Videos and QR Codes in the Library

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Videos and QR Codes in the Library

YouTube can be a great way for the library media specialist to reach students, parents, and staff.  Below are some examples of ways these videos can be used.

From BBMS YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/user/bbmsmedia/videos

   

I think out of the videos I viewed from three library YouTube channels, students would probably like this one the best.  It is a creative and humorous reminder to turn in overdue books that ties in to pop culture!

This library orientation from BBMS is probably one that would be most helpful to students, especially for those who enroll late in the year and miss the beginning of year orientations.  Students have the ability to refer back to the video in case they need help or forgot how to find a specific resource.


Some other great examples of ways to use YouTube, shown below, include introduction of courses by teachers, a snapshot of happenings in the library, tutorials on how to use specific web resources, or student feedback on specific computer programs.  There are so many more types of videos that could be created as well!

From Pikesville HS Library YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/pikesvillehslibrary/videos
 


From Creekview High School YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/theunquietlibrary/videos
 

Animoto is a great resource to not only create book trailers to post on the library's YouTube channel, but students can use it to create their own project products as well.  The site has a variety of templates available to suit anyone's needs.


Scan the QR code below to see my book trailer for All American Boys.


Publisher description:

A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature.

In this New York Times bestselling novel, two teens—one black, one white—grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension.

A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?

There were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.

Written in tandem by two award-winning authors, this four-starred reviewed tour de force shares the alternating perspectives of Rashad and Quinn as the complications from that single violent moment, the type taken directly from today’s headlines, unfold and reverberate to highlight an unwelcome truth.


QR codes are a great way to share resources with students, teachers, and parents.  

I have tried a variety of different QR code generators, and most free accounts limit the number of times the codes can be scanned or limit the number of codes you can create.  QRStuff.com is a good free option for educators, as it allows you to create an unlimited number of static codes.  However, with the free account, there is a limit of 50 scans per month for each code.  If you know codes are going to be used more than that, one way to deal with the limit is to create backup codes when you make the original that can be replaced quickly and easily on a sign or website.  QRStuff.com is also great because it includes a web-based scanner that students can use on a laptop if tablets or phones are not available.

Ways to use QR codes in the library:
  • Link the library's website to a QR code to send out in emails or social media.
  • Link the library's social media accounts.
  • Instead of printing informational pamphlets, link the document to a QR code.
  • Include book reviews for books on a display.
  • Use QR codes in a scavenger hunt during library orientation.
  • Link free audiobooks or e-books to QR codes.
  • Link help documents on how to use the online catalog or databases.
  • Share student responses to books (see Twitter post below).
  • Link to a Google Form or Google Doc to get student feedback and suggestions (see image below).