Reflection

Reflection

Over the past several weeks I have been able to learn about a ton of new and fun technology Apps, programs and software. I have been able to create and explore and test out these programs and have gained a ton of very useful information and ideas that I will take into the library with me. I have created a Facebook page for my library that has now connected over 20 families to the library. I have also created a Twitter, Instagram and vine account to help me follow other librarians and share pictures and videos with families and colleagues. Along with the social media sites that I have created for the library I also learned how to make screencasts, Cartoon and comic strips that will help me connect to my students and make the library technology friendly and a leader in the school. Over the past several weeks I have also joined and created online book communities where I can collect and rate the books that I have read and where I can make reading list for students.  I have also created a podcast, QR reader and YouTube videos to connect and showcase all the fun things that are happening in the library. I also had a blast creating an Animoto video for books talks! I have taken everything I have learned over the past several weeks and tried to incorporate it in the library and have great success!

 I feel that my Facebook account has been the best social media account that I created and has been the most used. I also have created other Animoto videos and have planned with the fourth grade teachers an Animoto project for later in the year so I will be using that often. I have also shared and partnered with the technology teacher for a project using ToonDoo that I am very excited about! I have also shared and have a few teachers now using Biblionasium with their classes to create books list and create class book shelf. I also have a QR code on the library door to help connect families. With all the great things there are very few things that I did not enjoy or find useful for my grade levels. One of them was the Infographics. While they are great and an awesome way to display information they are very time consuming to make and I just don’t see myself using them as much. That doesn’t mean I won’t, just not as much as the other tools. The comic websites were a lot of fun also but the Pixton site I think will be a little too complicated for my grade levels. Overall it has been a great few weeks full of great new tools that will be used in the library, along with the tools and websites I have also been able to make connections with other librarians who I can learn from and share ideas with.

How Teachers are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms

Purcell, K., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., & Friedrich, L. (2013, February 23). How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/02/28/how-teachers-are-using-technology-at-home-and-in-their-classrooms/?beta=true&utm_expid=53098246-2.Lly4CFSVQG2lphsg-KopIg.1&utm_referrer=http://www.pewinternet.org/search/how+teachers+are+using+techno

 

How Teachers are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms

By: Kristen Purcell, Alan Heaps, Judy Buchanan, and Linda Friedrich

In the report “How Teachers are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms”, a group of four professionals conducted a survey of 2,462 Advanced Placement and Nation Writing Project teachers of middle school and high school students to find out how technology is affecting their teaching and how they are using in to the classroom. I found the result to be exactly what I expected. It was a very interesting read with a lot of great statistics. When I think of technology and how is has affect and changed how I taught in the classroom and now how it is such a huge part of my job as a librarian I can’t imagine a day without using technology. As much as it hurts to say it I feel like today’s children have to have technology to keep them engaged in learning. It is also the best way I see to challenge them and to prepare them for their future. I heard someone say once that when today’s children grow up the jobs they will have, have not even been created yet because the technology will change so much that there will be a need for different types of jobs.  In the report the authors state that 92% of the teachers surveyed said that the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to access content, resources, and materials for their teaching. I would also agree with that even on the Elementary level because our online database is growing each year because of the need for more online resources for students. Programs like Capstone and PebbleGo are used every day by students as a way to read eBooks or conduct research on a topic.  The report also talked about how 73% of the teachers say that cell phones are a common part of their teaching practice now. I know from personal experience that I have used my cell phone and the remind me app to communicate with parents and this past few months as a librarian I have used my cell phone in many ways to show case the fun events and happenings in the library.

In this report it also talked a lot about how the amount of technology use and access differs from school to home and from low income schools to affluent schools. I know that in my Title One district we do not have access to as much technology as we would like. It would be amazing to be able to provide students with a tablet to use on a daily basis or smart board to use in the classroom but we just don’t have to means to provide that at this time. I am currently teaching in a school that was built to hold 750 students and this year we have over 950 students so our budget has to go towards making room for the students. I agree with the report’s finding when they say that 56% of teachers in low income schools say that the lack of resources and technology is a “major challenge”. Not only is technology access limited at school for these students but home access is not much better. Some of our students do not even have a computer at home to help with homework or research and that creates a challenge as well.

Overall this was a very interesting report. There was not anything that really jumped out as shocking because most of it was what I would expect with such a technology driven world that we live in today. They discussed the difference between ages, genders, and income. I would recommend reading it and looking closely at the charts that are provided in the report. They provided a lot of data support their findings.

I am curious to see how other are using technology in the library, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

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