Reflections: Assessment Course Week 1

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia

Week 1 of Assessment in E-Learning has gone pretty well. No major problems logging into the systems, which is always a plus. Also, accessed the wikispaces easily so that was fun.

The readings were pretty interesting and we had some great discussions as to why multiple assessments are necessary when assessing student learning. I especially enjoyed reading about the positive and negative aspects of discussions and forums. My housemate does not see the value of discussion forums when the facilitator is not an active member of the discussions. He feels that people everyone is "learning" that their opinions are not a valid way for him to learn about the topic.

I totally disagree. I find that discussions are a great way for me to learn about what other people are doing out in various fields. It also is a way for me to reflect on the readings more than if I was discussing them in the classroom. Also, I am one of those students who absorbs more in class and am not prone to participate over more extroverted students, so, discussions are my way of participating.

The Lost Art of Picture Collections

From Wired Magazine Taryn Simon's Picture Collection

I just read this article about Taryn Simon's exhibition called Picture Collection in Wired. It reminded me of when I used to work at the California College of Art's Meyer Library. We had a file cabinet with our picture collection. Thinking about it, it was not that long ago when you had to physically go through these folders to find inspiration for drawings, paintings and creating things. I remember having to go through clippings to figure out the best folder to put them in.

I would love to go see this exhibit in San Francisco at the John Berggruen Gallery. It would be worth seeing how Simon organized those images. But another great way to enjoy the New York Public Library's collection is to take a look at their website, NYPL Picture Collection. I am going to take some time to explore that site today just for fun.

Anyway, it was nice going down memory lane thinking about how much has changed in libraries from when I first started working in them.

Book Display : Library Prisoner

Library Prisoner
Originally uploaded by Enokson

Enokson posted this on flickr! What a great sign :)

I would use it as a book display idea.

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Reading Rainbow..thanks, Jimmy Fallon

My reading related video of the day. I am listening to Jimmy Fallon's album, "Blow Your Mind" and it is cracking me up! Also, I do miss Reading Rainbow. That was the best show growing up. It definitely got me reading. Also, I love the Doors. So this is like 3 things I like combined into one! Hurray!!!

Book Drops: Dead To You by Lisa McMann

Dead To You by Lisa McMann. New York: Simon Pulse, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-4424-0388-8

Ethan De Wilde has been found.
He was abducted when he was 7. He is now 16.
He doesn't remember anything from the first 7 years of his life...That happens, right? Or does it?

I could not put this book down. It is a pretty intense book that explores what happens when a missing child is reunited with their family. It's painful, there's anger, but there is also hope and understanding.

I don't want to say more except that it is worth picking up. I would say this is for a mature 8th grader. There is some explicit language but it's not used excessively like in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist where the F-Bomb was used all the time!!!

Book Drops: The Silence of Our Friends (GN) by Mark Long, et. al.

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

 - Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos, and Nate Powell

First Second. ISBN: 9781596436183. Jan 2012.

Last night, I finally had the chance to read Mark Long's The Silence of Our Friends. I ordered it for our collection because it received good reviews and I am a fan of Nate Powell. This graphic novel is engaging, intense and worth adding to your collection. Mark Long takes us through his recollections of growing up in a Texas town where the KKK put fliers for rallies on your door and down the street the civil rights movement was intensifying and his father befriends a black professor. Their families become friends even though it put them all in danger.

There is strong language in this graphic novel, that, if taken completely out of context, certain people would find questionable. However, I think, it is an important addition to any collection. There are lots of things to talk about if you are teaching this to a class. 

Is Amazon anti-libraries?

Have you taken a look Amazon's main page today? These is a nice letter announcing the exclusive deal Amazon has with JK Rowling and the availability of the Harry Potter series (which I LOVE ) on the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

I am curious, is Bezos anti-library. Are libraries just another business to take over? Should librarians be worried about this?

On the one hand, we all saw this coming right? On the other hand, libraries need to shift and recalibrate and reassess how we can better serve our communities. I know, not everyone can afford a Kindle and a prime account but what else do we do? Do we pull our hair out and worry? Do we move forward and look at what else we offer our communities and focus on those things?

Things to think about...