LSSL 5391 Internet for School Librarians for this Fall semester has come to an end, but don't worry the learning of Internet use and digital tools will continue, I promise. As a classroom teacher and future school librarian, I will make sure, or at least try, to keep up with the latest technological trends to be able to provide students with the resources they need for answering questions or solving problems. I have learned so much from this course and I have applied almost all the concepts in my classroom.
Using Facebook and Twitter to network with other individuals and experts in the Library field has been of great benefit. Getting insight on what they are doing in their library or what new digital tool they are using is rewarding. I created my first Infographic with easel.ly. It was a little hard at first, but then I got the hang of it. Infographics can be used to give annual reports of the school library such as the total number of books checked out, how many were fiction or non-fiction, most popular series, etc. I love blogs. There are so many blogs that I was following before I knew that Blog Readers existed. Silly, huh? I use Feedly to organize all my blogs in one site. I just go to one place and read on! Another one of my favorite digital tools is Animoto. Creating book trailers and short videos to review content areas is easy to do with this tool. After the teacher or students have created their videos, they can create a QR code for it or post to Youtube. This is a great way to get students motivated about reading plus integrating the technology they love. I used the Podcasting tool with my students,who were shy to be video recorded, on weather and climate. They enjoyed writing their script and then recording it. Shelfari is my favorite online book community. Online book communities are advantageous communities for book lovers of all ages! Readers can share what they are reading by building virtual book shelves. They are able to rate, recommend, and keep track of books they've read. Readers can also keep track of what their friends are reading. My students had so much fun creating cartoons and comics with Makebeliefscomix. The did an extension to their reading and science lessons. Of course there are better comic creator tools out there like Pixton and ToonDoo, but they are not free and require registration. The Tellagami app is also a great hit for book reports. I had some colleagues asking me how I learned about these digital tools and how to use them. I told them they were part of this course and that I was learning as I went along. I had created a Symbaloo for reading and they wanted to learn how to create one themselves. I created a screencast for them on Symbaloo using Screencast-o-matic. The Instagram and Vine assignment was the easiest and most fun. Capturing video of just about anything and being able to edit and share with others for educational or personal use is amusing to me as well to our students.
I hit some rough spots at times when I thought I would not like the outcome (example Mining Pew Infographic). As I practiced more and more using the digital tools, it became easier. The technological vocabulary became more familiar and the tasks such as embedding became easier to do. Keeping up with the digital trends will have a positive impact in my classroom and future library.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Mining PEW #2
Purcell, Kristen. (2013, February 28). How Teachers are using technology at home and in their classrooms. Retrieved November 25, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeachersandTechnologywithmethodology_PDF.pdf.
A survey was conducted in which Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers (2,462) showed that digital tools are widely used in their classrooms and daily lives. This survey was conducted between March 7-April 23, 2012. The AP and NWP teachers are from the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Digital technologies have helped their middle and high school students in many ways, yet they have experienced some challenges with the Internet, mobile phones, and social media. Many teachers report that technology is more evident in wealthier school districts than in poorer school districts. Even in the small city I live in, this can be seen with the school districts. The richer district provides better technology opportunities for students and teachers. About 5% of students don't have access Internet at home. About 75% of teachers say that these new digital tools have added more demand on their lives because they need to keep up with what's trending in the digital world. This same percentage of teachers, feel that they have to compete with the new generation of teachers that are more tech savvy. A 41% of teachers say that digital tools require more work in order to be effective teachers. As a teacher, as part of our professional evaluation is the use of technology. Administrators want teacher to be tech savvy, yet they don't provide them with any type of training. I feel confident on my use of technology because of this course that I'm taking at SHSU. I'm taking what I'm learning and applying it in my classroom with great success! Digital tools in the classroom are mainly used for research. About 73% of students are allowed by their teachers to use their mobile phones in the classroom to complete research projects and submit assignments. Many teachers are collaborating with their students through wikis, online discussions, and google docs. Students work can be submitted online.
The Internet and digital tools are beneficial to teachers in preparing their lesson plans and networking with other professionals in their field. It keeps them updated with new developments in their field. They also find content and lesson plans that will engage their students. Creating booktrailers with Animoto before reading a class novel, is a great way to get the students engaged. Learning how to Podcast and using podcasting tools with students to extend on a lesson is a another great way to engage students with digital tools. The AP and NWP teachers that were surveyed outpaced the general adult population in almost all measures of personal technology use. They own a smart phone, e-readers, laptops, desktop computers, tablets, and use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. A 42% of these AP and NWP still feel that their students know more about technology than they do. About 13% of these teachers feel that they know more technology than their students. In the elementary level, I feel confident in teaching technology to my students because I feel I know more than they do but, I don't know how I would feel in a classroom of high school students. Networking with others on digital technology to keep up with the technological trends is the key to maintain your tech savvy status.
(108 pages)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)