Media Literacy Makerspace Proposal

 Post a reflection of no more than 500 words to your blog in which you reflect on your involvement in the group presentation.   What was the collaborative experience like compared with the experiences you've had with other tools? How do you see yourself using presentation software in the future? How do you rate Google Slides as a presentation medium compared to Microsoft Powerpoint or Keynote?

This part of the group assignment went better than the first. Since we had set up a Google Doc for the Makerspace Equipment, it was an easy transition to Google Slides. Shared between us from using the Google Doc. It was a do your section, and then later, we will meet and figure out how we would be presenting the content. Compared to other things I have used when doing group work at school or now at work, this was more independent work. It was everyone knows what they are presenting on also the information if we need to contact each other, it would be through comments made on the slides or messages through Canvas. When I'm at work and work with other departments, we use Microsoft Teams and use the chat to communicate and send files, then meet in person to go over things. This is we know what we have to do plus we are all busy with other things it will get done. Using Google Slides instead of PowerPoint is interesting because it is easy to see who has made comments and when as well as previous versions of the slides are easy to find. For example, if someone was editing something then accidentally deleted something, it is easy to back to the previous version and see what was there and be able to pull that up and not be deleted by accident. I would use Google Slides more, but I like the ease of PowerPoint since I've used that one more than anything.

 

Makespace Inventory Reflection

 Reflect on the process of creating your makerspace inventory.

It was interesting to start working as a group together more not just for one class and it be a quick group work assignment. This was one that needed more time and research to be done for the project. It was a very slow start in figuring out what we wanted to do. Someone works at Elmhurst Library and they have a Makerspace so we ran with that idea but it is not the Elmhurst Library per se that we are doing it on it is loosely based on it. There was a moment when they didn’t want us using Elmhurst Library when they brought it up they were just saying it as an example. Though that is not what we wanted to do exactly. We came up with basing it loosely on the Elmhurst Library so we could have an idea of the demographics of a place and not try to create more research on ourselves. Diving the work up was another story since we have five group members there were only four of us that we were able to meet when we divided up the work. Emailing/messaging the other group member with a link to the Google Doc so they can have access to it same as the rest of the group members. I suggested doing a wishlist of equipment instead of just picking right off the bat what we wanted to buy. The reasoning behind this was why to choose what we wanted without at least looking to see what else is out there. Also, while it is a wishlist it doesn’t mean we had to get everything. I knew that from the start we were going to go over budget but it gives us a chance to reflect on what we actually want to keep. The makerspace we are creating is a brand new space with the idea that there wasn’t a makerspace beforehand. It is about bringing in teens and young adults in their 20s and 30s. Having that in mind seeing what could attract people in that demographic while also trying not to alienate other demographics. Making the makerspace a space for all while trying to get more people to use the library that previously has not seen a need to use the library.

It was slow progress since people couldn’t start doing things till the weekend or whenever they had free time. Since I had free time I just started adding things to my section that I shared with someone else just went a little overboard. Although I did make sure to share the responsibility and have the other person look up other things that I thought of but didn’t have the time to look up how much they cost. They also added items that they thought would be great additions to the makerspace. It was slow to fill out the document with what we needed to do. It was because of everyone’s busy schedules and that is part of life trying to make time for things. This project has shown me that being a bit organized is helpful but if everyone’s schedules are busy and trying to set up a time for everyone to meet can be impossible. Although it is important it can also be helpful using other forms of communication in the document we used we used a lot of comments to ask/comment on things in the document. I had to be patient when waiting for a response. As well as knowing I was probably causing the same problem when I wasn’t online and had to work. I had to learn to not let that stress me out and learn to let it go I’m still learning.

 

 

Interactive Lesson Group Reflection

 Starting off the group work not knowing each other was interesting. This is a new experience doing group work completely online. It was a slow start to figuring out exactly what we were presenting/doing for the assignment. It was a slow start to figure out what we were doing who we were doing a program for. While some of us, especially me, I work with kids more than adults. We started off with the idea of doing a program about what copyright is for kids. Then someone suggested would kids even come to a program about copyright when they would be learning about that in school. Is it something that would interest them to come to the library? The answer to that question was no, we wouldn’t even go to a program like that. The easy part we kind of agreed on from the start was doing an EdPuzzle. Finding a video was a little bit harder. While we narrowed down topics I decided to start looking at YouTube videos to see what the top search results were for some of the topics we were thinking about. As well as the other group members looked into videos to use. Once we figured out which video we took a look at when we would pause the video to ask questions or make a comment. That took a bit in agreeing when to pause or exactly what questions to ask. In the end, we compromised on questions/comments to ask. It was good to start working with others in an online environment. It was a nice easy group project to start with.

