Digital Tech - Final (but ongoing) Thoughts
After a semester of experimenting with a wide number of technological tools and resources I feel that I’ve gained a deeper understanding of a broad sampling of options that will be great to use as a teacher librarian. Some I was already utilizing, like Blogger, YouTube, Podbean, and QR codes. Others I have been totally unfamiliar with, like reader apps, creating cartoons online for education, and the in’s and out’s of Universal Design for Learning in creating curriculum and designing lessons. All are geared at making learning engaging, relevant, and authentic, and bringing it to a wide audience, much like the heart of UDL is using a multitude of tools and media to reach all learners where they are. Technological tools can not only be supportive and assistive, but help all unique learners benefit from self expression and autonomy, as well as collaboration and communication.
During this unique time in our lives when brick-and-mortar schools have been closed and we have all moved learning online, I’ve developed what I think is an even more personal perspective on educational technologies, as I am not only a teacher librarian, but now a homeschooling mother of four. My students’ teachers have gone above and beyond to reach out and continue educating, but my assistance on our end has ultimately been necessitated if my students are really going to succeed. My “you can handle it” attitude quickly led them to frustration and tears, low recorded grades popping up, and ultimately my phone ringing and my inbox filling with messages of concern--was everything okay, because a child hadn’t checked in here or there, or completed this or that. My takeaway: students need engagement--lots of engagement! They need discussion and feedback and multiple forms of communication, and they need to be able to express their learning through multiple types of products, self-directed, self-selected products, not just written directives asking for written responses. However, having said all that...sometimes you can have too much of a good thing! Rather than trying to master as many platforms as possible in a short time, focusing on one or two good ones is probably the best way to get learners feeling confident in their use.
I would say that one of the more exciting things I learned about during the course of Digital Technology was cartooning in learning. I had never before gone online to try free resources like Pixton, MakeBeliefsComix, and StoryboardThat, which I visited to create some example comics that could be well utilized in education, as suggested by an article from MakeBeliefsComix. I especially loved the idea of making a story that could be used by English Language Learners to fill in and practice conversation skills. This is a fun alternative to using simple sentence stems and I think will be very well received by ELL’s--and all students, much as the idea behind UDL states that creating a lesson for specific needs can really reach other learners better as well.
I also really liked delving deeper into the use of infographics, and could see subscribing to one of those sources for future use. I experimented with Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogram, and enjoyed reading fellow classmates’ blog posts and seeing how they utilized these and what options I may have missed out on in my own use. Infographics are a visually appealing way to digest information, sometimes breaking down a great deal of information into a more understandable form, especially for visual learners, though they can be extremely beneficial to many various learning types.
Finally, finding out more about screencasts and screencasting could not have been more timely, under the current circumstances. I used these in my work already to guide students through steps like accessing ebooks and audiobooks, and even show them myself reading an ebook aloud, alternating between images of me and then the ebook on the screen. I made this choice because I couldn’t physically get my hands on the book that I wanted to read to them.
I detailed in my findings on QR codes that I was already using these in the library for various activities, such as during coding week, when I wanted to easily direct students to various coding games to try. QR codes save paper, cut down on time spent on details like directing to specific websites, and are easy to use. I highly recommend that any educators not using them yet try them right away. I had also tried my hand at Animoto when I couldn’t find an appropriate book trailer to show students for a specific novel, and fully plan to use it more in the future. It’s also a fun tool for student choice in that they may choose to use it for their own products, which I have seen done with great success, but haven’t yet tried.
I preferred some platforms over others when it came to certain designs, more because of the options some offered, or ease of use, or because they were more liberal with their free offerings. However, I did not particularly dislike any of the concepts, and plan to utilize all the ideas behind these technological tools in the library. If there are platforms I especially did not like this term, they came more in the form of those that I had to figure out under duress, with my own child throwing his or her hands up in frustration! I experienced some perfect examples of how some educators absolutely love a tool or resource, and others just flat dislike it. I have many colleagues who regularly utilize, and even provide some PD for, Nearpod. They love it! 20 minutes into trying to help my 5th grader complete one slide--involving creating four text boxes for her responses, while toggling back and forth to the slide she was responding to--I wanted to scream. Okay, I screamed. The text boxes wouldn’t stay put, and my habit of using the arrow keys to move back and forth within text (for editing purposes) kept sending me shooting back through the slides. Each text box had to be created and formatted separately, as apparently “copy and paste” is not an option. Did I mention this was a multiple-slide lesson, with many, many responses, all of which required the student herself to add in the needed text boxes? And that she can’t even really keyboard well yet? I’m not sure if it was being utilized to Nearpod’s maximum ability, but I can testify that after this semester, it will be awhile before I feel like dipping my toes back in that water. And my take-away from that lesson: yes, learners can be burned.
I learned of many innovative platforms this semester that I will be utilizing in the future as a teacher librarian, if I’m not already. Moreover, I have a new-found appreciation for really maintaining a digital presence, through multiple modes, and keeping information and answers at students’ fingertips. I had previously been aware of some librarians using a platform like Canvas to create an online library “class” where they could put no end of information, resources, projects and programs. Now, I have one myself, even if it is a little rushed and bare bones; soon, I hope to have one that is far more developed.
