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Farewell Spring 2023: Some Takeaways

 


When I reflect back upon this semester, it's difficult to narrow down one or even two big takeaways. I truly learned so much during each module of the course! Admittedly, at the beginning of this class, I was rather intimidated by all the new tech I would be expected to review and use successfully. I had no idea what to expect, seeing as I've never worked in a library before and have been out of the school system for quite some time. But this entire class as been a wonderful experience that has given me the confidence and know-how to embark on my new journey into librarianship. 

As I look into the future and consider the all the things that I'm likely to utilize most often or I find most memorable about this class, the first things that pop into my head are Canva, tech evaluation models, and makerspaces. If I heard of or read any of these words before this class, I was not very familiar with what they are. But now... big difference. 


Canva has quickly become one of my new favorite things! I become acquainted with it during the social media assignments and fell head over heals in love with all the cool stuff it can do to help me produce eye catching images. Plus, it's just plain fun to use. I employed it extensively for my theoretical school's social media and my final website creation. My logos, flyers, promotional posts, and most of my images for site headers came from Canva. But I have only scratched a tiny bit of the surface. I have lots of exploring in Canva to do (presentations, videos, interactive activties, etc). Frankly, I'm obviously so smitten I should do adds for them. I'm all about some free resources (like I never pay for anything!), but I actually broke down and got the pro subscription for this one. 

Next, because, as I said, I came in fresh as a daisy, I appreciated having a model to evaluate tech in the library and classrooms. I didn't know what was good and what sounded good, but was actually pretty impractical. I had never even heard of most of the tools my fellow students and I evaluated! I like the R.A.T model of evaluation (Replacement, Application, and Transformation) simply because it's easy for me to remember and it seems effective. The goal isn't to use technology for technology sake. The goal is to provide students engaging and relevant tools for learning. 


Lastly, I'm a fan of the markerspaces that have been taking over libraries and school rooms for the past decade or so. After researching the benefits of markerspaces in this course, I believe a mind accustomed to tinkering, exploring new things, and challenging itself to be resilient and creative is a mind primed for success. I like the fact these special spaces can be as grand and pricey or as simple and affordable as you want or need. I'm the kind of person that can be easily entertained by a piece of string and a cardboard cylinder, so it wouldn't take much for me to get started necessarily. I would even argue perhaps the more economical the better as students minds are pushed to reimagine things found in their everyday world. MacGyver style! And, let's be honest, everyone loves blocks, legos, magnets, pipe cleaners, etc. They are just plain fun to mess with. 


Thank you to all my classmates who posted some really awesome material. All of you helped me learn way more than I could have on my own. I hope my own contributions helped you, too! 

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