Webinars and Change

The webinars I attended were all pretty good.  None of the ones I saw had any major problems, and everything seemed to go really smoothly.  The topics of helping a specific patron group in the library and copyright all gave me new information, so I learned a lot, too.

I was impressed with our ability to plan and present a webinar.  It really wasn't quite the struggle I was anticipating.  In fact, the worst part for us happened when we lost our sound several times in the middle of the webinar.  Also, even though we reserved a room in the library to hopefully cut back on the potential of technical problems, we still lost internet a couple of times.  Oh, and our recording did some wacky things.  So all in all, we did figure out how to pace and use the webinar tool Elluminate relatively painlessly, but we had unforseen problems that we couldn't really control.  Grrr.

I can see myself participating in and using webinars through the rest of my career.  Webinars allow you to present useful information to those who are long-distance.  Webinars are convenient to attend, and they can be archived so that if the timing does not work, you can still view one you missed.  Webinars are a great way to keep up with the goings-ons in libraries.  Plus, webinars are a great way to exercise new technology skills.

Keeping up with technology was the focus of the articles we had to read for today.  In all three articles, the importance of change and keeping up with change is important for librarians, especially in their role as teachers.  In the Semadini article, teachers took time out of their contract hours to highlight an area in which they wanted to become better teachers, and then met to discuss how their methods were working.  In the Blowers & Reed and Fontichiaro articles, teachers and librarians trained their peers to use technology effectively and to be able to quickly assist students and patrons should something go wrong.  In today's world, it is especially important to keep up with technology - for technology is now even being used to teach others about technology.  


I especially appreciated the picture in the Blowers & Reed article in which three successful older women held up their mp3 player prizes which they had won after completing the technology program offered through their library. As I grow older in my profession, I can see myself not wanting to keep up with all the new stuff that is certain to arrive.  But, like these women, I know I will have to take the initiative to stay current in my field.

Using Twitter

Last week in class Paul Courant came and spoke about the Digital Public Library of America.  In the midst of his talk, he mentioned that he thought textbooks would all eventually switch to online formats, and would become a necessary package to purchase along with a student's tuition.  As an SI student, I have become used to the numerous readings online, and so the physical textbook does not matter so much to me anymore.  The ability to have online textbooks and be able to access them whenever and wherever I want without lugging them around in my backpack would be a blessing.

Our second topic of the night was embedded librarianship.  I think the embedded librarian can be a great addition to a school department.  For myself, I do not think I would necessarily enjoy this position, because I would want to have fellow librarians on hand to run to if a patron came to me with a question I could not find the answer to.  I would also not want to be on edge about my embedded position being the first one cut in an economic slump.  

During this past week, we had to engage with Twitter as a resource for staying in touch with the library world, and I maintain that Twitter is not my favorite thing.  First, while I did have a Twitter account, I rarely use it, because I do not find it very useful or interesting.  All the information thrown at you in Twitter seems choppy and and there is no way to keep up with all the tweets ever posted on your account.  Publishers, librarians, and authors seem to throw up any sort of posting on Twitter.  Some of the news is interesting - perhaps an interesting article about an author or will be posted.  But most of the news seems to be more about what this author is eating for lunch, or what book this publisher recently released.  I also do not enjoy having to sift through the random information, find the few tweets I am actually interested in, and then click on the link to go to a whole new page.  On the whole, I find Google Reader a much better resource for staying in touch with the library world.  Blogs can be chosen based on the blogger expertise and personality, and once you find a blog you like, you can stick with it and generally be pleased with the postings.  Blog postings are long and generally thorough, and they have a title so you know what information to expect in the post.  Because of the nature of the blog post, bloggers do not post every little detail about their lives.  I much prefer the blog for library news.  When I check Google Reader, I know what to expect; when I check Twitter, I dread picking through all the useless bits of information to find the few that appeal to me.  Although I will say I did have fun designing my Twitter account.

Mostly About Webinars

Last week in class we presented our one shot workshops.  Overall, I thought they went quite well.  It was interesting to learn about the different topics groups had prepared for us, as well as the methods they chose to teach the material to us.  We had power point slides, handouts, discussions, and a bit of drawing and writing in order to help effectively communicate new material.  I really appreciated the handouts because when I forget everything the day after the workshop, the handouts will remind me of what we covered, as well as enable me to follow up with more research on topics that interested me.  My one shot workshop also went well, I thought.  Just like the book club, presenting wasn't nearly as awful as I anticipated, and I think people seemed interested in our topic, which was how to deal with challenges to books in a public library.  Also, I felt prepared going in, and that was a big help in monitoring time during the workshop.