For all the up’s and down’s, overall this semester has gotten me pretty psyched about my ability to jump in and try new tech that I can not only use to teach, but share with other educators, and utilize for students’ products. I made a little story to share with my students this week reminding them of some of their available tech resources, as well as a few other “helpful” tips, just for fun, using a popular app amongst the tweens and teens that educators have started to embrace:
During this unique time in our lives when brick-and-mortar schools have been closed and we have all moved learning online, I’ve developed what I think is an even more personal perspective on educational technologies, as I am not only a teacher librarian, but now a homeschooling mother of four. My students’ teachers have gone above and beyond to reach out and continue educating, but my assistance on our end has ultimately been necessitated if my students are really going to succeed. My “you can handle it” attitude quickly led them to frustration and tears, low recorded grades popping up, and ultimately my phone ringing and my inbox filling with messages of concern--was everything okay, because a child hadn’t checked in here or there, or completed this or that. My takeaway: students need engagement--lots of engagement! They need discussion and feedback and multiple forms of communication, and they need to be able to express their learning through multiple types of products, self-directed, self-selected products, not just written directives asking for written responses. However, having said all that...sometimes you can have too much of a good thing! Rather than trying to master as many platforms as possible in a short time, focusing on one or two good ones is probably the best way to get learners feeling confident in their use.
I would say that one of the more exciting things I learned about during the course of Digital Technology was cartooning in learning. I had never before gone online to try free resources like Pixton, MakeBeliefsComix, and StoryboardThat, which I visited to create some example comics that could be well utilized in education, as suggested by an article from MakeBeliefsComix. I especially loved the idea of making a story that could be used by English Language Learners to fill in and practice conversation skills. This is a fun alternative to using simple sentence stems and I think will be very well received by ELL’s--and all students, much as the idea behind UDL states that creating a lesson for specific needs can really reach other learners better as well.
I also really liked delving deeper into the use of infographics, and could see subscribing to one of those sources for future use. I experimented with Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogram, and enjoyed reading fellow classmates’ blog posts and seeing how they utilized these and what options I may have missed out on in my own use. Infographics are a visually appealing way to digest information, sometimes breaking down a great deal of information into a more understandable form, especially for visual learners, though they can be extremely beneficial to many various learning types.
Finally, finding out more about screencasts and screencasting could not have been more timely, under the current circumstances. I used these in my work already to guide students through steps like accessing ebooks and audiobooks, and even show them myself reading an ebook aloud, alternating between images of me and then the ebook on the screen. I made this choice because I couldn’t physically get my hands on the book that I wanted to read to them.
I detailed in my findings on QR codes that I was already using these in the library for various activities, such as during coding week, when I wanted to easily direct students to various coding games to try. QR codes save paper, cut down on time spent on details like directing to specific websites, and are easy to use. I highly recommend that any educators not using them yet try them right away. I had also tried my hand at Animoto when I couldn’t find an appropriate book trailer to show students for a specific novel, and fully plan to use it more in the future. It’s also a fun tool for student choice in that they may choose to use it for their own products, which I have seen done with great success, but haven’t yet tried.
I preferred some platforms over others when it came to certain designs, more because of the options some offered, or ease of use, or because they were more liberal with their free offerings. However, I did not particularly dislike any of the concepts, and plan to utilize all the ideas behind these technological tools in the library. If there are platforms I especially did not like this term, they came more in the form of those that I had to figure out under duress, with my own child throwing his or her hands up in frustration! I experienced some perfect examples of how some educators absolutely love a tool or resource, and others just flat dislike it. I have many colleagues who regularly utilize, and even provide some PD for, Nearpod. They love it! 20 minutes into trying to help my 5th grader complete one slide--involving creating four text boxes for her responses, while toggling back and forth to the slide she was responding to--I wanted to scream. Okay, I screamed. The text boxes wouldn’t stay put, and my habit of using the arrow keys to move back and forth within text (for editing purposes) kept sending me shooting back through the slides. Each text box had to be created and formatted separately, as apparently “copy and paste” is not an option. Did I mention this was a multiple-slide lesson, with many, many responses, all of which required the student herself to add in the needed text boxes? And that she can’t even really keyboard well yet? I’m not sure if it was being utilized to Nearpod’s maximum ability, but I can testify that after this semester, it will be awhile before I feel like dipping my toes back in that water. And my take-away from that lesson: yes, learners can be burned.
I learned of many innovative platforms this semester that I will be utilizing in the future as a teacher librarian, if I’m not already. Moreover, I have a new-found appreciation for really maintaining a digital presence, through multiple modes, and keeping information and answers at students’ fingertips. I had previously been aware of some librarians using a platform like Canvas to create an online library “class” where they could put no end of information, resources, projects and programs. Now, I have one myself, even if it is a little rushed and bare bones; soon, I hope to have one that is far more developed.
For all the up’s and down’s, overall this semester has gotten me pretty psyched about my ability to jump in and try new tech that I can not only use to teach, but share with other educators, and utilize for students’ products. I made a little story to share with my students this week reminding them of some of their available tech resources, as well as a few other “helpful” tips, just for fun, using a popular app amongst the tweens and teens that educators have started to embrace:
It's amazing how much we learned this semester! We definitely gained an immense amount of knowledge that we can actually share with our peers, students, and colleagues. This course made me excited to log into blackboard weekly for each module. This has been one of the courses that has been the most useful, especially in during the COVID-19 world pandemic. This course came in handy during our new adaptation to virtual teaching/classrooms. I was able to share my knowledge with others, which is the best form of evaluation for me.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct this semester definitely had its highs and lows. Not the course materials but trying to balance are at home responsibility and school. I too have learned so much this semester--especially creating the comic strips! I would have never created anything like that in the past! I already used it in our school to convey stress relievers we can do at home and with our kids. I also enjoyed reading classmates' blogs--so many ideas. It will be great to apply what we've learned! Sounds like you will be doing the same! Have a great summer!
ReplyDelete