week 10

Class

The one-shot workshops were great and I learned so much from copyright to social media!  I must admit seven groups seemed a bit overwhelming because most groups felt rushed, but we finished by the end of the class period.  In general, groups had to really to watch their time to make sure everyone had a chance to present.  Because some of us felt rushed I thought that we were not able to absorb and reflect on all of the information we had just learned.  One group did bring yummy cupcakes, but one can never have enough treats…

How People Learn, Chap. 7

This chapter describes how to become an effective teacher because it is not all about the knowledge one possesses on the subject.  It is about the having both subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge (how to incorporate activities that best teach students the material).  The emphasis is getting students in disciplines such as math, history and sciences to understand the material, not just memorize it.

This concept makes sense to me.  I feel like my AP or honors teachers used these ideas, which facilitated more understanding of the material.  In less challenging courses the teacher only wanted you to get the right answer on a test or quiz.  Is that why so many people who did well on standardized tests did not always do well in college?  They could memorize the material they needed, but in college you also needed to understand what you were reading, not just regurgitate it back.

“Online Webinars! Interactive Learning Where Our Users Are: The Future of Embedded librarianship” by Susan E. Montgomery

Montgomery talks about how embedded librarianship should include online resources such as webinars in order to help and connect with students.  Less and less students are using face-to-face interactions and look towards the web for answers, therefore, librarians should move towards an online environment to keep up with the changing times.  Unlike screencast and tutorials, webinars provide interactions and two-way communication.  Webinars can be used an instructional tool to connect students and faculty outside the traditional library setting.

The Embedded Librarian Online or Face-to-Face: American University's Experiences

By Michael A. Matosa; Nobue Matsuoka-Motleya; William Mayer

This article also talks about the role of embedded librarianship in the academic librarian profession.  Embedded librarianship is separated into two categories, traditional and hybrid.  The traditional role is what most of us are accustom to because the librarian is in a specific library serving the students and faculty in that department.  A hybrid librarian spends lots of time in the university library but leaves often to perform instruction and events in the department they support.  To keep this short since most of you read it I will just say that technology such as web-based tools allows librarians to perform their tasks more successfully.  In the end their ultimate mission: helping the users.

I personally have never heard of the term embedded librarianship before this week’s readings and I must say it seems a little daunting.  In addition to providing information to students and faculty, librarians must come up with and execute different methods to reach the patrons.  If execution was not enough, the librarians must do it well and have all of these technology skills.  Whatever happened to the days of sitting at your desk waiting for patrons with questions and getting first dibs on new books before they’re released to the public?  I use to think librarians had it made, but now I see that they have to be Superwoman (or man).  We’ll see how I compare with my webinar.