Thursday, May 31, 2012

Using the Library on your iPad

The faculty all received our iPads to start learning how to use them before the next school year. So far, I have sent out two emails about using the library on the iPad. I am thinking this will be a regular series from the librarians to the faculty and staff, and soon to the students. Next year I am hoping to do some in-person faculty training too, but for now, emails will have to suffice. We are heading into finals next week and everyone is very busy.
My first email highlighted using Gale's Access my Library App and the Britannica Online App which I just subscribed to for my school. Today's email is all about using ARTstor's mobile site and how I can help the teachers put together a collection for their students to use on their mobile devices. I wanted them to play with these databases over the summer to see how they can incorporate them in the fall.
I want the library's resources (including me, by the way!) to become more important, not less, when we go 1:1.

Monday, May 21, 2012

1:1 iPads at the Secondary School Library

Archipelago is undergoing a slight change of focus. The 9th - 12th grades at my school are going 1:1 with iPads in the fall, and today all the teachers got our new iPads, along with iTunes gift cards. I hope to reflect in Archipelago about how using iPads changes the library and our curriculum. Will it change what I teach, what I buy for the collection, and the overall culture in the library? Probably, but what exactly will be different? What will be challenging? What will be better?


My first concerns are:
What is the best Blogger app?
How to serve the middle school equally when it isn't a part of the program?
Will NoodleTools have an iPad app, and if not, will it matter?
Which ebook vendors should I start using?
What can I do this summer to prepare the library resources and curriculum for this new and exciting educational adventure?
Will I ever be able to make a LibGuide on the iPad?

I will blog all about it on the iPad, of course! Right now I am just blogging using Safari on the iPad. Seems basic, but O.K.

Evernote, iPads, and Veterans

Read about an exciting day in our library - a day of creating content and making connections.