It’s time to get digital once again, as Teen Tech Week rolls around for 2011! This year’s theme is Mix and Match, encouraging teens to create content and share it with others across a broad network of users. It’s always an exciting time to encourage out of the box technology programming for teens, and a great opportunity to begin tech programs for teens if your library doesn’t have such programs set up.
First, let’s start with the basic Teen Tech Time. This is your opportunity to open up your library to computer based programs, with simple, self guided computer sessions. You reserve a bank of computers or laptops for a certain hour, and encourage teens to sign up with you. It’s important to note that these sessions are provided in addition to the teen’s regular internet appointment, rather than superseding it. Teens are able to use the additional time to hang out and mess around with the technology they are interested in, rather than having to choose to divide their single daily appointment between fun use and homework use. If you have have laptops and a programming space, Teen Tech Time can help you create a miniature teen space, one where they can be louder and more social around the computers than they could be on the main floor.
Once you’ve got Teen Tech Time set up and running smoothly, you can begin working with the teens to uncover websites and applications that suit their interest and encourage them to delve deeper into the technology available to them. In this case, let’s focus on video creation and editing.
The content is easy enough to create – cell phone cameras, Flip cameras, digital cameras – it should be easy to find one or two recording devices. So what sort of content can you create?
While booktalks have long been an effective marketing tool, it’s time to look to something new – book trailers! Blending together a fabulously crafted booktalk with images and a enticing soundtrack make the experience all the more awesome. A quick search on Google reveals contests of all types, and many many samples. Take a moment to browse through the results.
Or, create a tutorial for your library! Work with the teens to create a script, and record tips about using the library. Have them talk about the collection, such as where the graphic novels are located and how the manga series are arranged. Do a walking tour of the library, from circulation to reference to programming spaces. Have them select music and let them provide the insider scoop of the library.
Once the content is created, there’s probably going to be some editing work to be done.
If they’ve been an avid YouTube watcher, encourage them to take the next steps and start to create and edit their own videos with YouTube’s editing tools. Simply upload the video files and then go visit YouTube’s video editor,
www.youtube.com/editor , where clips can be mashed together with various transitions, soundtracks added, and the results published. The tools are very basic, but it’s a great start.
For slightly more editing control, check out
www.stroome.com . The Kaltura editor enambles users to cut sections of the video, insert transitions and soundtracks, select thumbnails, and complete projects. However, Stroome also has an amazing built in remix feature, where users can select clips from other projects that are online and add it into
When the kids come in with files from Office 2010 and Mac Office we always have issues. Our machines have Windows XP and Office 2003. How do we cope?
1. Google Docs is your friend. In almost any situation, Google Docs will take a file and open it so that a student can edit, print, save in another format.
2. Teaching students how to save in another format is NOT a waste of time but a time saver when the going gets tough. We prefer Rich Text because that format is available in all the platforms with all the software.
3. Emailing files can help provide evidence that the student had the work, they just can’t open it today. If we get the chance we try to ask them to copy and paste the document into their message, rather than attach it. Then we can copy and paste into our available word processing program or print directly from email.
4. Open Office is important for those students who have a computer but no money for software. Become familiar with it so you can help.
Coping with out of date technology is the fine art of making it work for your patrons. They can struggle to make technology work too, they just don’t obsess about it. They find a way around it. Take their attitude and make it your own.
This year for Teen Tech Week, we tried Microsoft’s new video game design program, Kodu. It’s a cheap ($5 download), easy to use program, that can get as complex as you want to. It’s a visual game design program meaning less text based than others. What a great fit for this year’s theme of Learn Create Share. Except everything didn’t go quite as planned.
We have several Xboxes in our system that circulate from a central location to branches that are having programs. We created step-by-step instructional videos on how to set up the equipment, how to use the controller to access the installed game, and how to jump in with some basic design techniques. We even arranged to have time for an Xbox to circulate for a trial period before Teen Tech Week so that libraries could do a run through of the program and identify anything that seemed amiss. Sounds good so far-right?
