Tech Takeaways

I will admit that when this course started, I was hesitant of using a lot of technology in the library. It has nothing to do with being anti-tech. I am far from it. I love technology and am an avid user (and have been since youth) in my personal life. I was more concerned with whether it would take up too much time to introduce technology and then create a product. However, after taking the time to explore and finding how simple a lot of the technology we can use is, I feel confident that it will be easier to use technology in class. I also got to see in one of my observations for LBS815 how an elementary school librarian uses technology. It seems that if you have iPads, you're probably good to go. Maybe not that simple, but it does seem like my concerns were maybe unnecessary, especially since kids these days seem to be so natural with basic computer and tablet skills. You can teach them more because you don't necessarily need to teach them the basics, as much as you would've had to do 20 years ago. My first grader is coming home, telling me about how he was using the Chromebooks in class. So, by the time they're in fourth grade or so, you can probably do a whole lot.

I also learned more about the importance of being a leader within the school. In order to get people excited about your proposed technology, you need to reach out and show the faculty how it's done. This isn't something with which I am necessarily 100% comfortable, so talking about its importance was good for me.

There were so many new tools and apps I learned about. The reminder that you can find tools for almost anything online and to not get frustrated with the first one you try was also important.

I knew almost nothing about adaptive technology, at least not with that term, and I learned so much. Just knowing to look out for adaptive tools within the technology at the school is crucial. Add to that other specialized tools and ideas and I feel confident that I can reach more students.

I've really enjoyed the chance to explore that I was given in this course. I feel certain that if I stay on top of technology, I will be able to do creative and accessible projects with students in my own library some day.

OPAC Chit-chat

Here's my main criteria when looking at OPACs - can I find what I need? Most OPACs these days are pretty user-friendly, so when it comes to comparing them, I start to get into design and the nitty-gritty of filtering. I love filtering my searches, and if the one I'm using doesn't offer me good filtering options, I get frustrated. But am I alone in that?

I turned to the librarian at my son's elementary school, Mrs. Callahan, to see how she felt about Follett's Destiny catalog, since I have never used it from the back end for more than circulation and acquisitions. Overall, she seems pretty happy with Destiny. Mrs. Callahan finds that at the elementary level, very few of the students use the catalog until she begins teaching it in third grade. She doesn't try before that because she discovered that second graders still aren't great spellers and since Destiny doesn't autocorrect in the way that Google does, it made using the catalog frustrating.

Mrs. Callahan tends to use the classic version of Destiny to introduce the catalog to students because it is so simple. Once they start to discover ebooks and audiobooks, they move to into using Discover. She really likes Quest as a book discovery tool, much like Goodreads, but she informed me that it's no longer being supported, meaning it is probably on its way out.

When I asked what she didn't like about Destiny, Mrs. Callahan said she wishes it was more interactive and wasn't so clunky. For example, there's a way for students to write book reviews and include them in the catalog, but there's no way to batch review them. You have to go through each review individually, which is time consuming.

Overall, she likes Destiny. She has used it for almost all of her career and hasn't had much of a chance to explore other options, but she doesn't feel the need. The department head isn't a librarian, so when decisions do need to be made, the head consults with the district's seven librarians. However, in the end they do not get to make the final decision.

My general sense from this chat and the discussion board is that Destiny is fine, and that if you don't have a reason to change, most people like it well enough to stick with it. I think that's perfectly acceptable, quite frankly. Making a change from one OPAC to another can be a challenge and time-consuming. Unless my budget changes or the product I use is going away, I don't know that I would want to change a product with which I was familiar and had no real problems. However, I think it's good practice to at least know what else is out there in case a problem with your OPAC arises.

Did I see into the future?

