I can honestly say
that this course left me with more takeaways in terms of school technologies
than any course I have ever taken. As a 42-year-old, I was uncomfortable with
much of the tech explorations at first. As I have been told before, through discomfort
comes growth. SLIS 761 definitely made me get out of my comfort zone. From
exploring technologies in school libraries and makerspaces, to a digital
curation project on makerspaces, to having a blog and building a website for a
fictional library, I feel much more prepared for the technological aspects of a
school library.
I know that I am
leaving this course more prepared for running a current and relevant school
library. I am no longer terrified of trying to figure out how to adjust a
website or have a blog. I know that these are tools that I will need as a
school librarian. This course and the material we read and explored online led me
to find numerous recourse I can use now as a literacy coach, as well as when I
become a librarian. I love the weekly emails about tech for schools I get from
Richard Byrne after signing up for his blog due to learning about him as a
resource in module 8. I also enjoyed learning about the different ways to
evaluate tech when deciding what is a solid purchase for the school library.
When I went back
and read through my blog posts and looked at my assignments, I felt good about
where I started and where I ended up. Instead of a nugget of knowledge, I feel
as if I have gained insight into an array of school librarian technologies and
how they attribute to the success of the school library. This course in
particular, brought many of the other courses I have taken into focus. I feel
as if I have a better holistic view of what a school librarian’s role is and
what it can be. While I know I am not going to be completely prepared for the
role of school librarian when I start, like when I became a teacher (I had the
tools but you learn so much from being on the job), I feel more confident and
less intimidated by the technologies I will be interacting with. I value what I
have learned from this course and course work, assignments, and interaction
with classmates.😊
