Week 15 - my favorites

I found everything we read and viewed about assitive technology very enlightening. It made me so much more aware of issues and needs of people with disabilities and that there are many ways to overcome what might seem like impossible situations. In line with this, I feel like I learned much from Jurkowski's chapter (12) on tech plans. (I found the entire text to be very easy to read, understand, and apply which is a huge plus!) Pretty much being clueless regarding tech plans, it was a blessing how clearly the chapter was organized and how easy it was to follow. Sometimes in the past I lhave tended to look at documents like tech plans or policy manuals as more trouble than they're worth, but they really make you stop and take stock of the current status of things and put clear goals in place before trying to gallop down a path that could get rocky if not pre-planned well.

The Shelly text was also very good in general because of the great visuals and practical materials. I think I enjoyed chapter 8 the most. Maybe it's just my personality, but I really like reading and learning about ethical issues. It was a good chapter that covered so many things from security and safety to objectionable materials and copyright. The questionnaire on pg. 496 had some really thought-provoking statements. In addition, it was very applicable because I had an issue with a patron accessing pornographic materials in the library where I work - talk about awkward!! I still am not sure with the filters, etc. we have how he was able to access the sites, but he managed. (Just in case anyone is wondering what I did, to make a long story short, I contacted the local authorities because the community has had other issues with this patron and I've been told not to confront him on my own. I work by myself the majority of the time and my board is always concerned for my safety.)

Jurkowski, O. L. (2006). Technology and the school library. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press

Shelly, G.B., et. al. (2008). Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom, (5th
ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning