Final Reflection

The end of the spring semester has arrived!  Reflecting back, it seems as though it flew by!  I have to say that when I first took a look at the syllabus for this technology class, I felt like I could bottle up my anxiety.  I'm not totally behind when it comes to technology, but I've been out of the classroom and loop for a bit, and I just haven't kept up-to-date with what all is available.  I was also concerned about having to basically figure things out for myself.  But once I dove in, I realized, that having the opportunity to explore and HAVING to dive into different technologies was really a great thing!  I explored things that I probably wouldn't have explored on my own (podcasts) and I learned a valuable lesson: as a librarian/media specialist, I am going to have to step out of my comfort zone and try the new things, even if they make me sweaty!  If I'm going to keep the pace with the "natives" and successfully reach the generations I'll encounter as a librarian, I'm going to have to let loose and get in there.  This class really helped me do that.  I'm glad that I had to explore even the technologies that I didn't just love.  I appreciated that the assignments had us jump in.  All that being said, there are technologies that we explored that I can absolutely say I can't wait to use, as a librarian and technologies that I don't see myself using as much.

My absolute favorite technology that we explored was probably the screencasts.  I just think this is such an invaluable tool for librarians for many reasons.  It's beneficial for students and faculty, alike.  A librarian wouldn't have to spend precious time explaining things over and over to students, they could simply direct them to the screencast.  And if a new teacher was hired after a training had already taken place (like in the middle of the year) they could use screencasts to get caught up.  In addition, it's helpful for parents who might need some assistance of their own when they are trying to support their kids.  Ultimately, I also think screencasts help patrons (whether students/faculty/or parents) realize what all the library has to offer.  

Another technology that I really like was the Infographics.  I actually had a harder time with this assignment because I was working on an old computer that couldn't update to a system that it needed to, in order to access the sites appropriately.  This made me realize how important is is to keep your technology updated!  I can see myself using infographics in the the future, to help get information out quickly to students and staff.  I also think that infographics are appealing to students, for their own use for projects.  

I wouldn't say that any of the technologies we explored were difficult, per say.  I do think there are technologies that we explored that would be difficult to implement with students in a library, more so than in a classroom.  For instance, I feel like Cartoons and comics would be very appealing to students, but I'm not sure how much time a librarian might have, to help students navigate those different sites, without the help of the classroom teacher.  I could definitely see the benefit of teaching teachers about this  technology, though, so that they could use it in their classrooms.  Also, the social media technologies have the potential to be great assets for librarians, but I think as far as use by students, they are better suited for older secondary students, more so than elementary.  I aspire to be an elementary librarian, therefore, I can't see myself using too much social media with students (since they are too young to legally have many of those accounts), but I could absolutely see myself using facebook/twitter/instagram to keep parents, faculty and the community updated on what's happening in the library.  

All in all, I think all the of the technologies that we explored have some sort of benefit in the library.  Whether the benefit is for adults or students differs among the technologies.  I've realized that there is so much out there that can be helpful, useful, and motivating and that I will absolutely need to make it a priority to keep myself up to date about available technologies (probably by using many of the blogs I explored!)

Media (is) the Message

In the early nineties, Richard Clark and Robert Kozma began the great "media debate" in which they argue that either media is just "a vehicle that delivers instruction" (Clark) or that "learning with media is a complimentary process." (Kozma).  "Media" refers to books, television, computers, and multimedia.
Although there are parts of Clark's argument that I can understand, I have to side with Kozma.  In reading more about Kozma's thoughts on media's influence on learning, I agree with much of what he says.  From my own experiences as a learner and from my experiences as a teacher witnessing learning, I do agree that media is complimentary of learning.  I very much agree that the learner and the medium interact to create new learning.  That interaction is critical, if learning is to take place.  And if the learner is disinterested in whichever media form is being used, little learning will be accomplished. What I find myself most disagreeing with, when reading Clark's argument, is that he states media does not influence student achievement.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  For instance, this class has required us to use various forms of media other than print- we've used video and audio.  I can tell you right now, that personally, I learn much better when I can SEE demonstrations and hear explanations, rather than just reading a book about whatever the subject matter may be.  Today, in education, there is a huge push for differentiation for students, which goes to show in itself that not all media is created equal and thus, student achievement will be influenced.  Clark is right that there are many different media attributes that will accomplish the same learning goal, but where he is wrong is that we know what works for one learner, may not work for another, so the "delivery" method is actually pretty important.
In the end, I couldn't agree more with Kozma when he states, "Understanding how learners interact with and use the unique capabilities of each medium's format is essential to understanding the effect of media on learning."

