Final Entry

At the beginning of this semester, I felt behind. Behind in technology that is. I knew there was so much out there that I didn't know about. I had no idea what Web 2.0 was. I actually had never heard of that. For a girl who wanted to advance into the millennium, my shyness kept me back in the beginning of the 19th century. I think I was afraid to start because I wasn't sure where or how to begin.
This semester changed all of that for me. Both classes offered me a freedom full of purpose to explore different types of technology. I was amazed at how easy I found it to navigate through and couldn't wait to share sites like "Delicious" and "Library Thing" with my co-workers and my family. As comfortable as I feel about technology now, I feel like I need to help encourage and teach this to my co-workers. As a media specialist, it is very important that I teach and share everything that I learn about technology. There are so many beneficial sites out there and my teachings will help our school and community.
I won't ever stop learning, even when I finish school at UNT. Having the knowledge and skills about Web 2.0 already, I am empowered with fantastic resources to continue learning about new technologies. I read somewhere that it isn't the Web that is changing the world; it is the people who are using the Web that are changing it. As we grow, it grows from us, through us. I will continue to advocate the benefactors of this all the while teaching safety and responsibility.
I am new to the librarian position this year, so I am going to start by "climbing hills before I come to the mountains". Meaning, that I will start by sharing at each faculty meeting about new technologies available to the teachers and students. I also plan to share about my web page that I designed in this class. I have also created a "Cozy Teacher Corner" in the library workroom. This will be for teachers and staff when they have a few minutes to stop in and look at the resources I have found for them. I want to be able to help them with their class research projects and collaborate on helpful resources that correlate with their weekly objectives.
All of this will come in time, I know. I will also continue to evaluate myself and my short term goals. This will help me keep focus and keep growing as a librarian, a teacher, and a media specialist.

Blog Entry #4: The Job of Organizing

I think it is extremely helpful that the public is online sharing their thoughts on the books they are reading. Sites like Amazon and LibraryThing are great examples of this. These sites are not only user friendly but enable readers to post their opinions and tags on books they have read. I don't think credentials behind your name make it necessary to have an editor like opinion. This opens the door for collaboration.
As a librarian, I understand the value that is bestowed upon the idea of collaboration. Having "everyday folks" create and share on the web is another great way that we can all work together. I think that the best of ideas come when everyone puts their heads together. I think it is fair to say that sharing in such volumes opens the door for all walks of life to participate. Research already shows how much the web is growing and changing as we continue to explore and use the tools that have been provided.

Time management for librarians is crucial. To be open minded let's others share their ideas and that can cut down on time spent researching these tools. I have appreciated reading sites such as Library 23 and learning about each tool. This pulls me back into the importance of collaboration. With the constant growing and changing on the web, I am finding many sites that would be helpful tools for me and the students/staff. I am hoping that the web page that I am designing for my class project will be helpful for my school too. I definitely plan to have a link that will take students, teachers, parents, and the community to LibraryThing. I think sharing about the materials and books is one of the best ways to promote what we are reading.

I also think that the tags on my delicious site are more helpful than the traditional subject headings. This allows for others to skim the one word listings and decide for themselves if that site hold relevance for them. I would hope that my tags would let others know that I have already researched that site, found it beneficial to me, and let them know why I think it is.

The Machine is Us/Using Us

I think Professor Wesch titled the video perfectly. We the people are the web. The computer is just a machine and however intelligent that pint sized robot may be, it simply cannot expand without its users. It needs us. Every time we log on, whether we create or explore along the way, we are teaching the web more about us. Web 1.0 opened doors as it created a pathway for people to connect with one another. Remembering back to the first on line chat I participated in, I felt amazed at how I could connect with other future teachers like me from all over the globe. Before I knew it I was emailing with friends and family. Then came the blog. I always loved to write and found this online journal a most wonderful way for me to be able to share my life with family and friends. This was easier and less expensive than calling them whether to ask them a simple question or just to catch up. I knew that I was slower to explore the ever changing web, but I soon found myself ordering from sites like Amazon and EBay because they were and still are trustworthy sites. Things seemed to be exploding throughout the web. I think this ties into what Wesch was saying in that each time someone used the web they continued to define the web for what it has now become, Web 2.0. Through advances like photo-sharing, blogging, pod-casts, and video sharing, we have created a whole new world out there where we have become journalists, characters, teachers and ever-learning students. We have taken the platform that has been given to us and continued to create through each new online software. As I share my input through Amazon on the latest great book that I have read and post pictures of summer events on my Facebook page, these tools have provided me with an electrifying service.

