Final Reflection

This reflection was created with Storybird.  This was my first time to use Storybird and, while it was not difficult, it did take me a little while to figure it out.  What I love about this app is that it allows students to turn their stories into digital books, that can, for a cost, be printed.  Teachers can sign up for a classroom account students can upload their stories to for review.  What I did not like is that there is no help video tutorial and the only place that I could find to get help information was in the Q & A section.  I feel that this company should produce a video and have a help icon easily visible.  The other downside is that if you want to publish a story and get a URL to embed you must choose to publish it to Storybird's public library and it must first be reviewed.  Because this takes time, I chose to download it and the used Flipsnack to create a flipbook that I was able to embed into my blog.  It worked but it took some time to figure it out.  Stories have the option of being downloaded to e-readers which is pretty cool.  The free version, which is what I used, allows one free download and three review tickets that can be submitted to have stories reviewed for public publishing.  All in all I really like this app and think it would exciting for students to see their work published.

My Reflection:

As I began looking through the modules of this course in late May, I was filled with trepidation.  Although this was my last course in the program and I had used technology in every class to date, there were many apps listed that I had either never heard of or, had heard of but had never used.  I remember thinking, “This is going to be a long summer!”  As the semester progressed the anxiety began to subside and I began to look forward to learning new things that I could share with others.  The modules that excited me the most were “YouTube, Animoto, and QR Codes” and “Cartoons and Comics”. These are the very ones that I feared the most in the beginning but they turned out to be fun learning experiences. 

Animoto was difficult for me.  I had never created any type of digital book trailer or video, and had never heard of “Animoto” before so everything about it was new learning.  The most frustrating piece was locating images that fit what I had pictured in my mind that I could use legally without having to get special permission.  It took a while but I did it.  It helped me have a better understanding of how important it is to teach students how to locate images from different sources and to teach them how to cite those images properly. 

My initial thought when I saw “Cartoons and Comics” was “Oh, no! I can’t draw to save my life and I’m not even very creative.  What am I going to do?”  It turns out you don’t have to be an artist to create comics using apps like Pixton or Make Belief Comix.  These apps are easy to use and are of high interest to students.  They can be used for everything from creative writing to demonstrating knowledge in content areas.  Pixton’s paid subscription provides more choices than the free subscription, and I found these limitations somewhat disappointing.

Screencasting was the module that I found to be the most beneficial to students, in terms of providing pertinent information without having to be present.  Creating screencasts that show students how to conduct advanced searches, use the database resources, and/or provide instructions for using digital learning tools make learning more independent and accessible.  While they may not provide the same creative outlet for students that some of the other apps provide, they can also be used to assess students’ knowledge of particular subjects. 

During the course of the semester I created infographics, books trailers, QR codes, comics, screencasts, posters and bookmarks, and contributed to a podcast, all of which were new to me with the exception of screencasts.  I learned how to use social media platforms to enhance learning and promote the library.  While I am still not the most creative person around and my skills need a lot of honing, I believe that I am leaving this course a much braver person than I was at the beginning.  I have moved from being the person who says, “Gee, I wish I could ….” to being the person who says, “I have done that! You can, too!”  There is a lot truth to the saying “Time flies when you are having fun”.  This summer has flown by and I have had a lot of fun.

Universal Design for Learning and Accessibility Resources

As I reviewed the principles and guidelines of the UniversalDesign for Learning model, I found that there are a number of things that I am already doing well, or that I can immediately begin adding to improve my practice.  However, there are several items, mostly related to the use of assistive technology and accessibility, that I need to explore further.  Some of the things that I have been doing for a long time are things like activating prior knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary, scaffolding and chunking information, providing graphic organizers and visuals, involving students in goal-setting, and providing checklists and rubrics. In addition to these, I have always tried to create a welcoming and supportive classroom environment with a well-maintained schedule and varying types of learning activities.  Most of these things can be done without extensive use of technology, however, technology has made it possible to increase accessibility which has made our classrooms more inclusive, making it imperative that teachers know how to locate and use accessibility features and materials. There are some basic accessibility features that I can add to my practice immediately such as changing text size, color and contrast, volume and timing, and embedding hyperlinks for textual support.  In addition to these, I can also begin using social media platforms, interactive web tools, and providing immediate feedback. 