References:

The media debate. (2012, August 30). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate

Kozma, Robert B. (1994).  The influence of media on learning: the debate continues.  School Library Media Research.  Volume 22, Number 4. Summer 1994.

Podcasts

I love listening to podcasts!  I have, for quite some time.  But let me just tell you that the idea of making an actual podcast makes me a little sweaty, just like when I had to make a screencast.  I don't know why I just really don't like having to do voice recordings.  But I had to conquer this monster in a different grad school class, an slowly but surely, I'm getting more and more comfortable with creating my own podcasts.  That being said, this past week, I got to look into some different ways that podcasts can be used in the classroom/library, and I'm realizing how important it could be for me to really get over my anxiety when it comes to podcast making.

There are so many ways that podcasts can be used in the classroom!  I think taking some of those ideas and using them in the library is a great idea too.  I visited the site, http://podcasting-in-education.wikispaces.com/#x-Finding%20Podcasts , to get a better idea of some ways that podcasts might be used for teaching.  Some of the ideas this site discussed included things like:

• publishing student work
• student projects
• distributing school assignments
• peer teaching
• archive lectures
• interview guest experts
• create oral history
• audoio tours
• public safety message
• school happenings
• and professional development

I loved all of these ideas!  A few things that I think could translate over to the library would be things like having students publish book talks about different books.  They could also "interview" characters from books.  Podcasts could also be used to discuss library happenings.  In addition, librarians could use podcasts to update teachers and staff on resources they might find useful in the library, if there isn't time to actually have a school-wide meeting.  

Now, I also visited the site, http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/teaching-with-podcasts-30109.html , which had some good things to say as far as how to prepare for using podcasts in the school.  I feel like this site listed some drawbacks that could hinder schools/teachers/librarians from using podcasts.  For one, I do think that podcasts are better suited for an older crowd- I'm not sure how elementary student friendly podcasts might be, unless a teacher or librarian is assisting the student.  The point was brought up that anyone can post to podcasts so there will most likely be inappropriate material out there.  This being said, it's a great opportunity to teach about cyber responsibility, just like when using social media.  This site does bring up the point that in order to create podcasts, one must be pretty well prepared- that goes for teachers/librarians as well as students.  I did like the tips they shared about how to prepare for making your own podcast (as far as gathering the information, creating a script, and recording in short clips so that it's easier to edit).  

All in all, I think that podcasts have the potential to be a great tool, but I think that it's one that, if used with students, will take a lot of time to do.  For a classroom teacher, I feel like this is not as big of a predicament as it might be with a librarian, who only sees students possibly once a week or once every other week.  However, I do see the benefits of a librarian creating his/her own podcasts to share with students and staff.  I think that it would be a quick way to share information with a large amount of people, without having to carve out a specific time during the day/week/month to meet.  It could be worth trying for a monthly podcast that librarians could even email out to teachers, where they explain different topics (resources available, copyright issues, new books available, upcoming events, etc).  

This past week, I explored three different podcast makers- Soundcloud, Auidoboom, and Podomatic.  In the past, I've used GarageBand, but sadly, my Mac died a quick death and I've since been using a PC.  Below are my podcasts, where I discuss the book, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry.  

Soundcloud:





Of the three podcast sites I used, I like Soundcloud the best.  Soundcloud was easy to navigate.  

Soundcloud has no timelimit for one podcast, but there is a limit on how many free hours you get.  It's also fairly user friendly.