At the beginning of the semester, I figured I had a pretty good list of technology tips for teachers. These were based off of reading I had done, experiences I've had, and pure conjecture. I'm interested to see how these have held up a couple months later, after I've done more reading and discussion with classmates. I am going to annotate my initial points in red:
1. Start by reading studies and books and attending seminars about using technology in classrooms so that you have a clear idea of what is needed to implement technology based lessons, as well as what sorts of programs and technology-based lessons work best for learning.
Honestly, I think this point holds up really well. You don't want to use technology for the sake of using technology. It works best if you truly understand the technology and how it can support your lessons. You aren't using it to replace your teaching. You need it to supplement what you are already teaching.
2. Think about why you want to use technology. Your students will learn best if you have a clear objective that benefits from technology.
This relates to the point above. Have a clear idea of why you want to use it. Are you using it just so you look flashy to the principal and parents? Or is it actually a good use of your students' time?
3. Ask your students how they use technology. eg. What do they prefer to use? Laptops? Tablets? Cell phones? How are your students spending their time on these devices? Use that information to create your lessons.
Yeah, because you really don't want to have to teach them how to use the device as well as the program on it, unless you are on the technology faculty and that's part of your job description OR if you are teaching young students without much experience with technology.
4. You will definitely need to learn how to fully use the technologies you plan on using before introducing them to the class. You want to feel in control.
There are few things as uncomfortable as watching someone fiddle with misbehaving technology when they're teaching. You may run into problems, but you want to prepare as much as possible to avoid that.
5. However, you probably won't be able to anticipate all of the issues you and your students might encounter. Work with your students to figure it out.
See above...
6. Make sure you talk with the technology instructors and IT professionals at your school or district to see what they have already developed and to see how (or if) they can support your plans.
Please do this so you aren't doing work someone else has already done.
7. Consider your students before making any big decisions. eg. Do they have devices from home they can use? If not, can they procure them? Is your class easily distracted? What devices or programs can you use that will lessen the distraction? Do they have a strong technology background or will you need to teach them from the ground up?
You may a year with students who are going to excel at using technology in class but the next the students just can't handle the responsibility. Be prepared for that. You may need to change the technology for certain years or your lesson altogether.
8. Consider the parents. Make sure you can sell your technology decisions to skeptical parents who may not want their children on screens at school.
I also worry about this now from the perspective of job security. You want to have the parents behind you, and if you are pushing them to accept technology that they don't want their kids using, is it worth it? This is something to decide probably school by school, but be prepared for what you want to do to not match what actually is possible.
9. Using technology may take more time (both in class and for you as teacher) than a more traditional lesson. Plan accordingly.
Maybe don't do a huge technology lesson for each unit...
10. Have fun with it! Your students will be more likely to enjoy a new way of learning or experiencing the material you're presenting if they can tell that you're excited about teaching it this way.

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Is it bad if I think that these held up pretty well? I honestly think they did. I now have a better idea of what technology will work in various situations, but overall, I think my theories have held up pretty well. We'll see when I actually get into the real world...

Cataloging Part Deux

First, I just want to say how much I appreciate Catalog It! It's succinct and addresses most of the problems I feel like you'll encounter as a school librarian without getting too heavy. The summaries at the end of each field description will be very useful in the workplace.

A couple observations:

1. 041 - Kaplan says it's the field of the future in libraries and that it'll be nice when we can search that field and get just Spanish language works and translations. Why can't we do that now? Public libraries' OPACs are able to filter by language. On this record, for example, you can see that in 041, it's noted that the book is in Spanish. I would think it's what makes their filters work. Have school library OPACs just not incorporated that filter? Why not? Seems like it would be a simple enough addition. Or is the public library OPAC pulling it from the 546 field?

2. I finished reading this at the BSO on Saturday night, and the man next to me seemed to be reading over my shoulder. I almost suggested he become a cataloger if he felt the book was that interesting...

3. My maiden name was Verso and no matter how many times I read "verso," it still throws me. (Shouldn't have changed my name...)

4. The push in RDA to record things as you see them is very interesting. On the one hand, it seems great because you don't seem to need to spend so much time looking things up to make sure they're what everyone else is using. On the other hand, if you aren't incredibly precise and others aren't as well, I wonder if you could run into problems of items not being cataloged the same. But if they're at different institutions, I suppose this may not be a problem, especially for school libraries.

5. I appreciated the guidelines on cataloging equipment since that's not as obvious as a book would be. Kaplan's push to catalog the items and put them in the OPAC was appreciated.

Having said all that, I am happy to be done with reading about cataloging. It does get tiring after a while.

Cataloging PTSD

This was a weirdly emotional week for one that focused on cataloging, perhaps the driest of all library science topics. (I think that there's some astrological justification for the emotions - moon is in Cancer or something - I don't know what that means but let's run with it.)

If you asked me what my least favorite class was in library school, I'd probably tell you cataloging. It was a slog. The professor was great, but cataloging is just SO hard. I have to admit that I was thrilled to learn that I wasn't going to have to take another full course in it. When Kaplan mentioned the big red LCSH books, I immediately flashed back to the Simmons cataloging lab with its bookcase full of various taxonomies.