For next week, we had to read up on webinars.  I watched a webinar called "Libraries are Essential: Connecting to Youth in Your Community."  The three panelists included two public librarians, and one school librarian.  Summer book clubs were discussed a lot.  One of the public librarians said make sure to talk to school librarians about the assessment of summer reading programs, and the school librarian said it would be great if they could team up with public librarians to create a list of summer reading materials.  The desire to work together seems clear, but perhaps the actual implementation leaves a little to be desired.  In class, we have talked a lot about the need for public and school librarians to work together, and I think that in working together, much more can be accomplished when teaching students.  Another point from the webinar that was especially interesting to me was when a public librarian said that there is an interest in seeing "libraries do some type of online version of their summer reading program...just to address another need and address some of those kids who aren't participating in summer reading programs." What an interesting idea - an entirely online book club. I want to try it.  

The teen public librarian from the webinar suggested reaching out to teen leaders in the community - perhaps dance and step teams, a male modeling group, etc. - to bring in for teen events. She had a very positive experience with a male modeling group, herself. She also recommended keeping an eye out for trendy things: Old Navy and Target for example can give insight into teen room color schemes, fonts, and other design elements. Finally, she suggested that the library can be a great place for the "super uncool." Teens often feel comfortable and even have fun making valentines for their moms, or participating in party games (such as a pin the kiss on Taylor Lautner game - haha) at the library.

So now having watched several webinars, I feel much more comfortable about giving one, especially since we will be presenting in groups. Also, the Montgomery and Matos articles for today discussed the benefits of webinars in teaching college students. Webinars can be a great way to connect to college students throughout a course, rather than only being able to give all library instruction in one class towards the beginning of the semester. Also, librarians that are designated for specific school departments can be very helpful to the faculty and students of that department, but the faculty and students must take advantage of the librarian in order for the librarian to remain embedded in that department.

In Ch. 7 of How People Learn, it was interesting to read about all the teaching techniques that resulted in students being able to think within each subject area, rather than just be able to spit back facts, dates, and equations. I wish I had had teachers like these, especially in the math and science areas, because some of those classes and experiments sounded much more beneficial and fun than how I remember math and science being in my elementary and high school. I also agreed with the author that in order to best teach learning with understanding, teachers must have a firm grasp of their subject and the major themes and ideas within that subject. By learning with understanding, students can also transfer their newly acquired thinking skills to other subjects in school.

Book Clubs and Intro to One Shot Workshop

My group had our book club this past week.  After reading some very interesting stories, I was curious as to what each book club leaders would have us discuss.  It turned out that we did get asked some interesting questions.  We also had an interesting mix of stories, and we had a very talkative group, so discussion was not lacking.  Leading our own book club was a very good experience.  Just having run through it once lets me know what things I would change for next time.  I can imagine that running through a book club several times would be very beneficial for cleaning things up and one can quickly become a pro at leading a discussion.  Our biggest problem was trying to get a word in edgewise.  Perhaps a talking stick would help.  :)  Overall, I am happy that all these teaching experiences such as the screencast and book club have not been as horrible as anticipated.  In fact, with a little practice, all are surprisingly manageable.

Our next project is the one shot workshop.  In class, we discussed how to create a one shot workshop. Basically, the one shot workshop includes announcements, icebreakers, giving new information, processing new information, and reflection.  I appreciate that with all our assignments, we fill out the ADDIE sheet.  This reflection process really drives home the purpose and implementation of each assignment.  By reflecting on all our projects, I feel that I will better remember and apply what I am learning now to my professional career.  So, I am looking forward to the one shot workshop for that reason - to add another very useful means of teaching to my repertoire.

A quick note about HarperCollins: I think publishers and librarians need to compromise on this issue.  So let's compromise, and then let's move on....I'm getting sick of reading angry blogs.

Ethics, Workshops, and HarperCollins

ALA Code of Ethics

I appreciate this short code of ethics, and I agree with everything it says.  I'm just wondering about the "resist all efforts to censor library resources" phrase: last week, I walked into a public library in which the rather provocative Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition magazine was prominently placed in the magazine collection.  In general, it seems like the only censoring the public library is in charge of is to place materials in their respective age level collection: children's, YA, or adult.  Am I wrong?  Is anything else censored at all?  Is it OK to have a swimsuit edition magazine out in the open, where young children might see it?  Is there any possibility to have a sort of "mature" section in a public library?  Just curious.

