Amy Townsley's Bookish Corner

  This week's module helped me jump back into social media. I decided to step back in my personal use of Facebook for a variety of reasons which I have found incredibly beneficial. While I wish more conversations happened in person these days because so much can be misinterpreted or oversimplified, I still very much enjoy reading as well as sharing knowledge, trends, inspiration and more online and see its value for my work.  I do, however, need to always "check myself before I wreck myself" :-) walking the fine line of usefulness and falling down the rabbit hole of social media in terms of time and focus. I think it will help me to articulate very clear end goals. Why am I posting this? Why did I choose this tool? Who is my audience? I see it helpful in terms of promoting/marketing of course but also around advocacy and collaboration. I also want it to stay fun and not be another chore. The input from fellow classmates in our discussion board also helps me weigh what is ...

Results are in: I do not need to take to the hills, I survived trying Anchor for the first time! And I actually had fun with it, so there is hope for everybody out there :-)  My first attempt at a podcast:  https://anchor.fm/amy-townsley A solid Five Star Experience in terms of navigating this tool and figuring out how to use different features as well as publishing and sharing content.  I decided to do a very informal and brief "review" of a new book I am currently reading, The Light Pirate Lily Dalton-Brooks. I can't decide if I liked this experience because I got to talk about a great book or equal parts enjoyment from trying something new and succeeding! But regardless, I am actually interested in continuing this kind of project on the side as a great way to get my thoughts out on books but realize this experiment was very one-sided and a podcast would greatly benefit from a two-way conversation!  I would LOVE to also try this at the high school where I work with...

    As I read through the vast array of educational apps available to teachers, I am in awe that yes, in fact there is an app for that! While the technological advances around apps and tools used in education are amazing, the warp speed and sheer number of apps being created helps to remind us that we also need to curate (try new things & weed!) our collection- of books AND apps- so we can have fun in our tech playground instead of getting lost in the jungle. Organize & Curate: Library Admin Use Airtable - use with IT to create app evaluation tool using grid/form for teacher and student input EdShelf - create categories of collections and resources to get my arms around district-wide apps  Bubbl.us - this could help me collaborate with departments on research projects (i.e., civics project and identifying how I can best prep lessons based on needs) Quizlet - This seems a widely-used app that could help me evaluate what students are taking away from my lessons Crea...