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I already got into my opinions of not using a formal classification system like DDC on the discussion board, so I won't go over that again here. That's one of the things I feel most strongly about, hence a lot of the emotions. I have a hard time controlling my emotions sometimes (shall we go back to astrology and my Scorpio sun AND moon?), and I had to very carefully choose my words on the discussion board because I feel so strongly about not trying to arrange your library in your own way. As Kaplan states on page 11, "Users also benefit from standardized rules by knowing what to expect when walking into any library. A user familiar with the Dewey Decimal classification system can walk into any public library and know precisely where to look for a work on any discipline." Agreed! Kids are adaptable, too. My first grader knows how to use the catalog at the public library alone. I must have taught him how to do that, I don't really remember doing so, and he's not above average intelligence, as far as anyone's told me (other than my mom, but she doesn't count because she's a grandmother). I recognize the problems with the DDC, but --- okay, I said I wasn't going to get into that again.

Here are some other observations from the reading.

Teaching students the difference between keyword and subject searching is so important, as Kaplan points out on pg. 46. In one of my observations for my other class this semester, I worked with the librarian as 4th grade students did an OPAC scavenger hunt. Many of the questions centered around doing a keyword or subject search. When students chose the wrong option, it was very clear, and they immediately grasped that one searches everything while the other just searches the subject. It was a good lesson, and it showed the kids in detail why searching carefully is important. (And it showed them how to use the DDC, which about 80% did with few problems.)

I also like that Kaplan acknowledges using folksonomies in the school library (47). Getting input from users has become increasingly popular across the library science field, and I don't see why school libraries shouldn't get in on it. I could see centering a lesson around students assigning tags to books they've read. It would give students a sense of ownership of their collection, as well as giving them a chance to show off what they've read.

I thought it was interesting how on pg. 62 Kaplan noted that she wouldn't be delving into BISAC too deeply because of copyright restrictions. One of the best things about LCSH is that they are free and relatively easy to search. (Kind of unrelated, but my husband and I giggled over how the authorities homepage hasn't changed at all in the past ten years.) I don't know how I feel about including subject headings that are so protected by copyright, the author of a book on cataloging couldn't get the rights to include them...

I had never considered including curriculum guidelines in the record, but it makes so much sense (75). This isn't a project, as Kaplan notes, where you would want to go back and edit old records (unless your library is really slow, which hopefully it isn't). Can you imagine, though, how wonderful it would be to provide your faculty with a list of resources dealing with a specific objective? I love this idea.

Overall, I was much more interested in cataloging this time around, maybe because it was a review. I'm also guessing that Catalog It! is a better textbook than whatever I used last time.

Professional Development for Peers

The thought of educating others in a professional development setting is daunting. It's hard to feel like the expert in front of your peers. Even if you think you're the expert, what if it turns out that there's a secret technology whiz on your staff who is going to judge your presentation? While unlikely, there are natural fears that come with putting together a professional development presentation.

This week I chose to put together a presentation for my faculty on a couple apps and tools for visual learners. There are certainly students we will encounter who will learn better by watching a video than listening to a lecture and others who may not be great at writing but know a lot on a topic and could better show that knowledge through a video. It's not a particularly groundbreaking concept, but all four of the sites I explore in my presentation were new to me and could very well be new to the faculty at my imaginary school. I feel like the websites are also so user-friendly that they can be easily used by teachers without putting a lot of effort into learning something new with perhaps the exception of WeVideo. Even that looks pretty user-friendly, though. The teachers can dip their toes into using more technology in their classroom with these tools without having to fully dive in.

I did find that Screencast-o-matic did not work quite as well with my computer as I had hoped. I'm not totally sure of the problem, but I'm guessing my cheap Chromebook may not have the processing power to run a bunch of tabs and a recording app at the same time. There's a video I show in the presentation that does a better job of explaining what students can do with WeVideo than I could do, and each time I recorded, it caused a lag. The first recording I did started lagging almost from the start. Not ideal and no idea what happened there. Overall, using Screencast-o-matic was easy, but I do wonder if having a more powerful computer and a paid account would have fixed the rendering problems.

Here's my presentation:

These are a few of my favorite tools

After working on lesson plans this week, I whittled down the tools I've explored to a few favorites. Obviously anything Google related works well and is preferred (Docs, Slides, etc.), so I'm not going to consider those here. I also found that tools I thought would work well, didn't. For example, I was excited by Glogster for creating interactive posters. However, when I actually went to create one this week, I realized how hampered I was by not having a paid account. You can only have six elements, which seems to include the title of your presentation and how many text boxes you have. It was very difficult, and I admittedly gave up, knowing how much more I would be able to do with a paid account.

