As I reflect on this course, I can’t believe how comfortable I have become using many tech tools I didn’t even know existed. Staying current in technology can be a difficult task, but I can see the benefits. Rayome (2017) makes a wonderful case on ways to stay up to date, such as “follow blogs, subscribe to newsletters, and follow industry leaders on Twitter” (sec. 2, para. 1). While using the tools in this course, I am already getting countless emails to keep up with the newest updates. Among the blogs in this week’s sandbox, I found “Ditch That Textbook” and “Daring Librarian” to be my favorites. I plan to broaden my subscriptions, in order to get tech updates on a broad range of tools.
I found myself resonating too much with Szmodis’s (2021) definition of performative technaphobia, which she states “someone might proclaim a fear or aversion to technology in hopes of either getting people do complete some digital task for them or to perhaps to excuse themselves of any errors or perceived incompetencies while learning new digital skills” (para. 1). I think of when Covid hit, and I had to learn to teach virtually. I had many fears, to the point I sometimes avoided creative ideas. If I couldn’t produce them through a technology-based platform, I simply changed to a less “creative, fun” approach. I wish I would’ve known about “EdTech 4 Beginners”. I found this blog to be extremely helpful in response to virtual teaching. Throughout that process and the growth in this course, I do feel more comfortable using tech and tools, overall. I see one way to keep current is to simply try and fail. I didn’t always make magic out of the tools assigned in this course, but I gained a huge understanding of what I could do differently and what the options are.
In order to stay current, Sarah (2022) says she found herself “going over some of my old coursework”. Looking back over this course, I can see how productive that will be. I may be searching for a wonderful audio tool, and I can always look back on the links provided in our modules to learn a new possibility. While we explored many tools, I also think the articles provided in this course will be priceless. Not only do they lead to further understanding, but many of them are linked to wonderful blogs and tech resources. Staying current in tech may not be easy, but I now have a few ideas on how to achieve this task.
References
Rayome, A.D. (2017, September 7). 10 ways that IT pros and developers can keep their tech skills up to date. Tech Republic. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/10-ways-that-it-pros-and-developers-can-keep-their-tech-skills-up-to-date/
Sarah. (2022, June 16). Staying sharp during the summer. HLS. https://hacklibraryschool.com/2022/06/16/staying-sharp-during-the-summer/
Szmodis, P. (2021, July 27). How to get over technophobia. HLS. https://hacklibraryschool.com/2021/07/27/how-to-get-over-technophobia/
I too find that my ODU email box is littered with emails from the various tools I’ve signed up to use in this class. They can be overwhelming. I too found Szmodi’s to be a bit too close to home. It was like she picked me out of a technophobe lineup!
I definitely resonated with Szmodis’s (2021) article. From my experience, the whole technophobia comes from the need to spend a lot of time on something without the guarantee that I will have an end product to utilize. I guess the Sandboxes in this course helped me in that regard. We weren’t “required” to have a polished product at the end to show off. It was more about the process and playing around with the tools. I really appreciated this aspect and it let me release a little anxiety, to just play around and use new technology. I hope to take this approach with me in the future. I need to try to have fun with it, get creative, and not feel pressured to produce something immediately.
I was very pleased when Sarah mentioned looking back on the old course work and I agree with you about this class. I have a new job starting soon I already feel like a lot of what we experienced in this course would be great tools to implement in the library.
Reviewing past course work is a quick and easy way to not forget how to use it. There have been times that I have gone to a tech conference but forgotten about some of the tools because I didn’t start using them. This was a very informative and useful class.
I’ve never really considered looking back at old coursework before. After seeing how many resources we learned from one class, I realize how important it can be to take summer or breaks to refresh your memory on everything you have learned. It will keep you up to date and help you expand your lessons in new ways!
I sort of laughed when I saw that Sarah said to look over coursework to stay sharp over the summer. We had just talked about wanting to have access to the modules for this class because it is so helpful to have all these resources together and organized!