What to do with my Smartboard? And More Technology Tools

 This week we are talking more about tools for the library. Since I work in an elementary library, and as I mentioned in my last blog how frustrating it is to balance technology in elementary with an "analog" experience, I am going to focus on technology use in the elementary library. In class this week we were talking about more tools, and reviewing more. On big tip I was reminded about, was to look to see what resources/databases are available through your state. It reminded me, I need to find out about PebbleGo, since we get access through the state. Googling your state library association should help you find out what is provided through your state and how to get access to it.

Earlier this year, a very large Smartboard was wheeled into my library and I was told it was for the library. There are a lot of meetings held in the library, so they wanted to be sure I had a Smartboard. Ok, so now I have a Smartboard, what do I do with it? I wanted it to be useful for my library, and not just sit there and collect dust. So I went to my local library Facebook group and asked the hive mind what they do with theirs and I got a lot of feedback, which is leading me to write this post.

I just got a Smartboard, what do I do with it? 

• Read Alouds: Ok, this is an obvious one that I already used it for when reading, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell. Being an elementary library, I don't love using read alouds, I feel like my job is to do the reading, but there are times a Smartboard read aloud makes sense. We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga is a great book to use on the Smartboard for a read aloud, since there are Cherokee words in the books, and I would rather them said by a native speaker. Just note, that not all read alouds are equal. I also could have used online read alouds that one year I had laryngitis for 3 weeks and had to get really creative about library time.
• Ambiance videos: These have been trending this year, and I especially like the Snoopy and Bluey ambiance videos. The music is quiet and relaxing and the picture isn't too exciting or move much to be distracting to students. They can be used during checkout and reading time to try to keep the peace. Just Google "ambiance videos for kids" (I always add "for kids" just to be safe) and pick your favorite.
• Electronic Bulletin Boards: One of my favorite ideas was to make an electronic bulletin board. The librarian that posted it showed an example that included a few pictures of new books in the library, she included lunch menus for the week, and school/library news. There are any number of things you can put on your bulletin boards, reminders for your students, library expectations, book talks, and you can even post your read aloud and ambiance links there to keep your library time cohesive. Using Canva and Google Slides to make some easy, cute and fun templates to make it easier to change out information weekly. 
• I'm adding some resource sub-links to the electronic bulletin boards, because I came across a few great resources this week that would really help your bulletin boards.
• Padlet: Last week I mentioned Padlet. Padlet would be a great resource as a pinboard to gather new library books and/or links to things you want to share with kids. I always get random questions, like last week's "DO groundhogs climb trees?" (Spoiler alert: yes, they do!) I would love a place to link an article or video answering the previous week's question. Padlet would be a great alternative to slides or Google Slides if you don't have the Google Suite. You could also share your Padlet in your Google Classroom after the library class so your students could interact with the links.
• Bitmoji: I am late to the Bitmoji game. I admit it. But it's something I have wanted to explore a little more to add some fun to my eventual Google Classroom. So this week was the week! What I was most interested in was using my Bitmoji in a Google Classroom header, or an interactive library where kids can click on a book to hear the story. I found some great free templates by doing a search on Teachers Pay Teachers.
• Explain Everything: This looks like a really cool resource. Explain Everything is part of Promethean, so if you have a Promethean board it might work even better. I have not tried this yet, and have concerns it will be more useful for classroom teachers, but it looks like a really cool bulletin board that you can use as a dashboard for your class with links to things you want students to know, or what they want to know more of (see: my groundhog question).
• Timeline Maker: This is a niche app, but looks really cool for upper elementary. Upper elementary students learn about timelines, so Venngage's Timeline Maker looks like a fun way to quickly make a timeline for any subject or book and share it with your students.
• Songs & Movement Breaks: This year I have more preschool classes than I have had in the past and with it has been coming up with engaging library time for our youngest learners. I have mixed feelings on movement breaks in the library, but 30 minute classes for preschoolers can be difficult. I have wanted to try Library Yoga, so this would be a great, quiet movement break. You can also use your Smartboard to find songs for your preschoolers to sing. I sing songs with them as a transitional activity to get them ready to sit for a story. A teacher just recommended that I get a digital subscription to Scholastic's Let's Find Out and/or My Big World as a resource for library with the younger kids. The classrooms do use these resources, but there is an archive from the past few years that she encouraged me to explore.
• Games: My Smartboard is a TouchView so can be interactive. Some librarians use Wordle, an online Boggle game, or another NY Times game. One suggestion was the Teaching Books site. No only does Teaching Books have book trailers, meet-the-author videos, and you can browse books, they also have a fun book cover puzzle. You can choose options by genre or grade, and the number of puzzle pieces you want to customize it for the age of your students as well. This would be a great group or center activity.