My favorite apps, though, are:
1. Bubbl.us - I honestly don't know that for me a concept map would work for a research paper. I believe it would for others. I do love the look of a concept map, though, and think it would be useful for anyone for early stage planning.
2. Canva - I love Canva for creating infographics. I could see using this regularly as a librarian when I need to share information with the rest of my school (eg. rules, guides to new resources, etc.).
3. Doodle - I understand other people's points that you can just send invitations via Google Calendar, but what if you need to invite someone to an event who doesn't use Google products? I also really like the layout of Doodle. It's so easy to set up and see responses.
4. Animoto - This is such a simple tool for creating video slideshows. The templates are plentiful, and the free graphics and music are great. I feel like even younger students could use this with minimal assistance
5. Diigo - I have to admit I was really skeptical of Diigo. Why wouldn't you just create a folder for your bookmarks in your browser and add things there? But I really like the highlighting and annotating features, as well as the ability to create groups where you can share resources.

And there you have it! My top five tools I've explored this semester!

A&AT, not AT&T

Disclaimer: This is my second time writing this post because it apparently didn’t save the first time and the whole thing got deleted. I’m going to try to replicate my pretty good blog post, but we’ll see what happens!

I came into this week knowing next to nothing about accessibility and adaptive/assistive technology, so I have really struggled with the discussion board because everything is so new to me. I don’t have a lot to interpret. Everything I could think to post seemed to just regurgitate what I was reading. However, I do feel like I have learned a lot that can be applied to future professional settings.

Let’s look at the Janet Hopkins article from 2004, “School Library Accessibility: The Role of Assistive Technology.”

I found Hopkins’s implication that special education teachers may not know the technology they can use with their students kind of insulting and unlikely. These teachers have gotten specialized degrees to best serve their students, and I am sure that they at least enter the profession knowing the technology that will best serve their students.

Having said that, school librarians have a role to play in helping students with disabilities foster a love of reading and give them the ability to do research and learn throughout their life. Finding AT for their students is part of fulfilling that role because it allows their students more independence and ability to reach goals. This also helps you become a specialist in different, less traditional way, which could help with job security. The AT you find can help students outside of the library by boosting their self-confidence and helping them learn how technology can assist them in other aspects of their life. It allows them to interact with their peers more, limiting social isolation. By being with other kids without disabilities more, acceptance and awareness among the general student population will develop. This can be really rewarding for a school librarian.

Hopkins presents 10 ideas that can help the school librarian learn about and use AT:

1. Find out whether special education students use the library. If not, how can you get them to? When I was doing some observation this semester, I watched a boy with a full-time aide use the library. It was at first unclear whether the student was with the class that was using the library or if he was there on a free period. He was loving exploring the books and picking some to take home. At one point, he started to get upset that a book he loves had been moved over the summer and he couldn’t find it. It was eventually found - phew! It did turn out he was with the class but didn’t sit with them for the read-aloud. Did he need that time to just explore and have some alone time? Or is there some way that he could have been included?

2. Reaching out to faculty who may have experience with AT makes sense. By combining your knowledge with theirs, you might hit on the right tool for a specific student. According to Robyn, a lot of technology is less expensive than it used to be and is probably being used more. It’s good to know what is already in use so that you can make your library more welcoming.

3. It's sensible to tour your library and see if you can think of ways to get rid of barriers. You may have to wait to see how people use the space, though, because you can’t predict how people with various disabilities will need to use it.

4. For professional development, it helps to even just keep an eye on presentations at conferences you plan to attend anyway to see if there will be anything about accessibility.

5. I’m not sure about the idea of having a focus group on AT. When do people have time to go to a focus group? If it meets, say, once a year for people to present their findings from the past year and discuss shortcomings, that seems plausible. But something that meets, say, every month might be too much.

6. I have nothing to add to the idea that school librarians should play around with AT built into their computers other than duh, please do that.

7. I wonder if grants for AT generally get given primarily to schools where special education is the focus? If so, you may need to find nontraditional grant sources. Hopkins suggests tapping into the special education parent advisory committee in her 2006 article. If you are lucky enough to work in a district with a robust PAC, they are fantastic allies. Parents are often the student’s best advocate, and if they know that you have tech, they can help direct students your way. Or if they know you are looking for funding, they may be able to help you with that.

8. I’m unsure about the specifics of ADA laws, but if things, physical or digital, aren't accessible, your district could get into hot water. It is a good idea to raise your concerns to administrators so they can be addressed as soon as possible.

9. Free trials of potential tools are very important. Most sales reps are more than happy to let you play with things before you buy them. They want good publicity, and if you buy something without trying it, don't like it, and badmouth it, they're not going to be happy.

