Which ones excited you most?

First, I have to admit, I loved getting back into blogging! As a young mom, 15+ years ago, I blogged about our little family.  I also loved reading other "mom blogs." So I enjoyed creating a new blog, and I was grateful to be familiar with the concept. 

As far as 'new-to-me' tools, I really enjoyed learning Animoto and Pixton.  These tools were very user-friendly.

I loved making my own book trailer, but the free account was limiting.  I want to look into getting a paid subscription for our library! And I've already used Pixton for some library announcements!  

I think Animoto and Pixton will be so fun for my students to use and to make quality, creative products.  I'm looking forward to learning more about these tools and sharing them with the teachers and students at my schools. 

Which ones were most difficult for you? 

Which ones were most difficult for you? 

The infographic tools, like Infogram, Piktochart, and Easelly, were difficult for me to learn quickly. There were so many options, and the design tools were more nuanced than the Google and Word options I am familiar with using.  My Infographic project took me hours and hours to create and refine.  I also disliked Fotojet as a tool for the comic assignment.  It did not have as many fun options, and it was just more awkward to use. 

Which ones will most benefit students?

I definitely want to research more about our district's rules and regulations about using social media to communicate with parents and the community. I think having an Instagram account, FB page, or YouTube channel for our school library could be very effective.  I love the idea of sharing more with the administrators, parents, etc. about what we are doing in the library! It is basic advocacy! However, I know there are certain parameters or restrictions we have on how we use those tools.

I was thankful to learn more about UDL and the importance of designing and maintaining a library that is accessible to all.  Two resources I learned about in that unit, Bookshare and Clusive, have the potential to significantly help our struggling readers. I've started talking with our Dyslexia teachers about using these.

I also love this tool, Storyjumper, and others like it, like Book Creator.  I think these could really motivate reluctant writers!  I would like to explore using this for library writing contests, but also share it with teachers for other purposes.

I