REFLECTION

Retrieved from:  https://pocketperspectives.com/2011/12/29/reflecting-on-this-past-year-today-and-the-coming-year/

 

As I began to reflect upon this semester and my experiences with technology, I realized how much new knowledge I acquired.  I enjoyed using some forms of technology more than others and some were difficult for me to figure out.   

  

Facebook and Twitter were social networks I was familiar with, so this first lesson helped to sharpen my skills and follow new individuals.  Seeing what librarians are doing with Facebook was interesting.  I can see myself using this social network as a way in which to promote my library.  Embedding Tweets in my blog was also a newly acquired skill.  I felt that doing so added appeal to my blog post. 



Using Feed Readers was a completely new experience for me.  I decided to use Feedly because of its simplicity.  I followed several blogs and especially enjoyed The True Adventures of a High School Librarian.  The web link is https://feedly.com/i/category/TRUE%20ADV%20OF%20HS%20LIBRARIAN.

My next experience with technology was creating an infographic—again new knowledge.  Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogr.am were all great sites for creating them.  After closely analyzing the three, I chose Easel.ly to create my infographic.  I can see myself using this tool many times over in the classroom, since students can represent their understanding of a subject through a visually appealing creation.  
 



I had not experienced using Instagram and Flipagram.  I had fun with these two forms of social media.  Easy lesson can be created using these forms of social media.  We can also promote our libraries by posting photos of upcoming events, contests, new books, etc.  

 

Screencast-o-matic was a tool that I immensely enjoyed using.  This was also a new experience for me.  I will be using tool to create tutorials and lessons for students and teachers. 
 



I visited several YouTube channels where librarians posted videos to promote their libraries.  One thing that stood out to me was how much fun students had helping and assisting with these videos.  Additionally, this is a definitely a great way to interest and encourage teachers and students to visit our library. 

I am an avid reader that always wants to share what I read with others.  Using Animoto to create a book trailer was amazing fun.  I realized that this is an excellent way of sparking the interest of our students and staff.  They can view the book trailers, make their way to our libraries, and find entertainment as well as a wealth of knowledge and information.   

QR codes were also new for me.  After realizing the simplicity in creating them, I can picture myself placing them all over my library:  library copiers, scanners, bookmarks to link to library website, book posters to access book trailers, on book covers to access author interviews and book trailers, etc. The possibilities are endless. 

 

Create comic strips was yet another new experience for me.   I utilized ToonDoo, Pixton, and MakeBeliefsComix.  Teachers and students will enjoy creating comic strips to transmit knowledge and information on a variety of topics and lessons.
 



Podcasting, a very popular trend in schools, was another form of media I utilized for the first time this semester.  I realized the immense power that creating podcasts can have.  It was immensely gratifying to be able to create a podcast through Podomatic to share with students.  In the future, I would like to use podcasting to provide students and teachers library information, tutorials, etc.

Although at times overwhelmed, I enjoyed acquiring and exploring all of this new technology.  One that really caught my attention was creating book trailers through Animoto.  Also creating Screencasts was something that I will definitely be using a lot in the future for lessons and tutorials.  I think students will have the most fun creating comic strips—a great way to display their knowledge.  The most difficult to work with were the infographics.  Figuring out how to use the different sites available felt a little overwhelming at times. 

Reflecting upon the vast amounts of technology available to us made me realize that as librarians we have the duty and power to include and educate our community on these forms of technology.  Jen Hatmaker tells us that “…we start with the people…” (2015).   Listening to what their technological needs are can help us understand where our students stand.  If we provide the community knowledge, they in turn can help their children, and everyone benefits from this relationship.        

 

References

Hatmaker, J. (2015). For the love: Fighting for grace in a world of impossible standards.
        Nashville, TN: Nelson Books.