Third Day Reflections

The brain freeze continues. We covered so much today, I could not absorb it all. Nevertheless I have a cursory view of social networks and a better understanding of digital libraries and copyright issues because of our discussions.

Our morning started with a review of the subjects we covered yesterday. Digital libraries was our first topic of discussion. Pioneer, Ebsco, ERIC, and UEN were a few of the larger collections mentioned. In my reading, a statement in a paper by Professor Stephen P. Harter of Indiana University really caught my attention. He wrote, "As we build new digital libraries we add functionality--capabilities that have never been present in traditional libraries. At the same time, however, we are losing important properties of the traditional library. In our efforts to build new systems we rarely ask what aspects of traditional libraries are important to retain." Sandie asked what may be lost by digitizing libraries. As an example, I related my experience of handling the original parchment pages of the sailing logs written by my great grandfather in 1859 as he set sail from Lowestoft, England. No digital copies could have provided the sensation of feel, sight and even smell of those old documents.

Copyright concerns was the next topic of discussion. It was interesting to hear how the various teachers in the cohort had differing opinions of what was permissible to reproduce, distribute, or cite under the current regulations. Although the TEACH Act and the Fair Use concept of the Copyright Law of 1976 specify situations in which copyrighted materials may be used without express permission of the copyright holder, with the technology available today, it is very easy to abuse those provisions. A basic knowledge of copyright law is essential for any educator.

Development tools and learning management systems such as Moodle, WebCT, and WebCT Vista were reviewed as well as opencourseware.

To give us an idea of what our final project should encompass, Sandie displayed several submissions from last year. Kim Ziebarth's presentation had a professional look and feel that was most appealing.

After the lunch break we participated in a team building activity that produced surprising results. We were paired in teams of two, and one group was shown a picture for 60 seconds and then had to replicate it on a sheet of paper. Only one person on the other team was shown a picture for the same 60 seconds and then had to describe the picture in such a way that the other team member could replicate it. The only difference between the two groups was the fact that the team member who had to describe it to his/her teammate could return to look at the image where the other team could not. In analyzing the results, it was concluded that collaboration was mandatory for the success of the team where both participants had viewed the picture, whereas in the other situation, it was the narrative skill of the observer and the artistic skill of artist that determined the outcome.

We then relocated to the computer lab and Sandie demonstrated SKYPE. It was an awesome experience to receive calls via the internet. She further demonstrated the various features of My Space. Having only heard about the site, it was very interesting to explore its many features.

After a brief orientation of tomorrow's activities, we were dismissed for the day. However, I am sure my brain will be mulling over many of the new concepts until late in the evening.