Final Thoughts

    I will be the first to admit that I am not very technologically savvy nor have I ever been. Needless to say, this course has been very informative and educational. I feel like I have definitely gained a tremendous amount of knowledge through the course of the semester. While I learned a lot about a lot of different areas there were three main areas that really struck me: social media, maker spaces, and website. 

    Prior to this class I didn't really know what a maker space was. I had seen them utilized in libraries, but I didn't realize they had an official name. I am very excited to offer this in my own library someday and already have so many idea. Since a maker space can be such a wide range of things the possibilities really are endless. They can be low tech or high tech and costly or almost free. I think this is an area that will draw students in even if they don't typically enjoy the library. 

    Through this class I have also recognized the impact that social media can have. I had never thought about what a great tool it could be to promote the library, spark interest, advocate, communicate, and advertise. I look forward to cultivating social media for my future libraries. As I have explored the social media sites of other libraries, I have become very excited about doing that with my own library in the future. 

    The third important take away from the course has been websites. The thought of developing a website was extremely overwhelming in the beginning. I had no idea where to even begin. With a little research and talking to colleagues, it became an achievable task. I learned so much for the experience of building a website. I didn't even know what some the things were much less how to implement them. That project allowed me to gain valuable skills as well as see the importance and wide array of things that can be accomplished through a well developed website. 

    I have learned about many different areas throughout the course and am excited to put that knowledge to use in my future library (and some things in my current classroom).  

AR/VR

    I have to admit that prior to module I knew very little about VR/AR. During this module I have learned about many resources and options for libraries and classrooms. After reading ITSE blog about AR/VR resources, the one I chose to highlight for this blog is DrawmaticAR. DrawmaticAR turns the sentences students write into scenes. While this app isn't free, it isn't very expensive ($4.99) on the AppStore. The teacher prints out a free Magic Worksheet, the student writes sentences on the paper, scans the app, and what the students wrote is animated with "actors" from the program. Student sentences are brought to life when they are scanned by the app. The website has an intro YouTube video that can be watched. They also have a short Twitter tutorial. Included on the website are worksheets, teaching guides, and lesson plans. This resource could be used to practice handwriting, spelling, and writing proper sentences. Many of the worksheets and lesson plans on the website support these skills. There is also a lexicon list included on the website that lists all the words the AI recognizes. The user can create specialized worksheets using those words. I was also able to find a couple of worksheets on Teachers Pay Teachers to go with the app. I can certainly see this being a fun way for students to practice handwriting, spelling, and sentence structure as well as grammar instruction with different parts of speech and sentence types.