I am meeting with Chris Goodson, our county IT guy to walk me through the ins and outs of podcasting. He seems really excited about working on this and getting it going. He teaches a workshop on podcasting, so I am comfortable that he will be able to guide my weary mind!
I have however, realized that I have left myself a very short amount of time to implement my AL project. With our fun run and book fair this week, time was stretched throughout the school. But I totally left out the part of Thanksgiving next week! (Duh! I SO do not forget that when I am in the school frame of mind!)
Therefore, I am planning on podcasting my students next week (before break), and teaching my faculty workshop the week after Thanksgiving. So, I will have most of my project implemented, but not schoolwide...yet!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The McLibrary
In reading Wisner's text, I found the term McLibrary amusing and appropriate. In a society where we can "have it our way" at almost any time of the day, it's not surprising that our libraries and schools have moved toward this methodology. Some early McDonald's slogans can be mirrored with the purpose of our libary at that time. "The Closest Thing to Home (1967)," "You deserve a break today (1971)," and "We do it all for you (1975)."
In college, one of my most loved professors (Dr. Morrill), taught a class called the History of Charlotte/Mecklenburg. He devoted numerous class lectures and pages in his book about the beauty of Charlotte architecture and how our campus UNCC was a visionary in design. The same architect, Odell, that designed the Charlotte Observer building downtown designed two buildings of our campus. These modernist buildings were the jewels of campus in their heyday. But today the campus' new classically designed buildings almost suffocate the small, modern buildings in the heart of UNCC. The once revered design is now an eyesore and awaiting transformation.
Dr. Morrill talked openly about the McMansions that have sprung up and down the city streets. They were loosely based on the beautiful old south architecture that remained, but were slapped up quickly and with imitation. I remember him saying how the shutters don't even have a function. They just look pretty nowadays. These McMansions that look good, often lose function after several years.
The same can probably be said about the McLibraries of our present and future. They sound good and look good, but can they stand the test of time?
In college, one of my most loved professors (Dr. Morrill), taught a class called the History of Charlotte/Mecklenburg. He devoted numerous class lectures and pages in his book about the beauty of Charlotte architecture and how our campus UNCC was a visionary in design. The same architect, Odell, that designed the Charlotte Observer building downtown designed two buildings of our campus. These modernist buildings were the jewels of campus in their heyday. But today the campus' new classically designed buildings almost suffocate the small, modern buildings in the heart of UNCC. The once revered design is now an eyesore and awaiting transformation.
Dr. Morrill talked openly about the McMansions that have sprung up and down the city streets. They were loosely based on the beautiful old south architecture that remained, but were slapped up quickly and with imitation. I remember him saying how the shutters don't even have a function. They just look pretty nowadays. These McMansions that look good, often lose function after several years.
The same can probably be said about the McLibraries of our present and future. They sound good and look good, but can they stand the test of time?
The Pearson Program
What a wonderful opportunity Wisner had to participate in such a program, like the Pearson Program. If only every undergraduate student had the opportunity to connect to a subject, a book, a professor the way he did to all three. I feel like some of today's college campuses are not without some of these hallowed "Pearson Professors". I feel priveleged to have studied under one professor in my undergraduate career that really sparked my love and interest in history.
The first history class I took outside of my required electives was also my first summer course. The class; Civil War in the Carolinas. The professor; Dr. Dan Morrill. In my first class, I was unsure of what I had gotten myself into. Used to the rigors and scaffolding of typical undergraduate courses, I found myself in a small room with ten other souls, and one man who walked and talked with an infectious madness. The course text was written by Morrill himself and required reading for our 4 week course. We read every single chapter; not because he was one of the haughty dr. types that expected you to memorize every fact and date, but because he wrote the way he spoke and read...with passion. I remember that our lectures were full of Dr. Morrill reading passages and excerpts from the era we studied. He read with such passion that it ignited our attention. He did not stray from controversial material...in fact I think he took pleasure from the shock value sometimes! He also used the material, as well as the facts to spark classroom discussions. He did not stray from voicing his opinion, nor did he stray from validating our opinions. I will always be thankful to Dr. Morrill for not being afraid to teach his passion. Because of this, I took three more courses (outside of my already accomplished electives) and decided to double major in History. I know I am not alone in my adoration and admiration of him, just try and schedule a time to see him during registration for the next semester. History majors were able to pick and choose our advisors and who to see during advising periods. I always valued his opinions (even if they were vastly different from my own) and tried many times to see him as my advisor. Alas, I never did.
The first history class I took outside of my required electives was also my first summer course. The class; Civil War in the Carolinas. The professor; Dr. Dan Morrill. In my first class, I was unsure of what I had gotten myself into. Used to the rigors and scaffolding of typical undergraduate courses, I found myself in a small room with ten other souls, and one man who walked and talked with an infectious madness. The course text was written by Morrill himself and required reading for our 4 week course. We read every single chapter; not because he was one of the haughty dr. types that expected you to memorize every fact and date, but because he wrote the way he spoke and read...with passion. I remember that our lectures were full of Dr. Morrill reading passages and excerpts from the era we studied. He read with such passion that it ignited our attention. He did not stray from controversial material...in fact I think he took pleasure from the shock value sometimes! He also used the material, as well as the facts to spark classroom discussions. He did not stray from voicing his opinion, nor did he stray from validating our opinions. I will always be thankful to Dr. Morrill for not being afraid to teach his passion. Because of this, I took three more courses (outside of my already accomplished electives) and decided to double major in History. I know I am not alone in my adoration and admiration of him, just try and schedule a time to see him during registration for the next semester. History majors were able to pick and choose our advisors and who to see during advising periods. I always valued his opinions (even if they were vastly different from my own) and tried many times to see him as my advisor. Alas, I never did.
Whither...
I'm reading the book for our next discussion and found it very interesting. The paragraph about the origin of the word library spoke to me directly. I love learning about the meaning of words and how they originated. It resonates more to me than simply trying to learn vocabulary. I even use it in my second grade classroom. We study different animals and kingdoms. I taught them the meaning of arachne (spider) and the story of the skilled weaver Arachne in Greek mythology. I also taught them the meaning of Chiroptera (hand-wing) when studying bats.
I found it comforting that the word library comes from the word liber, or books. The author is right when he talks about how we have changed from being librarians to media specialists, or information techs. I find some peace in knowing that the origin and hopefully the future of librarians remains in books.
I found it comforting that the word library comes from the word liber, or books. The author is right when he talks about how we have changed from being librarians to media specialists, or information techs. I find some peace in knowing that the origin and hopefully the future of librarians remains in books.
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