Final Reflection

     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.