Week 4 Reflection

I've found copyright law to be so frustrating! I can understand why the laws exist and how they are important but it seems silly for teachers to have to worry about such complicated law when really they need to spend their time teaching. I think that fair use should be expanded in schools so that students are given the best education possible.

I really liked webquests though. I can definitely see myself using a webquest in the future. I think that students would find them so much fun and they are really informative. I was glad that we were able to see more examples of what they could be like, in the Jurassic Park and Atlantis webquests.

Week 3 Reflection

Talking about assistive devices so much this week got me thinking about what we can do in libraries to help students who are disabled that isn't related to technology. I'm not sure how many children who are blind, for example, attend public school but I wonder how many libraries have books in braille that these students would be able to use.
Even the layout of the library needs to be taken into account. Is it easily navigable by someone who is blind or a child in a wheelchair? Are there computers that are on desks that a wheelchair can fit under? Are shelves at an appropriate height to accommodate these children? There are so many factors that need to be considered in making the library usable for all children, but I really believe that it is important to take the time to examine your library, both physically and in terms of content to be sure that it is the best that it can be.

Week 2 Reflection

I really enjoyed the 2008 state of the library report. I was glad that they discussed school libraries in particular, I feel like a lot of the time when I look up information on libraries, library media centers aren't discussed. That being said, I also enjoyed the discussion of gaming in the library, I think that it's really great that public libraries are appealing to young adults in this way.

I spent some time poking around the NOVEL database and can't believe that we have access to all of those databases for free as New Yorkers. I recognize the names of many of those databases from schools that I have visited, and it made me wonder if those schools were taking advantage of the free subscription.

The discussion on copyright has me a little scared, especially when they mentioned such high fines that can be associated with the cases. I can't imagine costing a school district $5 million, the way that an LA district was forced to pay!

Week 1 Reflection

Here it is Wednesday night and that means I'm done with my first week of attending/viewing my classes. So far everything seems geed. All the classes definitely seem interesting and I'm looking forward to all that I will learn this semester, that being said I'm feeling my typical beginning of the semester apprehension that this will be the semester that I just can't do it all and fail all of my classes. This has never come to pass but at the beginning of each semester I feel it will with such certainty.
This is not the first online class that I've taken, but my previous experience with one in grad school was less than stellar. I find it to be challenging to keep up with all of the requirements because I'm not attending a regular class where they are discussed. I'm looking forward to learning more about computers in the school library though, and I think this will be not only an interesting class but one that will prove to be very useful to me in my future as a SLMS.