A Library Science Blog

Universal Design is a teaching framework that helps educators improve learning for all students. Everyone learns differently, this is why it's important to provide differentiation in your lessons. One size does not fit all in education. Students need the opportunity to learn in their own authentic way. This may mean more frontloading on the teacher's part, but it also ensures a successful learning environment. Here's a small graphic that outlines the basic framework of the UDL design: Source:  https://www.ahead.ie/udl-framework For the past three years, my district has trained teachers to implement the fundamental five in the classroom. This includes: Framing the lesson Frequent, small-group, purposeful talk Work in the power zone Recognize and reinforce Critical writing This is a formula for quality instruction that naturally incorporates UDL. The author and researcher of this formula are Sean Cain and Mike Laird:  Laird, M., & Cain, S. (2011b). The Fundamental 5: The ...

Podcasts are becoming more and more popular in today's society. They are used for many different reasons: entertainment, storytelling, true crime, etc. The most popular podcasts are the ones that also offer videos with the podcast. Many podcasters post clips from the podcast on TikTok or Instagram to garnish attention. They can gain many more subscribers by posting high-engaging clips from their episodes. As I explored different podcast platforms, I came across three that were very user-friendly.  The first one is Buzzsprout.  Buzzsrpout is a free platform. You can post up to 2 hours of content once a month. If you'd like to post more material, you can pay a subscription fee. The platform also offers analytics on your episodes. You can see how much engagement you have gotten from listeners and what episodes are most popular. The next platform I signed up for was Spotify's podcasters.  This platform wasn't as easy to log into. You have to manually sign up and enter perso...

Creating cartoons and comic strips in the classroom is an excellent way for students to process information. It's also a good way for the teacher to assess the student's knowledge of the lesson objective. Below are three comic strips that I created using Fotojet, Pixton, and Make Beliefs Comix.  Fotojet  was the most accessible platform to use. They have templates created for you, so you only need to fill in the template. You can easily change the image or the speech bubbles. You could have students create a quick comic on the main idea of the lesson, for example, the comic below was created with the main idea of AI. The next application that I used was Pixton.  This app is harder to navigate and it takes more work to create a comic or a cartoon, however, there are a lot of design options. This is a great app for students who are into graphic design and are more comfortable creating comics on their own without the help of a template. The only problem with this app is that...

Videos have become a large space in education. Teachers, administrators, and students all use some type of video platform. Teachers use youtube and other video platforms to create and share content. Many educators allow their students to create videos to assess their knowledge on a topic. Videos also help cultivate the culture of a school campus. Students and teachers can create videos to weekly showcase announcements, special events, and other various information for the school. The following are youtube channels that show the benefits of creating and sharing videos: Here are two videos from  BBMSMEDIA   that I think are super cute. Both of these videos are probably videos the students would want to watch most. The first one incorporates pop culture to remind students to turn in overdue books.  The second video uses Disney's Beauty and the Beast for an overdue library book parody. Who doesn't love disney?!   THEUNQUIETLIBRARY    uses their platform to prom...