Script/notes for speaker that go with PowerPoint presentation.

1. Final Presentation: LIBS 602
Slide Script
Slide Script Time
1 Welcome to 2014 VAASL Annual conference. This is my very first time presenting at a conference or even at professional
development. This session is The Adventures of the Library Lady. I call it that because it seems to me a media specialist (or Library
Lady or Man) has a really busy, adventurous day. I see the media specialist as a superhero, able to help students, parents, and
teachers with ease. Although you never see her in her costume, she rescues people from difficult situations each and every day.
1 min
2 So, my name is Melissa Williams. Currently I am a first grade teacher at W. H Taylor Elementary in Norfolk, Va. You can see me in my
classroom with my class getting ready for last year’s winter program. I am married to a retired Marine, and we have 3 children ages 6,
8, and 14.
I am new to the library game. I am completing my first class in the “Grow Your Own Media Specialist” program offered by my district.
One of the reasons I wanted to switch into being a media specialist was because I wanted to be able to teach students AND teachers.
There are a lot of great web tools out there that just beg to be used in the classroom, but it is sooo difficult to discover, learn and
incorporate these tools when you are a classroom teacher. So the Library Lady was born. Not only does she help students find great
books, she goes out of her way to help teachers find and use technology to enhance learning. Today we’ll explorephoto editing tools,
presentation tools, and audio tools. Let’s take a look at the Library Lady during her day.
1:30
3 That is the Library Lady; I hope you enjoyed meeting her. So these teachers have technology troubles. Not “My Computer Doesn’t
Work” troubles, but problems findingthe way to integrate the technology into their lessons while keeping up with all their other
responsibilities. Today we’ll explore some tools teachers can use to incorporate technology. I am learning that my role as the media
specialist is key. I need to be the facilitator, the one who is proactive and makes suggestions in response to teachers expressing their
problems and frustrations. Depending on the teacher and the students, that may mean doing as much as co-teaching for part of a unit,
or as little as being available to help students as they work on their projects independently. My goal as a future media specialist is to
remain flexible duringthe course of my days.
2 min
4 Just like we saw in the comic strip, this is the reaction of many teachers when asked to incorporate technology in the classroom. You
know, you’ve heard all this before. You might even have said some of these things before. I know I have had some of those same
thoughts cross my mind. Today in my presentation, you will learn several tools to help you enhance the curriculum you teach. Just
remember this…
1 min
5 That’s a powerful statement. All too often, we start with the “Technology Tool of the Week” and try to create lessons and projects
around it. That’s really hard, and time-consuming. Instead, start small. Think of something you already do, and use technology to
take it a step further. It may be the step that takes the student from mere familiarity with what is being taught to complete mastery of
a concept.
1 min
6 This is a very common situation among teachers. Many times the integration of technology consists of showinga video clip, writing on
the smartboard, or using a digital lesson. I have included the performance standards to remind us that we all are called to try some
new things, even if it means going outside our comfort zone. In the end, the students will learn more effectively, and perhaps they too
2 min

2. will be inspired to try new things.
7 Here is the website Big Huge Labs. I am going off topic here for a moment. Almost all these tools, even if they are free, will require
you to sign up using your email address. Some of them offer options to sign in through Facebook, or something similar. I would not use
your personal email address for these sites. You may not want to use your school email address either, because once you join these
sites, you get a lot of email from them. So to protect your privacy and your sanity, you may want to use a new email address.
Okay, so this is Big Huge Labs. This is a digital image (photo) editing site. If you have a digital photograph of it, you can turn it into a
lot of different products like, badges, billboards, maps, or movie posters. Take a look at some of the products made using Big Huge
Labs.
1 min
8 Now remember, I teach first grade, so most of the products and uses I am showing will be geared toward elementary age students. But
many of them can be modified for use with older students. Here we have trading cards and magazine covers. You can use trading cards
at the beginningof the year to jazz up the “Getting to Know You” activities. Students could create trading cards for any historical
figure in the curriculum. They could also be printed as a class review deck. Students can create magazine covers to summarizewhat
they have learned, such as the causes of the Revolutionary War above. The magazine cover could also be used as a book report or by
the teacher as an introduction to a particular unit of study. At the end of the unit students could write the articles to match the
headlines of the magazine cover.
