My Top 10 Revisited :)

     Hi!  Welcome Back!  I imagine when I read this blog in it's entirety after this class is finished, I will spruce things up a bit and make it look like a proper blog page.  Until then, however, in my very first blog page, I had to post what I thought were the most important things for teachers to know about technology.  I am here to revisit those 10 items to see if they remain true to me...Corrections and opinions to be made are highlighted in blue/green.


1.  Be open minded and be willing to learn and try new things.         
         Still appropriate!

2.  Have a back up plan.  Hey, you're teachers, you probably already have one!
       Yes, we all know those times when technology isn't working.

3.  Use the technology that is available and find out what works for you and your students.
       Hmmmm, if we could only get all the teachers on board to use the           technology we have.  The teachers are not the ones looking for new technologies to use.

4.  Be prepared to learn with your students, even at the elementary level. 
        Be prepared to learn for the rest of your life, with any grade level.  Period.      
5.  Databases are an invaluable research tool; it shouldn't always be a "Google" search.
         Teachers are still wanting the students to get books for research.  Please see #3...use the technology we have! 
 
6.  Group students together to help each other, not everyone starts in the same place.
          Hopefully teachers are using UDL in the classrooms, with technology, scaffolding and RETELL initiative.
 
7.  Have students share what they already know; whether it's websites, databases or social media.
          Still good!
            
8.  Ask "like-minded" colleagues to share how they use technology in their classrooms.
           Even if it is the same 5 people every time. :) I love collaborating with teachers who are going to school, too.  There are lots of good ideas then.

9.  Use the technology you have to better understand the technology you could be using.  For example, you can "Google" how to set up a blog for a class you are taking... :)
            It's funny, teachers will ask someone else how to figure out a tech problem, but don't search the internet for problem solving. 

10.  Keep in good contact with your Librarian and IT department, they are using technology every day and have great suggestions for implementing technology in your classroom. 
        Hopefully this will always be the case! 



      It has been my experience that teachers who teach in middle school or high school are more tech savvy than those who teach in elementary school.  I'm sure it's because the older grades use it more and teachers want to be ahead of the curve.  While elementary students are still learning the basics, newer teachers come from college quite adept at using technology.  It is fascinating to see them using white boards, Apple TV and iPads in their classrooms, instead of the overhead projectors and cassette players.  This, of course, is just my humble opinion.  Thanks for stopping by!  





 



 

For the Love of Destiny

Welcome back to my blog!!  This week, the riveting subject is "My Love of Destiny."

     I was going to interview myself (ha!) but I decided to chat with a colleague of mine who uses Destiny as well.  Her name is Roberta Barricelli and she has been a librarian for several years, in a middle school, an elementary school and a teen librarian in the public library.  She is well versed in Destiny, but has also used Winnebago/Sagebrush before they were sold to Follett.  If I remember correctly, we both used the OPAC Winnebago system in our first year as elementary library media specialists.  I honestly can’t recall anything about it.  It was all new to me then, so I thought it was great that the card catalog system was automated in all our schools that year.  I am a proponent of Destiny, having used it for the last seventeen years, but I don’t have much to compare it to.  The public library uses the Evergreen OPAC, and it is easy enough to search for a book using it.  I don’t have any in-depth “librarian” experience with it. 

     The pros of Destiny, in no particular order:

• Destiny is part of the Follett Corporation, which includes integrations with Titlewave Bookstore, TitleWise for collection analysis, X2,  Aspen (Student Information System) and WebPath Express (for a larger fee,) making it a convenient all inclusive system.

• TitleWave ordering is easy and saves booklists until you are ready to order.

• Can set up parameters for class lists for overdue reports and saves them to be used quickly throughout the year.

• Catalog is online, usable everywhere.

• Books that are processed from Follett look neat and professional.

• Easy to navigate while creating patron reports, patron updates, call number changes, patron barcodes, etc.

• Destiny Quest shows images in catalog search, which is easier for younger students to search.

• Ease of using patron checkout history, to find books for other students (Can I have the book that Casey had last month?)

• TitlePeek is a fantastic visual advantage for searching for books.

• Easy to upload new books from Follett or any company.

     The cons of Destiny:

• Cost is more expensive than other OPAC systems.

• Once the younger students get used to Destiny Quest, they don’t want to use the regular catalog search page.  (See next “con”.)

• Destiny catalog search has to have exact spelling, which can be quite frustrating for students.

     Overall we are both quite pleased with Destiny, and any shortcomings of Destiny may actually contribute to user error.  I use destiny for hours a day, but I use it for the same tasks.  Anything that I think Destiny can’t do is something I probably haven’t learned yet… ;)