Final Reflection
How much can you learn about technology in just four months? The answer is A LOT!!! I remember describing myself as a novice every time I discussed a new app or tool I had just discovered for the week. Well, I can honestly say, I will not be describing myself as a novice anymore thanks to all that I have learned this semester.
Although hesitant and fearful of trying new things when it came to technology, I must admit there were several social media tools and apps that I found both useful and informative. I really liked constructing my own blog reader by using Feedly, which I found very user-friendly. It's great to be able to get the latest news from my favorite chosen blogs all together on one site. I will be adding to it as I continue to discover great new blogs. I must confess that I had tried to stay away from sites such as Facebook and Twitter, thinking them to be only for mindless chatter and gossip, but was quite happily surprised to learn that there is a lot of good information out there being shared by very creative individuals who are more than willing to share their great ideas.
If someone had told me four months ago that I would be creating my own infographics, I wouldn't have believed them, but there are some very easy tools out there that even a technologically challenged (in the beginning of this course) person such as myself can use. I really liked Screencast-o-matic and AdobeSpark. I found these social network services very user-friendly, especially for students who are asked to use media as a form of presentation. Students would definitely benefit from these two services. Other great media tool for teachers, librarians, and students is Animoto. I loved creating a book trailer to share with my students. It was not only easy, but a lot of fun also!
Perhaps, what I enjoyed working with the most was the creation of my first podcast. I think podcasts are a wonderful way to get information out there. You can use them to promote library events, for interviews, presenting book reports, or any other kind of projects in which you would like to present your ideas out there.
I do have to say that not all the social media tools were easy to navigate, but the majority provided easy steps or instructions at the beginning stage and I found that the key to success was not to give up.
Another important realization during all this work with technology was a mental note I made to myself about remembering my first experiences with all these media tools. As I stated at the beginning, I was quite a novice when it came to all the social media out there, and it was challenging at first, so I hope I remember my feelings of anxiety and frustration when it comes time for me to help another person navigate through the digital world that is constantly growing and changing. It is important to remember that every person starts at different levels of competencies when it comes to technology, and as media specialists, we need to assure them and make them feel as comfortable as possible when dealing with something new. It is important to get to know the individuals we will be working with so that we can better meet their needs. Which means that we must educate ourselves as best as possible so that we can be a useful resource and guide to any teacher and student. As technology continues to change, develop, and grow, so must we as librarians and media specialists. It is crucial to keep our toes in the water and stay abreast of the latest and the newest happenings in the digital world we live in to better serve all the patrons that visit our library.
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