Thing 23: My Final Thoughts

Well, a summer of fun with technology is coming to a close as I complete this project and prepare for the upcoming school year. For the first time, I actually feel a little more equipped with fresh, new ideas for my lessons and programming in the library. Although some of the things we perused and played with were old hats for me, I did get an opportunity to work with some new components to add to my bag of tricks. Some of the things I know I could use immediately are Google Docs, Podcasting, Delicious (already LOVE it!), Shelfari, and some of the cool mash-up programs for enhancing my presentations and posters. I plan on adding podcasts to my library webpage as well as reading logs using Google Docs. Shelfari is already part of my personal blog and I could see using it with the students to keep track of what they're reading and also read and submit reviews. I don't think I'll use LibWorm or Twitter....just not my thing. I'm a Facebook addict...and LibWorm didn't have much on elementary school libraries. I think one of the hardest things in this project was just keeping up with all the different things...sometimes it was overwhelming and I consider myself a techie. So, if I use this with teachers, I may either lengthen the timeframe for the project OR reduce the number of things to play around with because if I got overwhelmed they will, too. All in all....this was a GREAT way for me to be exposed to more technology and refresh my memory on some pieces I'd seen, but not really used yet.

Thing 22: My Own 23 Things

What an AWESOME program this was!

I don't have a library staff, BUT I've thought of two ways I could use a program like this in the library or school setting. One would be with students and the other with staff.

Students: This would be a great way to introduce different communication and presentation tools to them. They could learn to navigate the Internet through web links and learn how to use new technologies at the same time. This may also give them some fresh ideas for projects!

Teachers/Staff: Many teachers still haven't overcome their fear of the unknown when it comes to technology. This would be a useful tool in helping to overcome and actually become more literate in technology so they could begin to use these devices with their students and in their lessons. They could earn staff development hours....which is always an added bonus!

Thing 21: Podcasts

Okay, so I've been to workshops on Podcasting and have had librarian friends do them all the time, but I have yet to do ONE! I think they are a great, quick way to get a message across AND I have all the necessary equipment to do them....so what am I waiting for?

I listened to several podcasts ranging from booktalks (love the idea of adding them to my school library page!) to commercials about libraries....all of which sounded interesting. A few of them had poor sound quality, but with a little more practice using the mic, they might have sounded a lot better. Personally, I hate to listen to my own voice on a recording, but it's probably more authentic if I do it myself...I have thought of a library club that might have booktalk podcasts or infomercials as part of their club activities. Podcasting is also on our tech goals for grades 3-5 this year and I can't wait to get started!