science screencast-omat #screencast-o-matic.com #library science #lis724 #database #tutorial

LIS724 Pathfinder

This week we had to create a pathfinder, which I would loosely define a more visually appealing form of a research guide. For this assignment at first I tried using LiveBinders.com. Visually the results were not pleasing. This is a site best for a full research guides with a lot of text. Seeing how I was not providing annotations for my resources, the tabs had a lot of white space. The controls are quite wonky. I set the format of my tabs for a title and two columns (one text one media) but was unsuccessful in adding media to the tab. You have to upload your own images, because the Flickr search will provide irrelevant or no results. So I gave up after wasting half my Saturday.

I decided to use Padlet.com for the pathfinder assignment. The instructor has demonstrated the site in class and I really liked the simple interface. Using this digital bulletin board tool I was able to easily turn my curation resources into a pathfinder. By using the connector template I was able to demonstrate how to get to certain resources and those resources are related. Padlet made this assignment much easier and the result was “hella” prettier. I was able to drag and drop images and pdf downloads of scholarly articles into the site. I would recommend Padlet to others.

My Padlet

#lis724 #library school #livebinders #padlet #pathfinder #research guides

LIS724 - Digital StoryTelling

This week we had to create a short video on a topic using iMovie. We decided to talk about the Eisner Awards. This was a good topic because the Eisner awards are the Oscars of the comic book industry. This topic meant we would have plenty of visual references. The project was quite easy because we prepared all the media ahead of time. We had our audio recorded, are images clearly labeled and a story board. The only snap was that our audio was not long enough to meet the project needs. That was rectified by adding Pomp and Circumstance at the end of the audio. The project came out quite well.

IMovie’s interface and capabilities have changed dramatically since I used it in undergrad. This experience might make me return to iMovie as a way to quickly edited simple projects. The only down side was the Ken Burns effect which is automatically placed on all clips. It is a bummer to have to modify each image clip to get the desired effect for each clip.

Watch our Story

#lis724 #library science #library school #eisner awards #will eisner #2017 winners #graphic novels #comics #digital storytelling

LIS724 Book Trailers

Animoto

Animoto is the simplest way to create a book trailer or any photomontage. Well you also have to arrange your images and add captions if necessary. You literally drop in some images and a soundtrack and Voila. You can set up an educational plan if you have an institutional e-mail. So the account is free. They have premium templates that come with the paid accounts, but there are plenty of free templates that are available. I appreciate that Animoto adjust the screen time for image clips automatically and paces the images slideshow to fit your music. You can add text, or captions to the images to appear in the slide show. I noticed that images with captions stay on the screen longer. I would recommend Animoto for in-class use because it is so simple.

Postal Book Trailer Animoto

Stupeflix

I tried to use Stupeflix, but the program was just stupid. I couldn’t get my images to load even though they were well under the maximum image size. The program kept giving me fatal errors. I even tried using different browsers. I would not recommend this tool simple because the “free” account was not working. The set-up is similar to Animoto, a drag and drop interface.

WeVideo

WeVideo was the tool I ended using for part 2 of the book trailer assignment after wasting an hour with StupidStupeflix. The free account gets you 5 minutes of export time per-month. WeVideo has a storyboard mode and a timeline mode. The timeline mode is set up like any traditional editing software. In timeline mode you have access to title slugs. In both modes users can add graphics and manipulate clips. You can upload media from Google drive and Drop box. You can record your own narration for videos within the tool. WeVideo is really easy to use and the ability to work in timeline mode made it even easier for me because of my background in Digital Cinema. I would recommend this tool.

Postal Book Trailer WeVideo

#lis724 #library school #library science #book trailer #postal #graphic novels

LIS724 Promotional Flyer

This week we had to create a promotion flyer using a word processing program and then recreate that same flyer using some online tools. Now I actually use MS Word for all my signage and flyers. Why? Because that’s what handy most of the time, not to mention I usually am stuck doing these things at the last minute. It seems that the program planning process never includes the marketing aspect until after the fact. I think there is an unwritten 48- hour rule at my library. “No marketing shall be planned or implemented prior to 48 hours of any event.”

I recreated my flyer in both Canva and Smore.

