Finishing Project

Well, I got some work accomplished over the Thanksgiving break. I would have liked to have accomplished more, but I also was grateful for the break and the opportunity to take some time off from school to relax.

I am almost finished with all aspects of my project. Since I am not presenting on the first night, I am focusing my attention right now on my paper and my portfolio. I am making a few adjustments to my paper and finishing up printing the final pieces of my portfolio.

I am also working on making finishing touches to my WebQuest, fixing my presentation and reviewing it to make sure my learning expo goes well. I don't have much left to do on these things, so I feel confident about being able to finish them on time.

Finalizing Work

It has been a little while since our last class meeting, but my project is moving along very well. I have finished my paper and am just reviewing it again to check for spelling and grammar errors. I am also looking to see if there is anything else I need to add or change to the content.

I am finishing printing out the last few pages of information for my portfolio. It is a slow process to print out the email conversations and chats, so I don't get as many printed in a day as I would like, but I will have everything by Wednesday.

I am also just giving the WebQuest the final look over to make sure there are no glaring mistakes or issues that need to be fixed. I am going to load one or two more items onto the WebQuest, but basically the project is finished.

I sent an email out to my group before the Thanksgiving break just to touch base with them and see if they had any questions. I also wanted to remind them about how much time was left so they were aware they needed to put in the final push. I got some responses from the group but everyone seemed to indicate they were fine. I spoke with Mary yesterday and she has finished her project so I know she is in good condition.

I am interested to see what everyone has done. I haven't really seen much from anyone so it will be interesting to hear about their projects.

An Update

Last week, we had the night off from class to work on our portfolios. I got some done and feel fairly certain about what I will be including, but am waiting to finish the assemblage once everything is completed.

Because we didn't have class, our group did not have a chance to meet. I did email everyone to check in before class Wednesday night to see inf anyone had any issues since our last meeting. I am waiting to see if anyone responds on needs to confer on something.

I have received my surveys now that the en-action of the project is complete. Now I am working on processing them so that I can more effectively talk about it in terms of results and outcomes. I am organizing the information so that it can be included on the webquest.

Now that the project is finished, I am going back and including pieces of the finished project so that the resources are there for future use.

I definitely am feeling the crunch and pressure to get everything done. It's only 11 days until Thanksgiving and then our work is due as soon as we return from break. I will definitely be busy for the next few weeks! I said as much to my group in my email, so I hope they are aware and working hard to finish!

And Work Continues

Well, I am continuing to work on my project for the class. The classes have completed the project and now I am gathering the surveys from the students and the teachers. I am working on adding the updates to the website and tweaking additional links on the pages.

I am also creating a different webquest as a sample for how the website works. I will use this in my learning expo for teaching the class.

With the surveys coming in, I am working on updating my paper. I noticed Maeve mentioned on her blog the issues she was having with working on the paper bit by bit. I also am having similar issues. I am used to writing a paper after the work is completed and I often feel I am jumping the gun. It is difficult to compose the paper when all the pieces are not yet complete. Then I can't visualize where I am going so that the paper makes sense. I will try and press on though.

Sara, Mary, Denise and I spoke online before class last week. Sara and Mary are working well on their project. They haven't really encountered any issues but are just trying to finish up at this point. Denise came late but didn't really have anything new to share about her project. James did not come online again so I don't have an update on his project.

I don't know what to say about Denise or James because I really haven't seen any of their work. Mary, Sara and myself have reached out to them to see if they need help or feedback and haven't gotten any response. I will continue to show up and help anyone who comes to the meeting or contacts me, but it is frustrating at times. I will keep trying though.

Project Work

Last week, my group met briefly before class to discuss the progress of everyone's project.

Sara is continuing to gather information for various blog posts and finding interesting information to highlight. I think based on last week's class, she got some helpful tips for how to include information on her blog that will be of use to her school.

Mary has gotten dates set to perform her project and is working hard to get everything accomplished in time. She is in control of what she is working on and I am confident that she will be finished on time.

I have yet to see any of Denise's project. She has not said much during our meetings, but from reading her blog, she says she is progressing.

I have not seen anything from James either in terms of his project. Neither he or Denise has approached me with any issues or questions.