10. Information on new technology should be shared widely. It should definitely be shared with the special ed parent group for the reasons given in item #7. You want as many people as possible to know about what you are doing in the library. For that reason, you should offer introductory classes to the technology when you've acquired it. This will allow faculty to use the technology outside of the library, if allowed, or within the library if you are unable to assist a student when they are there. Also, logging daily information on how many people use the AT can be crucial when it comes to future funding or justification for why you need the technology. It also gives you the opportunity to think about if no one is using the technology, why not? Is there really no use for it or are you not publicizing it enough?

It’s also worth noting that by including AT in your library, you are helping to normalize it, which will help destigmatize disabilities and the need for AT. Jones’s interview with Harvard’s Rappolt-Schlichtmann deftly touches on this. If you make AT available or visible to all students, you will make the students who really do need to use it feel less awkward.

This post is definitely shorter than the original, but I’m not sure what I missed!

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Reality Bites

I had so many thoughts while reading Reality Is Broken that didn't fit into my paper. Hopefully this doesn't get too long and stream-of-consciousness-y:

1. The idea of being "in the flow" is so real. My husband likes role playing video games because they allow him to develop a character and his own world. He played Skyrim for months before eventually burning out on it. When he was playing, though, he was often in the flow of finding side quests and exploring to keep the game play continuing. Part of the reason he did stop playing regularly, though, is that he eventually got so good at the game, it lost its challenge. It becomes boring then. McGonigal also recognizes this as a reason why games need to be well-designed to encourage gamers to play for as long as possible (68).

2. When McGonigal suggested the "gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression,” I began to wonder if this is why so many people with depression turn to video games (28). This may be a matter of the chicken versus the egg. However, if the claim that video games evoke a high that is the opposite of depression, it would make sense that people with depression would want to spend hours gaming.

3. On page 30 McGonigal claims that busy work when chosen makes us happy. It keeps “hands and minds occupied with focused activity that produces a clear result.” Definitely true! When I was in grad school in my mid-20s and didn't have kids, I had way more free time (wahhhhh...). On an interminable train trip between Buffalo and Boston, a fellow passenger introduced me to Penguin Diner, a game where you play a penguin waitress who has to serve all these tables of penguin guests. There was no way to save the game, so you had to play the whole thing in one go. There was really no great aim of the game other than to keep your penguin guests happy. It was complete busywork. However, I enjoyed the game and ended up spending probably an entire day playing the game from start to finish. I am sure I had other things to do, but I was having such a good time serving fish to those penguins that I wasn't about to stop. I don't see a huge difference between this and the nonstop games of solitaire my grandmother used to play. Different medium, same time occupying busywork that we enjoyed.

4. I appreciate McGonigal's take on what we think should be fun v. what actually is fun. She claims that what we think is fun is actually a little depressing - and, really, who hasn't had that thought on a night out? Or after spending a couple hours watching TV? It sounded like fun at the time but then we go from wanting something to relax to just being bored. Playing games is a much better way of dealing with stress and anxiety than just watching TV. That has been my experience with anxiety, at least. If I'm just watching YouTube, I can still focus on my anxiety in the background. If I'm playing a game that actively uses my brain, I am more able to tune out my anxiety.

5. McGonigal did seem a little too into video games, if you ask me. When on page 41 she suggested that flow can now be achieved without all the practice that more traditional forms like rock climbing would require, I thought to myself, "But is that a good thing?" It's nice to be able to have that instant euphoria, I suppose, but there is something to be said for working hard for hours and hours to achieve that high. Similarly, the idea that world building games are so satisfying because you see the immediate effect of your work on the world around you seems short-sighted (McGonigal 59). If you get used to immediate satisfaction, you might get so frustrated with the real world that you are unable to finish projects. After college I worked as a community organizer, which can be incredibly frustrating because you don't always see the fruit of your labor. You often work, hoping that someday what you have worked for is realized. If I was used to playing video games with immediate results, would I have stuck with social justice work?

6. I like the idea that gaming is working with your hands, even if it's just a controller. Most people in cities don't have access to a workshop or any other practical way of using our hands. Being able to build in a video game is a way to address that need. I have a friend who decided she wanted to learn to sew, but because she didn't know anyone who could teach her, she had to find a fabric shop with a workshop that offered classes, where she did eventually find a community of other people also interested in learning how to sew. There are ways to join communities of like-minded individuals, but for those who don't want to go out and find them, video games might be an easier way to achieve that.

7. I know the feeling McGonigal feels of playing a game and wanting to return to it even when you're not playing (61). Generally I get that feeling from a good book, but I can imagine that it is the same for gaming. When I think of it in a gaming sense, I wonder, "Is that a sign of addiction?" But when I think of it in terms of reading, I don't. That could be a sign of that anti-gaming bias that McGonigal says exists.

