Competency H

Competency H.

Demonstrate proficiency in identifying, using, and evaluating current and emerging information and communication technologies.

There are several different resources that I use to identify emerging technologies. I subscribe to ISTE emails and other library magazines such as American Libraries and Knowledge Quest that often have articles about new tech. I also see new technology on social media. I follow different libraries and librarians and there are always great ideas and innovative uses for older technologies. Teachers are also a great source of new tech ideas. If they are using it in the classroom and I haven’t heard of it, I make a point to familiarize myself with it. Conferences are also great places to hear about new tech and how it is being used in the library and classroom.

I have incorporated different kinds tech into the library for various uses. I’ve created a digital display in the library that plays new books on a loop with music. Sometimes, I play book trailers for the same purpose. I’ve also used QR codes, so students can interact with trailers or online content. In the future it would be fun to link to student-created trailers. During the pandemic, I started creating virtual interactive displays that have been really popular with English teachers because they can assign students to look at them without taking extra class time; it also allows them to help promote books we have in the library. Right now, I am piloting a bookings/reservation service so teachers and admin can not only book the library easily, hopefully increasing usage, but also to make the usage visible. When admin especially can see how often the library is being used for library or textbook checkouts, instruction, class meetings, etc., it can serve an advocacy role.

Evaluating the technology is both a formal and informal process. I usually go directly to the source and ask the teachers and/or the students how they like the tech or service. I also look at reviews from professional organizations such as ISTE. The things that are most important are the potential cost, user experience, and whether it supplements what is happening in the classroom vs. creating barriers.

Conclusion

Because new technologies are constantly being developed, it’s important to seek out what’s new and how it might fit into the library. One of my goals is to move the library beyond the physical space and bring library services out to where the students and teachers are. Pushing out materials to their OneNote notebooks is a project I’m really excited about. I’m going to compare the usage analytics before and after I do this to see what the impact is.

Evidence 1: Website Development

I created this website from scratch in INFO 240. The purpose of the website is to provide information about collaboration between teachers and librarians. This connects to the competency because it demonstrates my ability to design websites using HTML and CSS coding for library purposes.

Evidence 2: Guide on the Side Interactive Web Tutorial

For an assignment in INFO 254, using SpringShare software, I co-created a tutorial for how to search in the Library of Congress database. This connects to the competency because this split-screen tutorial included step by step questions and answers with the website embedded into the tutorial. I have my partner’s permission to share this with her name. My role in the project was writing half of the questions, incorporating answers to all of the questions, and writing the first draft of the explanation paper.

Evidence 3: Screencast of Database Features

In INFO 254, I created a screencast using Canvas Studio showing high school students how to use a table/graph feature in a database for an assignment. This screencast also includes captions for accessibility purposes.

References

American Association of School Librarians (2018). National school library standards crosswalk. AASL/ALA. 180828-aasl-standards-crosswalk-iste.pdf