#22, #23 Audiobooks and downloadable media

In my school library we have quite a number of audio books which are especially useful for ESL students and students who have reading difficulties. We plan to keep augmenting our audiobook collection and recognise that audiobooks can also be useful for improving students' listening skills.
We also have  a number of different types of e-book readers which are proving popular with staff and students. The principal of our school is keen to expand on the use of e-books and I can see sometime in the future that our senior students will be using iPads which have electronic versions of their textbooks as well as the novels they are reading. There are obvious benefits - no heavy books to cart around, no bookrooms in schools and loan schemes, reduced need to handle books and process loans, students able to search textbooks and quickly find what they are looking for, portabilty of resources, and so on.
However, I prefer to still read a book rather than use a Kindle. There is something about having a book in your hand and flipping the pages. The downfall of paper and books has been predicted for sometime but they are still flourishing (but for how long?).

#21 YouTube, TeacherTube

I use YouTube regularly and save videos that I might be able to use in my teaching. Whilst there is a lot of rubbish on YouTube there is also lots of good things. Students at my school love using it and I use videos with them that explain a topic better than I could explain it. I also use TeacherTube but much less than YouTube. 

I like this clever little video for Ireland Library Week from YouTube which I shared with students and teachers. Just a reminder that libraries can be fun places but also asked the students to not get any ideas for our library!

#20 Podcasts

I've been listening to podcasts through iTunes for a while now and enjoy searching for different ones. I use the Teachers' Podcast and ABC Radio National often but don't restrict myself to these two. Also listen to audiobooks from time to time.

We are trying to encourage the use of podcasts at my school but most students prefer to use visual materials. There is a need for good listening skills and concentration with podcasts and this does not suit many of today's students!

The media teacher at our school is doing some work with vodcasts and iTunesU. There seems to be lots of resources available and we will be inserviced shortly in this area.

#19 Rollyo

Rollyo is new to me and I like the concept. I experimented with creating my own search tool and became familiar with how to use it without too much trouble.

This is something that students could get into and use in a variety of subjects. Focus could be on using reliable websites and the search process. I may have missed something but think there is a need for including some sort of advanced search.

#18 Wikis

Many teachers are quick to jump on students who go to Wikipedia straightaway to find information but I must admit that I find it a valuable tool in education and use it frequently myself. I like to expore wikis which have been specifically created for people like me with specific interests eg the teacher librarian wiki. You can get lots of information and ideas which you can use. Setting up resource pages in wikispaces for students by teachers is becoming increasingly popular and it has the great advantage that students can access the wiki at home without having to connect to a school network.

#17 Social bookmarking

I think Delicious is a very useful tool. Once you have bookmarked a site using Delicious you can see who else has also bookmarked the site. You can then access their sites and see if they have found any other good information on the same topic. This would be particularly useful in an education setting where teachers can network with one another. One concern is the privacy aspect.

#15 #16 RSS feeds / Subscribing

RSS feeds are a useful way to gather information succinctly that you are interested in. I think that the use of them to subscribe to different blogs has educational uses and allows users to group feeds to a wide range of resources. Good for students when they are doing specific research as they won't have to keep loading lots of websites.