LBS 850

Week 15

Course Takeaways

I really enjoyed this class.  It was fun and helpful and the diversity in the assignments made the class more interesting.  The “real world” experiences have enhanced my ability to connect with students and basically do my job better. Your positivity and encouragement were motivating!

Some high points:👏

¨ The ability and time allowed to play around with different tools. I have used Screencastify several times in my job this month and it has been a great addition to my repertoire. I also implemented a few Padlets to my classes and am considering the unlimited paid version. Learning and toying with other new tools to me such as FlipGrid, Glogster, and Animoto was valuable.

¨ The OPAC module was helpful and thought-provoking. I didn’t realize there were so many out there that schools could choose from and I feel more educated if I was to go to another district or if ours decided to consider a change.


¨ The discussions were set up for us to learn from each other, and that was accomplished and greatly appreciated. I have had classes where the discussion topic is very narrow, and everyone felt as if they had to write a term paper instead of a casual discussion. As Gabriele said in one of her discussion posts, “I didn’t have the pressure of having to come up with an initial post and then comment on others’ posts or post something by this day and then follow up by this day...” This helped the flow and natural feel of conversation.


¨ Your videos were the best and I truly appreciated the work that goes into keeping up with them every week. They were hilarious and informative and were a great supplement to the content page. The detail of the content page was also helpful. I have had teachers who have provided a couple sentences and a very long list of reading. Most of the class were left feeling unsure of the content or assignment specifics. I never really felt that way in this class and if I did, I had no hesitation in reaching out. Believe it or not, some of us in this class had the unfortunate experience of a professor in a particular course, shaming us for asking questions. It’s not a good feeling!


¨ I was thankful for the detailed feedback that accompanied our grade. Others in this class have mentioned receiving feedback such as “great” or “nice job” which is somewhat weak after working many hours on something you are proud of! I was also impressed with the screencast of you grading our assignments, that was personal and fun!


Lows (not really, just thoughts…)💭

¨ Your hair. Just kidding, I thought you looked great in all the videos!!


¨ The adaptive and assistive technology module was somewhat repetitive for those of us who took LBS 724, but still helpful, nonetheless. I liked having to ask around in my district who the point person (NO ONE!) was that handles it. It helped me understand what was going on in my building and what was not.


¨ As most others have already mentioned and comes as no surprise I’m sure, the cataloging module was hard to get through. Thankfully Destiny does this very complex job for me so I didn’t sweat it that much.


¨ As I mentioned above, I liked the OPAC module, but not so much the assignment. It was difficult to really know how the software works from the librarian’s perspective without owning the product. However, I am not sure of another way to approach this other than the project you gave us!


¨ The last “low” for me was the number of apps/tools we needed for the student technology project. I did enjoy the research that the assignment required, however, it felt forced to come up with 10 apps. It was the worst grade I got out of all the assignments and the most time and effort I took out of all the weeks in the course.
Thanks again for a wonderful class, it was such a great experience.

UPDATED:Ten Things Every Teacher Should Know About Technology
Week 14

1. Always practice yourself before presenting things to students. Actually, do the entire assignment as you would be presenting to them to see where the tricky parts are or what doesn't make sense that may need to be tweaked due to limits of the software. Also, over time many things get upgraded and changed so if it has been a while since you visited the website, double-check to be sure things haven't changed. I was reminded of this recently when I started using Padlet with my students and ran out of free Padlets because I was using the free version.  This meant I couldn't be seamless across my classes in using it unless I wanted to pay.  I wish I thought of checking this before starting it.  I do like it a lot so I may end up paying for it.

2. Have a backup plan. The Internet can be slow and/ or computers can crash. Have a paper back up assignment so your entire class isn't ruined due to technology glitches. Also, always try rebooting the computer before calling the IT department for assistance (that is what they will do first when they arrive!) It is also crucial that you know who to call for technical assistance. I stand by this!

3. It may seem basic but take the time to review computer rules (no food, no touching another person's computer, etc) this will save you headaches down the road. It is important that students are properly trained on how to treat expensive devices with care and respect. I just shared this advice with a colleague this week when she had students behaving inappropriately on the computers.  She doesn't use them that much and she said it didn't occur to her to go over how to behave using a computer.  

4. Take advantage of the free stuff! Many online platforms offer free content in addition to purchasing plans or upgrades. The free stuff is usually pretty good if you can't afford to upgrade. See #1!

5. Start with the basics. I wrongly assumed that all my middle school students understood how to operate a mouse, how to open a new tab, etc. Many of my students do not have access to computers outside of school and didn't know many things most of us take for granted. So that it won't be a barrier to learning and make students anxious about using the technology, take the time to explain the small stuff.  On top of this, students who are English Language Learners have additional challenges in defining all the tech language.  I noticed a student recently using google translate to figure out some tech instructions I was teaching. Good reminder for me to give them extra attention especially when using tech terminology. 

6. You don't have to know it all. Having approximately 3 or 4 good sites or apps that you find helpful and can use confidently are okay. Trying to learn too much too quickly will cause frustration and burnout. Maximize your time by learning a few good ones to start. I still agree, although when taking a course such as this one it is hard to not be enticed by all the new and exciting things presented! 

7. Kids love to teach the teacher! Students derive much confidence from showing off their tech skills. I had students help me navigate Instagram when I first started using it and they loved teaching me all they knew. Ask your students what they know, and you will learn a lot! I have been practicing this more and more lately. Students dont want to listen to me all day and enjoy learning from each other. I am trying to strive for a more heutagogical and connectivist approach. This would consist of me being the facilitator of knowledge instead of providing the information.

8. Teach digital citizenship. Passwords are extremely valuable and need to be carefully guarded, as well as thoughtfully generated. Explain phishing and not to click on a link they are unfamiliar with. Always important!  It seems every day there are reports in the news about hackers and identity thieves.  Start young teaching them this.

9. Take advantage of training sessions offered by your district. This can save you time muddling through yourself to learn something new. Most times you can also earn PD points for attending. This week's discussion had many wishing they had more constructive professional development opportunities. My district sent out a survey asking what we would like for PD and then followed through with our requests.  I think some districts are at a loss for how to fill the time and are looking for input about PD sessions that will be well received and valuable for their employees.

10. Be open to new ways of doing things. Technology can be scary for some. Give it a try and you will find a whole new way of teaching as well as keeping yourself organized. Technology can save you time and aggravation. It can be hard to accept that you're behind the times. But it can become frustrating to maintain your reluctance in the face of changing technology, as you'll soon be left at the mercy of those who do know.

LBS 850 

Week 13

Online Public Access Catalog interview 

Interviewer: Joanne Collins
Interviewee: Joanne Collins

What OPAC system do you currently use in your Middle School?
I use Follett Destiny which is a Cloud-based system.

What other OPAC systems have you used?

I am only familiar with Destiny. I worked for 5 years as a library assistant in Hingham MA and now in my 3rd year as the sole LMS in the library in Quincy MA.

Have you considered changing OPAC’s or are you happy with Destiny?
Because Destiny is all that I am familiar with, I can’t begin to know if I am using the most user-friendly and reliable, system. I only know other librarians who use Destiny, until this class, so I am excited to see what else is out there. Of course, it would be a huge undertaking to change as our entire District (11 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, and 2 high schools) use the system and have for many years.  About 7 years ago (before any of the current librarians were there) they used a system called Athena, however, there is nobody still on board who remembers it or why it was switched to Destiny. 

What features of Destiny do you like?
1. You can print barcodes and spine labels easily
2. It is accessible from anywhere so students can search while at home and I can work on lesson plans outside of school hours. This 24-hour convenience helps to strengthen the connection between the library, the classroom, and home.
3. Customer service is great with a live person to help you.
4. It is easy to upload MARC records
5. Because I purchase my books from Follett, they will alert me if I am attempting to purchase a book that I already own.
6. Provides options while searching for non-English speaking students
7. With the Report Builder function, I can continuously keep track of our collection. I like to compare checkouts from year to year. I also used the figures in a recent presentation to the school committee to confirm their decision in hiring full-time librarians at the middle school level. I routinely print overdue reports and student notices
8. I love the ability to see if other middle schools in the district has a book that I don’t that a student needs and then having the capability to request the book from them so easily.

What features of Destiny do you dislike?

1. The search function is a little weak. Try and type Abe Lincoln in Destiny and get “no results” now type Abraham Lincoln and see the all the books in your collection appear about our 16th president of the US. Another example is that the popular series, Dog Man cannot be found by searching for Dogman.

2. The online Destiny help instructions are not very helpful

3. Some of the steps (such as putting a book on hold) are lengthy

4. I dislike the automatic logout of the program if I am inactive for a short time.

5. My tech department is having a hard time understanding how to tweak Destiny in the ways it works for our library. We are currently asking for permission to take over so we can meet our needs as librarians. I noticed we are using a slightly older version of Destiny which is something IT should have taken care of in January when the latest version was released.

6. I wish I could switch screens without losing prior work. If I am in cataloging and a student wants to check out a book, I have to either wait until I am finished processing the book or have to start over if I switch to circulation before I am finished.

7. The user interface looks a little old school and I don’t like the small font
8. I much prefer Destiny Discover feature of "in" or "out" instead of 0 of 1 available wording



What other OPAC’s would you consider looking into if you were asked to make a change?

When I performed a quick Google search the two “top rated” choices that appeared were LIBERO by Insight Informatics and Sierra by Innovative Interfaces. I would look more seriously into it and probably interview the companies along with my fellow librarians as well as gathering feedback from other seasoned librarians.