Redhaired Future Librarian

Bloglines

I’ve switched my blogrolls to Bloglines. I’m clearing out the clutter on this page. I do plan to switch to Word Press, but I won’t have time until after the conference.

Blackboard & WebCT Merger

Meredith of Information Wants To Be Free writes about the merger of Blackboard and WebCT. I’m not crazy about this merger because I think both pieces of software are lacking in ways that do not complement each other. WebCT is supposedly more stable, but since Blackboard is the buying entity, that stability might be a thing of the past. I’m taking classes with both software this semester. Frankly, I’d like to see a third software come along. Creating a good discussion board is not a mystery, yet neither Blackboard nor WebCT has managed it. I started my distance learning using email, then went on to WebTYCHO. WebTYCHO was a bit too complicated and slow, but in a lot of ways, it had advantages over Blackboard and WebCT, especially when it came to the arrangement of the discussion board. A good discussion board is essential in distance learning.

Blackboard & WebCT Merger

Meredith of Information Wants To Be Free writes about the merger of Blackboard and WebCT. I’m not crazy about this merger because I think both pieces of software are lacking in ways that do not complement each other. WebCT is supposedly more stable, but since Blackboard is the buying entity, that stability might be a thing of the past. I’m taking classes with both software this semester. Frankly, I’d like to see a third software come along. Creating a good discussion board is not a mystery, yet neither Blackboard nor WebCT has managed it. I started my distance learning using email, then went on to WebTYCHO. WebTYCHO was a bit too complicated and slow, but in a lot of ways, it had advantages over Blackboard and WebCT, especially when it came to the arrangement of the discussion board. A good discussion board is essential in distance learning.

Presentation Remote

I got my presentation remote today. Of course, I don’t have my presentation ready yet. I’m going to be prepared for anything from 15 to 30 minutes. We’re also preparing for a complete technological failure, so I need to have my graphs and charts ready for printing next week. Of course, I have a paper, a story, and an assignment due this weekend, and a six-hour class on Saturday. But. I’ll get there.

Ideas and Caffeine

I have to stop trying to run on ideas and caffeine. Stuff gets going in my head, though. My research is finally rolling smoothly– at the very last possible minute. Now, I have this idea that I might start podcasting, but I’m not sure exactly what I want to podcast. I really don’t want to do bloggy navel-gazing. A couple of ideas I have are podcasting annotations of YA novels on my Teen/Tween blog or podcasting commentary on various library or education books I am reading or have read. I don’t want to podcast just to podcast, though, and I don’t want to start something I can’t keep up with.

Swamped

This semester has been unbelievably hectic, which is why I haven’t been posting here. Cardinal sin for a blogger, and I should know better, since what I’m researching right now is library blogs. (Only public libraries in the US, for now.) It took forever to get my Access database form the way I wanted it, but collecting the data is going so much more smoothly now. I hope to post some of my informal musings on the data soon.

I’m also researching early censorship attempts in Missouri youth services. We’re trying to fill some gaps in library history with our classwork.

Personal projects are going by the wayside this semester.