Final Reflection

Wow! I can’t believe I’m actually typing my final reflection. This was definitely a course that helped me gain a great amount of knowledge that will certainly be implemented in my classroom and in my future library. I clearly remember reading the syllabus and getting extremely nervous about the course. But after long afternoons of working and stressing on assignments, I feel extremely comfortable using all the web applications presented.

Blog Feed Readers
I was not much of a blog person before starting my masters, but now, I can honestly say I really enjoy reading them. Blog readers definitely make it easier to view all the blogs you like in simply one place.

Social Media
I have always used social media but exploring different platforms made me realize that I really didn’t know it all. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great ways to learn, communicate, and promote events.

Infographics
Creating an infographic was not the easiest thing, but I did learn a lot. It was so hard to pick and choose only certain information from the article. Piktochart was certainly the application I liked the most.

Screencasts
I really enjoyed creating screencasts. I was a bit nervous at first, but after my first attempt, I felt very comfortable. They are a great tool to use with both students and teachers.

YouTube, Animoto, & QR Codes
Creating a book trailer was very exciting. Animoto is a great and user-friendly application that I will use very often. QR codes can definitely be used to create fun activities such as scavenger hunts and links to ebooks.

Cartoons and Comics
This is a topic that I really enjoyed especially because I have a lot of reluctant readers that I know will benefit from this. I’m sure they will also have a lot of fun creating them.

Podcasts
It was not the first time I used Podbean to create a podcast, but this time, I did include an image and music. My partner and I were very satisfied with the results.

Digital Storytelling
Book creator is the best! I had so much fun creating my digital book. This is definitely a tool I plan to use at the beginning of the year. Students will create an “About Me” book to share with the class.

 You can find the digital book I created titled Final Reflection by clicking below.

Final Reflection

Click to read this book, made with Book Creator

https://read.bookcreator.com

Podcasts

Podcasts are digital audio recordings that often focus on a particular topic or theme. They are frequently used for entertainment, inspiration, and educational purposes. Recently, they have gained popularity because they are so conveniently easy to access and serve all kinds of listeners. To create a podcast, all you need is a digital device with a microphone, Internet connection, and a topic you’re passionate about. There are many different websites that can be found online to help you locate or create podcasts. Three podcast web applications I explored are Audioboom, Soundcloud, and Podbean.

Audioboom

Audioboom is an audio and podcasting platform that offers technical support, advertisement, distribution, and production. I was able to create an account without a problem, however, it does ask for a subscription of $9.99 monthly for producing unlimited podcasts. Podcast listeners should not have a problem finding what they are looking for. Podcasts available are easy to navigate and to listen to.

Soundcloud

Soundcloud is a platform available on the Web, iOS, Android, Sonos, Chromecast, and Xbox One. You can save tracks, follow artists, build playlists, and create podcasts. It is very easy to navigate, and creating podcasts is very simple. New podcast users can really benefit from using this platform. Multiplan subscriptions are priced from $4.99 - $9.99 a month.

Podbean

Podbean is a podcasting website and application that I have used in the past. I actually have the app on my phone and it is extremely easy to use. It provides different categories, stations, and audiobooks to listen to. When creating a podcast, music, effects, and tone options are available. It lets you record up to 90 minutes and publishing is very simple. Podbean is definitely my favorite podcast application.

My partner Kristi Davis and I decided to use this awesome application to record the podcast below titled “The Rise of Graphic Novels”.

Podcasts in the Library 

Like mentioned before, podcasts have gained a great amount of popularity. In education, they can be used to help and engage students in a variety of ways. Librarians can integrate podcasts to the library by having students listen to audiobooks, news, or important information. They can also create their own podcasts about books, authors, classification systems, research, technology, etc.

The following are some educational podcasts that I found interesting.

Storynory

An online treasure-trove of free audio stories. You can listen to a mixture of original stories, fairytales, and specially adapted myths and histories. Storynory has published an episode every week since 2005, so there is plenty to love and something for everyone.

Tumble

Science is brought to life in this podcast that tells stories about science discoveries with help from actual scientists. They answer questions from why cats always seem to land on their feet to what a journey to the center of the earth would look like.

Brains-On

“Brains On!” features science and kids. The host and her kid co-host talk with food scientists and snake handlers, put on plays, write songs, and so much more. It’s a science lesson for your ears!