Recap of July, so far

I can’t believe I’m halfway through my summer experience as coordinator for the Community Workshop Series. I didn’t anticipate spending so much time trying to figure out what I would teach for the new Web 2.0-ish classes. Makes perfect sense to me that other librarians and volunteers want to stick to a regular schedule, although I had a great time in the new classes. We spent a few weeks covering lots of fun things on the Web, like Picasa, blogs, wikis, and my favorite: online social networks.

I hit an unavoidable hitch in the social networks class when we discovered that the computers didn’t have the administrative rights to download Second Life. So we talked about it a bit and I described to them how they could access the site, what they might find there, how it makes some people (me!) motion sick, how it can actually be quite boring, but also how educators and librarians are finding it useful.

Researching for the class, I found someone local who has a very, very public and social presence and we spent some time looking at her Facebook profile on the screen. We toured her Twitters, her delicio.us site, last.fm and other things she has signed up for. It was a great example! I always tell students to write online as though their words were being projected on the world’s largest screen to millions and millions of people. And there we were, looking at a projection of a total stranger’s life online, for all to see. They got a kick out of it.

We also took a look at Google’s Lively to give them an idea of where social networks could go. I loved the fact that the class had such a diverse group of students. They weren’t so interested in Facebook, but they were very interested in some of the niche social network sites we looked at. Some people scoffed at the idea of spending so much time visiting virtually with online people, including strangers. But I encouraged them to have an open, yet cautious mind about finding community online.

So what else…oh, the fall schedule is done. A big relief. And not as complicated as I thought it would be. The new coordinator begins September 1, so it made sense to get the new schedule out there to the different librarians well in advance. That way the new coordinator will have some time to ease into the job.

In a few days, I’ll be teaching Google Docs and Open Office. I’m not sure why, but the class was called Microsoft Office Online, so I imagine I’ll be de-confusing people at the beginning of our workshop. It’s part of the theme of introducing people to some of the newer stuff online, so it should bring out a curious and diverse group.

We’ve also put a summer meeting on the calendar for volunteers, librarians and friends of the series. We have 60 people on the listserv, but I imagine it will be a much smaller crowd that shows, particularly since the meeting will be at 11:30am. There will be another recruiting-type orientation when classes begin, and my supervisor had a great idea to take the new coordinator around to all of the libraries to welcome him/her and show her the beat.

I wasn’t satisfied with Google calendar as a substitute for what we’re using to schedule instructors right now. It’s a bit of a drag on our Web master’s time, having to put all those names in little drawers online. But Google calendar just doesn’t have the features to display things in an easy-to-read manner. Basically, you have to click each calendar item in order to pop in and view instructors for that event, instead of being able to view them just by looking at the calendar. I don’t know if it’s laziness, impatience or what. Maybe just being annoyed at inefficiency.

Spanish-speaking classes are still on hiatus, waiting to get closer to October when we’ll meet with our contact at one of the local elementary schools. Our Burmese workshops are crawling slowly forward; we’re waiting to hear back from another elementary school to find out if the principal wants to host computer workshops for some of the Burmese families. I think it will require a lot of effort, but it will be such a rewarding experience for everyone: volunteers, families, school community. I hope the principal is intrigued. I put a description of the program together and emphasized working as partners.

The most exciting item, however, is loosely linked to the Community Workshop Series — not really part of my field experience. Back in the spring, I was all fired up about a Learn & Serve grant, but we didn’t have quite the time or planning to get an application together. That was a steep learning curve…but out of that process, I realized that a Certificate in Public Service might raise the profile of the Community Workshop Series for SILS students. It could be a terrific pipeline for the workshops. Fortunately, one of my professors is a librarian and researched how the process of creating a Certificate program works. He passed his knowledge to my supervisor, and from here it will enter the world of faculty meetings, paperwork and human toil. I hope it happens. I think it will be good for our program and good for the CWS.

On a side note, I got a job as Director of Social Networking off campus, but it got me thinking that our Community Workshop Series could really use a Facebook group. I sailed that one by my supervisor and waiting to hear back from her. I wouldn’t mind administering it while I’m at school, and since our group is somewhat far-flung across libraries, and possibly schools, it might be nice to see who is who.