8. I thought McGognigal's idea of giving +1s in real life was very cute (148). I immediately wondered if there is a way to do that in schools. I mean, they do it at Hogwarts, so why not at Muggle schools? It sounded complicated, though, as it would take real investment to come up with a fast system to record those unlocked achievements.

Overall I enjoyed Reality Is Broken. I did think it went a little off the rails in the third section, but maybe I'm just not ~thinking big enough~. I would be interested to read SuperBetter. I've heard good things about the related app.

Social Media Lets Me Down

As an avid user of social media, I was convinced that this week would be a breeze. I'd find a few social media accounts I liked and boom, I'd be done.

I was very wrong.

Finding quality school library accounts that I felt would actually assist me in professional development was much more difficult than I had anticipated. A lot of Pinterest posts, for example, seemed great at first, but then I realized most seemed to be teachers trying to monetize their work on Teachers Pay Teachers. I don't know why, but this feels really skeezy to me. It shouldn't! People should get paid for their hard work! But as someone just trying to get ideas, it made me pause because I don't want to be duped into thinking an idea is original, only to find out that it's sponsored or a ~partnership~. Again, nothing wrong with that, but I was really looking for more organic-feeling posts, nothing super sleek. I feel kind of crazy even saying that, but I want to see the real world, not just a fantasy school.

I do think I found some great resources. I really like The School Librarian's Workshop Facebook group. A woman posted this week about what she should leave behind when she retires, and it was interesting to see what people found useful or frustrating when they took over a job from a retired librarian. It seems to have given people a lot to think about. That's the kind of material I wanted to find - accounts or groups that make you think and consider whether you are performing to the best of your ability.

I expected to find more on Twitter. I am sure that as the years go on, I'll come across more hashtags that will lead me to accounts I find inspiring. Same for Instagram. I am excited to check out the #diversepicturebooks tag that was shared in this week's discussion board. I've started following that, since I'm always looking for new books to read with my own children. It very well could come in handy in a future work environment, too.

Creating my own social media plan was much easier. I've been following how my kids' schools use social media and how my friends' workplaces (various archives) use it, so I was able to use what they do with what I want to do to create my plan. I've also been an active user of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat from their early years, so I feel fairly confident in using them at work, as well. I think I understand the dos and don'ts of professional social media, which you won't see reflected on my personal accounts necessarily, and will be able to carry that to my future school.

Honestly, I'm kind of excited about using social media to promote my future library. Here's hoping I get a job in a school where this is encouraged!

Ernest Hemingway: Family Man?

In a former life (okay, it was only like eight to ten years ago) I studied archives management and history. While pursuing those degrees, I had a multi-year internship with the Ernest Hemingway Collection at the JFK Library. So, when I had to create a video for my Emerging Technologies class, I figured I'd rely on a subject I know well. Here is a short and shallow video I created on Ernest Hemingway and his sons:

To get started making this video, I used the audiovisual portion of the Ernest Hemingway Collection on the JFK Library website. (Little known fact - the JFK Library has the largest Hemingway collection in the world. Find out why here.) I found the collection of photos featuring Hemingway's sons, downloaded my favorites, and ordered them chronologically.

In Animoto, I used a template to arrange the photos, record voiceover, and choose music. It was a very simple process. I do wish, though, that the music wasn't mixed so loudly. I thought I had turned it down enough, but I now realize that it swells toward the end of the video, almost making my voice unintelligible. This is something to remember for future uses.

You may notice some odd noises in the background of my video like my daughter rustling newspaper as she sets up to paint, my smoke detector letting me know it needs new batteries, and my daughter whispering "I love my mommy" (which is only a little creepy). Enjoy!

Is this tech 2 legit 2 quit?*

Can I admit something? I'm still kind of skeptical of a lot of these websites for use in school. It's not that they don't do a lot of really cool stuff. I just worry that they might take up more of the students' time than necessary in order to convey a concept.

