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Web 2.0 Adventures in "GROWTH"

I saw a meme the other day that said something about "You survived April. Welcome to Level 5 of Jumanji". Ha! Boy, doesn't that about sum it up! We have experienced so much upheaval, confusion, change, disappointment, pain, bizarre behavior, and plain old chaos in the past month that it's easy to forget some of the things that we've gained. Many of us have had to slow down as our extra-curricular lives & schedules came to a screeching halt. Many of us have been able to see our families more and appreciate what they add to our lives. Some of us have been blessed to be able to still work and contribute to society and to bless others in return. And some of us (like teachers) have been asked to stretch and grow in ways that many might not have ever expected to have to stretch and grow. Do I think that distance online learning is here to stay? Long story short? Yes. Maybe not as the sole platform for instruction and education....but I don't think it's going anywhere. If any of us weren't on the boat yet, we are now. We've had to adapt, adjust and demonstrate our flexibility in ways we didn't even know about. Being part of this Web 2.0 class has helped me to see all the options out there. It has given me some ideas and clarity for future teaching. I hope to continue to look for new tools and ways to help teach my library students as the future develops. I will be sure to evaluate tools before adding them to a permanent repertoire. I am looking forward to a new school year in the fall when I can demonstrate to the students some of the new fun ideas and tools we have to share with them!

TCEA has offered free memberships to teachers over the past couple years. It has been my privilege to take advantage of this. It's especially helpful that they have specialty groups that are also free to join. I've gained some useful information just by being on the email list that gives weekly (and sometimes daily!) updates on what is happening in the world of educational technology. I am hoping to be "invited" by our technology team to the convention next year! I feel like this would be a really great opportunity for some growth and advancement in our school library.

I also plan to continue with the "aggregate page" as an organizational tool and follow as many libraries/librarians/authors as I can on Twitter. YouTube will become a more versatile part of my teaching toolbelt as I begin to record and edit with the new tool that I started using for the final project.

I feel as though the last 6 weeks have been a time of important and imperative "stretching" for me. I was not ignorant in the world of technology - but I certainly did find out a lot more about what is current and possible than I knew before this class!

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