This field experience has made me notice the interdisciplinary nature of my academic interests. I’ve been looking at PhD programs and think the Educational Psychology, Measurement and Evaluation emphasis in the Graduate School/School of Education would be the best fit. But I also think I would do best in some kind of interdisciplinary arrangement. Still trying to figure out how that works. But teaching at the computer workshops makes me want to know more about cognition, and how we learn — particularly technological skills.

I’d like to do my master’s paper on the CWS and evaluate how students learn from face-to-face instruction as well as online tutorials. I can’t imagine an online tutorial being anywhere near as satisfying or rich as in-person, but for those students who like to really focus and practice, an online tutorial may be a great supplement. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to create a bank of tutorials over the summer, although I’ll be done teaching classes the first week of August and could maybe put some together in the weeks before my position ends August 31.

So far, this field experience has been nothing but fun. I love the opportunity to teach and be with lots of people, and then the opposite — being able to work remotely away from the commotion. It has perfect combination of being cooped up and reaching out.

Recap of June’s activities

(oops…meant to publish this June 24, but alas. It was languishing in my draft folder)

I thought I would have lots of time to blog about coordinating the Community Workshop Series, but there’s been a flurry of activity, plus teaching, and lots of emails to write. So here’s a recap of what’s been happening in June:

One of our instructors met a Burmese refugee at a computer workshop, and her ESL teacher asked if we could offer classes specifically for the Burmese community. I spoke with my supervisor about it, and apparently CWS did a one-time class several years ago with students from Raleigh. It was too expensive for them to bus across the Triangle, so the workshops came to an end. However, I did some research and found out that there are 200+ Burmese-Karen refugees in Chapel Hill and Carrboro (as of 2007; there are likely more now). A former town council member contacted us with really good questions about how we would accommodate some of the limitations these students have; for example, transportation, language, advertising the classes, shortage of Karen language translators, etc.

Since our workshops typically rely on libraries and their librarians to help advertise the classes and register patrons, we would have to shift gears with the Burmese students and figure out a way to work with them directly. Because my time as coordinator ends in August, I want to be careful that we don’t offer something unsustainable to future volunteers. We might have to do a pilot series to see what the challenges are.

One idea is to offer the classes at another elementary school where many of the Burmese children are students. A week ago or so, the principal at another elementary school responded to my email about setting up computer classes for Spanish-speaking parents, and she replied enthusiastically to the idea. Perhaps we could try both of these programs out in the fall when school is in session. This will give us a chance to talk to volunteers and gauge interest.

I’ve also been looking at the Gates Foundation, since they have an admirable public libraries initiative that touches on all of the issues we’re trying to address with the Community Workshop Series. I just found out that they funded Web Junction, which is a fantastic resource. I try to spend a little bit of time there each day to see what others have to say about public libraries and information literacy.

My supervisor had a great idea about offering information literacy classes to librarians in rural areas, particularly Web 2.0 kind of classes. It looks like the Gates Foundation offers grants to select states on a rolling basis, and 2008 is North Carolina’s year to apply. But I haven’t figured out yet how the grant process works.

I also thought it would be a good idea to contact the local newspaper and see if they would do a story about the Community Workshop Series. Particularly if we’re going to address new kinds of patrons like the Burmese and Spanish-speaking communities. The libraries have been doing a good job of promoting the workshops, but it can’t hurt to raise a little awareness about what we’re doing and why.

Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out how to add new people to the listserv, which (through UNC) is one of the most non user-friendly sites I’ve seen in a while. I need to get our volunteers and librarians together to discuss the upcoming fall schedule, and see if there are things that need attention. The new coordinator officially begins September 1, so there should be a fall schedule in place. Otherwise, the new hire will get slammed right at the beginning of the semester.

In a few days, I meet with Kim V and my supervisor to go over the CWS website and learn how to muck around in the back end. Hopefully we’ll have some time to brainstorm a few of the other projects we’re working on, and I can get back to my contact in the Burmese community with some answers about how those classes will work.

So, lots of balls in the air, and sometimes I feel as though I spend all of my time emailing people. But I feel good about the things we’re working on, and even if the projects don’t start until after my field experience is done, at least they’re getting some traction.