I did think of some fun projects, though, that I thought would be worthwhile:

1. BigHugeLabs - There are lots of easy ways for students to create graphics for presentations or creative assignments here. (eg. biographies presented as magazine covers, cube to create math games, etc.) It's very basic, so it can be used by young students. I could see this being a good introduction to using computers to manipulate images.
2. Glogster can have many uses, but it must be used wisely so it's not just a bunch of text. Some of the examples on the website were so wordy, I thought I was looking at a conference poster presentation (which it turned out some of them may be). If a student wants to include a multimedia element, this is a great tool. I could see wanting to show a video of a red panda in the wild or what it's like to be in an avalanche. A student may also want to include a recording they took at the zoo of a lion roaring or an audio clip of a warbler from a birding website. Glogster would make it easy to incorporate this into a visually interesting presentation.
3. I've loved Doodle for years. It makes scheduling events so much easier than sending a million emails back and forth. A couple years ago I had a "playground club" for my son's Pre-K class over the summer, and I used a Doodle to find the day and time that worked for the majority of kids. I've also used it for scheduling meetings for people coming together from all over New England (and remotely from other parts of the country). There's no way I could have easily accomplished organizing that many people without the assistance of a tool like Doodle.
4. I love the look of Animoto. I can see a teacher of an advanced history class having the students do a project on doing research with non-text sources and having them put audiovisual resources into a longer video like those featured on Animoto. (Of course the featured video I really took as inspiration was a tribute to a deceased relative, but most of the topics being researched would probably feature dead people, so the point still stands...) There are so many great photos from archives and libraries online now (see Flickr!) that this would be both an interesting and fun project.

I have to admit that I don't think I would ever use Voki. This is probably just my personal preference because when Apple came out with the animoji, I was convinced it was the dumbest thing ever. Why would I want a text that's my friend pretending to be a unicorn? If I wanted to hear her voice, I'd call. Like, why??

... I digress. I can see some practical applications of Voki, especially after reading through this week's discussion board, but unless it was really necessary for a student to have an alternative way of presenting, I don't think I'd incorporate it into my planning.

Overall, I like the idea behind a lot of these resources, but I think you need to be very careful that you are using them for valid reasons, not just because it's ~fun~. Not that there's anything wrong with having fun, obviously, but learning a new tool or spending extra time crafting a video needs to be justified.

*Yes, now I also have 2 Legit 2 Quit stuck in my head.

The Internet Consumes Me

How much time can you spend exploring websites you may never use before it becomes overwhelming? It's not that long, quite frankly. If you asked me to tell you what websites I was on this week, I'd just refer you to my browser history because I can't keep up.

This week, I wanted to see how many new websites I could find that I really felt like I might use in a school library setting. I have to say, overall I was kind of disappointed. Maybe I just don't have the practical experience to see how many of these websites could be useful. Here's what I did find and like, though:

1. Edmodo - After spending a few weeks using Canvas, I can see how students, especially older students, would benefit from online discussion. One of the students in my class mentioned how as a teenager, she found that blogging helped her to develop her voice and confidence. A class discussion board could do the same for someone who is uncomfortable raising her hand in class. Edmodo seemed like a good resource for that if your school does not already have an app for online discussion. There is also a way for teachers to communicate with parents if the teacher would like to use this platform rather than email.

2. TEDed - I love the videos on TEDed! "A Day in the Life of an Ancient Celtic Druid," "The Secret Student Resistance to Hitler," "The Dust Bunnies that Built Our Planet..." It seems like you could find something here for almost any lesson. Sometimes showing a quick five minute video is just what you need to break up your class and keep your students engaged. There are also lesson plans if you need something to spark your own creativity. (The lesson plans themselves seem pretty basic.)

3. WeVideo - If you are looking for a way for your students to create professional looking videos easily, setting up an account at a website like WeVideo may be worth the money. Creating videos is a nice change of pace for students, even if it may be more of a time commitment than most other assignments. If students feel that they are making something they can be truly proud of because of how professional it appears, they will probably be more excited about the project.

4. Poll Everywhere - Having your students engage with your class through polls and quizzes is not something you'd do every day, most likely, but it might be nice to do occasionally, especially right before vacations when you know they're getting distracted really easily. Poll Everywhere is a popular option for companies and schools to do this. It's not free if you want all the features, but if this is something you think you and your coworkers would use regularly, a premium account may be worth advocating for.

5. Canva - For my other class this week, I needed to create two infographs. I'd never made one before and certainly don't have any graphic design software on my $199 Chromebook. So, I googled "infographic free" and found Canva. I quickly made two rather professional (if I do say so myself) infographics. It was easy and would be a nice way for students to present information to their peers. I could see an assignment where students had to propose a business venture or science project in a simple way, using Canva. It would be a nice break from PowerPoint and would force them to elaborate on an idea, rather than just reading from a slide. There are premium accounts on Canva, but I found I didn't need it. If you really want to zhuzh up your infographic, there are many elements you can buy on a per item basis. Another site to consider is Piktochart, which seems better for collaborating, but this, again, comes at a price.

