Improving Access to Databases via Catalogue Home Page

By placing databases on the catalogue home page, access to these digital resources is facilitated. (Our catalogue can only be accessed behind a password protected school intranet). Now, most of our databases require no login or password once logged into the school intranet and the user experience is the same at home and at school.

However, if pass-through was not available from database vendors, then logins and passwords are provided on the library catalogue home page. (These logins and passwords have been blanked out below in the images)

This removes one of the biggest barriers mentioned by staff and students – needing to locate passwords and logins, and having to go to multiple locations to access databases. Feedback has been that this is a great improvement.

Another improvement is the grouping of databases – Explora allows 4 databases to be searched at once.

In some cases, there is direct pass-through, such as for ebooks and audiobooks, when searching within the catalogue, but login and password details may be needed if wanting to search within particular ebook collections separately – so logins and password details are provided on the home page).

Another advantage is that this use of the library home page reinforces the library catalogue as the central place for research.

These images below show the catalogue home page, as users scroll down.

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Better access to digital resources

Digital resources are now easier to access via our Oliver catalogue Home Page. This solution utilizes Single Sign On for most databases, so there is no requirement to use a login and password to search the databases. Clicking on the database box, takes staff and students directly to the database search page. Where pass through was not available for some databases, logins and passwords have been provided on the home page. The Library catalogue is only accessible after signing into the school intranet.

(Login and passwords have been covered with blue boxes)(This is editor view, so looks cleaner for staff and students with no editing tools)

 

360 videos with phone & Google Street View

Instructions with pics https://www.readinbrief.com/take-360-photos-on-iphone-and-android-mobile/

1. Open the Google Street View app .
2. Tap Create +.
3. In the bottom right, tap Camera .
4. Take a series of photos, with the circle matching the yellow dot each time. Elbows in. Look up and down to find dot.
5. At the bottom, tap Done when the tick at the bottom goes green. Make sure to look up and down to get enough images.
6. Your 360 photo is stitched together and saved in the “Private” tab on your phone. The photo is also saved on your phone (unless you turned this setting off).

• Save to Album to your phone or RoundMe app or kuula.co or google.com/maps
• Can make public or private
• Can blur faces within app but only in the Private tab

Publish 360 https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7013640?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&hl=en

• More instructions https://filmora.wondershare.com/facebook/how-to-post-360-photo-to-facebook.html
• Bit older instructions https://www.slideshare.net/proyectoste/how-to-create-360-images-with-google-street-view-app
Reflector app is good for teaching: shows what is on phone or PC – not free

 

Evidence based practise: Mix

Tools like Office Mix https://mix.office.com/en-us/Home are useful for teachers and teacher-librarians as they allow student self-paced learning, quizzes can be included, and it provides analytics about student use. Screenshots are shown below of slides in an example of Mix used for information skills revision. The boxes with a blue box and checkmarks contain quiz questions in the actual Mix. Office Mix enhances Powerpoint, so also has the advantage of being a familiar tool for many people.

Analytics and statistics http://www.mixforteachers.com/see-who-watched-your-mix.html

Quizzes http://blogs.ntu.ac.uk/digital_practice/2016/01/27/office-tips-tricks-interactive-quizzes-in-powerpoint-with-office-mix/

More at: http://www.mixforteachers.com/ and http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2015/08/a-handy-tool-for-turning-powerpoint.html

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Reading, listening, typing

Sites about news, typing and reading levels, that might be of interest.

With rewordify, students can simplify text http://rewordify.com Kids can paste their text snippets of choice in and read a book that way, simplifying it for themselves. An example is below where I copied in a bit from Romeo and Juliette (though http://nfs.sparknotes.com/ – No Fear Shakespeare – is best for making Shakespeare easy). Also the last site in the dot points has reading skills practice that might be of interest.

 To be, or not to be: that is the question: 
Whether it is higher-quality in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of terrible and shocking fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposite (or fighting against) end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-pain and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is going to eventually get, it is a perfection/completion
Completely to be wished. To die, to sleep ;

Sites with different reading levels

• Breaking News English http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com 
• News in Levels http://www.newsinlevels.com/ 
• Newsela some content free, but some not https://newsela.com 
• Smithsonian have Tween Tribune where news type articles are in different levels http://tweentribune.com
• British Council site http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading-skills-practice

 Also, came across this site with free audiobooks http://esl-bits.net/ESL.English.Learning including Holes http://esl-bits.net/ESL.English.Learning.Audiobooks/Hoyos/01/default.html You can listen at fast or slow speed and it has the text as well.

Typing

Also, if wanting typing practice, there are links at my other blog for student self-paced typing. I have used typing.com with Year 7 and 8s and it is great and it was free when I used it. Teachers can set up a class and see each student’s  progress and there are tests and games along the way https://ahsmakerspace.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/typing-programs/

 

 

 

 

SHYWG 2016 Immersive Writing Workshop

The posts from previous years can be found on this blog. Some resources from previous years, including videos, can be found at: https://readingpower.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/edutech-fantasy-quest-presentation/

2016 Event Video https://animoto.com/play/8FqHtK6fC0WYfj14eq5KDg

2016 Heroes https://animoto.com/play/4OLt0mV4PQzWO9jIrvrf6g

 

 

 

Picking Slip in Oliver

Example of a picking slip that can be generated for each student for textbook hire from Softlink Oliver via a customized report.