 |
Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash
|
One of the reasons I got into teaching is because I love
teaching! The challenge of presenting information in a
way that is accessible to learners is fun for me. Even my children and students love sharing what they know in fun and interesting ways. My 11 year old is making a PowerPoint presentation to show all the countries’ flags. My 8 year old is sharing all he knows about sharks using Google Slides. Presenting information and the tools that allow us to do that are used by people of all ages and backgrounds.
Even within libraries there are so many possible applications in the area of presentation tools. Presentation tools in the library have the ability to:
·Bridge the technology gap for those less familiar with these technologies.
· Replace the myriad of fliers everywhere.
· Train librarians.
· Teach patrons.
· Advocate for library and community needs.
With new technology improving practically daily, we have the ability to go far beyond the PowerPoint presentations we are so familiar with. Bell (2004) says "Instead of giving the audience bullet points to explain why your library decided to implement a new web based technology solution, provide a live demonstration that speaks for itself and excites your audience" (pg. 56). There is so much good stuff out there, so the question becomes how do we keep up with the new and evaluate which is really worth our time?
Even within libraries there are so many possible applications in the area of presentation tools. Presentation tools in the library have the ability to:
·
· Replace the myriad of fliers everywhere.
· Train librarians.
· Teach patrons.
· Advocate for library and community needs.
With new technology improving practically daily, we have the ability to go far beyond the PowerPoint presentations we are so familiar with. Bell (2004) says "Instead of giving the audience bullet points to explain why your library decided to implement a new web based technology solution, provide a live demonstration that speaks for itself and excites your audience" (pg. 56). There is so much good stuff out there, so the question becomes how do we keep up with the new and evaluate which is really worth our time?
Luckily Carli Spina and Eric Phetteplace (2014)
have given us a good overview of just what to do in their
article, Finding, Evaluating, and Sharing New Technology. They mention how one
of our duties as a librarian is to be the one to help create a collection of
good technology for patrons. I love how
they compare this to curating a collection of physical books. They break this down into three important steps, finding new
tools, evaluating them and sharing them.
According to Spina and Phetteplace, one way to find new tools is to follow librarians on social media or library/technology blogs. Here are a few interesting blogs to start with:
 |
| Blog by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images |
Tech Soup for Libraries
Jenny Arch: Lookout, honey, 'cause I'm using technology.
Here are some compilations of library technology tools used by libraries:
The University of Toledo's LibGuide for Presentation Tools
Auroria Library: Presentations: PowerPoint and Beyond: Additional Presentation Tools
Harvard Law School Library's Presentation Tools
Leave a comment telling me your favorite or new interesting presentation tool below!
A new presentation tool I was recently introduced to is Prezi. I found out about it when a teacher asked us to do a presentation and recommended this as a possible presentation tool. I love it because can use a nonlinear format for presenting information. Just be careful not to get motion sick while watching some of them...
Here's an example of one way you could use it in a library setting:
Resources
Bell, S. (2004). End PowerPoint Dependency Now! American Libraries, 35(6), 56-59. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25649204
Spina, C., & Phetteplace, E. (2014). Finding, Evaluating, and Sharing New Technology. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 53(3), 217-220. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/refuseserq.53.3.217
Great post! I was a little lost on this topic. I couldn't find articles relating directly to Presentation Tools in Libraries but I see that you found plenty so I guess I'll be fine. I'm a creature of habit so I usually stick to Google Slides which I'm fairly comfortable with, but I suppose it's time to branch out a little. I use Microsoft Movie Maker when I need to do a Slideshow video, I find it the most user friendly and intuitive.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried Microsoft Movie Maker. I'll have to look into that one!
Delete