Assignment # 1 Reflection Summary

Assignment #1

In working through the various modules of this course, I have reflected on my volunteer work at my daughters’ school, and partnership with my own librarian. I have enjoyed the opportunities to shelve, scan, stamp, and read stacks. But the most interesting parts of my volunteer job have been in cataloguing, where I have been taught how to copy, edit, and delete records from the Horizon OPAC. Weeding alongside the teacher librarian has also been really interesting, and I think she valued my opinion and assistance in this process. In my own library, I am building a partnership with our teacher librarian. It is my hope to hone my skills under her guidance and network with others in my own district. I am interested in how our website will be received by staff and students next fall.

The learning events in this class have been very practical. I have had the opportunity to co-create a library website and staff survey, work through a webquest that analyzed a fabulous library website, create a blog and Delicious video stack, and yes, navigate the mysterious world of creating MARC records! I have also had the opportunity to connect with some fabulous teacher librarians across the province while looking at their virtual classrooms/webpages, reading through their submitted activities, and reflecting on their observations as they sometimes matched my own. As I embark on my new role of ‘teacher librarian wannabe’ I will continue to reflect back on these activities and the learning commons of other new librarians.

I really enjoyed the online discussion forum because of all the different experiences people talked about. At heart I am an experiential learner, but I have come to value the skill of reflection as it pertains to assessment and improvement in my teaching (and parenting!). Several students stick out in my mind as being influential in their trade: Stefan Stipp as a creative and motivating teacher with his confidence in digital learning activities, Kyla MacDonald with her wise observations of existing library programs as a TOC, Lindsay Ward and her Destiny youtube recommendation, Scott Jackson and his thorough self-assessment of his own library’s organization and design features. I feel that the Discussion Board is one area in which I have contributed and responded to in a positive, respectful, exemplary manner.

This course also piqued my interest in the concept of ‘access’, as it pertains to a library’s learning resources, online access, and freedom of information. I am interested in how search engines in OPACs  organize, code and monitor their data. For a future project, I would like to add a searchable keyword bar to my school library website. This is one point of access I have not yet included on it. Earlier this month, I was extremely frustrated with the BC Ministry of Education’s Bill 22, and how it affected teachers in terms of contract stripping and democratic rights. Because of Freedom of Information and the ability to access up-to-date documents and press releases about this Bill, many teachers and parents were able to research the Bill and articulate their concerns to government and newspapers within hours. Situations such as these remind me how our world is dependent on (increasingly) immediate and equitable access, and I strive to connect to the digital world and relevant learning opportunities in my professional and personal life. Our students’ world (and that of my own children) is inundated by information updates and the need to effectively research, understand, and communicate that information. If I can help them incorporate current, relevant information searches into their daily learning (google map, youtube, community services, encyclopedias and activities in French, fitness, math, typing, etc), I feel as if I have done my job well.

In my own classroom, I have been lucky to be immersed in a well-funded, supportive environment of online access and digital literacy. At the moment, we have wireless connection and laptop carts that are available on a (mostly) daily basis. This has allowed me many opportunities to navigate the Internet with my students while they create blogs, research and present big issues, and complete webquests. Because of this practical experience in my own teaching, I am very interested in the technological aspect of organizing and maintaining a library. I have been lucky to volunteer in a library with a different OPAC system than my own (Horizon) and the overlap of system details is helping me better understand the why and how of resource management and circulation.

Finally, I have really appreciated the web resources in this course (Canadian Government Library and Archives, Joyce Valenza’s wikis and blogs, DDC rap, etc). As well, the recommended books, Achieving Information Literacy (2003)and Marc21For Everyone (2002) were helpful in completing the learning activities and better understanding the concepts of organization and access of resource materials.

10 - Blog Entry # 10

I really enjoyed the last few assignments of this course: learning about my own library’s OPAC system Destiny Follett, analyzing the design features and contents of great school library websites, and assessing how my own library measures up in terms of access and educational resources. As usual, I was able to understand the lessons better because there was a practical component that I could apply to my own situation (thanks Cathy!). I was also appreciative of the online access at the hotel I was staying on my family vacation in Mexico! On several evenings, I went to the lobby to download some material from various websites and LIBE 465 learning modules. Then, I came back to the hotel room or patio to read notes, compile summaries, and write my reflections. Sometimes I was feeling like I wished I had finished the lessons earlier (so the information could help me in my assignments  and I didn’t have to work on my vacation!) but at other times I was glad I had longer to synthesize and apply the new information.  I am appreciative of the time I have to take the LIBE courses while I am still teaching, instead of taking courses while I am working as a new teacher librarian as some of my colleagues are doing. I think that would be difficult!

3 - Week 4

Week 4

I checked out the Humanities website of Stefan Stipp (see Week 2 comment) and it was fabulous! I have emailed him, and may borrow his ideas/rubric for the Book Review assignment.

