Conclusion and Self Assessment

At the beginning of the year I felt comfortable and confident with incorporating many forms of technology into my classroom instruction.  My weakness was seen when I continued to use the same types of technology rather than searching for new and innovative ideas.  I feel that this class has helped me to add to my tool bag of technology uses in my classroom.  I hope that one day soon I will have a library of my own in which to draw from this ever increasing tool bag.  From this class I not only feel that I have found more ways to use technology but I also feel that my eyes have opened to how much technology there is available to me.  

Now I not only take advantage of ways to incorporate technology that I read about and see others use but I can go looking for my own programs, websites, or other forms of technology.  Just this week I became frustrated with having a school calendar, work calendar, and social calendar.   I researched my options and realized I could create a Google calendar and sync it with my cell phone.  Now I have my schedule with me wherever I go!  In the future my goal is to be more proactive in finding technological innovations to help me and my students with our needs on a more frequent basis.  If I can think it someone has probably already created it. 

The Job of Organizing

I think one implication of “anyone” being able to organize information that my school district has been afraid of is the loss of librarians.  I know many districts, mine included, that have at least toyed with the idea of less librarians, or none at all, at many of the campuses.  Here the idea of a tight budget has caused many to believe that an assistant can maintain a library.  Because of these ideas many school districts have librarians must ensure that they are at the forefront of technology and that they are being active participants in the education of their students as a means of hoping to show their value. 

I hope that my Diigo tags are helpful to others.  While I am still in a classroom rather than a library I tried to ensure that my tags would work for either occasion.  I hope that when I am in a library I am considered a teacher-librarian rather than a book-shelfer and therefore will be able to use many of these websites or ideas with my students.  I also hope that the tags my classmates use will provide me with other great resources. 

The Machine is Us/ing Us

 
Professor Wesch named this video "The Machine is Us/ing Us" because while many people feel that with the increased popularity and necessity of the internet many people feel like we are becoming slaves to technology it is in fact us who are enslaving technology.  We are creating, managing, and organizing information in a fantastic new way.  This new way involves us interacting with information like never before, in real time where others can instantly have access to it.   Sites such as Wikipedia place knowledge and information at the fingertips of anyone with internet access.  While this is a convenient place for it to be it can also be scary.  Anyone has access to upload, change, or add to content on the internet.  

This realization is especially true for this generation of librarians.  We are the ones who will be charged with the task of creating some organizational method to control the chaos that is the World Wide Web.  We will have to make it a safe and reliable place for our students.  

While technology was previously seen as a tool in schools or a fun activity to engage students it is now a required element of teaching.  Just like reading and math teachers now must teach technology skills in Texas.  The ability to find, create, and use different websites, software, and other technology resources requires another new role for teachers and librarians.  With the ease at which websites can be updated we must not only show students how to access information and how to use this technology effectively we must also teach them how to ensure that the resources they are using are reliable and valuable. 

Quick Response Codes in the Library

 

I made my quick response code link to my third graders class blog.  I imagine I could attach this tag to a copy of a book we recently read.  Patrons who chose to read the book could follow what my students have read by using the tag.  They could also comment on our blog and let us know what other books they have recently read.   I imagine if I were in my own library I could place these on a few of my favorite books as a fun way to have kids become interested in sharing their thoughts about the books they are reading. 

For my teachers I could add a tag to professional development resources that linked them to websites, blogs, or other instructional material that might be related to a specific item.  This would be a great way to provide them with resources that might be beneficial to them based on the items they were using.

My school has a literacy library where teachers go to check out small sets of books for novel groups and guided reading.  Tags placed on these sets of books could link a teacher or student with quizzes, games, or other online resources that might be beneficial to use with that specific material.

When it comes to thinking of ideas for using tags in your school the ideas are limitless. 

Individual Technology Assessment

Originally Posted Monday, January 24, 2011

As a third grade teacher I am continually integrating technology into my classroom.  I have used blogs, flip cameras, digital cameras, PowerPoint, Calculators, Airliners, Computer Software, and many other forms of technology as a means of allowing my students to learn and explore.  I have also used wiki's, spreadsheets, Google docs, and other forms of technology to deliver instruction, collaborate with other teachers, and assess and analyze students learning.  

I feel that while I use many forms of technology in my classroom I often times do not seek out new forms of technology in order to expose myself and my students to a wider variety of formats.  Since I am comfortable with technology in my classroom and have seen how successful my students can be with the use of technology I feel my goal this semester is to find ways to expand my range in the use of technology.  With the help of 572, my IT and librarian, and my own imagination, I feel I can allow my students opportunities to interact with new programs and put their hands on new forms of technology.  I will also try to encouraging and model the use of new forms of technology with my team.