Blog Post 4: Reflection

The use of technology in the classroom and library have great benefits for the education of students. Library standards specifically state that technology should be used by the librarian to further student understanding and success. Technology is such a large part of the modern world that it cannot be left out of the education system without consequences. The 21^st Century Learner is surrounded by technology and must use it every day to be succeed, therefore learning using technology is a natural and obvious decision in the classroom. Librarians as teachers must aide students in finding resources and tools that will help them succeed. By using technology in their library’s, librarians engage students in their learning and equip them for their futures.

The AASL’s Standards for the 21^st Century Learner (p. 2) specifically states that “Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs.” Without these skills students are unable to succeed and navigate their environment. This is why it is important that technology be addressed in the classroom. In order to equip future citizens with the tools that they need to survive and thrive in the world, understanding and using technology must be a part of the learning process. While many may understand that an ability to use technology is essential to a 21st Century Learner, finding ways to implement the use of technology in education, can be difficult and require creativity that the librarian or teacher may not believe they possess.

Implementing technology in education requires creativity and collaboration. While students may work on projects face to face in the library, using collaborative applications, such as Google Docs, or blogging tools, can facilitate shared learning and ease group projects. The teacher or librarian must be a lifelong learner and collaborate with others in order to make effective use of technology in their classroom (Hamilton 2011). Other ways to include technology include Project Based Learning and allowing students to create, using online tools (McGrath 2015).While using technology in the classroom requires collaboration and innovation, it is well worth the effort, simply because students are more engaged in their learning and are gaining skills that they need for the future.

By using technology in the classroom, students gain a better understanding of tools that they will use in the real world and their future workplaces. They are also often more engaged in their learning which helps them succeed in the long run. Librarians and teachers who use technology in the classroom in innovative ways, that allow students to interact with material in a hands on a creative way, show their students how to responsibly interact with technology and influence them to become lifelong learners as they adapt to technological challenges and changes. 

References:

AASL’s Standards for the 21 Century Learner found at http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_LearningStandards.pdf

Hamilton, B. J. (2011). The School Librarian as Teacher: What kind of teacher are you?. Knowledge Quest, 39(5), 34-40.

McGrath, K. G. (2015). SCHOOL LIBRARIES & INNOVATION. Knowledge Quest, 43(3), 54-61.

Blog Post 3: Technology Implementation Strategies

In her article Implementing Technology and Gaming Lessons in a School Library, Khalida Mashriqi describes the use of technology and gaming in her school library. She espouses that the use of technology and gaming are essential to a “librarian’s main responsibility… to promote the love of reading and learning” in his or her students (Mashriqi 2011, p. 26). While Mashriqi uses a number of different technologies in her library, one of the most focused on in this article was her use of an interactive whiteboard to engage her students in lessons and games.

            Although it takes time to build up technology resources in a library the effort is worth the engagement of students. Giving students the opportunity to interact with information during a lesson helps reinforce learning and important technological skills. One of the ways that Mashriqi engages students is through the use of an interactive whiteboard. Younger students who are still learning to read can work and be engaged by a project or game at the same time and collaborate more effectively. With older students Mashriqi uses the interactive white board to give lectures on “cyber-safety, how to avoid plagiarism, and how to do Boolean searching so that students can take advantage of search engines’ advanced features to narrow or expand searches” (Mashriqi 2011, p. 26). Mashriqi also takes advantage of the interactive whiteboard’s features to create games that her students can play that not only engage them, because of the competitiveness of the game, but “indirectly strengthens their testing skills” by utilizing multiple choice questions (Mashriqi 2011, p.27). Mashriqi also described her use of other technologies in her library lessons, including the student use of cameras to create commercials and public service announcement type videos. While all of the technologies that Mashriqi mentions in her article are interesting and have the merit of engaging students, the use of the interactive white board to create games and engage students is interesting and definitely something I would consider doing if given the proper funding.
            One of the possible problems that a librarian could run into is the expense of an interactive whiteboard. Interactive whiteboards are amazing tools and should be utilized more in schools, but they may be considered costly by certain school districts. While school funding may be an issue when the use of an interactive whiteboard is in question, the instructional strategies that Mashriqi describes, such as collaborative learning and games can be utilized without the use of an interactive whiteboard. Although the interactive whiteboard would certainly be the best technological method to complete the games and collaborative efforts that Mashriqi describes, other technologies, such as computers and projectors, could be utilized to achieve the same effect. I think that the use of games to promote and solidify learning is a good idea, and it is definitely something that I will do in my future library, whether I have an interactive whiteboard or not.
Reference:

Mashriqi, K. (2011). Implementing Technology and Gaming Lessons in a School Library. Knowledge Quest, 40 (1), 24-28.

