Final Reflection Blog

A final reflection for this class. Well that is a tough thought. Why? Well, when I first started this class I was terrified. I glanced through all the assignments and I was so scared of all the technology we were going to have to use. I was not familiar with many of the programs or apps we were going to have to use and neither was my campus librarian. She is the one I usually go to for help on my homework assignments. I will say as I navigated through the course I was reminded of the phrase, "Never judge a book by its cover." I learned to trust my ability to learn new things and I gained self confidence. I ended up loving this class and feeling eager to tackle the assignments because I knew I was going to learn something new every time. I am not going to lie there were moments of frustration, but I learned to take those moments in stride because in the end I knew I was going to learn something valuable. I am sad that this class is coming to an end, but I walk away knowing that I learned so much.

I ended up having a great experience with the technology I encountered. To be honest I do not use Twitter a lot and I definitely do not like Facebook, but I can see how they can be used to help promote the library. I have to put my personal feelings aside and think of them in terms of how they would help the students. Students today love to be on social media and if I use Twitter and Facebook to help attract students to the library then I will use these tools to my advantage. Blogs and blog readers are a great way to keep students up-to-date with information that can help them be successful in the library and in the classroom. If we set up a blog reader with only educational blog feeds students do not have to waste time searching for information, all the information they need is just a mouse click away. Infographics are an excellent way to show students information especially if they are visual learners. Teachers and librarians can use infographics to show students the main points of a lesson that was taught or as a visual study guide for students. Students can also show what they have learned in class or in the library by creating infographics. Podcasts are excellent way to teach lessons that can be listened to as many times as the students need to learn a concept. Students can also utilize podcasts to talk about what they have learned or are learning. Animoto is a great way to create book trailers. QR codes are a fun and exciting way to get students involved with the library. Students like QR codes because it is a surprise to them and they want to see what they will find when they scan the code. Online book communities are a perfect way for teachers and librarians to recommend books to their students. Cartoon and comics are an excellent resource for students to be creative and show what they have learned. Screencasts help librarians and teachers share lessons that students can view as many times as they need and are easily accessible at all times if they are posted to a blog or website. Instagram and Vine are also quick and easy apps that can be used to keep students informed about what is happening in the library.

My favorite technology tools to use were Animoto, QR Codes, cartoons/comics, and Instagram. Animoto has opened up a new world of possibilities for me as I create book trailers for my students to get them interested in books that I think they would enjoy. My campus librarian has asked me to help her by creating Animoto book trailers that she can show to classes when they visit the library. I am also very excited to use QR Codes. Our campus library just received new library books that come with additional content such as videos, slideshows, quizzes, etc. My campus librarian asked me to prepare a lesson that she will let me deliver to students about QR Codes. We will download a QR Code reader to the Ipads in the library and we will also help students to download a QR Code reader to their phones if they like. I will also be responsible to create a display featuring information about QR Codes and will feature some of the new library books that have QR Codes. Cartoons and comics are awesome! My students have started working with MakeBeliefsComix and they love it! Not only is it free and easy to use, but I love that students are not required to create an account. We have started to use it with our weekly vocabulary words. Finally Instagram is an easy to follow app that allows me to post videos and pictures and that is why I love it so much. It is so user friendly and I get the best of both worlds.

I would have to say that using Pixton was difficult. I was so aggravated using Pixton because in my opinion it was not user friendly and I did not have many options. The avatars were difficult to use and maneuver and I will not be using it with my students. I also had some difficulty using Jing. Recording on Jing was not difficult, but the length restrictions of the videos did cause a problem for me. Having five minutes to record a screencast is not a very long time. I also did not like that Jing does not provide an option for users to get an embed code. I would rather use screencast-o-matic with my students than Jing.

For the students I feel that they would benefit the most by using Podcasts, cartoons/comics, and screencasts. These tools will help students grow and learn. Cartoons will be a fun way to engage in lessons. As for screencasts and podcasts students can utilize these tools as frequently as they need until they learn the lesson.