Resources Used

EdPuzzle

Curation Sites Reflection

    When I was looking at curation sites, I opened all of them and just chose the ones that seemed easy to use. I started with Pearltrees which was the first curation site I chose. It was easy to set up and start once I figured out what I wanted to add to create a collection. Then I tried Diigo it was not easy to figure out, so I skipped it. Then I started with Wakelet which was easier than Diigo. It gave me the option to add the extension which I used. Adding all the tabs that I had opened was easy since it had access to which were open. Though I just copied the link for the website and pasted it to the collection I created. The next curation site that I used was Symbaloo which was fun to use and easy. I can see how easy it is to view the websites that I added to the collection for Symbaloo.

What I think is important when creating curations sites is ease of use. Which I got when using Pearltrees and Wakelet. It was not easy using Diigo. While it is a nice website, I may use it for the future by taking notes and adding articles for a research project that I think would work great. Ease of use straight off is great for just including websites. If using it to write notes and other things the Diigo website is a good choice just not for me. Another one that I looked at but didn’t use was Pinterest I have and still use it. For this assignment I thought about how each one would work for developing my PLN and I do not see how that could work for me. Although I’m not discounting it for future use but for now the one’s that I would use were Pearltrees, Wakelet, and Symbaloo. Diigo I see its use for research projects in the future and Pinterest more of a collection of things to use for when I have multiple ideas going on and I need a quick look at what I can do/create. I can see Symbaloo working great for programs with kids to show what they are or even for parents. Although I feel like Wakelet is the one that is would work better for adults to see a preview of the website plus a snippet of what it is about it looks more professional. Similar to Pearltrees although Pearltrees is a little less professional looking but still a good site to use. As I was doing this assignment, I am partially a curator but really more of a dumper. I chose more than 10 websites to include in the curation sites. If I had gone with Pinterest the curation site that I am most familiar with. It would have been a mess of a whole lot of websites and many other things.

Here are the links to my curation sites:

Pearltrees

Symbaloo

Wakelet

Media Literacy

 At first glance, it seems that media literacy is more of a thing that school librarians can do. While true it is easier for a school librarian to prepare a lesson about media literacy it doesn’t mean that public libraries can’t do a program on media literacy. It would just have to be a different take on media literacy. It wouldn’t be the actual topic about what media literacy is. Although one can touch on it before getting started on a program.

The questions from the article “What is media literacy, and why is it important” to ask when teaching kids about media literacy got me thinking about it as well. On how one can do a program about media literacy at least for kids some questions to ask. The questions from the article were:

• Who created this? Was it a company? Was it an individual? (If so, who?) Was it a comedian? Was it an artist? Was it an anonymous source? Why do you think that?
• Why did they make it? Was it to inform you of something that happened in the world (for example, a news story)? Was it to change your mind or behavior (an opinion essay or a how-to)? Was it to make you laugh (a funny meme)? Was it to get you to buy something (an ad)? Why do you think that?
• Who is the message for? Is it for kids? Grown-ups? Girls? Boys? People who share a particular interest? Why do you think that?
• What techniques are being used to make this message credible or believable? Does it have statistics from a reputable source? Does it contain quotes from a subject expert? Does it have an authoritative-sounding voice-over? Is there direct evidence of the assertions its making? Why do you think that?
• What details were left out, and why? Is the information balanced with different views -- or does it present only one side? Do you need more information to fully understand the message? Why do you think that?
• How did the message make you feel? Do you think others might feel the same way? Would everyone feel the same, or would certain people disagree with you? Why do you think that?

All these questions as I read them I started to answer them about myself and the things I post and what I read on the internet. These questions come to my mind whenever a relative posts something on Facebook and I’m thinking why would they post something like this it doesn’t even make sense and it's not true.

Programs one can do is figure out the real vs. fake news. Creating content in YouTube videos or even starting up a side business. Knowing some basics on what message one is putting out in the world is important to understand. As librarians, we help a great many people out whether that is helping them print something to helping them get started on a project. If we as librarians know the basics of media literacy one has a better chance of explaining to someone why something can’t be done the way they want.

 

Resources Used:

What is media literacy, and why is it important? (commonsensemedia.org)

Media Literacy Starts at the Library | by EveryLibrary | EveryLibrary | Medium                                                                            

A Simple Guide to Copyright for Librarians: 15 Essential Facts & Tips - Copyrightlaws.com: Copyright courses and education in plain English

Reflections on the Process of Choosing a Blog Site

 It was interesting trying to choose a blogging platform. I had to do one previously for another class it was also part of the class requirement to keep up a blog. I decided to start with WordPress I had heard good things about it. I got overwhelmed with the many choices WordPress had it was a little bit hard to get it started. So, I decided to use what I had used for my previous blog that was Blogger. Since I was already familiar with it seemed like a good choice and easy to get started with. Every other site I looked at kind of confused me on how to get started on doing things. They looked nice but there is a learning curve to things and I would rather do something that is familiar to me. Although while not as professional looking as other blogging sites it is a great place to start for does wanting to blog. A nice way to introduce people to blogging if anyone asks. It’s a start to creating a PLN (Personal Learning Network) in the future. Being able to share what one learns on-site that is for that and not mixed in with other things is beneficial for people. Overall it was interesting taking a look at other blogging sites.

 

Resources used:

WordPress

Blogger