Process Essay - or what I learned from this project
My Expert Teaching and Learning Project started out as a chance to show my coworkers on the main campus the benefits of using Instant Messaging. In November, the Library Director on the main campus allowed us to use Mosio for Instant Messaging. We already had Text-a-Librarian with Mosio and it was clunky and awkward. Needless to say, Chat-with-a-Librarian is also clunky and awkward. The project then morphed into a presentation to research what else was available since we’d gotten the go ahead to use IM. This project was designed to show free resources as well as paid resources so that I could make a case with the Library Director and the other Reference Librarians for a program that would fit our needs, be cost efficient and student friendly.
Even as I started the project, I was aware that IM’ing is an old technology but it is new technology to our campus so I had to be careful not to appear to be “talking down” to the other librarians, all of whom have more time in the field than I do. Part of what I learned during this project was that I need to take things slowly and show what I want to do, not just forge ahead without all my facts in place. In fact, this project has made me slow down and rethink much of my job. Because I was self-employed for so many years, I didn’t have to persuade any one to change programs or move ahead with current technology. I was the boss. Here I am one of four full-time Librarians and I am learning about academia. It can move very, very slowly. One our Librarians just gave notice that he will be retiring at the end of June. I hope that whoever is hired has both feet in the 21st Century so we can continue this discussion and make some good decisions about our future.
Instant Messaging is a great deal more complicated than I expected because there are so many different programs to fit so many different needs. I have to look at what Instant Messaging really is. In the beginning, I just thought of it as a way to text questions instantly from students to the Librarian and back. There are so many different aspects of it. Do we want to be able to video chat, just text, use VoiP or maybe even look into visual chat? This conversation will continue for quite some time.
When we return to school in the Spring of 2013, I will revisit my Expert Teaching and Learning Portfolio created for this course and edit out all the comments made about Merced College. I will present it to the Librarians on the main campus to see if they want to take the next step with Instant Messaging or keep the program that we already have. In fact, this might even open the door to some of the other technology that will make our library site better.
I learned a lot about critical thinking during this project since I had to pay attention to what I read and apply it to my project. More is not better when it comes to critically assessing materials. I also used some creative thinking skills in making this portfolio. I had to think through what I wanted it to look like as well as what I wanted it to say. I could not have completed this portfolio without a computer but Weebly made it much easier. All three of the pieces of this course – computers, thinking and learning – have come together in this project. They are a little like a braid, they each need to be combined together to create good learning spaces. Computers change the way we do things but they also change the way we think. Successful learning is dependent on relevance but being able to critically think about what we are learning is also important. Critical and creative thinking is, of course, the whole point of education!