SLIS 761 Post #10 - SLIS 761 Course Takeaways

One of my biggest takeaways from this semester is that technology is something to be excited about. Through this course, I have been able to research and play around with a lot of interesting tech and apps that I am genuinely excited about incorporating into lessons. The two that I am most excited about are VR and AR. I wrote about the Oculus Quest 2 in my fourth blog post, and I am probably going to pick one up in the next couple of weeks. With the price of VR becoming more realistic, I think that it is going to start becoming more attractive as a tool for learning. Just recently, Oculus (or Meta) updated their hand tracking software, so now the headsets can track more fine movements which I think will lead to more immersive experiences. In my ninth blog post, I was able to play around with the free augmented reality app Halo AR, and it gave me so many ideas for how you could tag digital content to real world objects in your library that can be viewed with just a phone. The cost of tech seems to be decreasing, while its capabilities are increasing.

Another one of my takeaways is that website building is not as intimidating as I had initially thought. At the beginning of the semester, when I was reading over the course assignments, I remember getting very nervous when I first read about the School Library Website assignment. I had never made a website before, and it seemed like a daunting task. Then I went to check out Google Sites to see how it worked and realized that companies like Google have made website building incredibly easy. The one issue that I had when using Google Sites was that it does not let you freely move images and text boxes. Everything must conform to the grid. I guess that makes it easier for the website to determine where everything goes when it shifts from web browser to tablet and mobile view. Despite that, I ended up really enjoying putting my website together. Additionally, in working on the website, I feel like I learned more about how to use Canva.com, the app Screencast-O-Matic, and various Google apps that I was not taking advantage of before, like Sites, Forms, and the Calendar. I feel like all of this is going to help me to improve the work that I do on future projects.

I know that it is for a fictional school, but feel free to visit (https://sites.google.com/view/cedarbayelementary/home) and participate in the poll on the Storytime page or the one on the Instagram account (@cedarbayllc).