No Blog posts this week (2 research portfolios, though!)

Hi all,

Outside of the two research portfolios that you have to post on your blog this week before Presentations on Wednesday, you do not have any blog posts, nor do you have to respond to a classmate this week. Take that time to work on your presentations.

Best,
Jessica

Week 6--Class info (Important! Please read!)

Hi all,

Hope you had a nice weekend! I've had a lot to catch up on, I was in Savannah for a few days presenting at a conference (similar to what you'll all have to do for your final project). A few important things:

--I've updated the class schedule to reflect the assignment that we'll start this week, the research portfolio. This class schedule also has quiz dates updated as well--our next quiz will be on Oct 1.

Updated Class Schedule 

--Instead of your usual blog post this Wednesday, you will have to do your first Research Portfolio entry. Here is more info about those research portfolio posts:

Research Portfolio Instructions

--Your grades have been updated to reflect the last two in-class assignments (so the highest grade you can now have for that is 30) and your most recent quiz. I will update the blog grades on the gradebook next weekend.

--Remember to add word counts to your blog posts, you will get points off for leaving them out.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Best,
Jessica

Class Business--Please Read!

Hi all,

I hope you had a good weekend. I am about to sit down and grade blogs, but I thought I'd touch bases with you all first:

• If you completed the extra credit assignment, please submit that to your blog by 11:59 Monday evening. 
• Be advised that you have a quiz tomorrow. Make sure you study up on research questions! 
• Your blog prompt for Monday is now posted. You'll note that you only have the one blog post this week! Make it count! 
•  Finally--and this is important--please start putting a word count on your posts. I'll mention this in class too, but be advised that I will start taking off points if the word count is not on future blog posts.

This week we'll be talking about information sources. I've posted a powerpoint online as well as some videos for you to review if you need some extra help!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Best,
Jessica

Extra Credit Opportunity

Hi all,

This Wednesday (9/12), The UWG Debate team will host Clark Atlanta University in the Campus Center Ballroom at 7:30 pm in a public debate on the topic: "African-American Students Should Atttend HBCUs"

For 10 points extra credit, attend this debate and do a write up on your blog of no fewer than 250 words on how each side of this debate is building its argument. Analyze what kind of evidence each side presents, and document anything in specific that you find interesting and relevant to the course.

General summaries of this event will not receive any credit, nor will partial credit be offered for insufficient word count. Again--to get credit, you will need to the prompt above. Take this as an opportunity to consider the context of the assignment--I want you to address this specific prompt with at least as much depth at 250 words requires. More, if you are so inspired.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Jessica

Wednesday (8/29) Blog Prompt

Hi All,

Sorry this is up late, you might have noticed that we've had a few issues with internet on campus this morning.

Here's is your prompt for today:

 Brainstorm possible topics for your group project (This is an individual assignment). Find 3 news stories and post the links to your blog. For each story, identify the Who? What? When? Where? Why? Remember the evaluation criteria we came up with in the Evaluation Carousel in class. Also remember the list of forbidden topics below (this list is also posted in CourseDen).

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LIBR 1101

Forbidden Topics

Good research requires scholars to think out of the box. Students should come up with topics that interest them and fall beyond the scope of the generic controversial topic. To that end, students may not choose any of the following subjects for their assignments.

Abortion
Animal Cruelty
Cloning/ stem cell research
Death penalty or capital punishment
Global warming, pollution, climate change, etc.
Gun control/ zero tolerance in schools
Homosexuals in the military
Piracy
Poverty/ homelessness
Product Placement
Same sex marriage
School prayer
Steroids and/or drug abuse
Underage drinking
War on terror, Invasion of Iraq, etc.

Your Group Evaluation Acronyms

Hi all,

Here are the evaluation acronyms you all came up with--fabulous job, all of you! Make sure you read through these, because we'll be voting on which one we want to be the class acronym in class on Wednesday (I know yours is the best, but no, you can't vote for your own!.) The winning group might get a treat! If I remember!

We have......drum roll please....

Relevance
Experience
Audience
Current
Trustworthy
--
Sponsor
Credentials
Author
Reliability
Factual
--
Trustworthiness
Reliability
Accurate
Point of View
--
Authority
Sponsor
Audience
Point of View
--
Credibility
Unbiased
Relevancy
References
Accuracy
--
Relevance
Authority
Trustworthy
--
Reliability
Authority
Date

Which one do you think is best?

Jessica

Today's Blog Prompt/Getting adjusted!