Accessible materials and technologies beyond these basics are areas that I need to research in order to be able to successfully design lessons that meet the needs of all learners.  I located several resources that contain information that I found to be helpful.  The National Center on AccessibleEducational Materials is a website that provides extensive information about accessible educational materials (AEM), accessible instructional materials (AIM), and accessible technologies.  It is a good place to begin learning about accessibility in education as it provides access to videos, webinars, guidelines and best practices for designing for accessibility, and related resources. It also contains information about AEM for remote learning, which will be helpful in the current COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Another source of information that I located is the National Instructional Materials Access Center, (NIMAC) a resource center founded as a result of IDEA 2004 and funded by the US government that houses files that can be downloaded by authorized users that provide instructional materials in accessible formats.  This website explains what NIMAS is and how the process for obtaining materials works.  The information is helpful but it is important to keep in mind that this is a process that takes time and coordination.

The article “School Library Accessibility: The Role ofAssistive Technology” by Janet Hopkins originally published in School Librarian was informative because it is specific to K-12 libraries and the role that the library media specialist plays in helping students with disabilities become independent learners by using assistive technologies.  Ms. Hopkins provides descriptions of the types of assistive technologies that can be used for accessibility and the reasons for using them.

Not every school uses the Google apps for education or Chrome OS or Chromebooks but for those that do, Google provides accessibility flashcards that can be downloaded for free that provide step-by-step instructions for enabling accessibility features such as handwriting recognition, text-to-speech, and Dyslexia/color support.  It also provides instructions for Reader-Pen by Scanning Pens and Clicker Communicator by Crick Software. Google also has a blog devoted to accessibility that provides information about new apps that are available to promote accessibility.   The most recent post from October 2019 discusses the Live Caption, a captioning system for smartphones.  Information like this can be easily provided to teachers, staff, and students to promote the importance of accessibility.

Microsoft also has an education blog and the post from May 18, 2017 provides a series of videos about how to create accessible content using Microsoft products.  Some of the topics covered include how use OneNote to organize information for all subjects to reduce the amount of paper to keep up with, Office Lens to create digital content that can be edited and imported into any of the Microsoft apps, including ImmersiveReader which will then read the digital content aloud, and using Skype and SkypeTranslator.  I watched several of the videos in this series and found them to be very helpful in learning how to create accessible content.

The goal of Universal Design for Learning is to ensure that all students are able to engage in authentic and equitable learning and that all teachers are able to purposefully create content that is equally accessible to everyone.  As librarians and media specialists it is our job to be knowledgeable about the principles of UDL and to be able to provide our learning communities with resources that ensure success for all.

 

Resources:

Enabling accessibility features/flashcards. Google. http://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/enabling_accessibility_features.pdf

Hopkins, Janet. (2004). School library accessibility: The role of assistive technology. Teacher Librarian. v31;3.

Kemier, Brian. (2019). If it has audio, now it can have captions. Google Accessibility blog. https://blog.google/products/android/live-caption/?_ga=2.126088328.443909475.1596055049-1212337996.1596055049

Microsoft Education Team. (2017). 10 tips to make your classroom more accessible. Microsoft Education. https://educationblog.microsoft.com/en-us/2017/05/10-tips-for-creating-an-inclusive-classroom-today/

National Center on Accessible Educational Materials, http://aem.cast.org/

National Instructional Materials Access Center, https://www.nimac.us/

(2018). Universal design for learning guidelines. CAST.com. http://udlguidelines.cast.org/

Podcasts

I have loved to listen to stories for as long as I can remember.  It began because my mother refused to buy a TV because she believed it stifled the imagination so my childhood entertainment came from listening to her read books aloud and tell me stories of her childhood.  We had a radio and a record player that we used daily to listen to music and children’s programs, which were the highlight of my day.  Even after I began reading for myself, I still loved hearing books read aloud.  Fast forward forty plus years and I still love audio books and, not a day goes by that I am not listening to something, so it should come as no surprise that I have taken a liking to podcasts. 

