Final Project Reflections

Technology Effectiveness: We selected a multitude of components for use on our wiki, but of these I worked primarily with Community Walk, LibraryThing, and PhotoStory. I found that Community Walk was helpful in putting things into a global perspective, something all educators need to do in today's connected world. LibraryThing was useful in finding and cataloging relevant materials for the project, and later for organizing them on the website proper. PhotoStory, in conjunction with YouTube, was the method I chose for creating an original fable of my own. Although at times it was exasperating working with the program, I ultimately found the experience challenging and fun.

Concepts and Ideas of Library 2.0 and Participatory Library Service: School libraries in the 21th century will benefit from online collaboration and the social use of information, but educators will have to be even more careful than before to shield children from false or harmful information and individuals. They will have to be vigilant in creating an atmosphere where children are allowed to expand their minds without concern for the psychological or even physical harm that could result from unguarded contact with the networks of an increasingly virtual world.

Technology Issues: At first, I was concerned because I could not find a way to get my PhotoStory to upload properly to my wiki. I searched in vain for some way in the wiki's tool list to fix the problem, then decided it would probably be easier to use an intermediary source that specialized in just such a thing--aka YouTube. As I expected, once the file was uploaded, I had no trouble embedding the video in the site. It's enjoyable to watch technology solve your problems for you!

Collaboration Issues: Working with Sheila was, I admit, at first a bit frustrating because I'm not the world's most patient teacher when it comes to technology. However, she picked up on things very quickly and I eventually remembered to remind myself that I, too, have times when I'm in a situation where I'm not as comfortable with the expected requirements. I think, in the end, we both benefited greatly from the collaboration and I had a lot of fun working with my partner.

Overall, I think I gained a lot from this class and look forward to using the knowledge I gained as I continue on in library school. I may not be a twitter tweeter, but I know that I'll be taking full advantage of my blog, my YouTube account, and many other useful avenues of technology in the future. I look forward to it!