What we didn’t plan on is the account we installed it under, expiring by the time TTW rolled around (probably about a month after installing it). There was no indication of this and even some of the hard core Xbox gamers involved in setting up the program, weren’t aware this was going to happen.
What we learned. 1. It’s okay to take a risk and try new programs especially during Teen Tech Week. Even though it didn’t work perfectly, the few times Kodu was able to be accessed, teens really liked it and were willing to come back and try it again when we get it figured out. 2. It’s good to have a back up plan. Fortunately, several of the branches involved had other games the teens could play. Sure it wasn’t as ’special’ as what they could have been doing, but the message of ’sorry it doesn’t work, we can’t do anything’ wasn’t the rule for the programs. The game design program was also one among others planned throughout the week which fortunately turned out to be more successful.
Teen Tech Week Registration Ends 2/16: Getting ready for Teen Tech Week? Be sure to register by Tuesday! Registration gets you access to this year’s theme logo. This year’s theme, Learn Create Share @ your library, fosters teen creativity and positions the library as a place to explore technology. Know what you’re doing? Tell us on our wiki. Teen Tech Week is March 3-7.
Last Day to Order TTW Products: Tuesday is also the last day to order Teen Tech Week products and have them arrive in time for your celebration, using standard shipping. Check out posters, graphics and more at the ALA Store. Purchases from ALA Graphics support the work of YALSA and ALA.
After the jump, find out how to register for YALSA’s preconferences at ALA Annual Conference in D.C., information on applying to be a Spectrum Scholar, deadlines to volunteer for a YALSA Committee, and more!
Join YALSA for Annual Preconferences: YALSA will offer two preconferences before the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. (Early bird registration ends March 5, so sign up soon and save!) If you have already registered and would like to add a preconference or special event, you have two options: (1) By phone: Call ALA Registration at 1-800-974-3084 and ask to add a workshop to your existing registration.; (2) Online: Add an event to your existing registration by clicking on this link. Use your log in and password to access your existing Annual registration and add events in the “Your Events” section (screen 6). Then simply check out and pay for the events you’ve added.
YALSA has plenty planned, in addition to preconferences. See everything we have planned at the YALSA Annual Conference Wiki.
It’s Perfectly Normal: Dealing with “Sensitive” Topics in Teen Services is a full-day workshop on Friday, June 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Have you ever found yourself worrying about how best to address critical but sensitive adolescent topics through your teen services and collection? Topics like sexuality, abuse, privacy and others can be difficult for librarians to address with teens &/or their parents and caregivers. Hear from experts in the field of adolescent development, along with authors and librarians, about how they have managed to successfully maneuver this difficult landscape. Explore strategies for collection development, services and programming relating to these sensitive issues. Tickets cost $195 for YALSA members; ALA Members: $235; Non-Members: $285; Student/Retired Members: $195.
Promoting Teen Reading with Web 2.0 Tools (Ticketed Event-$99) Friday, June 24, 12:30-4:30. The participatory web has transformed adolescent literacy, as young
Teen Tech Week is March 7-13. Have you made your plans? If not, check out the 2010 Teen Tech Week wiki for programming and promotional resources. The TTW committee has been working hard to provide librarians with a variety of ideas and links to resources to implement those ideas. A few of the programming ideas from the wiki are TTW Bingo (I’m going to try this one), Book Soundtracks, and some quick Online Interaction ideas.
If you have already planned your activities for the week, the TTW committee would love for you to share those plans. Librarians love to share, right? Go to the wiki and click Teen Tech Week 2010 @ your library, then click the link to log in/create account. Once you’re logged in, you simply click the edit tab and add your plans. It’s fast and easy!
As a school librarian, I know how busy this time of year can be for schools, but celebrating Teen Tech Week is doable. You don’t have do anything big. Simply making a display of technology-related books is a good place to start. Also, if the timing is bad for you, like it is for me, you could reschedule the event for a better week. Some of the promotional materials available from ALA Graphics are undated for this purpose.