That last point about considering two sites that do virtually the same thing raises a point that I struggled with while exploring. There are so many websites and apps that claim to do the same (or very similar) thing. How do you decide which to use? We all have limited time, and the thought of spending hours exploring these resources and reading reviews while also trying to run a school library sounds exhausting. Maybe if they are similar, you just go with whatever you get a good feel from? And ask your friends if they've used any of the sites; they may be able to give you pointers. There are innumerable tools for schools online, though, and knowing even some of them will give you an advantage when working with teachers and students alike.

Time to admit I am not as current with tech as I thought

Technology sure does move fast! This week I've spent a lot of time thinking about how technology has changed in the past 10 years. And then I got thinking about how it was ten years before that. And then I realized that is going to be a challenge to keep up with this stuff when I'm working full-time. It's hard enough to do when I'm just a student (and mom and volunteer and general person trying to live her life). That's why I'm so happy for people like Joyce Valenza who are able to be exposed to so many kinds of technology and do some initial analysis for librarians and educators. I'm including her list of tech trends from 2015 and my reaction to them behind THE JUMP! at the end of this post.

I really enjoyed the experience of using Flipgrid, not so much because of Flipgrid itself but because of how it forced me to think of integrating technology into lessons. Initially I just thought, "Oh, this would be cool to use as an alternative to a traditional speaking assignment." Then I went further. "What if there is a journalism class at the school?" You could use Flipgrid or another video app as a way to simulate television reporting where you may only have a short time to convey a message. What if you have a student who is home for an extended illness but is trying to stay involved as much as possible? You could use a video to have them record their speech and present it to the class that way. (Then take a video of the class's reaction and send it back.) I know none of these concepts are groundbreaking, but this was a good reminder that new technology can make these sorts of things more accessible. No longer do you need to set up a huge camcorder in the back of the room to make simple and short presentations. I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to play with Flipgrid because it got me thinking about ways to engage with the faculty and the library's resources.

Social media is another topic this week that I feel strongly about. I know that I'm old by students' standards, but I'm a millennial, goshdarnit, and I'm going to use social media to the best of my ability.

via GIPHY

I hesitate to do too much with social media before 8th grade due to these sites' age restrictions, but I know that older students could benefit from using social media as a way to engage with experts in areas they're studying and to stay abreast of current events that affect certain subjects. For example, when I was a senior in high school, I took an environmental studies class. If I was to take that class now, I know that I could have used Twitter and Instagram to follow experts in environmental science, which would have allowed me access to the most current thinking in the field.

I also realize that I have let my tech skills fall behind while staying home with my kids. I knew they were getting bad, but I didn't realize how bad until I tried to center that gif and found out that the <center> tag is now obsolete. While I am excited to create a library website at some point in the future, it is slowly dawning on me how much of a learning curve that's going to be if basic languages like html have changed that much. Again, I can see why as a library media specialist, you need to stay on top of technology.

I really enjoyed this week. The conversations on the discussion board are really interesting, and I'm learning so much from my peers.

Top Ten Technology Tips for Teachers

As students' lives become more enmeshed with technology, it will serve teachers well to incorporate it into their lessons. Here are some tips and thoughts for teachers looking to be more technology friendly:
1. Start by reading studies and books and attending seminars about using technology in classrooms so that you have a clear idea of what is needed to implement technology based lessons, as well as what sorts of programs and technology-based lessons work best for learning.
2. Think about why you want to use technology. Your students will learn best if you have a clear objective that benefits from technology.
3. Ask your students how they use technology. eg. What do they prefer to use? Laptops? Tablets? Cell phones? How are your students spending their time on these devices? Use that information to create your lessons.
4. You will probably need to learn how to fully use the technologies you plan on using before introducing them to the class. You want to feel in control.
5. However, you probably won't be able to anticipate all of the issues you and your students might encounter. Work with your students to figure it out.
6. Make sure you talk with the technology instructors and IT professionals at your school or district to see what they have already developed and to see how (or if) they can support your plans.
7. Consider your students before making any big decisions. eg. Do they have devices from home they can use? If not, can they procure them? Is your class easily distracted? What devices or programs can you use that will lessen the distraction? Do they have a strong technology background or will you need to teach them from the ground up?
8. Consider the parents. Make sure you can sell your technology decisions to skeptical parents who may not want their children on screens at school.
9. Using technology may take more time (both in class and for you as teacher) than a more traditional lesson. Plan accordingly.
10. Have fun with it! Your students will be more likely to enjoy a new way of learning or experiencing the material you're presenting if they can tell that you're excited about teaching it this way.