This semester has taught me many things. I have considered myself pretty technology sound in terms of knowing how to use technology. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning new and innovative types of resources to use in my teaching. I've never really looked at blogs all that much. One of my favorite things from this semester has been reading blog posts of my classmates. I have learned so much and found out about so many things from reading their posts. In fact, I've shared some of the resources that I've read about on those posts with teachers at my school! I have also enjoyed finding other blogs related to library and information sciences. I plan to continue to use blogs as a resource for growing in the profession.
Another take away from this class is the crucial role that librarians play in school settings with implementing technology. The district that I work in has been so far behind in the technology depart. After having to close down due to COVID, our district officials made a quick shift to enhance technology in the district. In a years time, all of our students in grades 3-12 have Chromebooks and teachers as well, and our teachers are currently receiving new touchscreen panels for their classrooms. While this may not sound like much, it is huge for us! With all of this new technology, who does everyone turn to for assistance? You guessed it, the librarian (me). This class has taught me that as a librarian in the 21st century, it is my job to help teachers and students become acquainted with technology and engage students in using it. Teaching students to program and giving them the chance to use modern technology is huge in preparing them for their futures.
A final take away that I gained is equity of access. I learned about so many assistive technology's. Again, through blog posts from classmates, I learned some great resources to use to assist students with disabilities. I also learned that Google has a great deal of accessibility features. This was great to find out because my district uses Google as our platform. As I get more settled into my new position and moving things around my library, I am keeping universal design in mind to ensure that my library is welcoming and accessible to any student or guest that visits it.
I thoroughly enjoyed each of the topics we learned about this semester and feel that I could go on for days with take aways! Thanks for following along and learning with me!
