Final Reflection of Digital Tech for the School Librarian

 Final Reflection for Digital Tech for the School Librarian

    What a surprising, slightly stressful, and fulfilling semester this has been in the Digital Tech. for the School Librarian course.  I would never classify myself as "tech savvy," but I still felt I knew a little more than the average educators I work with due to my exposure to different technological resources.  I found out I was wrong.  

What am I most excited about?    

    We began the semester looking at Social Media.  I was very excited because I know most of the popular social media platforms and use them on a daily basis.  However, I discovered I hadn't been using them to their potential especially when it comes to the library.  Not only can you use your sites for sharing library announcements and news, but you can also share needed literacy information.  I also really enjoyed finding librarians who have been in the business much longer than me and following them for inspiration. They share all the tips and give me hope to create resourceful sites that my library community can use.

    I can also say that I'm excited about the use of comics and comic creations within the library.  I have been one of those that never liked comics. I never liked to read them as an adolescent, and I wasn't seeing the advantage of graphic novels.   As it turns out, I enjoyed creating the comics using the different sites.  I also say great potential in how I can use them to catch my readers' attentions, and see great value in letting my scholars create their own comics.

Which technology was most difficult for me?

    Surprisingly, I found the Podcasts the most difficult for me to use.  I was very thankful to have had a partner working on this assignment with me.  I listen to Podcasts all the time because I don't like time wasted and I spend a lot of time in the car driving to and from work.  I assumed that since I listen to them all the time that the platforms used to create them would be easy to navigate.  It was difficult for me and took me much more time than I had originally planned.  Podbean seemed to be a pretty popular site, but I think I'll just stick with listening to them for now.

Which one will be most beneficial for my students?

    This is a very difficult question to answer because I plan on utilizing all the new technology I was exposed to during this course within my library.  I think the Screencasts will be the most beneficial to my students.  First, it offers a variety of creation possibilities for all of my different students.  Students can create an instructional video, a book trailer, or even share a story they wrote.  I an also utilize screencasts to show library procedures, read-aloud stories, and literacy lessons.  Students would not have to be present to receive the information, which is so great about screencasts.  Once created, the information can be posted and housed on a site where your library community has access twenty-four hours a day.

Conclusion

    Honestly, I was dreading this course when I first began.  I was so worried that I would mess up too many times when it came to new technology and I put too much pressure on myself.  However, I learned that if I just try I discovered I could navigate new platforms, learn a lot of new information, and consider myself on the road to becoming a little more tech savvy.  Jen Hatmaker discusses mission work in an article that can be applied to life as a librarian.  Hatmaker stresses the importance of listening to a community.  We need to ask them their needs, where they have been, what they have tried, and see where we can meet them.  Our libraries are not for just the librarian. Our libraries are there to serve a community.  If technology is where our community is right now, and most likely the future, than that's where we need to add more of our focus.

Check out my digital reflection using Animoto, one of my favorite discoveries from the semester.

Digital Reflection