I've learned a lot about different kinds of new technology over the course of this semester in school. This new knowledge has piqued my interest to find new ways to use technology in my classroom, in my future library, and in my personal life. I have already shared new things I've learned with my technologist, who in turn, shares with me! I have asked to have a Promethean board in my classroom next year and plan to use it daily. I think what has happened is I’ve gained the knowledge and courage, I suppose, to try new technologies instead of just talking about trying them.
I've thought about how to keep up with the new innovations in technology, in order to be a more effective teacher and future media specialist. Several things came to mind- keep lines of communication open with the school technologist and media specialists from my school and other schools, try out technology ideas mentioned in listserv emails, and read articles about new technology ideas in journals related to education, librarianship or technology. I plan to create a database, which organizes the technology into categories useful to teachers, students and myself.
Although I've always been a fan of technology in the classroom, the idea of implementing the new technologies into my elementary school lessons and future library “lessons” is exciting! I've already spoken to a 5th grade teacher about students using Googledocs and Wikkis to create collaborative documents for projects; I’ve shared a research idea with kindergarten that helps them research in an appropriate way for children of their age group; I'm in the process of creating a Qlubb site in order to organize a group of volunteers to help with a “Garden Clean Up” event at school, and let’s not forget that awesome Promethean board!
