Thing 12: Final Reflection

I am so excited to have been able to participate in Cool Tools this year. I originally planned to do 10 topics, but  part of my own learning curve as a new mom is recognizing that I just don't have the same time and mental space as I did pre-baby! I really wanted to do 10 things, and I did spend several hours reading, learning, and thinking after my little guy went to bed. I just didn't have the energy to synthesize my thoughts into writing! I spent most of my time on Things 29-32, thinking about my annual report. Unfortunately, this is not a requirement for me, so it gets moved to the bottom of the list, and occasionally off the list. That's ok - I still benefited from the learning, and will continue to benefit as I mosey through the remaining resources over the summer. Maybe I'll even write a post or two. I did learn that I missed writing blog posts, and I hope to get back into sharing my learning in this format more often again. It helps me really think things through and make connections.

Participating in this PD opportunity was particularly helpful to me because I had been feeling like I had "gotten off the train," so to speak. I felt that too many tools I'd loved were available only for paid subscribers, and I began to get discouraged that any new tool I learned would become inaccessible. I am happy to report that I no longer feel that way.  I am feeling reinvigorated and inspired. I especially enjoyed Adobe Spark and look forward to incorporating it into instruction next year.

One thing I have been wrestling with is Google Apps for Education. I love Google tools for education and make use of them frequently. However, I worry about getting overly comfortable and using Google tools for EVERYTHING. (PS - I recognize the irony of this being posted on Blogger). I worry that students won't be able to transfer skills to other applications and software seamlessly because they've only known one kind of tool. While I love the convenience of Google tools, I do think they do not have all the capabilities that other, non-web-based tools have, and students will miss out. I am going to be working over the next school year to expose students to a wider variety of tools.

This summer, I am going to spend some time with Thing 19: Coding. I think I can do a better job of incorporating coding into my library program, and I am looking for new tools and ideas. It's also fun, so I can work, but not TOO hard. :)

Thank you, Polly, for this amazing opportunity, and thank you Capital Region BOCES for giving us to June 30. I didn't meet my goal for number of Things completed, but I definitely met my goal for learning! I appreciate that this ended AFTER school was done for the year.