musings

so ... my aim to continue regularly blogging has failed. But as i like to procrastinate, i thought I'd add some now instead of working on my assignment.

I am well into the ETL503 resourcing the curriculum.

One of the things that captured me was this notion of being in a post-literate society. What! No way! I hear you mutter

well actually i think i agree. Not in the purest sense of the word, that is, as that writing and reading are no longer necessary or common. But in the sense that the written word is not always now the first point for information.

I've come rather late to the "i" revolution, but i have to say that since getting my ipad i have changed the way i view and use technology and information. I now often find myself watching TV while surfing the Internet or writing emails and often now my first response for information is from the Internet not print (though i am of course choosing reliable sources!) and that often i am using visual images, video, photo podcast etc rather than reading. And one must also consider social media and the way in which it is being used to convey information in new ways.

Do i think the book is dead. No way! although i can read a book on my ipad - its not as comfortable as holding a book while lying down in bed - and lets face it there's nothing nicer than opening a book and snuggling down with a friend (a novel that is!)

ETL 503 Assignment 1 reflection

I found assignment 1 really useful and as the topic area was of my choice, I will use these in the future. What really hit home was the usefulness of actually gaining a clear picture of who your users are and what their needs might be. It was good technique and practice to develop a criteria that accommodated the syllabus needs and allowed these to be placed alongside the users needs and the school and pedagogical contexts within which they were to operate. Needless to say both Bishop, K (2007) and Hughes-Hassell and Mancall (2005) featured heavily, and influenced much of my approach.

Bishop, K. (2007). Community analysis and needs assessment. In The collection program in schools : concepts, practices and information sources (4th ed.) (pp. 19-24). Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.

Hughes-Hassell, S., and Mancall, J., (2005) collection Management for Youth: Responding to the needs of Learners. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.