Final Reflection

Final Reflection

Take a look at this link for my digital story:  Press Play:  Final Reflection - Digital Story (Press Play)

Digital Technology for the 21^st century learner is a must.  In an age where new technology applications continue to rise, so must the teacher.  But, which technology applications should we be using in the classroom and the library? 

Reflecting back in this class I felt that this class would be a breeze, because I thought I knew everything.  However, as the first assignment came along, I knew that I had a lot of learning that would be coming my way.  

When I began the assignment to determine how I viewed and how students viewed technology I knew that I was behind in the game.  Although I was correct on many of the areas, I did not have a holistic view of students and the technology available to enhance the learning environment.         

Feedreaders was a concept I had not heard of before this class.  Feedreaders is a great way to follow others in the profession without having to continuously do a search for blogs and the like, because once you follow a page, the page will always be on your feed.  I must admit, I did have difficulty with this assignment, although looking back, I feel as if though I was making it harder than what it was. 

Facebook and Twitter were fairly familiar to me.  I had already explored Facebook and Twitter for previous classes, but I had not explored Instagram.  I already knew that social media was a great way to promote the library and the many activities that are sponsored by the library.  I also knew that I could follow publishing companies, authors and other librarians, which I had already done.  This class however had me explore Facebook and Instagram further.  As a result of this class, I ended up finding many groups on Facebook that I now follow and I was able to learn how to upload videos and create promotions using Instagram.  I did not know that of the three Instagram was the most popular with students.  Also, I had heard of Tik-Toc and I did not know that we could use that app to follow others in the field for instructional purposes.  Really, I have not tried Tik-Toc and that is next on my list. 

I actually love two of the assignments.  One of my favorite assignments was the infographic assignment.  Using infographics, I can create newsletters, promotions and informational pamphlets.  Students can use infographics to write important details on a book report or an assignment.  I really loved this assignment. 

Screencasts was another assignment.  I have used screencasts in the past and I really find it beneficial to use as part of a professional development or instruction.  Especially now, with remote learning.  For me, I thought this assignment was fairly easy. 

YouTube is another technology that I have used in the classroom.  I have used it as part of the instruction; but, I have not created a YouTube video myself.  I find YouTube to be beneficial very much like screencasts, we can use it as part of a professional development or instruction.  Also, with this assignment we had to create an Animoto!  I loved Animoto!  This was the first time I used Animoto for any reason.  I found it to be super fun and can be used for instructional purposes as well.  This could be a fun way for students to present projects or assignments.  QR readers, although I have used QR readers to access information, I had not used them to create assignments.  I think that using QR readers or QR Codes in the library and the classroom will be fun and breaks the monotony of the daily procedures. 

I really liked the comics assignment.  I thought it was fun and engaging.  I feel that students will love to create their own comics.  I did find that although fun, many of the apps had limited features and thus might become a point of frustration for some students. 

Copyright and Fair use using Padlet is a great way to create quick guides for teachers.  We can even create guides for the different processes for students to refer to. 

Podcasts I had previously used, though, I didn’t know all the features that can be used for Podcasts, so for me this was very interesting. 

For me the two technology applications that excited me the most were the infographics and the Animoto!  I just loved creating with the help of the apps, because truthfully, I am not as creative as most.       

The most difficult application for me to use was one of my favorite assignments.  It must have been the infographics assignment.  Although it was fun, the different themes and layouts have many components and to move them around and change them to me my needs as a little cumbersome.  It took me a little to get the hang of it, but the end result was well worth it.  Although it took me a little, I will continue to practice using infographics so that I may become proficient, because as previously stated, I loved it! 

In my opinion, I can’t say that one particular app will be most beneficial to students.  I think that the individual student will dictate which app will be most beneficial to them. 

In regard to the article.  I feel that it is important to find out about our student population.  In this generation we have to become problem solvers and to do that we need to know where students are and where we are going.  The article did lead to many questions that need to be pondered upon.  I guess I need to start looking at what our greatest need is at the moment.