I did not really like Audioboom.  At first it was easy to navigate and complete a podcast, but upon listening to the podcast, it's TERRIBLE.  It sounds like something is broken.  I tried to go back and fix this problem,but could not figure it out.  Here is the recording from Audioboom: (listen at your own risk)



And finally, Podomatic.  This one was my least favorite because you have to upload a file from your computer- you can't just record directly.  I like being able to just hit a button and record from the podcast site.  I felt like Podomatic had too many steps, in order to create something simple. (For some reason, the code to embed would not work, so I've included the link)
http://wseewald13.podomatic.com/entry/2016-04-08T14_21_02-07_00

All in all, I think the podcasts could be used in various ways in the classroom and library.  I think that in order for students to use podcasts in the library, there would have to be some overlap in classroom time, because most librarians probably don't have the amount of time it would take with students, to teach them and then let them create.  I do think that librarians could absolutely use podcasts themselves, for students and staff.

Cartoons and Comics

This past week, I explored and experimented with a few different cartoon and comic strip making sites.  I haven't ever created my own cartoon or comic, but I've seen them used in different presentations, for other classes before.  It was a good experience and I know that students will love this tool, as well!
I visited the site, http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/How-to-Play/Educators/ , which had dozens of ideas on how to use comic strips, not only in school, but at home too.  They even have lesson plans for teachers!  I loved reading the lists of ways to use comix in the classroom (it made me miss being in the classroom so much!).  There are seriously a ton of ways to use comic strips in the classroom (and even in the library)!  My top four favorite, that I can't wait to try out are:
1. Practicing new vocabulary words- create a comic that uses new words learned
2. Understanding literary character perspectives- have students assume the roles of two of the characters with each on'es personality and voice and have them interact with each other.
3. Story boards- illustrate a book that has been read, kind of like a book report.  Summarize and comment on what was read.
4. Autobiographical/biographical introduction- use the comic strips/cartoons as a means of introducing yourself, or even introducing characters from books

Below are three of my comic strips, with my evaluation of each site that I used to create the comic.

ToonDoo:

ToonDoo had a lot of options and variety of choices for backgrounds, characters, and text, for making your comic and it was relatively easy.  All you have to do is click and drag.  I had a huge problem with saving my work and being able to access it.  I tried creating multiple comics, but every time I saved, when I went back to download the comic, all my saved toons had the message, "under image processing."  I ended up screen shotting my comic, to add to my blog post.  As soon as I can figure out this problem (I'm certain it's user error, but I haven't had luck solving my problem as of yet) I'd like to play with this website a little more, as I know it offers a lot.  I can see this site being very useful for students, since it's easy to navigate and use.

Pixton:



This site is fairly easy to navigate, but it's not as simple as ToonDoo.  It also has a more limited variety of characters and other items to choose from, but it doesn't hinder the comics from being interesting.  I did like that there were options for creating a "comic strip," "storyboard," or "graphic novel."  I think these options lend themselves well to the different projects that comics could be used for in the classroom and library.  I decided to stay with my introduction theme for making the comics, but I think this site would be a great tool for doing a book review or book report.  I think students would find this site fairly easy to use, but probably not as easy as ToonDoo.

MakeBeliefsComix:

This was probably my least favorite of the sites I explored.  But it's also the cookiest, so I feel like it would appeal to students.  I did like that you don't have to create an account to create a comic, you just jump right in.  This comic creator felt much more limited than the other creation sites.  I think this could be a good think when just getting started, since you aren't overwhelmed with all the choices, but it's definitely limiting on what all you can do.  It is easy to use and that is a big advantage.  I would say this site might be the easiest for younger students, since they won't get caught up in having to make a lot of different choices.  Also, everything has to be short and sweet, so again, I think that lends itself to being used by younger aged students.  It was very easy to save work and share.

Final Thoughts:
All in all, this was a growing experience for me.  I can definitely use some practice in creating comics and I need to figure out what my issue is with ToonDoo- especially because that was probably my favorite comic making site, and one that I would like to use in the future.  I can see comic strips being a really awesome and fun tool to use in the classroom.  As for using comics in the library, I could see using them as a librarian to get kids interested in certain books, piquing interest about characters, and maybe for advertising an upcoming event or explaining a certain library process.  I could also see the benefit of having students create comics for books and then posting them around the library or school, for other students to see (kind of like a book advertisement of sorts).  And of course, I can see using comics as a means of introductions for either the librarian or other school staff.  I'm looking forward to seeing how my fellow classmates say they will use comics in their libraries, in the future.