I'm a huge fan of MontanaLibrary2Go. My husband and I use it all the time - I tend to get the eBooks, while he downloads audiobooks to his iPhone and listens to them on his commute. For patrons, it is really easy to set up and use, and I love that I can get digital content delivered wirelessly to my iPad. I think it is essential that we move in the direction of eBooks and eReaders if library is going to continue to meet the needs of its users. At my school, the library circulates both eBooks and Kindles. eBooks are both fiction and non-fiction, but at this point the main electronic acquisitions have been non-fiction based on the ease of updating information in the eBooks and the cost.
As per the lending Kindles, there are two collections: a special collection for AP and special needs, and a fiction collection. The special collection consists of class sets of kindles as the Pre-AP and AP English classes all have reading and research projects they conduct on the Kindles where the students learn to annotate and save using eReaders. These students will seek out and download the books they need, almost using the Kindle as a personal device. The library will also lend these Kindles to students who demonstrated a special need: a reading level that necessitates text-to-speech is the most common reason. The second collection of Kindles is the fiction collection: there are six Kindles organized by genre. The lending time is 3 weeks per Kindle, and each Kindle has a number of books in a certain genre (realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, etc.). Students check out the Kindle, and read as many of the books as they can within the three week period.
In all, I think the Kindles by genre is the best way to approach the problem of a limited eBook collection. Ideally, however, our librarian would like to subscribe to Overdrive (the system used by MontanaLibrary2Go), and lend books to personal devices and library devices.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Follett's Destiny Library Management System
As I began to wade through the sheer volume of library management systems available, I found myself drawn to systems with a K-12 focus. I was impressed by the number of open source systems available, but decided to focus my research on Follett's Destiny software because of the social networking aspect. I had heard a bit about it from a librarian during my library practicum last spring, and I wanted to see what the program actually has to offer schools.
The first thing I discovered in my research was that Destiny is actually a suite of software including a library management system, a textbook manager, a media manager, an asset manager, and a curriculum called Aspen. Though each of these software systems can be integrated into a cohesive school management system, it is not necessary to subscribe to the entire software suite. With this in mind, this review will focus on Destiny Library Manager.
Basically, Follett breaks down library management into three aspects: Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Quest, and Digital Subscriptions. The library manager offers resource management as well a collaborative, social-network type environment for patrons. Destiny Quest is a graphic interface for searching the web. Digital subscriptions offer a range of curriculum support tools.
Destiny Library Manager's major functionalities are circulation, cataloguing, searching, reporting and library management functions (I'm not sure what these are - I couldn't find any specific details). For statistical reports, there is in-system integration with Follett's Titlewise software; for acquisitions and cataloging, the software integrates with Follett's Titlewave. The social-networking aspect of the program allows uses to have profiles and "friends" and share reviews of books. Additionally, Destinly offers a mobile management app for LMS who want to manage circulation and other library tasks on the go. In all, the management system sounds a lot like Alexandria, the system I used during my practicum, but without the social networking or mobile aspects. However, I admit that these are enough to intrigue me.
Destiny Quest claims to have a "student-friendly search interface" which features graphics for student use. I think the best way to show this is to include a few screenshots from the Destiny website. Image 1 is the screen a student sees once they initiate a search. Image 2 shows how students might refine a search. Image 3 gives an example of the social networking aspect of the program. One final note about searching - Destiny does offer an app and smartphone-friendly interface for those students and faculty that want to search on the go!
Finally, Destiny offers what Follett calls "digital subscriptions"which look at managing web content, reading level, curriculum standards, MARC records, and database services. From what I could find, these are certainly useful, but many schools may find them redundant, as they already have programs in place to address these needs. For example, WebPath express offers a way for educators to monitor and regulate web content for students, but many schools have firewalls in place through their IT department. Another example is a reading service that helps students find books at the appropriate reading level, but many schools may use the Scholastic Reading Inventory, or other assessments that monitor student reading level. Finally, database usage is certainly important, but all Montana citizens have access the EBSCOhost through the state library.
According to Automation Marketplace, most of Destiny's new integrations this year have to do with eBooks and FollettShelf - a virtual bookshelf. I did look into Follett's eBooks, and it looks like a library would have to buy book bundles for students to access the Follett eBooks. The starter high school fiction bundle runs nearly $350, while unlimited access to the high school common core 28-book history series is nearly $1800. Though it seems good, I'm not sure how well the system would work with eBooks that are not from Follett. In fact, I know of at least one library with this management system that decided to use Overdrive for eBooks, rather than the Follett's integrated system.
The first thing I discovered in my research was that Destiny is actually a suite of software including a library management system, a textbook manager, a media manager, an asset manager, and a curriculum called Aspen. Though each of these software systems can be integrated into a cohesive school management system, it is not necessary to subscribe to the entire software suite. With this in mind, this review will focus on Destiny Library Manager.
Basically, Follett breaks down library management into three aspects: Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Quest, and Digital Subscriptions. The library manager offers resource management as well a collaborative, social-network type environment for patrons. Destiny Quest is a graphic interface for searching the web. Digital subscriptions offer a range of curriculum support tools.
Destiny Library Manager's major functionalities are circulation, cataloguing, searching, reporting and library management functions (I'm not sure what these are - I couldn't find any specific details). For statistical reports, there is in-system integration with Follett's Titlewise software; for acquisitions and cataloging, the software integrates with Follett's Titlewave. The social-networking aspect of the program allows uses to have profiles and "friends" and share reviews of books. Additionally, Destinly offers a mobile management app for LMS who want to manage circulation and other library tasks on the go. In all, the management system sounds a lot like Alexandria, the system I used during my practicum, but without the social networking or mobile aspects. However, I admit that these are enough to intrigue me.
