Final Reflection of LSSL 5391
Final Reflections
on 5391 01
I
have final reflections about my time in LSSL 5391. As the semester went on, I was just thinking
about being a supporting role with our Instructional Technology Specialists on
campus. Come to find out last week, our district
has deleted those positions, so guess who gets to pick up that role? The librarians!! I am not a librarian yet, but I did offer my
principal my services to help teachers integrate technology into their lessons
while I still teach my elementary Art job.
I now can offer some of these applications, platforms, or suggestions
from your blogs as well. I hope you
continue to add to yours as I hope to continue to add to mine. My personal opinion on the technology
platforms are as follows:
Blogs and Blog
Readers
What
excited me most was the different blog types.
I want to add more ideas and really take time to find a blog that
represents me more and learn how to add Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to the
blog itself. That way any of my
interactions with students online will not be all scattered or I keep repeating
myself over, and over, and over. I want
to try Word Press. Wish me luck!
None
of the blogs were really difficult, I feel it was a matter of personal
preference, identifying with the blog, and enough tools to really make the blog
your own. My blog is simple, but I feel
there is so much more I could do with it.
The
blog that will benefit the students the most will be one that they can use with
their mobile devices, anywhere online, and if they are taught how to properly
use them. I also think students need to
be reminded of copyright laws when placing images, sound, etc. on the
blog. Very important teaching to take
place before publishing.
Instagram,
Facebook, and Twitter
Obviously,
my preference is to use Twitter. Our
district uses it and we have been highly suggested to use it once a week. Great exposure keeps the parents informed and
the district informed about what we are doing quickly and efficiently.
I
am not a fan of Facebook. I’m sure it is
great for other people, but it takes way too much time for me to scan through
it. I wish we could truly separate a
family and work Facebook. I also do not
like the “people you know” suggestions.
I just think Facebook gets into people’s personal space too much. I am more stress free without Facebook.
I
think the one that will benefit students will be Instagram. My personal kids use it and keep up with
their siblings. I have an account but
will wait until I am in a Library to use it.
I can use it for my Art class, I just need to double check to see what
my parameters will be with this type of social media. I do get kind of skeptical when adding students
as “friends”, to “follow”, or connecting on a more personal basis. We must still be careful and maintain a
separation, but at the same time, inform.
Infographics
I
do like infographics and am excited to use piktochart. Easelly and Infogram were just as good, but
my personal choice is Piktochart. I
appreciated the color schemes and images…very easy to use.
Easelly
was a little more difficult for me to use, although it came in as a close
second. I think I just need to spend
more time on viewing the videos of “how tos” and practice, practice, practice.
I
will plan to buy a subscription once school starts. I think the students will like any one of
these platforms, so it will really come down to how much do they cost and if I
am able to buy them with school funds.
Videos, QR Codes
My
favorite was using using Animoto. I appreciated the pre-made, ready-to-go
format. Using Animoto was easy and
fun! I do think Animoto will be used
more with the students when they want to make a book trailer or share what they
liked about books.
I’m
not too fond of YouTube. I personally do
not like to put myself on camera. I can
do screencasts, videos without me in them, and digital platforms where I can
mask my voice. I just need to keep
practicing and getting used to being on camera and not so shy
Screencasts
Screencast-o-matic
is my favorite. I will probably get a
subscription for my class if it is allowed.
It is super easy to use, but I would like to see what other features we
can use as teachers.
I
really didn’t find one that was difficult to use. Snagit was great too, but I am not familiar with
it enough to give a true evaluation of the application. I would see again if we can purchase these
with our school funds.
Students
will benefit from either Screencast-o-matic or Snagit. Using it in school for showing students how
to use items in the library or classroom, how to check out books, where to find
things, or flip the classroom-a student can give directions to another who may
have been absent.
Cartoons and
Comics
Cartoons
and comics will be experimented on an as needed basis or if parents approve to
put it on their own computers. I liked
ChatterPix and Sock Puppets. They are
simple to use and easy to navigate.
I
did have difficulty with ToonDoo and downloading the comic. I just think I needed a faster connection or
broadband.
Podcasts
Podcasts
were fun and I think kids will like to use this to share their personal
opinions about books to others. I
enjoyed using PodBean, but enjoyed listening to other classmates Audioboom
podcasts this semester.
I
did have difficulty uploading a GarageBand voice recording to our PodBean, but
eventually made it work. There were a
variety of options and I think, again, it boils down to how much will my
district allow for me to use the platforms.
Some had 5-6 hours of podcast time and that may be just fine, because I’m
not so sure I want to keep all of the podcasts any way for a long time. Just my thoughts for now…
I
have chosen to leave a few comments on Animaker for a short story. The free version only allows for 2 minute segments. I used a pre-built one and modified my story to fit the time limit. The download was free if you allow it to upload to YouTube and Facebook. The download time frame tells you it will take 24 hours. I actually received the notification that it was ready in about 45 minutes. I'm still glad I worked on this ahead of time! You wouldn't know that unless you were ready to publish what the estimated time will be for the finished product. The free version also only allows you to upload to YouTube. If you want to export to your computer, that is where the price difference comes into play for an upgrade.
My Animaker video on a final reflection:
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