For myself, my project is moving along nicely. The work is almost complete. I am gathering my surveys and going back to add additional components onto the website that will be useful for future use.

I am also working on my paper and gathering together my resources for my portfolio.

Project Update

my project is moving along nicely. I have completed the initial webquest that the students and teachers will be using for the project. I will add completed pieces to the webquest once the project is complete.

I have completed my surveys and will administer them to the students and teachers at the end of the project.

I am now working on other aspects of the project, like my paper and gathering together my notes and references for my portfolio.

Time is moving along quickly and it is only a matter of time before the end of the semester. We only have a few more classes left before our project is due!

I spoke with some of my group members and know they are moving along nicely with their projects. I know that Mary and Sara are confident about their work and its direction. I am not as sure of Denise because I have seen nothing of her project. And with James I am just not sure what he is doing. He says he is fine but I haven't seen anything of his project so I cannot say for sure. I hope they are all conscious of the time they have left to complete the project.

Del.icio.us Tagging

The YouTube video was interesting and is a nice support for creating del.icio.us tags if you have issues. I found the website fairly easy to navigate and use.

Before reading about this in This Book is Overdue!, I was not familiar with this particular website. I used bookmarks on my computer to keep track of websites that I like to look at. Unfortunately, when my computer crashed I lost all my bookmarks. This site is certainly useful to me because by creating a del.icio.us page, I can't lose my bookmarks. I can also access my favorite sites anywhere because they are on the internet and not simply attached to my computer.

I think this is a really useful site. I have created lists of websites for projects and I would love to go back and create del.icio.us pages for those projects. By creating tags for them, it would make them easier to access.

I also see this as a really useful tool for the librarian to use. I could create tag bundles for teachers on different subjects so that when they needed a great website that features math and visuals, they can find one. I think I will definitely be using this again in the future. It's del.icio.us!

Response to NY Times Article

As I saw others mention on their blog, I too was surprised that it is easier to preserve paper than it is to preserve technology.

Until recently I hadn't given much thought about how to maintain digital archives. It was brought to my attention in reading through This Book is Overdue. They discussed how as technology changes and we lose the original programs, it becomes difficult to retrieve files. I have found that in my own life, as we tried to transfer files from floppy disks to the hard drive. And if the original program has become to outdated, it is difficult to access.

Emory is lucky because they have Salman Rushdie's original computer where the work was created, which the book mentioned makes a big difference in retrieving the files. It was interesting to here him describe how much editing he did on the computer as opposed to on paper. I wonder if we are losing something in that aspect because we do not have his scribblings and cross-outs to reflect what he chose to keep and to eliminate.

Making Rushdie's digital archives available so that visitors can write or make comments on his copies sounds like such a fun idea. As the article described, anyone who is a devoted fan would love this opportunity to be a part of his work, like touching Dorothy's ruby slippers or visiting Jane Austen's home.

I think digital archives present a lot of issues for future archivists. I think it is a mistake for the workers at Harvard to not go ahead and try to work with the floppy disks they have instead of just leaving them in archival storage. I see their dilemma, because it is a dilemma that many libraries are currently facing - what should we do with our digital archives?

What most libraries are looking for now is the tools to maintain these digital archives and someone who has the knowledge and expertise to deal with them. This is an issue we should be aware of as librarians because it is something we may have to deal with in our careers.

Response to Whither the Postmodern Library

There are many issues in the debate between technology versus literacy. The key issue is that technology is useless if we lack the literacy skills to use technology effectively. If I do not know how a card catalog works, then having it accessible through my cell phone is a moot point.

We are so concerned with keeping our students on the pulse of technology so that they can compete in the global market that we forget to ensure that they have the basics covered. Without a solid foundation in literacy, they are not using technology effectively and successfully.

It is our job as librarians to make sure that our students understand how to research, how to evaluate professional articles, how to cite sources, and so much more. Once they have a good understanding of these important skills, then we can help them to make use of the technology effectively.

And most importantly, if our students struggle to read and comprehend what they are reading, this should be our number one priority. They cannot move forward without this most basic of skills. Reading is a skill that everyone needs and needs to survive in the world.

