Lights, camera, Action!: Videos and QR Codes in the Library

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, and again, and again. Students LOVE visuals. We live in a world where items are judge by their covers, so they had better be the best covers ever otherwise students are not going to take the plunge and visit your site. This means they are going to miss loads of useful information all because it wasn't pretty. How can you remedy this situation? Videos and QR codes!!! 

VIDEOS:
Let's look some libraries that are already creating and posting videos via the YouTube (video channel site that allows people to upload videos and share with the world).

The Norman High School Library
The videos on this channel are mostly instructional videos. The videos on how to use GoogleDocs, and the Poetry for Students are the most helpful as they walk students through how to use various resources. The Poetry video also explains why relying heavily on Google instead of the resources the library is paying for is not always the best idea. While the videos are informative, they are not all that appealing to students. Dialogue in the videos is flat, and there are no videos created by students. You have actors, actress, directors, and producers in the making...let them help you.



The Unquiet Library
Great name right? This library has instructional videos as well as videos of student creation, mostly class projects. How to Export a Biblographic Data File from LRC to EasyBib is a great video to help students create work cited pages. Properly citing a work can be tricky as students are not always sure what format to use. The videos students would like the best would be Finding and Using Wikimedia Commons Images, Video Tutorial: Finding CC Images Using Compfight, and Finding Licensed Images in Advanced Flickr. Not all images on the web are for all to use, and students do not understand Copyright law. Heck, I don't quite understand the ins and outs of Copyright law.



Pikesville High School Library
This YouTube channel is a mixture of library event recaps and student projects. The video most helpful to students is the video about how to get financial aid. Financial aid is a quagmire of many different forms of aid, and ways to apply for it, so help is definitely needed. Remember to complete the FASFA form! Students will most likely view the Harlem Shake video as they probably have created two or three themselves.


Bonnie Branch Middle School Library
I've saved the best for last! The media specialist at this school has creative videos to remind students to bring back their overdue books, videos for reader's advisory, and some on research. Not to mention he has some very talented students helping him. The video titled Online Career Resources is extremely useful to students. The media specialist goes over how to search for books on a given topic, how limit a search, where the books would be located in the library, and various other helpful searching tips. I cannot pick a video that students will like the best because there are too many great videos. The first one I clicked on was the Frozen parody asking students bring back their overdue library books because I love me some Frozen, but there are many other great videos on this page. Students made their own Old Spice video reminding students to bring back their overdue books, a High School Musical, a Justin Bieber, and a T-Swift. These are some talented students.



If you are having trouble deciding what types of videos to post on your website, think about what your students and teachers need. Do they need research tips? Do they need book recommendations? Do they need to know how to complete a FASFA form? Do they need to know how to use your OPAC? Think about your most popular questions, and try to answer them using videos. Remember that you do not have to create your own videos, but make sure you cite your sources!

QR CODES:
Now lets talk about QR codes. They are everywhere! They look like square bar codes that can be read using a smartphone with a QR code reader. QR codes create easily accessible links to just about anything you want, and it is fairly simple. If you scan the above QR code, you will go to the generator I like to use. If you do not like it, simply do a Google search, or Bing if you prefer, for "qr code generator" to find one you like. If you do not have a QR Code reader, you can download one for free from your app store, or just search the Google.

You can use QR codes in the library many ways. They can be shelf talkers when shelf space is limited. If the book does not already have one, you can put QR codes on the books to link to the author's website or a book trailer. Here's a QR code for a teaser book trailer I created using Animoto (website for creating videos) for Rick Riordan's upcoming book, The Blood of Olympus. I would post this next to his other books so students know the last book is about to be released. Why this book? Riordan's books speak to many students as his characters are flawed, but their flaws do not stop them from doing great things. In fact, their flaws help them. Here is the synopsis for The Blood of Olympus from Goodreads (will talk about this site later):

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blood_of_Olympus

"Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over." 
I'm extremely excited to read this book! 



Most states have their own award list that students can nominate books for. Post reminders around the library with a QR code that takes scanners to the nominating site. Here's one I created for the 2015 Lone Star Award. My school's library was about to get the 2014 books in, so I created shelf talkers and a book display board featuring the new arrivals.

For library orientation, you can use QR codes like a scavenger hunt. The QR codes would contain the clues, and students would have to scan the codes to find out the next place to go. You could also do this for teaching students the Dewey Decimal System.

Go forth and create amazing videos and get creative with QR codes!

Brittany