Safer Google Searches

Check out the new google search button on the right! This is a customized Google search just for Saydel students! It's safer than regular Google, which basically means that it searches within trustworthy websites, not the entire Google network. Try it and see if improves your searching!

Antiheroes - Love or Hate "em?

They’re the bad boys. The gentleman thief. The lovable rogue. The reluctant hero.  What makes a character in a novel or movie an antihero? Well, first, he’s one of the main characters.  We usually don’t really like him/her, but find ourselves rooting for them.  They may have some very bad traits, but there’s something about them that makes us care. Sound complex? Yep, those antiheroes are usually a combination of many characteristics. Let’s look at TV’s Dexter. He’s a SERIAL KILLER for Pete’s sake, but he really cares about some people, has a conscience, and after all he only kills bad people! What’s not to like?  Or Homer Simpson – dumb, lazy, cheap, terrible role model.  But he apparently cares for his wife, his children at certain times, and makes us laugh. Antiheroes can be selfish, addicted to drugs/alcohol, corrupt, uncaring; but they somehow become a more complete person at the end of the story.  Comic book characters are not all superheroes – look at Batman, Hellboy, or Wolverine and Magneto from the X-men. Fighting outside of the law and not showing respect for others – yet we want them to defeat the really, really bad guys. And who wasn’t fooled by Severus Snape – after hating him and constantly blaming him for so much evil and all along he was protecting Harry! Who knew?  We know Charlie Harper’s sins, and Captain Jack Sparrow, they're apparently drunk 24/7. Victor Frankenstein was just messing around and experimenting when he created the monster – it surely wasn’t the plan? As a child I always rooted for Robin Hood, now that I look back, he was just plain stealing, yeah it gave it to the poor, but he was still stealing! Scarlet O’Hara in the epic novel Gone with the Wind was really just a spoiled brat with a mean, selfishness that somehow attracted Rhett Butler.  So, even if they are a screw-up, a loner, a rebel, or obnoxious, the writer convinces us that even with those imperfections (that we all live with and identify with), we like our antiheroes! Is Edward an antihero?  

Audio booktalks now available!

Using Chirbit, I have now been posting my booktalks in audio format on the library wiki's booktalk page. You can listen to me read a booktalk vs. reading it yourself. I've also been placing a QR code inside the books with audio booktalks. Scan them with your smartphone's QR reader app, and listen to my booktalk via your phone. If you don't have a smartphone, you can download a QR reader app onto your desktop and scan  the code. Hope you enjoy my audio booktalks!

The portals are now open to eBooks!!!

You should find a new icon on your desktop labeled " Library wiki". When you open the icon it will take you to the library catalog page. You can access our Destiny online catalog, but underneath, on a new link, you will see "ebooks. Open that link and you will see two portals. Not only do we have the FollettShelf, we also have a portal to some nonfiction books via a company called Mackin. These have many tools for taking notes, using the index, highlighting and much more. You will need our AEAlogin and password in order to "check out" an ebook in Mackin. In FollettShelf, you will enter your name and student ID number. They are fun and easy! Read online or download them.  Become an ebook reader!

FollettShelf is coming soon!

What is FollettShelf? The way that many Saydel students will be reading! Many new ebooks are being added to our high school and middle school collections. They may be accessed through FollettShelf. More than one student may read the same book at the same time. There is also an app that allows reading of our library books with your iPhone or iPad!  You can write book reviews to share with your friends on Destiny via FollettShelf as well.I will let you know when everything is ready to go - be looking for a icon on your laptops called FollettShelf! This is exciting news for Saydel students!!

Christmas Donation of Library Books!

A huge thank you to the Iowa Department of Revenue for their donation of books to the Saydel libraries. Delivering the books were Patty (left) and Lisa (right).  Their donation included two copies of the newest very popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever. Merry Christmas to us!!

Using QR codes

Introducing QR Codes

     There are bookmarks available on the library checkout desk that have four QR (quick response) codes for you to use. These are like a barcode that you scan, only these take you to the library websites described above the QR code on the bookmark. You can search for books, read this blog, go to the library wiki, or read instructions on how to search using Destiny OneSearch, which is the best research tool available to Saydel students!! (P.S. it makes your citations for you!)
   
 To scan these codes you can use a smartphone by downloading a free app for reading QR codes, or you can download a QR reader onto your laptop. The directions for downloading to your laptop are:
 
How to use QRreader:
1: Make sure you have a working webcam (built in your laptop) and Adobe AIR installed.
2: Download and install QRreader. Look on the page for the download button.You must have Adobe Air installed first!
3: Get a scan-able QR code.
4: Hold up the QR code to your webcam. Make sure your webcam can see the entire code, and that your code is evenly lit.
5: If your webcam sees the code, the white brackets will turn red. Then you can open the settings to enable you to hear a *beep* sound once the code has been read properly. You can also set it to go directly to the website. Pretty cool!!