Final vision project- le voilà!

For my final vision project, I created a library blog using Edublog that is designed to meet the needs of our school community, in particular the students.  You can check it out here.

My primary goals were to create a blog that was simply laid out, interactive, easy to navigate and something I could easily maintain myself.  It would also contain material that would be used during our weekly 40 minute blocks and one students could access easily outside the school library.

With the school being solely French Immersion and students working in a second language, I also wanted to add as many visual features as possible.  I had wanted to include short instructional videos that I thought would be helpful but this will need to be something I add in the future. 

For those that have children in the French Immersion programme or have an interest in French Immersion, here are the pages and links I think you might find helpful.  They can also be viewed on the blog.

1) How you can help your child in the French Immersion program.  Click here for info. 

2) Helping your child with dictée.  Click here for info. 

3) Reading at home with your child.  Click here for info. 

4) L’album de l’année (Surrey picturebook of the year in French). Click here for info. 

* I have prepared a few lessons on translation but want to try them out with the students first.  Please check back on the blog. 

I feel like I have just scratched the surface with the blog.  I know there is so much more to add and explore but I am happy with what I have accomplished so far.  I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I did if it wasn’t for the help I received from the Edublog support team.  They responded to my emails within twenty-four hours with clear and helpful solutions.  I'm glad I went with Edublog.  Click here for more info about Edublog.  

Am I on the right track?

Looking back at Will Richardson’s book, Why School and the points he makes on “what readers and writers need in the 21^st century", I asked myself the question how does the library website I created address these needs? 

By creating a site that is interactive and focused on students, students will have the opportunity to become more proficient with a variety of technology. 

The Twitter library account and blog posts with a comment feature will provide students with an opportunity to interact with others and reaching out to a wider audience. 

The resources and tools provided on the blog for both teachers and students will allow them the opportunity to design and share information for a global community. 

Info and lessons on digital citizenship have been posted on the site and will be incorporated into our library activities.  This type of exposure will hopefully help them make good choices when using technology. 

What’s next?

I need student material on the blog.  I now realize that I should probably have student work on the posts and keep information/instructions on the pages.  Perhaps student blogs on the site in the future, too? 

I will probably need to categorize the navigational bar or create a sidebar with division lists and keep information there instead of in the posts.  I want to avoid the blog looking too cluttered as I continue to add information and material. 

The library blog was designed to address the needs of the 21^st learner and I believe, is a first step towards transforming our library into a learning commons. 

Reflections:

I was at a workshop this past Thursday and one of the activities was to simulate a Twitter interaction.  There were different sticky notes for tweets, replies, favorites and retweets.  Before the course, I would have been as confused as many of the people in the room seemed to have been.  Wow, I knew what to do! 

It was exciting to think I was at a place now where I didn’t have to figure out what to do, I could get on with the task at hand! Developing the skills to socially network with others will definitely serve me well as I continue to learn and grow by connecting with others within and outside my community.  

Also,  this is the first online course that didn’t feel like an online course.   Interacting with others through the blog posts and in the hangouts provided an opportunity to get to know others in the class in a meaningful way.  I know I have made connections that will extend past the class. 

Finally, I was definitely taken outside my comfort zone with this course. I think this was due in large part to my lack of technology skills and very little experience with inquiry-based learning.   I feel much more confident working with 21st century learners and I know the skills I have learned will serve me well both in my professional and personal life. 

Resources:

Ecole Innisfail Middle School. 2014. Why French Immersion?. [image online] Available at: http://www.innisfailmiddle.ca/French%20Immersion.php [Accessed: 6 Apr 2014].

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences Publishing.

 Wanda. 2003. Just scratching the surface. [image online] Available at: http://teamworkscom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Blog_Hub_Graphic-02.png [Accessed: 6 Apr 2014].

West, L. 2013. Blog. [image online] Available at: http://www.influenceexpansion.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/blogs.jpg [Accessed: 6 Apr 2014].

Wikimedia. 2014. Smiley face. [image online] Available at: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Smiley.svg/800px-Smiley.svg.png [Accessed: 6 Apr 2014].