Thing 11.5

Wow! I was determined to make it through all 23 plus 11.5 Things this summer! Being a brand new librarian, I have enough mountains to climb. I figured I could at least get the knowledge base for technology before I step into the position of a media specialist. I have learned so much this summer.

1. My favorite discoveries on 11.5 have been Bookr, and using Animoto. It is so fun to put together movies...I can see my students getting excited about it also. Bookr has been a blast to use with my grandchildren. They have made information books this summer about Dinosaurs, Trucks, Butterflies, and Babies. The thrill I saw in their faces as they used the technology to create their own books ...becoming authors... was well worth the time spent learning these "things." I also love Skype. I practiced this with another librarian. I would love to use this with students to collaborate with foreign school libraries.

2. My learning goals have not really changed. I have always striven to learn more in whatever profession I have chosen. What has changed is the vast array of tools that I have found to make that learning so enriched. Besides opening a door to those tools, I have also come out with a much more open mind. I really shunned a lot of things on the internet as fluff in the past, reserved mainly for entertainment. Now, I see how these tools can actually become mind tools for the learner. In grad school we learned of Johansen and his idea of mind tools. He talked about technology should not be a babysitter, but a mind tool in the hand of a creative learner to expand his own thinking. All of the "things" I have experimented with fit this profile. I was very impressed.

3. My biggest surprise was how many tools are out there. I had no idea there were so many image generators or blogging tools. My biggest takeaway is that I can do this. I was really fearful, that I would not be able to figure these items out and actually manipulate it to utilize them for production. When I actually used the itouch the other day, I could actually figure out how to download to it. When I used the Macbooks, I could use the flip cameras and create movies. I can use Flickr, Animoto, and others with ease now. So it was just the sheer awakening that these tools are for everyone and anyone can be taught to use them...me...and anyone else...especially students.

4. I would love to see a wiki added for comments and discussion when a tool is utilized. The wiki would show a running conversation, unlike a blog highlighting one person's thoughts at that time...even though I have gotten fond of blogging.

Thank you for making this training available. I have truly been enlightened this summer.