It's been fun!...

Wow! This has been a whirlwind of a semester, but I have really enjoyed getting to know the technology that is available to me as an educator. It is so easy to get caught in mundane routines, and I think the tools that I was introduced to this semester will allow me to keep students engaged and learning activities interesting. There are now so many technology tools for me to choose from for my classroom and one day my library, and I am super excited about that. There were some tools that I liked more than others, but all in all everything I learned was helpful and applicable.

Facebook was a tool that I was already very familiar with. I have already created multiple Facebook pages for non-profit ministries that I’m a part of, so that was not new to me. However, it was very helpful to search for library Facebook pages and see how librarians are using this tool to connect with students and parents. I got a lot of ideas of both how NOT to use Facebook for the library and how to use it. I look forward to creating my own page for my library someday. I was also grateful for the wonderful elementary school pages that I did find…these will be great resources for me to go to when I need ideas! On a similar note, I enjoyed learning how students and teachers can use Pinterest for lesson planning, project planning, brainstorming, sparking creativity, etc. I already love Pinterest personally, but now I love it professionally too! J Vine and Instagram were other social media sites that I was already familiar with, but it was fun experimenting with them and learning how I can use them to engage students in learning.

I really enjoyed learning how to make QR codes. I think that I will use these in my library to promote books, advertise events, suggest similar reading choices, have students vote for bluebonnet books, etc. I think QR codes are a quick and fun way to get information to students. As for making videos, I am not very creative with this format. For instance, my Animoto video that I made for this course was pathetic. However, I think young people are very creative with videos and I think that this technology would be a great engaging way for students to show understanding of things that they are learning.

Mindmapping was a tool that I was not crazy about. I get that it is a simple and more attractive way for students to organize and display knowledge, main ideas, details, etc. I just thought that mind maps were awkward to create and did not flow as well as I think they should. Some of the tools to create mindmaps were not the easiest to use, and the end result is not as attractive and eye catching as I think it needs to be for students. I think word clouds work better for this purpose.

I had a lot more fun creating podcasts than I thought I would. I thought that SoundCloud was a great tool…easy to use, great recordings, available in app form, etc. Recording and hearing my own voice was a bit different, but it is something that I could get over. I think for students to hear your voice from home via a podcast would be exciting for them. I am excited to see how I can use podcasts in my classroom and library.

Online book communities were not a new thing to me. I have had a Goodreads account for quite some time, and I really like it. I do wish that I used my Goodreads account more often, and this assignment did make me more excited about getting it up and running again. It is fun to see the books that you have read or want to read on a virtual shelf like this. It is also cool to see who has similar interests as you and to see what your friends are interested in reading. I don’t think students will use online book communities like adults will, but I think that it is still a great tool for those who would be interested.

Making the cartoons and comics was a lot of fun! This is definitely a tool that students will enjoy and will allow them to stay engaged in their projects. I can see myself using this tool more in the classroom than in the library. I like the idea of students creating a comic at the beginning of the year to introduce themselves to their classmates.

Screencasting was a tool that I did not know how to do, but I was very excited to learn. I was relieved to find out that there are free websites out there for screen casting. This tool can be helpful in the classroom to show students how to do an assignments, how to work an online program, how to do ANYTHING that involves a computer screen. I love this. I can think of ways to use it in the library as well…such as showing students how to search the catalog and how to research online. Another thing I learned this semester that I know I will use a lot, is how to embed something. We embedded things into our blog in almost every assignment, and it was different for every tool. It was fun to learn how to do that, and it allowed me to have a much more professional looking blog. I hope to have a blog for my library one day, so this will come in handy for sure!

I learned so much this semester...both through the technology exploration assignments and through reading the many interesting articles on the PEW research website. I am excited to get a job as a librarian in the near future and to apply the things that I have learned to make my library the best that it can be! I want to have a library where students feel connected, engaged, and challenged, and I think that many of these technology tools will help me to create just that. Thanks for a wonderful semester!