Tool 11

Finished!!! Yea!! I have really enjoyed the 11 Tools training. This is my third time to participate in an online training of this kind. The SBISD Library Media Office developed three such trainings for librarians and any other educators that were interested several years ago. These trainings were 23 Things, 11.5 Things, and 5.75 Things. I participated in the first two and now in 11 Tools. I never cease to be amazed at how many new "tools" and "things" are out there! Being an educator in the 21st Century is a constant learning experience! Some of my favorite new "tools" are Wallwisher, Storybird, Storyjumper, and Twitter. Plus, one of the biggest benefits from doing 11 Tools for me was a renewed interest in blogging. About a year ago I set up a blog for my library called Leo's Library Lair. At the time I was really busy with many other things, and didn't really get it started. Now, after completing 11 Tools, I have a renewed energy for having a library blog. There are so many things that I can do with it and so my goal for the year is to get this up and running and help my students to start developing an online community. (I am providing the link here to give myself some accountability!)

While I have been on the "incorporating technology" bandwagon for several years, my thinking has transformed some in that I see more of a need for our students to be more global citizens. It isn't going to be enough for them to be "good students" in our own little schools, they will need more global citizenship skills and we can help them by providing global learning opportunities. While trying to plan a "global learning activity" is a little intimidating at the moment, I intend to take some small steps to at least let our students begin to connect their learning to others outside of of the walls of our school.