Seven groups were asked to prepare information on seven topics and present it in seven minutes or less. We had five days to do it. The key is that those five days also included one or two lectures per day, three discussion group sessions requiring follow up reporting and two papers to be written as well, including the brutal tracking paper assignment. So, time was a bit limited.
The presentations will be linked here, for your viewing pleasure (Only one for now). This was easily the best night of theweek, and the entertainment factor was huge. What is attached does not include the acting in skits and demonstrations done in the classrom, so you will have to use your imagination. It was way cool in context. It loses something now.
Net Neutrality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW37phe7M4o
Library as Third Place/Community Space:
Is the Digital Divide still relevant?:
Creative Commons:
Privacy:
WTO/GATTS: http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~bloch2/GATTS_Group_Project
Social Spaces/Social Networks: http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~temple3/networking_resources.html
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Day Eight
I awoke at 4:22 am with yesterday's group discussion failure still tormenting me. As I lay there, without any memory of the readings, I decided to get up and force myself to review each one and try to determine what we should have taken away from the discussion group exercise.
The six hours of sleep must have helped, because it worked. The essence of the three authors points of view came back to me and then suddenly it made sense why we read these three articles about scholarly publishing. The process is broken, according to them. It requires some fixing and these three authors each have a unique take on what can be done to improve the process of scholarly research and publishing. Well, that made my day (that I overcame being brain dead, I guess) and I got over the "torment" and went back to work. I also learned a lesson about preparation for group discussions.
Our lecture (picture) of the day set the foundation for copyright and intellectual freedom discussions. If I had known I would be blogging, I would have brought a camera, but I'll just have to settle on an over abundance of text in this blog. That's more me anyway.
For group discussion this afternoon the three of us in my small group went down to ground level in GSLIS and found some cushy chairs and a sofa in the Children's Book Center. Besides the extra comfort, I enjoyed my discussion partners and their insights. Doug, Carla and I discussed the readings about the ways librarians are sometimes put in the position of dealing with social issues, when patrons are homeless or mentally ill . The articles were great and several ideas came out of our discussion that could develop into concrete ideas on solving some of the challenges facing libraries in dealing with these communities.
In particular, I will remember the idea to involve the community itself in addressing the issues. Thanks Doug and Carla for an enjoyable and insightful conversation, which I intend to put to use someday.
The six hours of sleep must have helped, because it worked. The essence of the three authors points of view came back to me and then suddenly it made sense why we read these three articles about scholarly publishing. The process is broken, according to them. It requires some fixing and these three authors each have a unique take on what can be done to improve the process of scholarly research and publishing. Well, that made my day (that I overcame being brain dead, I guess) and I got over the "torment" and went back to work. I also learned a lesson about preparation for group discussions.
Our lecture (picture) of the day set the foundation for copyright and intellectual freedom discussions. If I had known I would be blogging, I would have brought a camera, but I'll just have to settle on an over abundance of text in this blog. That's more me anyway.
For group discussion this afternoon the three of us in my small group went down to ground level in GSLIS and found some cushy chairs and a sofa in the Children's Book Center. Besides the extra comfort, I enjoyed my discussion partners and their insights. Doug, Carla and I discussed the readings about the ways librarians are sometimes put in the position of dealing with social issues, when patrons are homeless or mentally ill . The articles were great and several ideas came out of our discussion that could develop into concrete ideas on solving some of the challenges facing libraries in dealing with these communities.In particular, I will remember the idea to involve the community itself in addressing the issues. Thanks Doug and Carla for an enjoyable and insightful conversation, which I intend to put to use someday.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day Seven
That was nice! A fifteen hour semester break can do a body (and a mind) good. So, could a couple more hours of sleep, but that just isn't in the cards this week. Much of the break time was used to catch up on the group presentation for Thursday night.
The best news of the day is, the wretched tracking paper assignment is over!
Sitting "brain dead" through a lecture and a group discussion left me feeling mad at myself for not preparing better for each. The discussion was pitiful. Five people staring at each other wondering what we read only a few weeks ago in 3 important readings about scholarly publishing. I kept hoping someone would save us, but alas, not one of us could think of anything interesting, or even descriptive of the readings we were supposed to be discussing.
After starting my group process paper late tonight, just to get a brief outline going, I'm exhausted and going to bed early, before 10! And, that's about all I can say for Day Seven.
The best news of the day is, the wretched tracking paper assignment is over!
Sitting "brain dead" through a lecture and a group discussion left me feeling mad at myself for not preparing better for each. The discussion was pitiful. Five people staring at each other wondering what we read only a few weeks ago in 3 important readings about scholarly publishing. I kept hoping someone would save us, but alas, not one of us could think of anything interesting, or even descriptive of the readings we were supposed to be discussing.
After starting my group process paper late tonight, just to get a brief outline going, I'm exhausted and going to bed early, before 10! And, that's about all I can say for Day Seven.
Day Six
Six already! Time is flying by, which, of course, is helped by the fact that there hasn't been more than 5 spare minutes in those six days! We're using all hours of the day. Forum posts start at 5:30 in the morning and usually don't end until well past midnight.
The biggest events of day six are the Tracking Paper is due at 11:55 pm., after which the 15 hour Semester Break begins. Having submitted my paper with a measly hour to spare, I reflect on the rest of the day.
