Update on Project

I feel that I have not kept up on my updates for my project. Yet I have made some major steps in my project.

The following list is what I have been up to since the last time blogged about my project.

1. I created my teachers' survey.
2. Kathy and I set a date. It was supposed to be on Nov. 2, but Mr. Sukow, the principal had already set a faculty meeting on that day. Kathy made an executive decision (since she is the librarian) to set a week later on Nov 9.
   
3. I started working on a script for my tutorial. I do not want my tutorial to be flaky, I really want this tutorial be helpful for the teachers.
4. As for my group, I have been constant communication with Katie and Sara.
   
5. As for Katie, I asked her if she wanted me to talk to Kathy for her. Katie and I both knew that to survey the students, Katie would have to get permission from both the principal and parents. So I asked Kathy while at Blowing Rock if Katie needed to write a letter to get permission from Mr. Sukow to video and survey the teachers and students.
6. Kathy stated the school had permission slips for all the students who can be recorded or photographed. As for permission from Mr. Sukow, Kathy went and asked him in an informal conversation about getting the approval. So exciting, Katie got approval for her project.
   
7. Kathy stated that she would give us copies of the permission slips.
   
8. As for Sara, she told me that she was trying to keep up with her blogs and trying to find interesting pieces to blog about for the teachers.
9. I have not heard from Denise or James, which worries me as if they are having trouble. I have no problem helping if I can, but neither have communicated with Katie, Sara or myself.
   

Whew! I feel SO much better now that I have updated everybody up on my project. I am really looking forward to the staff development meeting with half of my sample. I know this is not important but my goal is to have my paper, portfolio and EVERYTHING(!) done by Nov. 15, and to enjoy the rest of the semester!

Del.icio.us

I have never used the website, del.icio.us. By watching and following the YouTube tutorial, the website seem user friendly. I liked that we could add our friends; which I added Sara because I saw her name.

I really like this website, although I probably will not use it after this one time. Once I like a website and use regularly, I usually bookmark it on my toolbar.

I can see how functional this website is for someone who continuously visits multiple sites regularly. I have to say that the person who administrated the tutorial did a fantastic job of keeping his viewers attention. I hope my online tutorial will be as interesting as his tutorials.

Here is my del.icio.us page: http://www.delicious.com/mrj_03

NY Times Article

I think it is amazing how libraries can branch out from other venues and continue to still to do their duty: providing information. This article is a reaffirmation of the chapters for this week and the last two previous classes.

The questions of "what to be save, how to save it and how to make it accessible" are are legitimate and important questions to think about. Technology is constantly upgrading and changing. I think that we made an important reference in class about this topic. I think that this topic is not going to go away; we are going to have to evolve our services to deal with this problem.

Again, I stress the need for libraries to become specialized in a topic, for example Belk Library and the Stock Car Racing. I liked the idea of FRED at Stanford. I would hope that the administrators can see that FRED can provide services to other libraries for a small fee or commission.

I love the idea of the Rushdie Collection, where patrons and visitors can sit and play around with one of his manuscripts. To see patrons who have been affect by an author's words can be a touching moment. I think that providing this service can allow more people to become familiar with his works and similar authors.

For conclusion, I really liked this article. This topic of transferring information and materials to multiple devices or programs is becoming more recognized in our new evolve field!

Questions from class

1. Difficulty and urgency of problems associated with technology verses literacy.

1. I would think that if we do not teach students and adults literacy, then the ideology of technology would not be possible.
   
2. People are more likely to not to read and play/use the technology to make their life easier.
   
3. There is always the problem with cost and accessibility for all users.

2. Final Solution is....

1. I would think teaching the basics of literacy skills.
2. Also to encourage students to read and explore their imagination which would be supported by literacy.
3. By working with other programs such as English-Second Language assistance, we can achieve technology beyond what we have!
   

Week of Sept 29 through the Oct 5th

Last Wednesday, my group met on the Gmail chat. Sara, Katie, Denise and I (James was not able to attend) joined a chat together and discussed how our project was going. Most of us, if not all were at the beginning with research stage. Some of us were working our surveys, (including myself). Not much had changed from the previous week, except we were now able to get updated with Denise and her project.

I worked on my survey on Monday, Oct 4th, while worked at the Belk Library. I am hoping to get my teachers surveyed this week and see how they feel about technology and staff development.

Katie emailed me about her surveys on Monday, I failed to email her back. I planned to talk to her tonight before class during our group discussion.