Blog Entry #2: Handheld Devices

Given the amazing amount of 10,000 for my library, I have chosen to purchase 30 i Touches. Taxes included, I would have enough money left over for training and extra software and or hardware that may be needed. Not only is this slim design well under two pounds, but it is easy to carry, store, and use with the students and faculty. My primary users would be the students. Being a librarian of pre-K through fourth grade means that the students will need the guidance of the teachers and staff. Training the faculty on the many uses of these will allow the handhelds to travel from classroom to classroom with or with out me. Training the students will also encourage independence of using these in the library depending on the goal that has been set.

The students can use these to research on the web. A great free site for this is called iTunes U. It allows them to choose from more than 250,000 free course lectures, videos, readings, and pod-casts from universities and institutions worldwide. I love that phrase "We've got an app for that". Being able to search the web and app store through the built in Wi-Fi and download free apps is a wonderful and easy tool. The handhelds will connect to any free Wi-Fi that is already available. No paper or pen needed. While working on their research, they can write, save, and revise on the hand-held. The iTouch has two styles of viewing; landscape or portrait and has larger keys with more room to type.

There is a camera and video recorder on the handheld. This way the students can record projects or share pod-casts. This is a great way for them to photograph or record lessons and research ideas and email them for others to see. They could also Skype with authors and other students. I am envisioning book talks with students in Peru and author visits too!

The students can also listen to play list created by their teachers or create one of their own. From jazzing up their PowerPoint to learning techniques that will help them do better on exams, the possibilities are endless.

In researching and writing about this topic, I am already entertaining the idea of finding a grant writer (or writing it myself in all my spare time) to help me make this dream happen. I feel that the faculty and students at my school would really benefit from all of the amazing possibilities a class set of 30 iTouches would bring to them.

Blog Entry #1: Individual Technology Assessment

As an educator, what are your present strengths and weaknesses in technology? How do you plan to use your strengths? How do you plan to address the weaknesses?

I have been teaching in the elementary schools for eight years, but I have been learning my whole life. It amazes me to see that my first grade students are so confidant and comfortable with the computers in our classroom. I was nearly ten before I used one in school and all we had was the Oregon Trail. I would be in High School before I learned how to type and use things such as Word. And I was in College when the Web opened its doors to the public. College taught me most of what I know now, but I know that it had to be up to me to keep up with the changes in technology.
My most important strength would be that I am not afraid to use and explore the vast variety that there is in technology. I enjoy researching and learning about what works well and most importantly what is safe and age appropriate for my students. They are very eager to learn and it has been a great joy teaching them. I would say that they are my main reason for keeping up with the latest sources. However, my weakness that comes with that is that I always feel as though I am a step behind the technology world. Many times, there is already a new counterpart to the very thing that I am showing my students.
This is where my strength of patience and understanding with a readiness to envelop the newest advances has proven to be positive for me as well as my students. I have continued to take courses in technology that would help me be a better teacher. Courses such as Excel, Wiki, Video Conferencing, Power Points, Web Exploration are just a few examples of classes that I am enrolled in this summer through my school district. I believe that in order to be a good teacher, I need to also be a good student. Taking courses like these has been a wonderful refresher and positive source of information.
Another one of my strengths is my ability adapt to change. I think you have to be patient and flexible to accept the ever changing technological world. In saying this, I plan to work each day and week at researching about the newest developments and changes in technology that our growing world has to offer us.