"Creating a Library Assignment Workshop for University Faculty"

I think it is important for academic librarians to be made aware of student assignments requiring the use of the library.  This way librarians can more effectively and efficiently help students.  I also think it would be really helpful if public librarians were to be made aware of local school assignments.  The public library can supplement the school libraries, and students can really benefit from a public library's resources, as well as become comfortable and familiar with the public library (and librarians) at a younger age.  Overall, collaboration among librarians and teachers will lead to better learning and a better library experience for the student.

HarperCollins


After reading several of the online blog postings and websites about the whole HarperCollins issue, I would have to agree that HarperCollins is being rather unfair here.  I'm surprised by the huge response that librarians have generated against HarperCollins.  Are librarians often so passionate?  Or is this just a particularly upsetting issue?  I would like to say that I am impressed with the effort librarians are making to boycott HarperCollins until the publisher reverses its 26-loan-ebook policy.  I am looking forward to joining such active librarian professionals who care a lot about their patrons and jobs.

Book Clubs

On a brief note, I was surprised by the overall negative reaction to Socratic Seminars this past week in class.  Everyone's past bad experiences and skepticism with this method of learning made me think again about the value of the Socratic Seminar.  Are they really that bad?  It seemed kind of like a good idea to me.

On to books clubs, the primary focus for the week.  I really enjoyed the guest librarian who came and spoke with us about book clubs, primarily for teens, in the AADL system.  She brought some books with her focusing on topics such as good books for a fantasy book club, or good recipes to make for this book club.  I enjoyed rifling through the pages of these books for fun, and I am looking forward to checking them out for further perusal.  She also talked about ways in which to spice up the book club.  Some of her suggestions included creating a playlist based on the book and skyping the author, or listening to an author interview online.  I like all of these ideas.  As a future librarian possibly going to take on a teen book club, I think the idea of a playlist would especially connect with teens, and skyping the author would bring more meaning to the book under discussion.  And of course, food can only be a good thing.  There are so many possibilities and ideas to bring to a book club, all of which can offer more insights and meaning to the book under discussion.

As for the book club we have to prepare for class as an assignment, I have just finished reading the stories for my book club group, and I am certainly intrigued.  Between stories about a computer taking over the world and a tiger who teaches a princess about love, I am rather looking forward to my group's book club discussions.  I am curious about which audience each book club/story will be directed towards, and what techniques each group will use to promote discussion and bring more insights to the reading material.  This will help me to decide which techniques are the most interesting for members of the book club and what will work well to promote more helpful discussion.

Transfer, Socratic Seminars, and Book Clubs

Last class, we discussed the importance of transfer. I always find it surprising when classes during one semester have much in common with each other.  For example, in 643 we are learning about creating surveys, transfer, and prior knowledge, and in 623 my group has to create surveys for a bunch of teenagers.  Using the knowledge from 643, my group can better create these surveys which will hopefully end up being a more accurate response from the teens, so that my group can gather the most beneficial data for our report. 

In terms of transfer, our current classes in SI should be providing us with a lot of transfer, since these are skills that we will need throughout the rest of our professional careers.  Most of my classes are providing me with good skills that will be very useful, but here is an example of one class which is not helping me very much: SI 500 is lost on me, because (to use terms from 643) I have no prior knowledge to offer to the class.  In addition, the lectures are not introduced on a basic-enough level for me, and so discussions, which may be useful, I cannot follow either.  So, overall I cannot transfer any material from 500 to other classes, because I do not understand anything.  Sad, I know.

While I cannot speak in 500 discussions because I do not know what is going on, I nevertheless really like the idea of the Socratic Seminars as discussed in our readings this week.  Based on what the authors have reported, I think it is great that student participants can collaboratively figure out major themes and ideas from their newfound reading strategies.  I also find it interesting that both articles reported that body language is important.  The one teacher, Mrs. Metzger, asked her students to observe the body language of those students involved in the inner circle of the discussion.  Just as the students must decipher additional meaning in reading with comprehension by paying attention to details such as words that capitalized, so too must students pay equally close attention to their peers while in discussion - this way, a comprehensive understanding and communication is acquired.

So are Socratic Seminars where the book club is heading?  "The Book Club Exploded" article also presents a lot of engaging ideas for book clubs today.  Just as the Socratic Seminar gets more people bouncing ideas off each other, it sounds like the more books used in a book club, the more ideas and collaboration among discussion members.  And the more interactive the book club (with more books, more use of media, and perhaps some guest authors), the more happy members are with the book discussions.  And this means people will continue to happily make use of the library.  I am a fan.