Podcasts are downloadable audio files that are usually episodic, vary in length, and are available to listeners through subscriptions.  There are many, many podcasts coving a plethora of topics so it is not difficult to find something for everyone.  Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular with teachers and students because they engaging and adaptable.  Students can download a podcast episode and have the flexibility to listen to it anywhere while doing anything.  Teachers can use podcasts in conjunction with lessons that are being taught and apps like EdPuzzle allow for embedding comprehension questions to go along with it.  According to the EdPuzzle blog article “How to Use Podcasts in the Classroom”, having students create their own podcasts will allow teachers to assess knowledge of content in a different way.  Some examples of how students might use podcasts are for book reviews, reflections, how-to presentations, and storytelling.  Librarians and media specialists can make use of podcasts as well.  A “teaser” podcast can introduce students to new books by favorite authors or let them know what new books are on now available at the library.  Podcasts are also a great way to provide staff development for the teachers and staff that you support.  Because teachers are always busy prepping for lessons or grading assignments, staying after school for voluntary in-service events is sometimes met with resistance but short professional development podcasts that can be downloaded and listened to while doing laundry after work or shuttling children to and from dance and soccer practice might be a welcome change.

For this post I looked at three podcast platforms and assessed them for user-friendliness.  Although I have been listening to podcasts for a while, I have never recorded and uploaded my own podcast episode, so ease of use for a “newbie” was what I was looking at.

Podbean

Podbean is a great platform for those who are new to podcasting.  It is free but, as with many apps, there is an upgraded version that provides more features.  If you just starting out, the free version should be fine.  Creating the account was very easy and the dashboard is easy to read and navigate.  Podbean walks you step-by-step through setting up your podcast with your title and logo, to publishing and distribution.  I found this helpful and it lessened my anxiety a bit.  This platform allows for both audio and video postcasting.  It offers broad distribution to many of the major podcast destinations such as Spotify and Apple Play, and you can embed your podcast into your blog or social media platform.  Their website talks about monetization tips but I did not explore this.  Of the three platforms I reviewed, Podbean was my favorite for its simplicity and ease of use for beginners.

Buzzsprout

Buzzsprout is another platform that is easy to use for beginners.  Creating the account is easy and the free version works well for beginners. For me, the dashboard is not as easy to navigate as it consists of tabs that run horizontally across the top of the page but they have a great beginner tutorial video that is short but provides great explanation.  The drag and drop feature for uploading is very easy to use and you have the option of leaving your recording unpublished if you are not ready to publish it.  You can also schedule when you want your episodes to be published. The distribution is broad and includes Spotify, Apple and Google, Pandora and iHeart Radio, as well as a few more.  Like Podbean, this site also provides statistics and monetization help.  Overall, it was easy to use but the dashboard navigation is important to me so I would prefer to use Podbean.

Spreaker

Spreaker is a platform that I had never heard of before until recently.  The free account was easy to create using my Google account but it only allows 5 hours of audio so if you are planning to podcast regularly then you will need to upgrade to a paid subscription.  With that said, it was very easy to use.  The dashboard is well-marked and easy to navigate and you can upload by simply dragging and dropping your file.  I did not find a tutorial video on the site but periodically a pop-up window appears with a helpful tip or suggestion.  You can schedule your episodes to be automatically published and the distribution is fairly broad.  As with the previous platforms, there are statistics and monetization tips for the paid plans.  Something that I did not like is that there is no option to not publish your podcast, only an option for private viewing.  Because I was just practicing, and my recording was not really something I would want anyone to listen to, I would have liked to have been able to delete it or opt for not publishing.  Overall, this platform is easy to use for beginners.

Though all of these platforms were easy to use, Podbean is the one I would recommend for someone who is just starting out with podcasting.  The podcast below was published with Podbean.

Where can you find educational podcasts?

Common Sense Education – List of 19 Podcasts to use in the classroom broken down by grade level with a short description of each one.

