LIS761: Informational technology in school libraries

Nearpods                                      Blue square with random blue shapes with the words "What is Nearpod?" When looking over all of the technology tools available this week I found Nearpods to be a new technology tool that I wanted to learn more about. I have heard of Nearpods before from a teacher and students that mentioned it to me last school year so I thought I would learn more about it. Now I see why one of my teachers was using it during her Financial Literacy unit. Nearpods is a free app that teachers can use to create engaging lessons using multimedia presentations.  Nearpods has an interactive feature that allows for quizzes and polls throughout their video presentations.  I appreciate this feature because it not only just gives the students multiple-choice questions but it also gives open-ended and discussion questions throughou...

Cyberbullying   After reviewing the material for this week’s topic of cyberbullying and as a new Media Specialist, I do not look forward to addressing cyberbullying with my students but I know it is an important part of my job. I want to make sure I create a welcoming environment so my students will feel safe sharing with me when they feel they are being cyberbullied.  According to Pacer ( 2023 ) , children cyberbully because of peer pressure, being bullied themselves or they do not realize the true impact their bullying has on others. Bullying has been around for a long time but now it has grown in to cyberbullying.  It is arguably more difficult growing up in these times of the internet and the ability to connect with others with a negative connotation.  We know that kids follow the lead of adults so it is important for all adults to model good online skills. According to Elizabeth Englander, with the Harvard Graduate School of Education (2024), parents a...