The lecture this morning covered scholarly publishing and communication issues. This is an area that I have not experienced much in my life. It is about to become much more significant to me than it has been. Like everything else in our lives, scholarly works are impacted by technological and economic changes and advances that apply pressure on the way things have always been done and leave traditionalists questioning the value of the new way.
We need traditionalists to question. They are our safeguard to make certain we don't throw out the good and valuable principles that have developed through experience over a long period of time. We also need innovators, who envision how it could be better. Working together, traditionalists and innovators bring improvements that make lives better and fuller. Technological advances usually save time and money, which enhances productivity and at the same time, convenience.
There is more to be said on this, but I will save it for one of my assigned papers yet to be writtten after the break. Today, I managed to get a photo of the back of the class during the lecture.
The biggest events of day six are the Tracking Paper is due at 11:55 pm., after which the 15 hour Semester Break begins. Having submitted my paper with a measly hour to spare, I reflect on the rest of the day.
The lecture this morning covered scholarly publishing and communication issues. This is an area that I have not experienced much in my life. It is about to become much more significant to me than it has been. Like everything else in our lives, scholarly works are impacted by technological and economic changes and advances that apply pressure on the way things have always been done and leave traditionalists questioning the value of the new way.
We need traditionalists to question. They are our safeguard to make certain we don't throw out the good and valuable principles that have developed through experience over a long period of time. We also need innovators, who envision how it could be better. Working together, traditionalists and innovators bring improvements that make lives better and fuller. Technological advances usually save time and money, which enhances productivity and at the same time, convenience.
There is more to be said on this, but I will save it for one of my assigned papers yet to be writtten after the break. Today, I managed to get a photo of the back of the class during the lecture.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Day Five
The spotlight is on!
The lectures today centered on "Major professional challenges: the case of intellectual freedom and censorship" and "The Current Information Environment", which covered the social and economic forces that shape the environment.
We discovered first hand that very complex issues surrounding intellectual freedom and censorship will confront us in our work. One example was a little episode in which we reviewed three situations and had to determine if we would allow certain books into a collection or if a controversial panel discussion at an ALA conference should proceed.
The first case involved adding a book to a Public Library Children's collection, titled "Its Perfectly Normal". The book teaches children or young adults about sexuality and reproduction. It uses illustrations of naked bodies and includes descriptions and labels for parts, which illustrations were displayed for us to get a sense of the content.
We were asked, by show of hands, who would without hesitation add it to the collection; who would, with some qualms, add it to the collection; and who would not add it to the collection. I had the privilege of voting singularly in the last category, to the apparent shock of my classmates. But, I am not unfamiliar with being the only one of my opinion in such groups on social issues like this one.
I had several conversations throughout the day and have modified my position a bit, based on the concepts we learned in lecture and discussed in groups. I acknowledge the value of the book genre, that was presented today, in assisting parents in teaching children about the concepts. I also acknowledge my obligations as a librarian to not censor collections based on personal biases. While I now take the position that I would add the book to a collection for any age group, I retain the caveat that I want to honor a parent's rights to make the determination on children's access to the book. My suggested solution would be to retain the book in a parenting section, from which parents could borrow the book, but minors could not access it without parental consent.
The other issues will have to be discussed at a later date, because my time is short tonight. Too many papers and assignments to deal with at the moment.
The TA's assisting with the instruction and discussion groups are quite helpful and I've finally acquired a picture of them from a classmate's blog, which I include tonight.
The lectures today centered on "Major professional challenges: the case of intellectual freedom and censorship" and "The Current Information Environment", which covered the social and economic forces that shape the environment.
We discovered first hand that very complex issues surrounding intellectual freedom and censorship will confront us in our work. One example was a little episode in which we reviewed three situations and had to determine if we would allow certain books into a collection or if a controversial panel discussion at an ALA conference should proceed.
The first case involved adding a book to a Public Library Children's collection, titled "Its Perfectly Normal". The book teaches children or young adults about sexuality and reproduction. It uses illustrations of naked bodies and includes descriptions and labels for parts, which illustrations were displayed for us to get a sense of the content.
We were asked, by show of hands, who would without hesitation add it to the collection; who would, with some qualms, add it to the collection; and who would not add it to the collection. I had the privilege of voting singularly in the last category, to the apparent shock of my classmates. But, I am not unfamiliar with being the only one of my opinion in such groups on social issues like this one.
I had several conversations throughout the day and have modified my position a bit, based on the concepts we learned in lecture and discussed in groups. I acknowledge the value of the book genre, that was presented today, in assisting parents in teaching children about the concepts. I also acknowledge my obligations as a librarian to not censor collections based on personal biases. While I now take the position that I would add the book to a collection for any age group, I retain the caveat that I want to honor a parent's rights to make the determination on children's access to the book. My suggested solution would be to retain the book in a parenting section, from which parents could borrow the book, but minors could not access it without parental consent.
The other issues will have to be discussed at a later date, because my time is short tonight. Too many papers and assignments to deal with at the moment.
The TA's assisting with the instruction and discussion groups are quite helpful and I've finally acquired a picture of them from a classmate's blog, which I include tonight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)