Videos and QR Codes in the Library

 

Hi everyone! Today I'm delving into the big wide world of, you guessed it, videos, QR codes, and how they can be used in the school library!

To start off, I did some digging around YouTube to better understand what was already out there. There are some really creative librarians who have been using the platform to engage their students and teachers. Because YouTube has been around for so very long time (18 years to be exact!) teachers, librarians, and other professionals in the education world have utilized its ease, popularity, and novelty in a variety of ways. 

One of my favorite school library videos is this one by BBMSMedia, a school library account run by the librarian at a middle school. If you remember the slew of nonsensical Old Spice commercials a few years back, you'll appreciate this one. 

I'm sure the kids had a great time making it, and it got at least a smile and a reminder from the students who watched it. 

I've also created a chart that showcased the most helpful and most liked videos by three school library channels. 

Most Liked by Students	Most Helpful to Students
This video by @theunquietlibrary that explains why gaming is important and helpful in the library is probably a well-liked video because it may serve as a reminder or to convince their librarian or teacher to continue it.	This video by @theuniquietlibrary is probably helpful to students because it walks them step-by-step through how to find images using Creative Commons and Flickr, something they probably were already using in their assignments. Instead of constantly reminding them, they can just watch the video at their own pace.
@pikesvillehslibrary has a lot of videos of its students, and this one has quite a lot of views. I’m sure it’s fun for them to see this.	A video by @pikesvillehslibrary that is helpful to students is this one that goes into detail about course selection and graduation requirements for students.
@bbmsmedia has lots of funny videos to remind students to return library books. This parody of Rey and Luke Skywalker's meeting has over a thousand views.	This one by @bbmsmedia is the 6th-grade orientation, which is probably very helpful for incoming sixth graders who might’ve not been paying attention to the actual walk-through of their new school library.

Animoto in Schools and School Libraries

Animoto is a web 2.0 tool that I had heard about in the past, but never really took the time to experiment with it until now. It is one of many video editing tools that have gotten popular in recent years. I made a movie trailer for a book I read last year that has become one of my favorites, Amari and the Night Brothers, by B.B. Alston, the first in a trilogy. 

“Amari and the Night Brothers gives an electrifying jolt to middle-grade fantasy, that takes the ingredients we know and love--the strong-willed, relatable protagonist, a worthy quest, and a thrilling magical portal--and makes them fresh and new. From the first pages, Amari is at once self-possessed and an underdog, battling racism, bias, and poverty, all later mirrored in her efforts to find her brother inside the fantastical labyrinth of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Funny, fast-paced, and ultimately moving, B.B. Alston's debut is a rousing success and kicks off a series that will truly stand out from the rest!” — Soman Chainani, author of the bestselling The School for Good and Evil series

QR Codes

Check out my Animoto book trailer for Amari and the Night Brothers here!

QR Codes have such great uses for the library! Some uses could be...

• Printing them on bookmarks to take readers to the OPAC, library website, or library social media
• Using them as a scavenger hunt at the beginning of the year for students to get to know the library better
• Providing teachers with a variety of QR Codes for helpful information relevant to them
• Providing teachers with QR Codes to schedule time in the library 
• Putting the codes near nonfiction topics to take students to databases for more information.

These are just some uses that I found doing a search. There are so many more!

Thanks to the following websites for the suggestions and ideas:

Eduscapes

10 Ways to Use QR Codes in School Libraries