You can still register your library for Teen Tech Week! One of the perks of registration is access to this year’s logo which, you can then use on your library’s promotional materials.
Kim Herrington, TTW Committee Member
Promote the Morris Award shortlist @ your library® The Morris shortlist is out! You can promote it to teens in your library with a downloadable bookmark (PDF) that allows you to put each book’s location at your library and customize the back with your logo and contact information. Congrats to this year’s five nominees!
Nonfiction Award shortlist next week Watch YALSA’s website and this blog to see the shortlist for YALSA’s 2010 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award! The shortlist will be announced next week. This new award honors the best fiction written for young adults in a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year. Learn more at www.ala.org/yalsa/nonfiction.
Register for YALSA’s Midwinter events Even though today is the last day to receive the advanced registration discount, prices won’t change for either of YALSA’s pre-Midwinter ticketed events: Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition and Games, Gadgets and Gurus. You don’t need to register for Midwinter to attend either one. Details and how to register for them after the jump (you can read about everything we have planned for Midwinter Meeting, including a free program and reception honoring the 2010 Morris and Nonfiction Award honorees, at the YALSA Midwinter Wiki).
Read on for details on YALSA’s pre-Midwinter events, the Young Adult Literature Symposium Stipend, Teen Tech Week registration, and YALSA’s winter online courses.
Pre-Midwinter event details: Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition: Join YALSA from 9-4:30 p.m on Jan. 15 to learn how you can take advantage of free online tools and social networking options to enhance and expand the services for teens, discover strategies to gain funding for technology initiatives and buy-in from administrators, and hear speakers like Stacy Aldrich (futurist & acting California State Librarian), Cory Doctorow (BoingBoing.net, Little Brother), Laura Pearle, Wendy Stephens, and Buffy Hamilton. Lunch included! Libraries 3.0 costs $195 for YALSA members, $235 for ALA members, and $285 for nonmembers. Full details on this event, and all of YALSA’s plans for Midwinter, are available online at http://bit.ly/yalsamw2010.
Games, Gadgets & Gurus: Join us from 8-10 p.m. on Jan. 15! Spend a fun evening networking with colleagues and learning new skills to take back to your library! Come play games – both board and video; demo gadgets like e-readers, mobile phones, digital audio recorders, video cameras and the latest software; and take advantage of the opportunity chat one-on-one with a tech guru. Other participants include Galaxy Press, PBS’ Digital Nation, and Tutor.com. Mingle with colleagues! Enjoy some refreshments! Play with neat tech toys! And go home with great swag! Tickets cost $40; full details online at ht
Today we're bringing you our monthly roundup of cool youth media and marketing events you or your company may want to attend. If your company hosts an event relevant to the youth media or marketing space that you'd like us to highlight, email... Read the rest of this post
Being a student member of ALA and YALSA I have learned a few things about being a librarian that can’t be taught in school:
- Being a librarian requires a love of learning that never fades
- Librarians are innovative, always coming up with new and creative ways to reach teens
- Librarians love to share their ideas on wikis, blogs, via Twitter and Facebook, at conferences, and in podcasts
It is for all of these reasons that there is nothing else I would rather do than be a librarian. And it is also for these reasons that libraries and librarians really have the opportunity to inspire teens this Teen Tech Week.
We on the Teen Tech Week committee have been doing our best to provide librarians with the tools necessary to make this Teen Tech Week successful. However, in keeping with what librarians do best, we want to encourage all of you to share your programming ideas on the Teen Tech Week 2010 Wiki so other librarians can learn from them and use them to engage with and encourage the teens in their communities to Learn Create Share this Teen Tech Week. These can be programs you’ve done throughout the year that were successful or programs you are planning to try during Teen Tech Week. You can also post your thoughts and ideas for promoting Teen Tech week.
Don’t forget to register for Teen Teen Tech Week 2010. Doing so will give you access to this year’s awesome logo.
