I was so nervous about taking this class this semester. The course title, Digital Technology for the School Librarian, intimidated me. I was worried about having to learn highly technical material that I might not be able to master. But the class was so much more enjoyable than I ever anticipated.
First of all, I never imagined I'd enjoy maintaining a blog as much as I have. I always thought, "Who cares what I think?" But I've found I enjoy sharing my thoughts and observations, even though my readership is primarily limited to the others taking this course. I've always enjoyed critiquing things; books, movies, restaurants, and I enjoyed sharing my opinions of and experiences with the various technologies covered in this course. It was surprisingly gratifying.
And I learned a great deal about technologies that I can utilize when I have my own library. Of all the tools I learned to use, I think learning how to make a screencast was probably one of the most useful units in the course. I can think of many ways I will be likely to use screencasting as a librarian. It is an excellent tool for presenting technology professional development training and providing instructions for students in the use of online resources. By making screencasts and posting them on the school website, students can always have a ready reference for using online resources as such as databases, the district's OPAC, and Web 2.0 tools.
Learning how to create professional looking infographics using free sites such as Easly or Canva was another eye-opening experience. The templates were so easy to use. I think teachers would be thrilled to learn how easy it is to create colorful classroom posters and anchor charts they can reuse year after year, or alter them according to their changing tastes. Students could use them to demonstrate learning in any subject area.
