Final Reflections of LIS 629

Night and day, black and white, sun and moon....these are the kinds of phrases that come to mind when I think of how I walked into LIS 629 on July 13th and how I feel now upon completing my final project.  While I was familiar with only a handful (um, maybe more like a thimbleful) of the terminology included in the pre-course questionnaire I felt comfortable in enrolling in this class. That confidence lasted until about the first hour of day one!  It was a clear case of the more you learn the more you realize you don't know.  And, by day two I thought I may have really gotten in over my head.  Ultimately, what I have taken away more than anything is a much stronger capacity and confidence around navigating these tools.  If the speed of the class was a bit dizzying, there was still an enormous amount of quality hands-on learning that truly took the mystique out of designing a Wiki (which I had heard of but really had no concept of how I would use one pre-629) and a number of the routine tasks like uploading a You Tube video or embedding a file in a presentation.  These skills are critical preparation for a 21st Century librarian and LIS 629 provided clear instuction on how they can effectively be applied in the school library.
Based on my updated and revised understanding of Twitter, I now see how this can play an important part and become a valuable tool for learning and I will continue to identify folks that I can follow...hopefully having a bit more to tweet about in my future.  Glogster is a new favorite for me and it's application and value and simplicity make it a tool that I will absolutely integrate in many ways.  LiveBinder I will keep an eye on and play with.  I see some tremendous value in it as a bookmarking tool but found it harder to organize if I attempted to use certain features like the subtab.  Google Docs, perhaps the one tool(s) I had some level of familiarity with, surprised me with it's survey component in forms.  I look forward to using that and the rest of Google Docs as a student and teacher.
Would it be a little over the top to say I am a new person post-629?!

Day 4 and a whole lot more

I am starting to wonder if my own imagination has the potential to think as big as the web.  Wait, I am sure it does not  Fortunately this class has stretched my mind considerably.  Today's new world of Glogster, Wordle, Sqworl continued to expand not just possibilities for learning....but potential for thinking.  I remember when "think outside the box" was the signal for broadening your thinking.  Given the vast array of web 2.0 tools, today's educators will need to "think outside the galaxy." 

Given all that we have been exposed to in a short couple of days (that have gone by at lightening speed....truly I have never sat sit still and been that engaged for that many hours ever) I look forward to synthesizing the material we have learned.  And, although I did not enter this class with the range of skills that many of my classmates did, I feel fortunate for having been exposed to these tools now as I am forever changed in my view of how to approach the future for learning, my own and my future students.  It is truly amazing...I am only sad that we have only one day left!

The book trailer through Photostory

The concept of a book trailer utilizing the same intriguing audio and video features as we are familiar with for movie trailers is an innovative tool for inspiring reading.  The book trailer that I developed for "The Cat in The Hat" can easily be embedded on my Wiki and used to recommend books for my class.  I see tremendous value in not only posting the book trailer but in using it as a lead in for books that will be used in lessons as well.  For today's readers, this form of book recommendation or promotion allows us as librarians to communicate and encourage our students by engaging with them on familiar grounds. What makes the book trailer a valuable tool as well is that creating one is fun and easy with Photostory.    The next part of the lesson would be to have the students create their own book trailer on Photostory to share with the class. 

Day 3, challenges and lessons learned

After three days of flying through some incredibly creative and innovative web tools, I see how much potential and responsibility we have as educators to select and harness the power that they can offer.  Much like a carpenter building a home, we must select the tools that best suit the job at hand.  Which implies that having a clearly defined objective should inform our decisions on which tool to use when.  The difference with technology tools is that the choices are vast and the environment much more fluid.  While there are many different approaches to take and many of our technology options appear relatively similar (and indeed many are), the educator's role still requires that choices be made judiciously to ensure safety and maximize the effectiveness of the learning experience. The process of selection and moreover even the methodology of making these selections requires practice and experience.  As educators we should not only be leading students to appropriate tools but instilling in them the skills necessary to differentiate and carefully select them.  In this way we can help them create the tool set necessary to build their foundation for learning and for responsibly leveraging their participation online both in the classroom and out.

Lions, tigers, and blogs...oh my

It's a jungle out there...the first LIS 629 class is quite an induction in technology.  There's nothing like getting a fresh dose of "wow, I didn't know how much I didn't know!"

There is so much to keep on top of given the myriad of ways that we can teach students and connect with one another I can't help but wonder one thing:  which of these tools will truly be sustainable or should we anticipate a revolving door of Twitters, Facebooks, Diigos, etc.?   What is here to stay?  What will be considered obsolete next month?  Will Google+ convert many of the Facebook users? 

Fast-paced by nature, technology is a moving target.  For all the benefits it provides, boundless connectivity, an endless universe from which to learn from and many ways to increase our efficiency, it also teaches some of life's basic lessons: to be flexible, patient, and open to suggestion.  It forces us to make choices that are relevant for our personal and professional lives.  And technology reinforces the concept of lifelong learning like nothing else!

Using blogs in the School Media Center

My vision, as a way to get kids started and comfortable sharing their thoughts in a public forum, is to lead the blog and encourage (require) responses from the students.  For example, I'd write a commentary as a follow up to lessons, stories, or even school news. Using the blog to inspire opinions, my blog would make suggestions that come from my point of view to exemplify the power of the blog, while ending with questions that require the students to share their thoughts, opinions and suggestions. 

An example at the elementary school level might be a blog that offers a critique of a story that had just been read to the class.  Humor and perhaps an unexpected angle would be tossed out to inspire the students to agree or disagree.

At the high school level, blogging could be used as a forum to discuss recent news at the school.  Perhaps changes to a grading policy or new school hours could be fodder for a blog and inspire students to fine tune their public voice and opinion.  While requiring students may not be applicable or reasonable, students may recognize the value of weighing in or at the very least be exposed to different opinions that could help them process change better.

These are just a few ways that blogs could be introduced.  The important point is to get students involved at the school level so that they develop skills for voicing their opinions constructively.  A lesson that many adults can use.