I spent 2 hours at Starbucks yesterday, finishing off my library copy of Achieving Information Literacy Standards (2003 version) and will return it to the library this week. I took notes for the Rationale section of Assignment #3, as I believe it speaks loud and clear as to the need for more access, and more provincial funding in our School Libraries! There is much justification for a fully linked, interactive library website, which I am keen on building with my TL for Assignment #2.

Today I have the house to myself and am trying to get a headstart on Lessons 4 and 5, and research MARC records. I am planning on building a resource collection on the topic of Referencing Resources/Proper Citation, as this is something I am working on in my grade 7 class at the moment. On my professional day (Friday), I learned about the difference between Copyright and Copyright Free (Creative Commons). I find this interesting because my students rely on digital images for their research projects, and because of the proposed anti-piracy laws proposed in the US, that could jeopordize the existence of many Internet domains that we have come to rely on.

2 - Week 3

Week 3

I started working on Assignment #3 today during a Professional Day in our district. I am helping our Teacher Librarian increase her web presence, which we hope will increase access (and advertising!) of the learning resources in our school library. We have a rough outline of how we want the website to look, and are using Edublog as our platform. When we get it fine-tuned a little more, I will feel comfortable 'putting it out there' for classmates to comment on. We are borrowing ideas from Joyce Valenza's wikispace that lists exemplary elementary school library websites. This is a great website that I would like to share with classmates! http://schoollibrarywebsites.wikispaces.com/Elementary+Examples

An interesting note on Access is this week's decision by the US Justice Department to shut down website Megaupload, as they claim it violates piracy laws. Congress is trying to pass laws they feel will stomp out piracy, but many feel it impedes Freedom of Information and Free Speech. I was attempting to use Wikipedia two days ago, but it was blacked out (as was Craigslist apparently) in protest of PIPA and SOPA. I find it interesting and timely that we are examining the issue of Access in our LIBE 465 course right now! I may comment more on this later.

8 - Lesson/Week 11: independence and flexibility with OPAC

Follett Software Company ‘Website Survey’:

I have a new appreciation for this company now that I have visited their website and learned about the various features of their systems. Upon opening the site, I was prompted to fill out a questionnaire on the effectiveness of the website. I think surveys such as these really do help a company tweak their sites, as well as gain information about their users, and effectiveness of their access points. Here is an example of one of the questions from their survey:

Please rate your satisfaction with the following areas of the Follett Software Company website.

 Overall layout of the site

Ease of navigation

Usefulness of information provided

Colors and design of the site

Amount of product information

Organization of information

Amount of time to load information or images

Amount of training and services information

Ease of finding contact information

Ease of finding the information you need

From this survey I feel that the company values user-independence and flexibility in its clients, which (hopefully) translates to its products, which in turn, are used by students. Destiny is a very user-friendly, multi-access-point online catalogue in many schools. In the new version of Destiny 10.0, there are 3 new features: Textbook Manager, Library Manager, and Assets Manager, which seek to better organize and manage a Library Program. These features may be an attempt by the company to roll out additional features that some institutions have requested. I think the company is trying to offer flexibility to its clients by offering a variety of services within its packages.  

History of the Library Catalogue

Interesting to note that back in 1876, that Charles Cutter identified the ‘Subject’ of a book  as being one of the main objects to catalogue, along with Title and Author. Even back then, along with organizing, managing and advertising its collection, the vision of a library was to support research. The original card catalogue did offer ‘flexibility’ although it was bound by the technology of the time. I can still remember searching for books at the community library, as well as my school, using the card catalogue. I can vaguely remember the ‘subject’ cards and ‘title’ cards. I don’t recall there being ‘author’ cards. Basically, we had to decide whether we knew a title or not, and then go into the right set of drawers alphabetically, pencil and paper in hand.  It took much longer, and the book was coveted when we found it. With fewer books around, and no ‘digital’ resources, we relied a lot on one or two reference items. No wonder our knowledge base has increased exponentially in the last couple of decades! I remember the microfiche system too, from my high school and university days. It was quicker because one fiche contained several pages of data, but it put a strain on your eyes!

As a ‘teacher librarian wannabe’ I really appreciate the technological advances in cataloguing. OPACs (featuring shared library systems and Boolean indicators) increase the access points and motivation for the users, rendering them more independent, and more apt to use the online catalogue. User friendly interfaces such as Destiny Quest allow for independent searches, which require less assistance by the teacher librarian. Remember waiting in line to see the librarian when you had trouble locating a book from the card catalogue, or a card itself? OPACs also reduce the manual entering of data for the librarians. Hooray!

7 - Bill 22 overload -week 9

After a frustrating week spent contemplating a strike, and reading up on Bill 22, I am a little wiped out emotionally. I am trying to keep it all in perspective, but feel I need to take a stand on the state of education in BC, and educate my friends on the concerns we have as teachers and parents. I have written letters of concern to Susan Lambert regarding the strike, to the Ministry regarding BC's Education Plan, and signed a petition to Kill Bill 22. I am contemplating writing a letter to my MLA regarding my concerns (as a parent) with Bill 22, and how it strips language protecting class size and composition, my biggest concerns with the cutbacks to education.

