Tuesday, November 12, 2013

QR Code Generators

Just finished printing some new business cards to take with me to the AASL conference, and since I was making them myself I decided to splurge and print on both sides. The front has your standard information, and on the back I put my Twitter handle (@nerdeelibrarian) and a QR code that links to this blog. To make the QR code, I went to http://www.qrstuff.com/ which was super easy to use. All you do is choose your data type, add the content (url, phone number, etc.. what ever it is you are linking to), choose a color, and then download/print/email your finished QR code. It's 4 simple steps! You can even order items with your code on it - coffee mugs, t-shirts,ties, etc... Another free and easy to use generator is http://goqr.me/. I like this one because it was simple easy to add text. I have visions of a library scavenger hunt... kids scanning QR codes and getting clues or questions to unlock the next piece of the puzzle. It would be a blast!
QR Code generator

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Thanks giving... Day 5

As the work week wraps up, I leave you one more wonderful stash of book trailers: Book Trailer Resource - LiveBinder. There are links to tons of great sites including publisher YouTube channels, comic book trailers, and more. There's so much to explore, that I'll just leave you to it!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Thanks giving.... Day 4

Want to see a gold mine of student made trailers? Then check out Book Trailers for Readers: Spotlighting Great Books for Kids and Teens. Not only do they have tons of fantastic trailers, but they also have lots of support if you are looking to help your own students get started making their own. There's even info on how incorporating and/or creating book trailers connects to the Common Core.  

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Thanks giving... Day 3

Are you ready for some fun? Visit SlimeKids (School Library Media Kids) for a  mix of professional and student made book trailers. They are organized grade level and by year. If you hover over a book cover, you'll see the genre, Lexile level, approximate grade levels, and whether or not it is a high interest/low level novel. Each book trailer also includes a text description of the book and a short bit of information about the author. This is a great site to use in conjunction with teaching students how to create their own book trailers. You can have kids watch a few trailers to tease out the basic elements and format. They can talk about what works and what doesn't - really building a feel for what techniques they want to incorporate into their own production. Another great way to use this is to have students watch trailers for books they've already read. After viewing, they can analyze whether or not the trailer was an accurate intro to the book. Quick and easy opportunity to get your students thinking (and then writing or speaking) critically. :)

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Thanks giving... Day 2

Today's featured spot for finding book trailers is the Bound to Stay Bound website. I love BTSB books because kids read HARD, and the bindings on BTSB books hold up. When I discovered that they had book trailers and audio clips on the site (and that you could sort and make a play list from one of your orders!!!!), they won me over even more.  It's free to set up an account with them, and I recommend it even if you don't know if you'll be purchasing books from them in the near future. The book trailers and audio clips will make it worth your while. For directions on how to search for trailers and how to create your own playlists click on the following link:  http://www.btsb.com/libcorner/tmyk/audiovideotrailers.php

Monday, November 4, 2013

Thanks giving...

So, I'm loving that daily thanks giving that goes on during the month of November on Facebook. I like reading about the things my friends and family are grateful each day. And, it hit me this afternoon... I've made a lot of fantastic finds over the years that either made my job as a librarian easier or more fun or gave me incredible insight on how to really make a library program rock. Librarians in the 21st century have a TON to be thankful for! So this month, I am going to strive to blog once a day and focus my posts on things in my library world.

This week I'm going to center my posts on places to find great book trailers. Book trailers are the most fabulous little creations. If you don't know what they are - think like a movie trailer or commercial, but for a book. There are tons of professionally made book trailers out there, and plenty of student or amateur trailers as well. Kids love them! And once they've seen a few.... it's not that hard to get them to take on the challenge of making one themselves. :)

So great place #1 to find book trailers is TeachingBooks.net. My county is blessed enough to have a license to this database so we get to enjoy all the fancy features - it is a goldmine! They do offer a 14 day free trial, though I warn you... once you get started using this resource you won't want to give it up.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The Brain Lair: Summer Throwdown Year 2 - Summer READATHON!

Will we reach our goal???   Not sure.  Thankfully there are still a few hours left in the day though to read!!!
The Brain Lair: Summer Throwdown Year 2 - Summer READATHON!: Designed by Jarret J. Krosoczka Welcome to the return of SUMMER THROWDOWN July 1 - July 31, 2013 Last year we launched Summer T...