Final Reflection
IT 645 has taught me an abundance of information regarding technological literacy. Although the course was challenging and time-consuming, I enjoyed finding new technological tools to utilize in the library media classroom. From creating tests, rubrics, discussion boards, presentations, documents, surveys, podcasts, movie stories, online book marks, and quizzes, reading the course textbook; watching the IT 645 videos; listening to the IT 645 classroom podcasts; and writing blog reflections, I have been able to learn material via a variety of different formats. In my future classroom, I hope to implement the preceding by delivering material in a variety of ways so that all types of learners’ needs are addressed. I am grateful for the tools I am familiar with because of IT 645, and the consequential ease with which I can now deliver instruction.
Hands-On Projects
The hands-on projects allowed me active experiences as I learned by doing. Thinglink was a tool I really enjoyed, and I liked it because it made linking websites visually appealing. There were a few problems I experienced with adding link buttons, but overall, I really enjoyed using the app. If I ever need to present information using an image in my class, I will definitely utilize Thinglink.
Scoop.it was another neat tool that I plan to utilize in the library to gather research databases for students to easily access. I found it very helpful and I liked that it allowed me to easily scoop sites using the scoop.it toolbar.
Personally, I was not overly impressed with the Weebly Quiz. It is very simple and only allows for 5 questions, so I will probably not be using it in the future. I also was unimpressed with the Forums that Weebly offers their users, and I will probably not utilize that particular discussion board in my future classroom. Moreover, I was disappointed with the default appearance of the discussion board and that it does not allow one to customize the appearance.
I was really impressed with EasyTestMaker, and I most definitely plan to utilize this tool with future assessments. I loved how streamlined it makes the test look and how it can easily organize matching questions and format them to save space, which is something I have struggled with in the past.
I felt equally ecstatic about the Rubistar Rubric I created, which made creating a quality rubric a breeze. As a beginning teacher, I initially felt confused about how to create a rubric, and I am glad to have a resource to look at to decide how to grade assignments and easily format rubrics in the future.
My favorite (and most time consuming) project of the semester was definitely the Classroom website. I loved being able to design my own banner within the website, while also being able to choose from a variety of templates. The project was definitely a learning experience as it was my first time building a website, but I now feel confident in my ability to build a website for my future classroom.
The classroom podcast was one of the easiest projects I worked on, I and I enjoyed the Vocaroo website because it was so simple to use. I definitely plan to record lectures using Vocaroo in the future, so I can ensure my students have equitable access to classroom material.
The movie project was another challenging project for me, and I am not a big fan of Windows Movie Maker. It took a lot of effort to get my movie how I wanted it to be. Additionally, there was a lack of user friendliness in incorporating transitions, in my opinion. I do plan to implement movie stories in future lectures, but I wish to try a tool other than Windows Movie Maker to accomplish this.
I enjoyed using Google Forms, and was able to easily create a technology survey. I liked the simplistic nature of the tool, and I definitely wish to utilize it in future classrooms to ensure I am providing students with optimal instruction, especially in regards to technology.
I found Google Presentation and Google Doc to be very helpful tools. These are helpful because they allow students to access and edit documents even if they lack a word processor or slide viewer installed on their computer. Therefore, I definitely plan to utilize these in the future lectures to ensure that all of my students have equal access to materials. I also love that these tools allow students to collaborate, and I plan to utilize these in group projects. I do not plan to use Google Spreadsheets in my classroom for student information. Student data is sensitive, and I wish to save this on a format that is not so easily shareable to the public. Perhaps a password protected computer with Excel would be more suitable for student grades because I do not want to compromise my students’ security.
The Lesson Plan project was helpful because I was able to gain further experience in writing lesson plans which utilize technology. Additionally, I became more familiar with the flipped lecture method, and I also learned more about incorporating state standards. As a teacher, using lesson plans will definitely be a future requirement, so I am grateful this assignment taught me how to utilize lesson plans, specifically, a flipped lecture lesson plan.
I enjoyed being able to keep a classroom blog. Reflecting on the class material allowed me to connect with the material on a deeper level and to apply it to my own life. I enjoyed the Weebly website overall, and I plan to create a website for my school library job using Weebly. Weebly was very helpful and user friendly, and it allowed me to easily create a professional looking blog. I will use it to keep parents and students informed of what is going on in the library. Also, I will utilize it for our Accelerated Reader program and to explain in depth how that program works.
As far as comments on blog posts, I enjoyed reading my classmates’ blogs. It was nice to get to connect with my group members, and they had some enlightening thoughts on technology. It was slightly trying at times, because as we are busy graduate students sometimes the posts were done late. So, it was harder for me to leave comments, and I did not receive as many comments as I would have liked on my own blog.
For the most part, the video clips required for viewing IT 645 were very useful for me. As a visual learner, they allowed the material to become clearly embedded in my mind. However, some of the video clips used for the class used outdated technology, which I found frustrating. When learning about E-Learning, the video showed computers that were used more than five years ago, and the computer system shown was outdated. For a technology course, it is imperative that we stay up-to-date on the latest technological trends, and I hope my technology resources reflect this in the future. In my own library-classroom, I plan to use video clips to supplement my instruction. For flipped lectures, I will have students watch videos the night before, so they will be familiar with what is going on before class begins. Creating my own video clip proved just how challenging this process is; consequently, I definitely wish to continue to explore how to best create instructional videos.
I think my weakness was definitely learning how to use Windows Movie Maker. This is definitely something that was a challenge for me and something I wish to improve upon. Additionally, another weakness of mine may have been collaboration. As someone who likes to take charge, I found it difficult to let others add images to my shared Google documents. I think I need to learn to work in groups better, and as I teacher, I will definitely need to collaborate with technology in the future.
I think my greatest strength was making the class website. I truly enjoyed doing this, and I learned so much from this part of the course. Additionally, I think I am naturally a very reflective person, so I think reflecting on the textbook prompts was something I really excelled at. I also think I was good at creating the technology survey and the assessment test. I was really was proud of how those two artifacts turned out.
I enjoyed reading the textbook chapters, and I found them very informative. The textbook also included some very helpful technological resources for teaching that I plan to refer to in the future. Additionally, the reflection questions the textbook provided were very thought provoking and required critical thinking skills, which I appreciated. I plan to save my IT 645 textbook to refer to for my forthcoming technological questions in the classroom.
For me, the podcast clips were nice to have to learn the material, but I prefer learning visually. Auditory learning is not my strong suit, so sometimes I find podcasts more difficult to learn from than other materials. However, I did find the podcasts quite helpful to listen to when I was driving. This allowed me to multitask and listen the class podcast while commuting. It is important to present material to students in a variety of ways for every learning style, so I will definitely utilize my own podcasts in instruction. With the help of Vocaroo, I can create podcasts for learners who learn best by hearing information, and podcasts can help me better implement flipped instruction for my classroom.
I am very excited that I learned about the specifics of creating an E-Portfolio. This was my first ever attempt at an E-Portfolio, and I found it to be very helpful to learn material in a variety of different ways.
E-Portfolios are great because they allow students to reflect on material and to actively learn. However, I think they are very time consuming and may be difficult to grade. As a Librarian, I most likely will not utilize E-Portfolios for my students.
However, I do plan to personally keep an E-Portfolio of my professional work to include for future job opportunities. My technological literacy has improved since creating an E-Portfolio, and I am excited to continually update my portfolio as time goes on and as I gain more experience.