Canva

Canva is an online tool that has free accounts and lets you create all types of visual materials. I have used Canva in the past to make info graphics. That task was not as simple as I thought. Canva has a lot of templates for users to choose from. Along with images, symbols, text , etc. Canva can be overwhelming because of all the choices. My Canva flyer took about 15 minutes. Once I found a template I like , I only had to swap out the images and text content.

Canva Flyer

Smore

I like Smore because of the integration of maps and analytics. You can embed your flyer into a website and see how many people have clicked on it. The downside of Smore was I could not export a jpg or pdf of my flyer without a pro (paid) account. There flyer was larger than 8.5” x 11” so I had to scale the flyer to 75% and save it as a pdf. The flyer was simple to create, but there was a lot less choices for layouts in Smore.

Smore Flyer

#lis724 #mlis #library science #library school

LIS724 Brochure

This week we had to create a brochure about a particular database. This was a fun exercise mainly because I had to explore a new database. I was able to find a new database that my library recently acquired that spoke to me personally. I chose the database, African-American Communities an Adam Matthew archival collection from Sage. The database is focused on specific racial and ethnic group, but covers topics that can be used across disciplines. My university has an African and Black Diaspora studies program and center. They would seem like the obvious consumer of this database. However, I envision a multitude of liberal studies programs can make use of this database including Art, Economics, History, Political Science, Sociology, Women & Gender, and Urban Planning majors. In order to create the brochure I had to use the database. I will be forwarding my brochure to the African and Black Diaspora Studies department for display in the center.

Now what about the process?

The product (brochure) was quite easy to create. I found a tri-fold brochure template in Microsoft Publisher that had a color scheme similar to the African-American Communities database. Microsoft Publisher is extremely similar to Word so it is user friendly. I wanted to match color schemes because this assignment required me to use a lot of images and screen shots. I found that by doing more prep-work I was able to create a brochure that was minimally violated the design rules in out text. I did not play with the typography much because I was terrified of creating conflict instead of contrast. I was mindful to repeat border and shadow styles on my images and screen captures to create a uniform look. My only complaint with this project is that Microsoft Publisher is not available for MAC users like me.

#lis724 #library science #library school #database #archives

LIS724 - To Prezi or Not to Prezi

Let me begin by saying that I do not like Prezi. I would use PowerPoint any day over this. Now my dislike is fueled mainly by my inexperience with the tool and compounded by the fact the neither me or anyone in my group had used the tool before. It took us a few hours just to share our Prezi’s with each other. I believe if I knew how to use it and had more than 48 hours to put together a presentation with a group of other inexperienced users my opinion might be different.

Now there is a tutorial Prezi, which I went through and still found myself confused.

Upon comparison to PowerPoint…

Prezi has templates just like PowerPoint. Prezi has more templates that look a lot nicer than PowerPoint templates. PowerPoint templates have instructions on how to use and organize the template. Prezi, well the templates have an abundance of sample content that you have to clear out to create your presentation. Now Prezi lets you insert YouTube videos directly into the presentation with just a link. Try that with PowerPoint and you will have insert a hyperlink and then navigate away. It would be nice if Prezi had some grid lines that made since. And formatting a text box can be annoying at best with Prezi.

Now I was told that Prezi is GREAT! from others who have used it. I am going to reserve stating that I hate it until I have had more experience with it.

#lis724 #information science #presentation tools #library science #library school

bellygangstaboo

Today Would Have Been Emmett Till’s 76th Birthday if a White Woman Didn’t Lie on Him

Emmett Till would have turned 76 today, July 25, had a white woman not lied on him. Roy Bryant’s wife, now known as Carolyn Bryant Donham after having divorced and married a few times (something not afforded to Emmett, by the way), broke her silence and admitted that she made up the most damning part of her testimony.

The 82-year-old confessed about 10 years ago to author Timothy Tyson, a Duke University senior research scholar, who was working on the book The Blood of Emmett Till.

“That part’s not true,” Donham reportedly told Tyson about her claim that Emmett made verbal and physical advances toward her.

Conveniently, Donham claimed that she didn’t remember exactly what happened in the store.

But Emmett’s family and much of the world were well aware of what happened to Emmett after she accused him of inappropriate advances. The terrified 14-year-old was kidnapped from the home of relatives by Donham’s then-husband and Milam. Emmett was beaten, mutilated and shot to death before the half brothers sank his body in a local river by tying a 75-pound gin fan around his neck.