Two things that caused big smiles for me last week were job-shadowing an amazing TL on Bowen Island, and reading a letter of support for West Vancouver teachers in an email from our Superintendent to parents. It is these lights in the fog that keep us going, and why I choose to focus on them at the end of a long and difficult week as a teacher on the brink of a strike.

5 - Week 6

Week 6

I have had some fun today creating a 'Stack' on Delicious, as well as a 'Favorites' list on Youtube. Here is my Delicious website http://www.delicious.com/stacks/view/PJ03CL which is based on my interest in Climate Change. And here is my Youtube site: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=FL2py-pLbOPcaGVlrWiNoxwA&feature=mh_lolz which lists some of my favorite videos on Climate Change. Nothing too fancy for now!

Not sure if these links will work, so I will check them.

Some thoughts I have on topic of social tagging:

I agree with what Noruzi wrote in her article on Folksonomies,

"Librarians and information professionals have lessons to learn from the interactive and social aspects

exemplified by collaborative tagging systems, as well as their success in engaging users with information management."

Noruzi, Alireza (2006). Folksonomies: (Un)Controlled Vocabulary? Knowledge Organization, 33(4): 199-203.

‘Copy and paste’ has come a long way in collecting, organizing, and communicating information. ‘Tagging’ allows us to collect and organize information on the Internet in a way that copy and paste creators probably never dreamed of. I have no problem with individuals experimenting with their own cataloguing system on websites such as Flikr, Youtube, and Delicious. I believe there are more pluses than minuses to social bookmarking and tagging. As we navigate our own interests while experimenting with technology, we learn from each other, by example, how to best manage our information and contacts. The 'shared' aspect of these sites will keep people 'talking' and learning new and better (?) ways to organize their files. I do however, believe that National and School Libraries need to be standardized (if for no other reason, than to stand up as a good teaching example) so they/we can 'talk' to each other, and make information more accessible.

6 - Journal entry #7

Week 7

I was going to write about MARC 21 records and how much this book is helping me understand the terminology as prepare to write Assignment 2 (MARC 21for Everyone: A Practical Guide. Deborah and Richard Fritz, 2003.) But then I logged onto my blog and was reminded about Google's new Privacy Policy, so I decided to read their message. It sounds like nothing has really changed for us users, other than that we may be able to access our information and move between accounts more easily. I use my Blogspot account through Google, as well as a Google Map account I created for a LIBE course last summer. What I wonder about is how the different vendors are reacting to the new Policy. Perhaps this new policy has been created to make things fair between different companies that help to create Google add-ons and other 'share' features (blogs, maps, photos etc)
I wonder how many people depend on the Interent for basic communication. There are many web-based programs that I would not have access to if I didn't have an Internet connection. With the news this week that the Yellow Pages will no longer be printed, I wonder how much easier it is now to communicate with people. I have not used a printed phone book (residential or commercial) in a couple of years, but one of the last times I did use it, was when someone at my house was already using the computer and I wanted to order take-out (dinner). I was glad I had a hard copy of the phone number! Another time I used the phone book was during a power failure, and luckily, I also still have a phone that is not dependent on electricity. I think it is great to have the Internet as my main provider of connectivity, but it is sometimes critical to have another source of information at my fingertips. I wonder what people without the Interface or technological skills will do when they want to connect with new people or companies. Perhaps they will just rely on their own personal 'little black book' and 'word of mouth'. Then, I will wonder, if we are not reaching our most vulnerable population, have we really come a long way in terms of providing access to the public?

4 - LIBE 465 Reflections week 5

Week 5

I am still figuring out how to post in my own blog, and where to post it in the LIBE 465 Course Discussion Board.... Hopefully I get it right this time!

For the last few weeks, I have been able to practice cataloguing with the Teacher Librarian I volunteer with. I have been able to input new books by 'copying' the records, just like Cathie mentioned in our readings this week! We scan the ISBN, 'copy' the record from an existing book (often in another school in the district), scan the new School Board label, and type in our school code. I check to make sure it shows up correctly, and Presto - it is done! Also, we are weeding books from the collection, and I get to 'delete' records from the catalogue (very similar to copying), and watch them disappear on the screen as I throw the books into a cardboard box below. It is pretty cool to see it in action, and know that we are creating the catalogue as we go - it seems live time. Pretty cool....

1 - LIBE 465 Reflections Journal Week 2

Week 2

I am impressed with the technological skills of several of our classmates, based on thier discussion posts. One student in particular that I will be keeping an eye on is Stefan Stipp. I will check out his Humanities Co-Op website http://www.coop2011.weebly.com/ , as it sounds like he is trying to do some of the same things I am doing in my grade 7 class wrt providing links to meaningful topics. I am using my school district Dashboard to communicate with my students on a regular basis, (they all have blogs) and it has been a great way to immerse them in Digital Literacy. It is password protected, otherwise I would post it here. Perhaps I can take a snapshot of the screen....