Final Reflection

 

I can't wait to use some of the tech I tried in this class in my library one day soon! I have so many ideas, and I'm excited to try them out!

All good things must come to an end, cliche, I know. But I really enjoyed Digital Technology for Librarians this semester. One thing this class made me realize is that I'm not as tech-savvy as I thought I was. Before this class, I was more of a tech consumer than a creator. I can happily say that this class has pushed me to create using tools that I consume regularly, but have been too afraid to create with. The first examples that come to mind are podcasts, blogs, and social media. Of course, I have my personal social media, but this class gave me the motivation to pursue a more professional Instagram account to review diverse books. I have always been interested in creating blogs, and I have created a few over the course of many years. But creating a blog related to library things, books, and my learning has been more fun than any other blog I've created. 

My Favorite Techy Creation

I would have to say creating a podcast was surprisingly one of my favorite assignments this semester. I was extremely anxious about recording myself and worried I wouldn't have enough to say, but turns out that wasn't the case! Truthfully, I wish I had started the assignment earlier, so I would have had more time to play around with the editing. I wanted to add some music to the podcast I created with my partner, but I had some trouble placing it in the correct spots. We also had a little blunder in the beginning when I hit record, but I wasn't quite ready to start. I tried editing it out, but it didn't work correctly, and I accidentally edited out a chunk of the podcast! Thankfully I had saved multiple versions of the recording, so I was able to salvage it. 

I would really love to have students use podcasts as a way to produce assignments. I think this would be a lot of fun for the kids who are more tech-inclined and prefer talking over writing. I imagine working on an inquiry-based project where kids produce a podcast throughout the process. 

Another way I'm hoping to utilize podcasts is to create a book club where we can create podcasts after reading books, and then create a QR code and attach it to the book that was discussed. I found this idea in an article by ALSC (https://journals.ala.org/index.php/cal/article/view/6335/8291) and think it's a great way to have kids share their love of a book with other kids. 

Some of My Techy Struggles

Of course, not every project was as exciting as creating a podcast. I struggled with creating comics and infographics. I'm not quite sure what went wrong with the comics assignment, but my brain really froze on that one. I couldn't think of what kind of comic to create and how to relate it to learning. It took me multiple tries to come up with an idea and execute it with pictures, and I was not very pleased with the final results. The same thing happened with creating an infographic. I couldn't figure out how to present the information from an article in a visual form. Upon some reflection, I realize that both projects were heavy on visuals, and I think I struggle with that in general. Although I'm a very visual learner, creating visually appealing and informative content is not my area of expertise! 

Of course, I've learned that my students can be way more talented than I am, and I know that many kids will thrive in creating amazing visual displays using comics and infographics. 

Having kids create infographics using content they learned in class is a great assessment, and creating comics to tell stories is a great alternative for students who may struggle with writing. I also saw a classmate suggest using comics in a library newsletter, and I love that idea. It would be an immediate attention grabber and a great way to pass along important information. 

Speaking of technology, I used a new tool called Animaker to create the presentation below. Click full screen to get the full effect!