Meanwhile, more than 60 years later, Emmett’s family is still seeking justice on behalf of their loved one, with his surviving relatives asking for the case to be reinvestigated after Donham admitted to lying on the teen.

One thing that’s always bothered me was that stories and events like this were never really shown or discussed in public schools. When I was going to school it was always: MLK, the Civil Rights movement, sit-ins, the boycotts etc. Schools never really showed the truly horrific stories that came with in this time of American history: the Emmet Till Murder, the Medgar Evers murder, The 16th St. Baptist Church bombing, Nat Turner’s uprising and many more. There are soo many stories like this to be told, yet are never discussed.

staff

We are appalled by President Trump’s tweets about banning transgender people from military service. There are an estimated 15,000 transgender people already working in the Department of Defense, putting their lives on the line to protect our nation and its values. Those values do not include the heartlessness exhibited by Mr. Trump this morning. Discrimination has no place in our government, in our workplaces, our schools, or anywhere else in our lives.

While it’s still unclear what the actual policy ramifications of these tweets will be, we recommend keeping up with (and, if you can, donating to) the ACLU and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

You can also directly tell the president how unacceptable his attack on American servicepersons is by using this form provided by the @transgenderfreedomproject.

We know there will be plenty of conversation about this on Tumblr in the coming days, and we urge you to take this moment to support and educate each other in whatever ways you can. And if you just need someone to talk to right now, there are people here to listen, 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

Trans Lifeline: A crisis hotline by and for the transgender community. 877-565-8860

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Text Line: Text START to 741741

The Trevor Lifeline (@thetrevorproject): Confidential hotline for LGBTQ+ young people. 1-866-488-7386

The GLBT National Help Center: Free and confidential peer support for the LGBTQ+ community at 1-888-843-4564. Youth Talkline: 1-800-246-7743

LIS724-Makerspace Inventory

This week our project was to work in groups to design a makerspace. Picking actual equipment for project was much easier once we established our community, location and purpose. We had to work with a limited budget so we did not buy the traditional 3D printer. Our makerspace was to be adjacent to a school library. The school population is K-5th grades. The activities in the space will be supporting the school curriculum. We also need to support a bilingual education setting. For me selecting inventory began by identifying the types of activities that could happen in the space. Most activities would be STEAM related. We purchased tablets for our makerspace to work with some of the technology we found.

I found a couple of articles about makerspace projects on a budget. I shared these with my group. These articles were quite informative and I learned that you can do a lot of STEAM activities using recyclables (cardboard tissue rolls, paper, milk jugs, pop bottles). Painters tape and common art supplies (paper, glue, etc) were some of the key components to a lot of low-budget no budget STEAM activities. Plus there are a lot of online resources available to librarians and school teachers to turn even the smallest space into a creative workspace for children, teens or adults.

#lis724 #school library #library science #makerspace

LIS 724 Classic Google Sites

So if you have not had the chance to use the Classic Google Sites, let be first to tell you please don’t. If your looking for a simple and easy way to create a sleek website this is not that.

If you have tons of free time, patience and some experience with HTML. I say go ahead and conquer that beast. But have some mood altering drugs and pain killers handy for that massive migraine as you struggle to figure out how to insert a picture or link.

Classic Google sites a very particular tool. Classic sites allows sharing so you can let others edit your work. Not surprising since most Google products make collaboration easy. In the case of Classic sites, it is more of a shared pain than collaboration.

To get the best out of Classic Google sites, you should commit to a theme and layout so that the code has already been embedded for you. Then you navigate the nearly invisible editing tools to add content. Classic Google sites will accept any content out there on the web. It is not proprietary like the New Google Sites.

Formatting your context will also be challenging, you may want to alter the theme colors. That will be located in the drop down menu near the edit button. (No you can just click and change stuff --- this is Classic.) The tools at the top right hand corner of your page in edit mode is where you will insert pictures and other content. Let’s not forget that every time you save or navigate away from a page on your site, you will need to re-enter edit mode.

Classic Google sites allows you to use html. However that is limited. I dropped in the code from my website for LIS753 and it looked horrible

See the difference between my use of html in Classic Google sites and the actual webpage I built from scratch.

At the end of the day my advice is use the New Google sites.

#lis724 #library school #classic google sites #MLIS