1 min
9 Use the poster making tool to help students illustrate vocabulary they have learned in any subject area. They can search for
photographs that go with the vocabulary or choose from a set of photographs provided by the teacher. The teacher could print the
posters or include a class set of the posters on the class website as part of a study guide.
1 min
10 If using technology is somethingthat seems scary or too time consuming, Big Huge Labs is a great web tool to try first. It’s very
simple to use and it is free. The only downside is that this site does not allow you to use a photo croppingtool. It offers left, center,
and right cropping options, and that is all. So the hardest part will be finding the exact image or photo you want to use. Once you have
the image, the site will prompt you for the other elements used in the design-the text, font, and color scheme. If you don’t like what
you have created, you can edit it without starting from scratch. As with many web tools, there are more options available with a paid
service, but the free version should work well in the classroom. Any questions? .... Time to see what the Library Lady is up to now.
3 min
11 As I have learned this summer, teachers are quite familiar with Death by PowerPoint, whether it comes from students, lead teachers,
or even administrators. Often we are the ones committing the crime! Hopefully so far this presentation will not cause any one to die of
boredom. The next few tools we discuss will be those aimed for use in making presentations.
1 min
12 Need a better way to present information? Try using an infographic. What is an infographic? An easy definition is a visual
representation of data, information, or knowledge. An infographic is a great tool to use anytime you want to display and convey the
meaning of the data that has been collected. There are several different web tools you can use to create an infographic, but we’ll
discuss Piktochart. As you can see, Piktochart can help you create reports, banners, and make presentations in addition to
infographics.
1 min
13 Here is an example of a banner that a teacher might create and use to help focus instruction. This would capture the attention of
middle schoolers much more easily. This could easily be modified for younger students as they learn to write a 5-sentence paragraph
instead of an essay. Another factor that contributes to the success of infographic is that you really have to hit the highlights. There
are not a lot of extraneous details. When you create one you have to be really selective about the information and data you want to
share.
1 min

3. 14 Well we are at least a dozen slides into this presentation, so I have spiced things up with a bit of eye candy and maybe some drama.
Here’s a great Edward vs Jacob infographic. I have used the compare and contrast template, which would be useful in science and
history. There is also a report created using Piktochart, which could be a persuasive writing product. I know what you are thinking. “I
don’t need to worry about those. Those are all examples used in LanguageArts, and I teach math or science.” Piktochart is
FANTASTIC for displaying all the data from science and math classes because of the excellent visual images.
1 min
15 Infographics really are quite visually appealingways to present information, no matter whether it is the teacher or the student
presenting. It is a great way to package all the pertinent information on a particular topic in an eye-catching, thought-provoking way.
Piktochart has some great templates and images and icons that can be used for free, but once again, the paid service unlocks many
more options to use. Piktochart is not as easy to get started with as Big Huge Labs, especially if you are creating your very first
infographic. Generally first-timers like to start with a template. There are templates to begin with, but it is a bit difficult to learn how
to change the elements from the template. Thankfully there are video tutorials and articles in the FAQ section of the site to help you
along. Piktochart would best be used with upper elementary students and older. Any questions? … Let’s look in on the Library Lady
once again.
3 min
16 So, do you need a way to keep your students engaged when you are teaching policies and procedures? In this digital media era,
Powtoon might be the way to go.
1 min
17 PowToon is another tool that will help you and your students create more interesting presentations. With PowToon, you can create
animated videos. We’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, so animated pictures should be worth even more. Let’s
take a look at some PowToon videos.
1 min
18 That was an example of a PowToon video. While this video was created to help my own children clean their rooms, it could be modified
to help students learn classroom procedures and expectations just like we saw in the comic strip. Videos could also be made by
students to show the sequence of an event. Additionally, students could create how-to videos to demonstrate knowledge of processes
like food chains.
2 min
19 Next we’ll see another PowToon video. Since we are discussing presentation tools, I wanted to include a sample that could be used
with lower grades. (play) In this case, I would make 2 separate videos; one for goods and one for services. Each student would be
assigned 1 letter for each. So they would be responsible for only 1 slide out of each video. This is a project I will actually use with my
first grade class this fall.