School Library Journal- Article about podcasts in the classroom with a list of recommended podcasts for kids

Edutopia- List of podcasts to inspire teachers

The Cult of Pedagogy podcast series

Spreaker- This site allows you listen to podcasts as well as create them.  A search for education brings up a list of available podcasts with education as a topic.  I did not listen to any of these so I cannot comment on the content.

              

References:

(2019). How to use podcasts in the classroom. EdPuzzle.Com. https://blog.edpuzzle.com/edtech/podcasts-in-the-classroom/

Aguilar, Elena. (2019). Podcasts that expand our hearts and minds. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/podcasts-expand-our-hearts-and-minds

Garcia, Josep. (2020). The best free and paid hosting sites for your podcast. Website Tool Tester. https://www.websitetooltester.com/en/blog/podcast-hosting/

Oh, Erin W. (2020). 19 great learning podcasts for the classroom. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/19-great-learning-podcasts-for-the-classroom

Rogers, Linda. (2018). Prime time for podcasts. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=prime-time-podcasts

Cartoons and Comics

In this post I am reviewing three apps for making comics and cartoons.  Comics have long been a favorite of children but have only recently become viewed as a valuable educational tool by adults.  Graphic novels are on the rise with many notable authors becoming engaged in this genre, both in fiction and nonfiction.  Both YALSA and the ALSC have created yearly lists of recommended graphic novels for children and young adults.  Because comics generate high interest and are more engaging for reluctant readers, it is a good idea to be familiar with ways to incorporate comics into the classroom environment.  The apps below are a good place to start.

Fotojet

This site was so easy to use.  I used the free version to create a comic photo collage with one of the templates provided.  No kidding, I had the photo collage put together in less than five minutes and it was the very first time I had used the app.  The dashboard is easy to see and use with the icons well marked.  There are a lot of features for customizing your project so you can make it as fancy or as plain as you want.  There are a number of templates available with the free version as well as a lot of options for backgrounds, clipart, and text features.  You can upload your own photos, which is what I did, or you can choose from stock photos online.  Sharing is easy with this app as all it requires is a simple download and save.  I believe that this app is easy enough for elementary school age children to create basic comics and that they would have a lot fun with it. 

Pixton

When I tried this app out, the first thing I noticed right away is the option to change the language from English to Spanish or French.  It is right there at the very top of the page and easy to see.  While this option may have been available with Fotoject, it was not easily visible.  The second thing I noticed is that the introduction video focuses on how teachers and students are using this app in the classroom setting so I knew right away that it is designed for students.  As far as creating the comic, while this app is not difficult to use, the free version is VERY limited in the selection of backgrounds, characters, and actions you are able to choose.  I found this a little frustrating but more disappointing as I felt that my creativity was somewhat stifled.  I also had to play with the app a little to figure out how to edit but it was not difficult to figure out.  I believe that this app would be very appealing to students and the ELL students would really benefit from it.

Make Beliefs Comix

This app feels like it was designed especially for teachers and students.  It provides teachers and parents with examples of how the comics can be used to support learning with all students including ELL and those with special needs.  There are also thirteen different language options that can be selected with just one click of the mouse. Because there are prompts to spark ideas for writing, it seems like a good site for creative writing projects.  With that said, I found this app difficult to use.  Creating the comic requires a lot of clicking back and forth from characters to backgrounds and speech bubbles.  I prefer the drag and drop feature of some of the other apps.  Also, the app does not allow for customization of characters and the poses for the characters provided are limited.  Saving the comic is not difficult, select the “save to a disk” option and it downloads the image.  Login is required to save the comic if you want to download it or return to it later.  All in all, I think elementary and middle school students would have fun with this app but it was not my favorite in terms of ease of use.

Sharing With Teachers

Because providing professional development opportunities is one of the many responsibilities of the librarian or media specialist, I would share comics and cartoons with the teachers at my school by hosting a hands-on mini-workshop where I can introduce the apps above and they can spend time trying them out.  Creating tutorial screencasts would be another way to share this information with teachers, as well as students.