Hi all,

I hope you are all adjusting well to your classes (especially this one!) I know we did a fair amount of logistics stuff on Monday (and we'll do some in class on Wednesday as well) but it is important to make sure the rest of the semester runs smoothly.

This is very important: If you have not posted your gmail email address and your blog web address to our class gmail directory, do so now!  Make sure when you post your information that you post your blog web address correctly.

I am going to make every effort to finish responding to your blog posts by the time class starts today. I am enjoying getting to know you all a little better!

Please note that I've updated your CourseDen with a list of the groups you'll be working in this semester. I more or less put these groups together randomly, and assigned each group a color name. Feel free to change the name of your group to something more exciting and fun.

I've also posted the directions for your first class project (Library Ethnography) on CourseDen as well. Make sure to read these directions thoroughly.

As you might have noticed, my instructor blog is going to be one of the main ways I communicate with you all as a group, so make sure to check this space regularly for reminders and other important class information.


Here is today's blog post prompt, to be completed in no fewer than 200 words after today's class:

What are you still confused about regarding the library space and/or library services? What, if anything, are you still confused about regarding the course? What are you most excited to do or learn this semester? 

--

Remember that you also need to respond to a classmate by 11:59pm on Friday.

Let me know if you have any questions!

All best,
Jessica

Your First Blog Post

Hi all,

Once you've gotten your blog account set up, post a brief introduction so we can all get to know a little more about you.

Tell us:

Where you're from
What's your major (if you have one--if not, what is your favorite academic subject?)
Why are you taking this class?
What is something you wish you knew more about? This could be anything--why people like watching scary movies, your family history, How you make french toast, etc
A fun fact about you!

Also, post a picture if you have one!

I'll start:

I'm from Tallahassee, FL. I moved to GA about a year ago. I went to Florida State for...well, let's just say a long time. I'm a huge Seminole football fan.

I have a Bachelors in English and Humanities, a Masters in Humanities and a Masters in Library Science

I'm teaching this class because I love teaching, and I love making research fun (it's possible, I promise!)

I wish I knew more about computers--programming, web design, etc. It's all Greek to me!

A fun fact about me is that before I got into librarianship, I used to study horror movies. I even got to teach a class on horror movies for a few semesters at Florida State!

Your turn!

Jessica

Welcome to LIBR 1101!

Hi all,

Welcome to LIBR 1101: Academic Research and the Library. My name is Jessica Critten (call me Jessica!) and I look forward to working with you all throughout the semester!

First, class business: 

If you are reading this, there is a good chance that you have already set up your blog. If you haven't, you soon will! You'll use your blogs this semester to reflect on things we discuss in class, and also as a way to prepare for upcoming topics and exercises.

I will be using my blog to send you announcements, to post relevant and important information, and also to post the prompts that you'll be responding to in your individual blogs. It is important that you check this blog regularly so you don't miss anything.

 I will also try to post as much information as I can on the CourseDen site, but we will use that less in this class than, perhaps, in your other classes. This means that I will probably rarely if ever check the email in CourseDen. If you want to email me, use my westga.edu account (or post a comment to my blog!) jcritten@westga.edu

A few important items: 

• Remember that this class meets in the 3rd floor classroom. We will be working on laptops this semester, so the earlier you can get to class and set those up, the better! 
• We have a lot of logistical things to work out in this first week. So make sure that you've: 
• Set up your Gmail account
• Set up your class blog 
• Post your Gmail address to the class Gmail directory (This is linked on CourseDen as well)
• Once everyone has posted their blog info on the Gmail directory, make sure to add all of your classmates (and me!) so you can comment on their blog

Second, deep thoughts about class: 

Take a second and think about why you decided to take this class....



...done? What did you come up with? You want to do better research? Or maybe someone just signed you up for it and you really don't know what you are doing here? Both are perfectly fine places to start!

Whatever the reason, I'm sure you want to make good grades in your other classes, right? I promise you that if you put the effort into this class, you are going to finish this semester better equipped to manage all of the classes you'll ever have. Think of LIBR 1101 as a foundation: we'll give you the tools you need to write papers, to think critically, and to find the information that you need. This is not just going to be useful in college--these are skills that you'll need to be a productive citizen of the world!

Just remember: in this class--like with most everything you'll experience in life--you will get out what you put in. In other words, if you make the effort and pay attention you will learn a lot. If you do the minimum, you'll get a minimum grade.

Most important:  I am on your team. I want you to succeed, but you have to want to succeed too. Let me know how I can help you, and let me know if you are falling behind. I can't help if I don't know that you need it.

Here's to a fun and productive semester! See you soon!

Best,
Jessica