It is up to us as librarians to make sure that we are vigilant in ensuring that our students learn these skills. We need to assume they have not been taught these skills and make sure that they have a solid foundation in literacy before they leave us. Regardless of their age, it is never too late for our students to gain these skills.

Meeting with Mary Again

Today I met with Mary to go over some things with her about my webquest for the class. I am working on finishing the webquest for Monday so it will be ready for the students use next week as they perform the Ellis Island Immigration Project.

I am developing the student and teacher survey that I will use with this project. I am also scripting out what I will include on the webquest as well as the extra pictures that I will use to make the webquest more attractive. I plan on going back after the project is completed to include pictures of the students working on the project as well as video tapes of all the completed work.

Working

This week, I am working more on my webquest. The project is not taking place until the end of the month, so I working to complete the webquest before then so the students will be able to use it as part of their instruction.

I am planning on surveying them as well as the teacher and librarian to use their feedback as my sample group.

I am also working on completing the next portion of the paper for this Wednesday's class.

Or group spoke briefly last week about what we were working on, but there was very little new information to share. At this point, Mary and Sara are progressing along nicely, from what they are sharing with me. I am not clear on Denise or James because they haven't shared very much with me or the rest of the group as far as I know. I hope they realize that time is ticking away and we are getting down to crunch time.

Meeting with Group

Before class, my group met online to chat. Mary and Sara and I were there as usual. Denise joined us for the first time and we did not see James during our chat. I invited him to make sure he could join but since he had difficulties getting AET Zone, I think that contributed to his issues.

We did not have much new to share with the group at that point. Everyone is working on research, choosing more articles and continuing to develop our projects.

This was the first time any of us have heard what Denise was doing since she hasn't come to any of our other meetings. I still am not sure what she is doing or what question she is asking, but she seemed unable to elaborate in class clearly. Denise wanted to know if anyone had a favorite wiki site they liked to use. I have never made a wiki and didn't have a site to recommend. Mary did not have a site she preferred either and Sara has never created a wiki before to my knowledge.

At this point I myself am working on fixing surveys, research questions, purpose statements and introductions. I am definitely feeling the stress now that it is October. I know that time is ticking away and its always a struggle to find enough time to work on weekly work, my project as well as all my other assignments for my other three classes.

Filezilla

I have been working for the last several days trying to sort out Filezilla, the program I planned to use to upload my webquest onto the internet.

I have used the program before to upload a website, but no longer had the old password I used. I spoke with Tech Support, Rob, and Mr. Riedl. None of them could really give me a clear idea of what to do and recommended I check with someone else.

I decided before I sought help again to investigate some more myself to see what was possible.

I had discovered that Filezilla could be downloaded for free onto my computer, and thought perhaps that might be the way to solve my problem. I spoke with Megan, my reference on technology when I hit a wall, and she wasn't sure.

Last night she emailed me with a page from the ASU website that explained the process and that she had gotten it to work herself.

I downloaded the program last night and was able to get halfway through before I was missing a piece. I am going to try again today or investigate the computers in the education building to see if I can do the same thing there that I was able to do on my home computer.

Working

I received an email back from Dick Riedl. I am going to try and see what server I uploaded my original website to so that we can get the issue sorted out. I'm hopeful from his email that we will either find my original password or he will let me know about another free source from the college i can use upload my webquest.

I worked on putting together my survey, research question and purpose statement so that I can make some more progress on the project. My next goal is to start scripting out what I want to include on the webquest pages and begin building the webquest. Kathy Moore is looking at activating the porject on October 4th, so once the project is completed, I can have more of the finished products to include on the webquest.

I am also looking at scanning in some of the pictures from my book sources as well from online to include in the webquest.

Working Weekend

This weekend, I am working on developing my survey for my teachers. I am also assessing to make sure that what I have developed so far will work for my project. I want to make sure before I move to far forward that my project is working and I will be able to accomplish what I need to in terms of the class.

My big concern is trying to find a way to use Filezilla to upload my project. I have used it before but cannot remember my original password. Without that, I cannot complete my upload. I am hoping that Dick Riedl will be able to help, but if not, I will be investigating other sources for uploading my webquest.

