Extras from chapter readings (week 3)

I'm feeling a little discouraged.  I'm not feeling like I am getting a good introduction to emerging technologies.  The technology tools in our text seem a little outdated to me.  Maybe it is because I am too close to the subject matter.  As a library media specialist in a small school and district, I work closely with teachers and instructional coaches on integrating technology. 

Extras from chapter readings (week 2)

Desired status minus actual status equals need.
I love this simplified explanation of needs assessment from our powerpoint and text this week.

Extras from chapter readings (week 2)

I need to dig into the artistic tools discussed in chapter 2.  Initially, I was wary.  I use an iMac at school, so I am comfortable with iMovie and even though some of my colleagues in other schools sing the praises of WeVideo, I do not want to pay for the subscription and I hate the watermark it leaves on the free version.  I teach my students (who are not in my Media Arts class with the iMacs) to use Screencastify to create video projects on their Chromebooks.  I use Pixlr and like it very much, so I am not sure I want to switch to iPiccy or Sumo Paint.  But then again, I am acting like some of my teachers who don't want to adapt to new technologies.  Shame on me!  I should always be adding tools to my technology tool box!

Update September 2018:  My new favorite video creation tool is Adobe Spark.  It is so easy to use and I love that I can use it to also create posters and flyers.  I may actually ditch PiktoChart for this one, too!

Extras from Chapter Readings (week 1)

I really like Symbaloo, but am feeling like I have not used it as I should.  Currently, I use a Symbaloo as the homepage to my school library's card catalog.  It provides an easy to see and understand list of frequently used resources for my students.  I have also used Symbaloos to guide student research.  I had not previously recognized the possibility of using it from the student side (how short-sighted of me!)  My students should be creating symbaloos as part of their bibliographies for research projects.

Extras from chapter readings (week 3)

I was initially pleased to discover new resources for royalty-free images and clipart.  In addition to teaching media literacy lessons and co-teaching content area lessons, I also advise our student yearbook staff and student morning news crews.  Teaching them not to use anything they find during a Google image search takes up much of the first week of class!  I was disappointed to find out though, that the iClipart for schools the text recommends in chapter 8 requires a paid subscription.  It is no longer free.  Discovery Education, the other site the text recommends, is still free, but its image library is much smaller. 

Extras from chapter readings (week 2)

The biggest take-away for me in chapter 6 was probably the technology evaluation rubric example.  I have something similar in place in my library media center for apps.  It's more of a form or survey than a rubric, and since it requires some time and effort on the part of the teacher, it's not very popular.  I have had very few teachers actually go through the process in order to try out a new app.  I much prefer the rubric as a process for evaluation and plan to implement something similar this year for all technology.

Extras from chapter readings (week 4)

I am completely inspired by and in awe of Sugata Mitra.  His TedTalk, "Build a School in the Cloud," was referenced in chapter 12's cloud computing section, and made me a fan!  Here's the link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3jYVe1RGaU&list=PLfAPeARVYiRjdkw88S10zjlIscSiEtJbJ
I love this idea of self-organized learning environments.  I can imagine it may not be too popular with mainstream educators, but wow...just wow!