Tech Savvy?...Nope!

 Inquiry Blog #2:  Developing your own ICT Skills and Pedagogy

This week’s blog is all about developing our Information and Communication Technology skills, or ICT for short.  I must be honest and say that I am seriously lacking in that department!  Don’t get me wrong, I do know how to use technology and have even mastered creating videos on YouTube, using the Smart Board, some other computer programs like PowerPoint, and now I can add creating a blog to my list of skills.  

All those skills have not come by easy I must say, I have had to spend many hours searching the web for videos or online webinars or attending Professional Development workshops in our district.  Even then, I have encountered many issues which require a bit more tech knowledge.

LIBE 477 has made me realized that continuing to expand my tech knowledge will help, not only myself, but my colleagues and students.  We as Teacher Librarians need to keep up with this ever-changing digital world if we want to continue to help our students and staff.

I have used many devices throughout the years but have not really explored everything they have to offer.  Just last week during our Tuesday evening class meeting I learned about several Apple apps that could help me create videos and picture books, record voice memos, add my voice to videos and even learn how to teach coding.  Talk about a revelation!   While researching for last week’s blog, I discovered other programs like: Book Creator, Code Spark, and Doodly to name a few.

Discovering so many new skills I could master made me wonder what to do next?, Where do I go?, What do I do?, How would I know I’m on the right track?.  Phew…So many questions! 

I am a planner by nature, so I decided to create a plan that would help me on my Tech journey, not only during this course, but also in many years to come.  Here is what I have planned so far:

1) Web Searches: the first easy step to take was to go to Google and do a search on the programs I would like to explore.  As usual, I encountered thousands of results!  This, however, is a good thing this time around, simply because I get many places to choose from!  Some of the websites I found useful were:

a) Book Creator: This website offers various webinars and pro-d opportunities for educators.  What I like about it is that they offer weekly videos, and a technician is ready to help you if you need it.  The program is not free, but we could present it to admin and get funding for it.  I really like that I could also use this to create pro-d opportunities for my colleagues.  The website also has many samples of interactive books we can already use with our classes.  One of my favourite books is “Creative Digital Citizenship” because it teaches students how to be good digital citizens using challenges, videos, and many other activities.  You can check it out by clicking the picture below.

b) Book Creator free online tutorials: This is one of the many tutorials I found during my search.   This video is also an example of what the webinars the company puts together look like.  Had I attended the live version, I would have been able to ask questions as they went through the content.  

"This webinar gives us a good introduction to the basics of Book Creator."  

c)  Apple Teacher offers several self-directed professional development courses as well as video tutorials that are easy to follow.  You can also download the app on your iPad or Mac book for easier access.  This is one of the programs our instructor talked about during our online discussion.  I was blown away by the number of apps I can use at school to help our students (and teachers) create amazing projects! 

                                                    

d) Code Spark Academy: an online academy that offers kids the opportunity to learn computer science and programming through games, puzzles, coding challenges and creative tools.  You need to download the app on your device and pay a subscription.  It also offers professional development webinars for staff at a very reasonable cost.  The site also offers discounts for educational institutions.  If you would like to check it out, just click on the image below.

                                           

e) Doodly: a white board animation software program you can use to create interactive videos. You do have to pay a monthly fee for it; however, once you have an account you have access to many webinars, tutorial videos, and live support chats.  Looking at some of their sample videos, I can see how our students can benefit from this program.  Not only can we as educators create videos for basically anything we want (tutorial videos to teach new concepts, introduce projects, create announcements of the happenings in the library, etc.) but our students can also create videos for classroom projects if they use your account.  You can check out the software by clicking the image below.

                                          

2) District seminars and Conferences: our district offers many seminars during district pro-d days.  We have also been able to attend conferences held on weekends or during Provincial Pro-D days.  I would like to attend some of those seminars soon.  I have also found many self-guided tutorials I can do on my own time.  Apple Teacher for example, offers many updated tutorial videos on some of the apps we can use at school.  Here are some examples:

Foundational Skills for Apple Teachers: https://appleteacher.apple.com/#/home/rp/R003996-en_US

Lesson Integrations tutorial for Apple Apps: https://appleteacher.apple.com/#/home/rp/R003997-en_US

3)    Create a Network: I think this is one of the most important steps to take as I begin my new learning journey.  I have learned through this course that networking is very important as we can learn so much from other professionals.  Setting up a professional twitter and Instagram account would help me follow many educators who can support me as I learn to use apps like Book Creator.  Reading blogs from other educators is also a way to learn new things they have discovered.  I also belong to many Teacher Librarian networks including the one in our district and the one created for LIBE 477.  I have learned so many things already from them and they are always willing to answer your questions no matter how big or small they are.

                

4) IT Department: I think it is time for me to access the pool of knowledge our IT department has to offer.  Our district has many techs who are willing to come spend a couple hours with you to train you on various programs we use in the district.  

5) Mentorship Program: our district also has a mentorship program for new teachers and Teacher-Librarians.  I don’t think I had really looked into it until this year when I started working at the Library and my job-share partner suggested we get a mentor.  She has been truly amazing and even came to our Library to teach us how to use the newly updated LS2 program our district is using.

Overall, I am very pleased with my plan moving forward.  Is my plan set in stone? Of course not!  It will always be opened for improvement and new additions.  I am really looking forward to continuing to improve my ICT skills.  

Do you have any other ideas you think I could pursue? I would love more recommendations!

Until next time,

The Duchess of Bookington

References:

Apple Teacher. “Apple Teacher Learning Center.” Apple Teacher Learning Center, 2022, https://appleteacher.apple.com/#/home/resources. 

Book Creator. “Book Creator - Bring Creativity to Your Classroom.” Book Creator App, 7 Feb. 2022, https://bookcreator.com/. 

Book Creator. “Getting Started with Book Creator - Youtube.” YouTube, 3 June 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COEOft22wGw. 

Code Spark. “Coding Game for Kids .” CodeSpark Academy, 2022, https://codespark.com/?utm_medium=paid_search&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google_Bucket2_Search_Brand_&utm_content=138143621692&utm_term=code+spark&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmKiQBhClARIsAKtSj-lJKMoP4Oizn-7xuzQClf3X0V4ZuZQx15YdIFVYA--0RwmL69k4fjoaAsmwEALw_wcB. Accessed 13 Feb, 2022.

Doodly. “How to Use Doodly in Education.” Doodly Blog, 19 Oct. 2021, https://www.doodly.com/blog/how-to-use-doodly-in-education/.  Accessed 12 Feb, 2022.