2 min
20 PowToon is one of many video tools available for presentations. I have highlighted PowToon because it seems more appealing to early
elementary students. Also, it seems a bit easier to use with the animation. With other sites you have to choose animation schemes for
every object (image or text) on the slide, but PowToon has much easier tools to use. It is relatively easy to insert pictures, or choose
icons, backgrounds, and even sound. If you are trying your first PowToon video, you can use some of the templates they have. I chose
to create from a blank template because it is sometimes more difficult to get rid of the things you don’t want from the template than it
is to just start from scratch. Another downsideof PowToon is that you cannot download your video unless you have the paid version.
If you are using the free service, you have to upload your video to YouTube. From there you can email or embed your video, or share
it to various websites. So once again, using the paid service not only gives you more options for your presentation, but it also allows
for easier sharing, and often allows you the option to go ad-free.
3 min
21 Now we are moving on to a tool I discovered by accident. Up until this point, all the tools we have discussed have been ones I was 2 min

4. assigned to explore as a part of my class. This one I found the same way, but when I first encountered Pixton, my assignment was to
explore educational blogs. While checking out the Free Technology 4 Teachers blog, I found Pixton. Pixton is a comic creating
website; the very site I used to create the Adventures of the Library Lady. You’ve seen plenty of examples of Pixton comics so far, so
let me give you the pros and cons of Pixton.
You need to sign up with an email address, but you can use the free version on your own. There is an educational option as well. You
get a 30-day free trial of this version. After the 30 days, if you continue you have to pay about $1/student for 2 months. The fee
schedule is a bit confusing, but you might get hooked during the free trial. This is one site that is really fun and easy to use. There
are almost endless possibilities for your comic: choose backgrounds, characters, facial expressions, body positions, and more.
Once you’ve created a comic, you can share it, download it, email it, or embed it. This presentation tool could be used in English as
means for students to retell what they have read. Or you could use it as the illustration for a writing product. The possibilities here
are almost endless.
22 I’d like to finish by sharing a couple of audio tools. One of the tools, Vocaroo, has also been used in this presentation. I used Vocaroo
to record the audio for the Library Lady comics. Now I am going to pretend that I am in court, because “I do solemnly swear that this
is the easiest web tool you have learned about today!” You don’t need an account or anything else except a computer with
microphone capabilities. Once you go to the website, just like it says, you just click to record. There are no limits on the length of the
message, but the sound quality will vary according to the type of microphone you use. I just used the microphone on my laptop, but
you could improve the quality of your recording by using an external microphone.
1 min
23 Don’t like your recording? Do it again just as easily. Once you have a recording you like, you have lots of options for usingit. You
can use email or share it to a blog. You can download it in various formats, includinga QR code. You can also embed your audio.
30 sec
24 The last tool we will talk about in depth today is another audio tool called Voki. With Voki, you can do all the things you can do using
Vocaroo, except that your recording is limited to 60 seconds. So why would you choose to use Voki? It’s got something extra to
enhance your audio recording…an animated speaking avatar. While the recording tool works pretty much the same as in Vocaroo,
customizing your avatar is fun. I spent much more time creatingthe avatar than I did in total recording time.
30 sec
25 There are several ways to use these audio tools to enhance student achievement. Elementary aged students can record themselves
reading aloud to help them develop fluency while reading. Older students could use audio to enumerate the steps they followed when
solving a multi-step math problem, includingthe order of the operations used. Older students taking foreign languages could record
themselves in conversation to help their pronunciation and oral fluency.
1 min
26 The audio tools Vocaroo and Voki are some of the easiest to use. If you think, “this all seems like too much”, give one of them a try.
Any questions?
3 min
27 In conclusion, remember what the Library Lady tells us. Don’t concentrate on making things up to go with these tools. Try at least 1
new thing that you can incorporate into something you’re already doing. Please feel free to contact me by email if you have any
questions about getting started with any of these tools.
30 sec
28 I’ll let my Voki say goodbye. 1 min
Total Estimated Time: 40 minutes