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Showing posts from January, 2023

Productivity Software - What's the Fuss?

Productivity conjures images of people working in isolation at their desks, trying to complete multiple tasks simultaneously. I imagine sweat flying off workers' brows with their faces alternating from looks of concentration to horror as they realize they have too much work and not enough time to finish. But what if we could change that image to make productivity seem less scary? (Kelly, n.d.) Let's start this discussion with a standard definition of productivity software or applications (apps). Daraio et al. (2018) defined productivity software as a category of application programs that help users produce presentations, spreadsheets, graphs, databases, or documents. Simply put, productive software is apps or programs used to create digital materials. Simple, right?  There is a plethora of productivity software to choose from. However, your task or need should narrow down your choices. For instance, if you need to create a flyer or digital poster, you can use Google Slides, Ca...

Accessibility to Digital Materials

What does it mean to create digital materials that comply with accessibility requirements? Let's start at the beginning and define accessibility. Accessibility means disabilities are not a barrier to access (Cifuentes et al., 2016). Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ensures accessibility compliance with digital materials from agencies receiving federal monies (Federal Communications Commission, n.d.). Any material created for digital access needs to be accessible to people with various disabilities. Disabilities include visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive impairments.       Accessibility is a term that scares many people because they have not learned how to create materials that comply with the law. However, there is help available to create compliant digital materials. One helpful resource is  WebAIM . WebAIM (n.d.) is an online resource that provides training, technical assistance, and website evaluation to ensure accessibility requirement compli...

The Ultimate Computer Lab

Recently I had the chance to design what I think the ultimate computer lab should look like. A 21st-century computer lab meets the needs of every student because it has both technology-based and non-technology-based activities. In creating the ultimate lab, I would have a stationary space and a mobile cart for classroom activities. This is a type of library commons. For those unfamiliar with the term, library commons share space for digital learning, collaboration, content creation, and social learning (Johnston et al., 2022).  My library commons include spaces for personal, collaborative, and social learning.        It is crucial to use space wisely in library commons (Johnston et al., 2022) because each area has a specific purpose. You can see from the floor plan image that each space is large enough for multiple students to use, providing materials and material storage. In addition, each area includes an interactive flat-panel television for instructional and...