I have found a different web design program I am going to try called iWeb. it is available on the Macs in the library and will make for a more engaging webquest than what I would be able to create using Dreamweaver.

Emergency Help

On Thursday, Sara sent out a rather disheartening email. Upon sharing her thoughts about a blog for Safari Montage with her librarians, she was informed that their teachers were to busy to read one more thing. She felt brushed off by the librarians and that they no longer wanted her there. She was in a quandary about what to do from this point.

I emailed back with some thoughts and suggestions to try and adapt to what the librarians wanted or to think about working with another library.

Sara decided to switch to another school and will be working with Valle Crucis instead. When last I spoke to her, she had talked with the librarian at Valle Crucis, who she had a relationship with, and she was thrilled to have Sara and thought the project sounded like a great idea. Sara was relieved that she would not have to start searching again for a new idea to use.

Group Meeting

Wednesday before class, our group meet again in person to discuss how everyone was progressing.

Mary informed us that she was making progress on her project but didn't have many new developments to share.

Sara was unsure from our last meeting about doing a pathfinder or wiki for her project. We brainstormed for other ideas and she thought the idea of a blog with daily updates about great videos on Safari Montage would suit her needs. She is also an experienced blogger and thought the blog format would be a way to really personalize the site to her school.

James is still looking at circulation issues and how best to incorporate technology into his project. The group brainstormed for ideas and James felt one or two of our suggestions were really possibilities and would look into them further.

I shared with the group what I was doing in terms of developing my survey and looking into format and content area for the webquest.

I do not know what Denise is doing because she has not come to any of our meetings. She has been included in all group emails to remind everyone about dates and times, but I have received no response from her.

Meeting with Mary

Sunday I met with Mary to go over what we needed to get accomplished for the project. Unfortunately, Amanda couldn't meet with us because she is out of town, but we updated her on what we got completed.

I am creating a website that will accompany a project she is doing with Blowing Rock Elementary. Mary and Amanda are doing a lesson on immigration where they will be working with the 5th grade social studies teacher as well as Kathy Moore. The students will learn about immigrants coming to America at the turn of the 20th century. Students will be researching reasons why immigrants left countries in Eastern Europe as well as North America. Students will create their own "passport" based on some pre-determined specifications and use this information in small groups to travel through a mini Ellis Island that will be created in the library. Based on their research and passport, they will meet with judges who will determine if they can enter the country or not.

My website will be a way to house all the information that is used during the lesson. It will also be a way for other teachers to access the information to use in their own school and a way to keep the information organized so that Kathy Moore can use the information over again.

To see if other teachers would be interested in using the program, I am going to send out a survey to the other teachers in Watauga County to get their feedback. The teachers at Blowing Rock are incredibly excited about the project and the website but I want to see if it would be beneficial to others.

On the website, I am looking at having most of these components:
Background information describing the project
Background information on Ellis Island
Background information on the Statue of Liberty
Background information on immigrant homelands
Files of finished passports
Video of the completed project
Finished script to be used in mini Ellis Island

Now I am looking at formatting the website and where to post the website.

My issue is that I would like to use Dreamweaver to create the project and Filezilla to upload it onto my free ASU domain space. The problem is that I can't remember the password I used to originally create a website using Filezilla and without that I can't upload using Filezilla. I need a way to either change the password, find out what I used or another system to upload a website that gives me more flexibility in terms of design.

Update on Learning Groups

Our group meet before class on Wednesday to discuss what was happening with their projects.

Mary and I have already developed our ideas and are starting to put them in place. Because James and Sara are new, they have ideas but are now trying to decide format (in the case of Sara) or how technology incorporates (in the case of James).

I sent out an email last night reminding everyone that on the days we meet face to face, we will meet at 5:30 for anyone who wants to discuss the progress of their projects.

On the days we meet online, we are going to meet on email chat at 5:30 for anyone who wants to discuss the progress of their projects.

I sent the email to make clear to everyone what is going on because I still have no responses from some members of the group.

More from Learning Group

Yesterday, I was able to get in touch with Sara in regards to what she is working on for her action research.

She interviewed the librarians at Hardin Park Elementary and found out they are beginning to use a new program called Safari Montage. It is an amazing database full of video clips that can be used in the classroom.

