Hello Everyone!

Hello class!  My name is Carrie Patrick and I am currently an elementary school librarian in Irving.  I am in my second year as a librarian and I am convinced that I have the best job in education.  This is my last class I need to complete my Masters in library sciences.  I am super excited to be so close to the end.  I live in Irving with my husband who is an Instructional Technology Specialist in Irving ISD as well.  We have four dogs and enjoy an active life.  We love to cook, travel, and spend time with family and friends.  I attended The University of Texas at Austin for my BS in applied Learning and Development.  I taught 6th grade reading for six years prior to my current position. This week I am hosting our fall book fair.   I am looking forward to a very busy yet successful week.  I have enjoyed being a librarian very much and look forward to many more years of learning, reading, and passing on my passion for reading to my students.

Blog Reflection #5

The possibilities with Google seem to be endless for educational technology purposes.  I have created an eportfolio, blog, and a Delicious account this semester.  I feel confident to take these strategies back to my campus and implement them in the classrooms.  I can also give these skills to my teachers to assist them with the technology they are already using in their classrooms.  I thought that I was really experience with technology at the beginning of the course and now I feel so much more knowledgeable.  I plan on using Blogger for my own personal blog and for a blog for the library in my school. 

Students having choice when it comes to producing a technology product is very important, in my opinion.  Students need to learn to think for them selves and come up with creative products often in school.  It is important to put the responsibility of the students learning on the students and let the teachers guide them through the process. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this class.  I have excellent tools to take back to use with my students.  I plan in having my students interact with my library blog and use it to give directions to my library helpers.  The thing that was most amazing to me was how easy all these things were to create and maintain.  Once we get passed the "that's too hard" road block the possibilities for technology are endless. 

Reflection #4

I said yes to all the questions posed in the article.  I cannot remwmber the last time I composed a document longhand.  I am most comfortable when I am typing out my documents.  I have relied on a cell phone to store numbers for the last 16 years.  I do not memorize phone numbers anymore.  Every meeting I attend I take my phone and my laptop.  I am always connected and I always have my phone.  I am constantly checking my Facebook and my Twitter.  As I type now I have two laptops open doing two different tasks.  I can only engage in two activities and do them well at a time.  I play games on my phone but not so much on the computer and I do play the occasional Xbox game. 

I would say that I fall into the social generational category.  I am almost addicted to the social aspects of technology and I enjoy them very much. 

We need to give K-12 students more access to available technology.  We need to use web 2.0 tools more in the K-12 classrooms.  Once students learn how to use the tools they will take them with them as the move up in school.  We need to teach them more than typing and word processing.  Lack of computers in the school I am in and it presents certain obstacles when trying to advance the technology in the classroom. 

Reflection #3

I can identify with all the Tenets of the AFL in some way or fashion.  All the tenets should be applied to teaching and learning that goes on in the classroom.  As a teacher I feel that developing the learners' capacity for self-assessment so they can become reflective and self-managing is the most important tenet of the AFL.  Ultimately we want our students to become critical thinkers and knowledge seekers on their own.  It is our job to give them to skills to manage their information and make sure they are understanding what they are learning. 

There is a benefit to keeping up with the eportfolios but not necessarily assessing them.  If there is too much assessment it could stifle the students creativity and willingness to share.  My eportfolio will help me keep track of all the things I learn and create from now until I retire (hopefully).  I have problems keeping things I create and find useful to my job in one place.  My eportfolio will help me stay organized and it will help me teach other teachers and professionals how to utilize the tools I use and need to do my best at my job.

Week 2 Reflection

I really love the visual learning that mapping provides.  This is a great way to get students excited about what they are learning.  As I search the web for information for my school as well as professionally I will do a better job of organizing and bookmarking the sites I found help and will use again. 

If we do not teach our students all of these free and very helpful sites they will not be as successful as other students who do have knowledge of them.  It is necessary in this day and age that students know how to use these web tools effectively to succeed in the world.  We also have to prove to administration and our state legislature that these tools are necessary for our students to be able to compete in the global economy. 

In the past I have used folders to organize my book marks and favorites.  Delicious is a great way for me to share my books marks for school as well as at work.  I can use it for my students who need to access the websites at home.  Giving lessons to teachers about the benefits of using Delicious with their students will be very helpful for research projects. 

It took me a while to decide what kind of wiki I wanted to create for the class purposes.  I have decided on a cross between professional and personal.  I plan to share interesting things I learn from sources outside of the school day as well as things learned on the job.  I have found that teachers and librarians are not always forthcoming with successful lessons and methods that they have used.  I want to have a place where I can share lessons that I have created for all to use and benefit from.  Know that I have my wiki idea in place I will begin creating it. 

ETEC 524 Summer Blog

In an ideal world all students would have one to one access to computers and the skills they need to use them.  As I have learned this week that is not the world we live in. We will be facing new challenges with technology in the coming years.  I am going to take on the responsibility of teaching my teachers how to do more with less.  I have been at a technology this week and I am learning some really great tools to integrate more technology into my lessons and help my teachers integrate as well.  I have completed my first year as an elementary school librarian.  I was a middle school reading teacher for six years prior to my new assignment.  Integrating technology was something that I never had a problem with and tried to as often as I could.  Making technology as a part of the day to day routine is essential for today's teachers. 


As a librarian I have not given a lesson to students or teachers without using technology.  It is my job to teach teachers and students how to utilize technology effectively and make it meaningful to them.

I was a sixth grade teacher who developed a passion for getting kids excited about reading and books.  My love of reading and sharing information and good literature with kids is what motivated me to become a librarian. 

I teach the students how to acquire information in a way that they will use over and over.  I want my students to be self sufficient and be able to help other students when necessary.  I work hard because I am passionate about my job and it is an honor to get to do the work that I do every day. 

I want them to learn the information I am presenting them with.  I want them to gain new skills and knowledge that they can use in the real world.  It is also important to teach my students the tools to be self sufficient with the technology presented.  I want to empower them to do it on their own and help other students who need it.

I select particular assignments for learns that supplement the lesson being taught to help the students make sense of the information I am presenting them with.  I need to know that they have mastered the lesson I am teaching.

A teacher is: Caring, Facilitator of knowledge, loving, seeker of knowledge

I am always teaching the students as well as the teachers how to use the technology that is available in the library.  I will not always be there to help them with the computers and the related technology so they have to know how to use the equipment without me.  I will be giving trainings for teachers at the beginning of the school year empowering them while they are in the library as well as in the classroom.  There are times when I am not available to help the teachers with the software and the library computers and I need to know that I can count on my teachers to step up and make sure their kids are serviced correctly. 

Summer Blogging