Destiny Quest claims to have a "student-friendly search interface" which features graphics for student use. I think the best way to show this is to include a few screenshots from the Destiny website. Image 1 is the screen a student sees once they initiate a search. Image 2 shows how students might refine a search. Image 3 gives an example of the social networking aspect of the program. One final note about searching - Destiny does offer an app and smartphone-friendly interface for those students and faculty that want to search on the go!
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| Image 1 |
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| Image 2 |
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| Image 3 |
Finally, Destiny offers what Follett calls "digital subscriptions"which look at managing web content, reading level, curriculum standards, MARC records, and database services. From what I could find, these are certainly useful, but many schools may find them redundant, as they already have programs in place to address these needs. For example, WebPath express offers a way for educators to monitor and regulate web content for students, but many schools have firewalls in place through their IT department. Another example is a reading service that helps students find books at the appropriate reading level, but many schools may use the Scholastic Reading Inventory, or other assessments that monitor student reading level. Finally, database usage is certainly important, but all Montana citizens have access the EBSCOhost through the state library.
According to Automation Marketplace, most of Destiny's new integrations this year have to do with eBooks and FollettShelf - a virtual bookshelf. I did look into Follett's eBooks, and it looks like a library would have to buy book bundles for students to access the Follett eBooks. The starter high school fiction bundle runs nearly $350, while unlimited access to the high school common core 28-book history series is nearly $1800. Though it seems good, I'm not sure how well the system would work with eBooks that are not from Follett. In fact, I know of at least one library with this management system that decided to use Overdrive for eBooks, rather than the Follett's integrated system.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Website Assignment, Part 1
I spent some time reading the articles and perusing various library websites. I found that though the graphics and layout changed, the best websites included many of the same items. I tend to prefer sites that are graphically simple, with straightforward navigation, so these two items are a no brainer for me. Additionally, I plan to include the following items on my library website:
- Photos of the library
- Recommended books and websites
- Staff information with photos and contact information
- Links to online databases, reference materials, and websites
- Reference information including process models and citation information
- Links to the virtual library
- News and events
- Library guides for different classes (see an example here)
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Trying out HTML
I've never actually written HTML code, but I have looked at it (and modified it) when I was embedding pictures, slide shows, and other things into my website and blogs. So here we go:
READ READ READ
READ READ READ
Saturday, July 6, 2013
RSS Feeds and Twitter
Before I started this assignment, I talked with my husband (a true technophile) about RSS feeds. He told me that he doesn't use RSS feeds, rather he subscribes to all his favorite blogs via Twitter. I have been thinking about that as a possibility to use with students as Anne suggested, but in Columbia Falls, I really don't have many that many students who have embraced Twitter. I think RSS feeds that are sent to student emails might be the way to go.
With this in mind, I took to the web to search for RSS feeds. I found a great article by Forbes that details five RSS reader services, all of which seem to have potential:
After looking through these options, I think that I would suggest using Newsblur. It supports web, iPad and iPhone, and Android use.
Finally, I wanted to give everyone an update on my Twitter usage and my absolute astonishment about the power of "microblogging". Today I sent a tweet that I figure was retweeted to 50,000 people! Wow! I was looking for another English teacher to work on a blogging project for our students. I just noted two educational technology gurus (@kevinhoneycutt @willrich45) and they retweeted to all their followers. You might recognize the second handle...it is the account of the Will Richardson, the writer of our text!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Blogging Experiences
Hi all! I have created several blogs over the course of my career as a student and teacher, so setting up this blog was fairly straightforward. I must admit: I really liked perusing the new backgrounds! I think some of the new ones are fun and visually appealing. Several years ago, I used blogging in my English classes, and found it to be an interesting way to engage students and extend their learning environment. They especially liked the surveys that linked thematically to what they were reading. Last year, we adopted a new curriculum in my school, and learning that was all I could manage. Next year, I hope to use blogs again in my classroom. Each quarter, my students read a literature circle novel and have a "book club" meeting once a week; I think a blog would be a great way for the students engage with each other outside of the book club time. The biggest challenge with this is equitable access for students. The reality is that some many students just don't have access to technology in their homes. To me, this is where the library is so important for student learning: it provides access for all.
One of my colleagues, Michael Christensen, uses blogs to great effect in his classroom. He has a number of different tasks, sometimes where students are blogging with each other, and sometimes with students from other schools and around the world. Here is a link to his blog, if you are interested:
http://mchristensenteacherman.blogspot.com/
I'm not sure how I will use blogging as a librarian. Perhaps it would be a good way to keep a running commentary of new books I read. A blog would allow students to post comments, and be another way to engage them in literacy outside of the school day. Another way I could potentially this in the library (or my classroom!) is as a sort of newsletter / current events page.
One of my colleagues, Michael Christensen, uses blogs to great effect in his classroom. He has a number of different tasks, sometimes where students are blogging with each other, and sometimes with students from other schools and around the world. Here is a link to his blog, if you are interested:
http://mchristensenteacherman.blogspot.com/
I'm not sure how I will use blogging as a librarian. Perhaps it would be a good way to keep a running commentary of new books I read. A blog would allow students to post comments, and be another way to engage them in literacy outside of the school day. Another way I could potentially this in the library (or my classroom!) is as a sort of newsletter / current events page.
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