Reflection

Media 2.0 has contributed to a gauntlet of emotions. I began hearing the term 2.0, increasingly during a monthly Media Clerk meeting. Bud Hunt came to a meeting and did a presentation on what is "1.0 vs 2.0". Prior to that presentation I had not even know what either term meant. Bud came to another Media Clerk meeting and gave a presentation on Publisher. That program is on my work desktop and I did not even know it was there. When Myra menitoned this class , during a Media Clerks monthly meeting, I figured that this was time to get my skills updated. Even though I had heard the phrase "2.0", I did not have a clue as to what to expect for the class. I registered for the class and just showed up for the first class. I was in shock during the first class; that I needed to make a blog. As the class progressed I began to feel frustration; when am I going to have time to use these tools at work, outdated with my skills, and finally excitement when I finished a difficult task. Looking back on my blog, I feel that I have explored areas that are relevant to my job, such as working with photos, copyright information, and Library Thing. My biggest accomplishment was learning how to put a link on the blog. Adding a link became a source of frustration for me because I was doing it incorrectly. Once Myra showed me how to do this this correctly, I was very successful. The best feeling about adding a link to my blog, was a week after learning this skill, a teacher at work asked me to research a specific source, that she was unable to locate. Once finding this information, I was able to email her the web URL to her via a link. That felt wonderful! Some weeks doing the assignment I felt irrelevant for my life, such as Twitter (my life so dull who cares about what I do?) and using a cell phone as a tool (I do not even have a cell phone). I do not have enough work hours or energy to add some of the 2.0 tasks to my day. The teacher librarian at my school enjoys doing the technology tasks, that I really have little need to do it on a daily basis. Now that I have taken 2.0, I feel that I will be able to help him with the technological aspects when he gets swamped. Doing Media 2.0 as a group, at times, made me feel inferior because it seems as if maybe I am skipping out on a pertant duty in my job. Other Media Clerks seemed to be expanding their knowledge by being able to go back to their library and then use the tool on the job. I have had little use to use 2.0 on my job. My days at work are filled with getting the books checked out, getting the books checked in, putting the books back on the shelf, catalouging new books, etc. In addition, I do computer lab schedules for three computer labs and entering the reservation on the schedule. I would like to adjust theses calendars used for scheduling because I feel it is confusing. Maybe during those weeks, when I am working and school is out, I will be able to edit the claender using Google Aps. Myra has been wonderful at teaching this course. She has been very patient and knowledgeble. It was also nice to get to know the other Media Clerks better during this setting. This PST has made me feel that I am expanding my knowledge in the expanding world. I am still a very old fashion person when it comes to libraries. I enjoy the feel and smell of a new book. Reading and researching on a computer is not stress free for me. I do not want to be on a computer at home and at work. Reading a book curled up on my sofa is a great stress reducer and entertainment for me. Social networking will never be a priority for me. All in all, I am glad I took the class. I would like to expand my use of a ditigal camera and uploading photos. Thank You Myra!

Thing #23 -- Expand Your Mind

Looking at this set of resources, I put most of my effort into Atomic Learning. Atomic Learning has been a resource that has been mentioned in the clerk meetings, but I have not made time to go and utilize it during work time. It was nice to have time to go and look at the various tutorials that are available. It overwhelms me at times, the list of resources available. Too bad I end up fogetting about these sites when the need arises for me to learn a new procedure. I am a menitor this year for a new clerk and that is why I have enjoyed being one. It has made me expand my knowledge to help the new clerk; I would not have done it for myself. I also liked going to look at The Complete 2.0 Directory. It is really nice when I find a place that has a link to all the sites. I am a person that likes simplicity and this site is nice so that I don't need to rely on my memory of all the different web addresses. This allow me to go and link on the location I want to. I also looked at the site Second Life. That was interesting. I would like to learn more about what this really entails. For now, I just was willing to learn its name. That will be a future project.

Thing #22 -- Your Cellphone as a Tool

More to a cellphone than making phone calls!! Wow, once again I am being reminded about what a dinosaur I am. Remember, I am the one without a cellphone. When looking through some of these sites regarding education and using cellphones my first impulse would be it will not be workable; too many poor kids without cell phones, too much playing and not learning. However, after I started thinking about it more, I realized that was just my bias. When I leave work at the days end, I am aware that I see kids with phones I had not expected to have a cell phone. I see in the hallways kids using the phones during school hours even though it is prohibited. The kids would really get into using a cell phone for all of the methods stated in the articles. They would most likely be on task too. The cost would likely cause some parents, like myself, to bock at the idea. Why do I need to pay for it? However, I need to find ways to keep my son interested in high school. Aren't I the one worried that he is going to drop out because of feeling school is "not important and just a waste of his time". The cellphone would be really good for a teacher to remind the class of assignments. I really liked the idea of having google maps on the cell phone.

Thing #21 Copyright and Freedom of Information

This task was very, very informative. I liked how it gave links to information that I will need in my media clerk position. It got me thinking about a teacher that used a rap video in her class, copied the lyrics onto an overhead. Prior to reading this I had not even thought about if this was permit table. Is this my responsibility as the media clerk to know? Thank you for providing the links, I am now going to mark these when I return to work.
It is important to continue to bring up the ethical use of copyright in the library. It is the spot where teachers bring classes in for research on computers or text books. At times, everyone forgets about the legal aspect when doing the research. Remembering that someone else wrote this is sometimes over shadowed by just "getting it done" and how does my little research paper in where ever America, pertain to copyright. The teacher librarian, class teacher, and media clerk need to constantly remind students about citing one's score. I feel this is the most important part of the class so far. When I began my job during the training, I received minimal information on this. This is something that must continue to stay in the front of my thoughts.

Thing #20 Social Networking

When I first began reading about Social Networking, my first thoughts were that this would not be something for me. I envisioned only myspace.com and facebook.com, as being the entire realm of socializing on the web. Once I spent more time reading and going through the links I began to realize that I was wrong. I was fascinated with the cooking and baking sites. I must admit that I marked those in my favorites. Reading Steve Campion's article posted on webjunction.com allowed me to think about the vaious ways that a library can assist in linking groups of people together. Prior to reading his article I did not perceive how this could be used in a library. I also enjoyed looking at the Denver Public Library, myspace account. This site was very eye catching and youth friendly. After doing this excercise, I still do not want my own social networking site but I can see why it has become popular.

Thing #19 -- Microblogging

I went thru the process of looking at "twitter" and the various other links; these did not appeal to me. I decided not to add this to my many new logons. To make twitter work I would need to "talk up" this tool with many individuals. I am thinking that face-to-face and calling is becoming a lost art.