The issue the teachers and librarians are encountering is knowing what is out there and how to search for it. Sara is looking into doing that for her project and I thought it was a great idea. This would work well for a pathfinder and make the teacher's lives a lot easier.

I also shared with Sara what I was considering doing for my project.

Action Research Project

This afternoon I was able to make some more progress on my project.

I had spoke with Mary and Amanda Perron over the summer about a project they were working on at Blowing Rock Elementary dealing with immigration. They wanted to bring awareness to what we consider an immigrant. They were focusing on 5th graders because the social studies curriculum covers immigration. The goal was to help students research the different early immigrants to the US, create their own immigrant identity, and use it at an imaginary Ellis Island set up in the library. Based on how students answer pre-determined questions, they would either be detained, deported, or admitted into the country.

I thought this was a wonderful project that needed something comprehensive to pull all the pieces together to give teachers the potential to use it year after year. I am going to create a website that would house all the information needed for the project, so that any teacher, in any school or state, could use this themselves.

I am looking at the possibility of making the Ellis Island experience virtual so that students would work through the project on the computer in case a school couldn't create a physical Ellis Island at their school. This would work similar to a choose-your-own-adventure book where as the students picked certain qualifications they would either be detained, deported, or admitted.

Now I am looking at surveying 5th grade teachers, pre- and post-project to determine if they would use it or not. The 5th grade teacher at Blowing Rock Elementary is in love with the idea, but I need more feedback than that.

Learning Group

My learning group has made some initial connections but it has been difficult. Trying to find a time when everyone can meet is tough because of where we are in the program. Mary and I are almost done, Denise falls somewhere in the middle, and Sara and James are just starting.

Currently, we are communicating through email as a way to let everyone share what they are thinking about doing for their project. I haven't gotten much feedback from anyone, but I'm hoping to hear more from the rest of the group soon.

I have spoken with Mary and she feels fairly strongly about what she is doing. We are considering working together on a larger project, but creating our own individual pieces of the project.

Because I haven't heard from all the group members, I'm not sure if they are struggling with the concept or just needed to complete their librarian interviews before they could get a clear picture of what they want/need to do. They are brand new to the program and may need some more time to develop their ideas. Hopefully after Wednesday's class they will have a better idea of the direction they want to take.

Interview

For my interview, I spoke with Meg Eggleton, librarian at Alexander Central High School. Mrs. Eggleton has worked at the elementary, middle and high school level in the media center, with the last 10 years spent at Alexander Central. As the only high school in the county, the student population is large.

In talking about how they use technology in the library, Mrs. Eggleton spends much of her time with the other library workers supervising students and classes in one of the school's computer labs. She does some troubleshooting with computers, but the school has an IT person who handles most of that work.

Classes come into the library sporadically with some English teachers being the most frequent visitors. Juniors and seniors often come with their English classes to help research for the senior projects. Mrs. Eggleton then has some opportunity to help the students search the Internet for resources or help find materials through the library's catalog.

Mrs. Eggleton gets little opportunity to use technology with students in the library. Few teachers bring their students in for tutorials in basic programs because most high school students receive some sort of computer class that shares with them the basics.

One struggle the school and Mrs. Eggleton face is the fact the community is small and not overly wealthy, so not all students have access to a computer at home in order to develop more skills. Many of the students rely on time they can spend in the computer labs in order to get work done for classes.

Mrs. Eggleton often attends conferences to learn new processes or information that she takes back to share with the teachers. Unfortunately, she does not get the opportunity to share this with classes of students. While she learns about great new programs that could incorporate technology, she finds the same issue we see again and again - time is so limited for teachers to teach what is required, it leaves very little time for learning new or interesting programs.

Mrs. Eggleton would really like to incorporate more technology into the school, but due to the extreme budget cuts the state has faced it has been difficult to make major changes. While she tries to seek out free resources it is often difficult to make enough of an impact that it can help the school. She is also nearing retirement and knows it will be difficult for the other workers who would remain to keep up anything she could start. Mrs. Eggleton loves the library and the students she works with, but is facing so many of the challenges that we all face - how to improve technology in limited space, budget, and time.