-This was my second blog experience. I made one for a previous library course (LIBE 467). It was useful to make this blog because it reminded me how easy it is to create a blog using blogger.com. One of the items on my list of things to do in my library is to create blogs with students, i.e. as part of a research project.
-I did a blog entry and a discussion posting for each week minus week 4, when it was optional. Overall, I provided detailed discussion postings and blog entries. I tried to reply in-depth and with purpose when I responded to my classmates’ postings. I posted to each discussion a minimum of 3 paragraphs and responded to one other posting.
-I should have responded to more than one discussion posting each week. I do value the idea of learning from others and that collectively, the people in this course represent a huge amount of knowledge and ideas and that I can learn so much from them. I think I was just overwhelmed at the beginning of this course with work and family life that I didn’t put the time in to reflect on what they said and respond to it. However, after that I was better about posting to my blog and the discussions for each lesson each week, reading classmates’ postings, skimming others, and responding to posts. I tried to log in every day or two.
-I feel that my postings to my blog were a good length. I posted about connections I made to the readings and to my practice. I posted about what I would like to do in my future library and how I could apply what I learned to my practice. I also had to cut down my thoughts sometimes because I would make so many connections and then want to write them all down and then end up with really long blog entries. I know that making connections are important but I realized that I don’t have to write down every single one for everyone else to read.
-I learned a lot from classmates. For example, from Beth, I learned that it’s important to place restrictions on books when there is unsuitable content in them, i.e. Vampire Diaries. I have now put these books on a separate shelf and labelled the shelf “Books for Grade 7’s”. From Lenora, she reinforced once again the idea of keeping our administrators in the loop of what’s going on in the library. At my new job, I sent the principal a long note about what I’ve been working on during my first week and my future plans. For example, our school goal is literacy so I told him that I will help with reading groups, I sent home new Home Reading forms for students that have fallen behind, etc. He met with me after and said he was happy to hear all that.
-I found many resources and links in this course useful for my future practice. I found the ODLIS online dictionary very useful. I can see myself using that again.
-I feel I put a lot of time into creating the assignments for this course and all the MARC records. I’m glad that they were practical assignments that I can use in the future. One thing that sticks out in my mind from making the MARC records and looking at the examples, is the importance of picking useful subject headings for the catalogue records so that the person searching for a subject can find the relevant resource.
-I know it is important to be a reflective practitioner because then I can see what I do well and what I need to work on. I can look at the information I am being presented with and see if it is reasonable, if it applies to my library, and if it is important and useful to me. I can look at if what I am doing in the library is working or not and if I need to re-think it.
-Overall, I learned so much in this course from the readings, the lessons, Cathy’s posts, my classmate’s posts, from working on the assignments, writing my Blog postings, and the discussion forums. I am now looking forward to putting all that I have learned into practice in my own library this year. Wish me luck!