Blog Post 2: Handheld Devices

In his article A Year Without Paper: Tablet Computers in the Classroom, John Fons speaks on the experience that he had in his classroom using tablet-pcs instead of paper. He describes the types of hardware and software used by himself and the students, as well as their reviews of the use of the tablet in the class.
The students used “Compaq TC4200 tablet computers” which allowed them “to imbed “digital ink” into documents by writing on the screen with an electronic stylus” (Fons 2010, 481).The use of digital ink has many applications for education. Although the use of digital devices is often freeing for students, in that they are not required to care heavy textbooks and binders with them from class to class, the use of keyboards can slow students rather than help them, if they have not had proper practice using them. When taking notes on provided presentations, it would be easier to jot a few words down with a stylus, rather than struggle to type. The use of keyboards can also create noise that could potentially distract students from the lecture being given or the task that they have been assigned. The quietness of stylus use would be a great advantage in a library. While the hardware used by Fons would be beneficial for libraries, the software that he utilized to share lecture notes and other documentation would bring about even more positive change.
Fons (2010) made use of a software called Classroom Presenter to give students access to lectures and other assignments needed throughout the class. The software allows users to employ digital ink technology and distribute information, such as a teachers notes, in real time. What can be gathered from this article leads me to believe that the system used by Fons is very similar to Google Drive, with the added bonus of including a polling system within the program. The use of such cloud applications would allow students to participate in more discussion based learning, and make project based learning more easy to accomplish in groups. Libraries could benefit from cloud programs on tablet-pcs, as students would be able to more efficiently collaborate and the use of polling systems would give librarian lectures a better understanding of the students’ retention of information.
Overall both the instructor and the students where happy with the paperless classroom experiment that they preformed and like the use of tablets in daily classroom use. Many students even said that they preferred the use of tablets, because they were much more organized and could find past assignments without searching through mountains of paper (Fons 2010). This absence of clutter would make the use of tablets in a library worthwhile. Instead of giving handouts the librarian could create digital folders for individual classes which would allow students access at all times and help with organization. Rather than loosing the information that was handed out during a lecture the student would know right where to find it.
Access to tablet-pcs for use in the classroom and library would be highly beneficial to students and library staff, especially with stylus integration and the use of cloud applications for collaborative efforts.

Reference:

 Fons, J. (2010). A year without paper: Tablet computers in the classroom. The Physics Teacher, 48, 481–483. doi: 10.1119/1.3488196.

Class Projects

Blog Post 1: Technology Strengths and Weaknesses

As an educator I feel it is imperative for students to use technology in the classroom. Technology should be used as an aid to promote student learning as well as a tool for educators when developing or appraising their lessons and teaching styles.

Of the five International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE 2008) Standards, the first speaks to the importance of using technology to “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity” (p. 1). Overall, I believe that I am strong in this area, as the use of technology in the classroom to get my students engaged in and excited about their learning is one of my passions. I like using such tools as Google Drive and online interactive lessons to facilitate my students’ learning. I understand how to make digital assessments and assignments for diverse learners (ISTE 2008). I have used online quizzes and polling software in the past and am familiar with assessing students using technology and am comfortable assessing my teaching by reviewing student data. I am proficient in the use of many types of technology including those used to communicate with my students, their parents, and my colleagues (ISTE 2008). Through a previous class I have created a website using Google Sites and am ready to use that tool, as well as many others, in communicating with my students and their parents.

While I am proficient in the use of technology in the classroom, there is always more to learn. I would like to find ways to encourage my students to use technology responsibly both at school and at home (ISTE 2008). In an effort to teach my students the importance of this responsibility, I will demonstrate efficacy while online, respecting copyright and the feelings of all people whom I interact with on a social and professional level.

I would like to learn new ways to incorporate technology into my classroom. Although I have used technology in the classroom quite a bit, there is always more that can be learned either through professional development or classes such as this one. I would like to learn more about techniques I could use to engage my students and learn more about emerging technology that I could make use of in the future. Technology, because it is used in the world at large, will continue to be used in the classroom. As technology evolves I would like to learn how to teach in new ways, so that I can connect with my students and professional peers and make learning engaging and exciting.

ISTE standards found at: http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-teachers