Final Post

I guess, to continue my regrets, I am sorry that I did not get to understand as many aspects of HTML and CSS as I would have liked. My computer skills are not very high and I do not do to well with technology in general - it makes me nervous and insecure. However, if I do not do to well in in this course I suppose I will continue in the program though I'm not so sure what kind of a future I will have in this field. I intend, if I do pass, to continue "plugging along" and learning more incrementally so that I will finally have a good grounding in the aspects of technology in library science.

Quick Blog

In a hurry...regrets or course: wish i had more time to do work, especially read the course material more closely. Also, i need to manage my time better next semester in order to fit in lectures at a time when i can watch them all at one time. other regrets: will post later...

Final Week

This is the final week of class. All of my assignments are in. I really enjoyed this course and think I learned quite a bit thought I know that I did pretty poorly. My favorite part of the course was the Quicktime and Realplayer videos. I especially enjoyed the Weissberger talks on "Miscellaneous." Thought I do not agree with everything he says regarding the how information is organized, I do agree with his sentiments that the world is not necessarily an orderly place...

Final HTML assignment

Am working on my final assignment. I think I have done most of the work ok (yet, in I am never sure how I am doing in this course). The only trouble I am having is trying to point my links to secure web pages. I provided the links but am not sure how they can be accessed by someone else???

Finishing up...

Well, this semester is almost over and I hope I did ok. I just completed my final essay for LIS 2000 on copyright. The books by Lessig and Litman were very informative though I cannot say that I have much more of an understanidng of copyright law than I did before. In fact, I may be more confused. I canot give any concrete examples (this is all off the top of my head) but I am amazaed at the complexity and detail that lawyers create in order to keep the copyright issue alive. I like Lessig's idea that we need to take the warlike language out of the debate and not treat borrowers of content like criminals. This inhibits creativity and leasds to a more stratified society.

HTML final assignment

I guess we are supposed to create a portfolio of the work we have done so far in LIS2600. I don't feel like I did too well in this course. The funny thing is that I know this is an introductory cousre to the fundamental aspects of digital librarianship, but I had a hard time with some pretty basic tasks. It is not that the tasks were difficult in themselves but that doing this course online makes it very hard when one has questions, or when soemthing is not working the way you need it to. I found that overall the assignments were quite easy but when it came to actually completing them (without a hitch) was the hard part: I understood what to do but not how to do it.

The final LIS 2000 essay is proving to be difficult as well. I am having a herd time geting a grasp of all the complexities of copyright. I know that I could never be a lawyer in any case (no pun intended). To follow just what laws are being broken, especially, after the milleniium copyrigh act is enough to make one's head spin. It seems that there are so many laws that there is no way that they do not contradict each other. I like Remix's tone and style in regards to how it treat the way in which copyright laws should be rewritten. we need not go to "war" over people who break these laws. the laws are on the whole overbearing and "arcane" indeed.

Confusion

Had problem with the secure file transfer. Yesterday, I quickly downladed WinSCP on my home computer in order to go into my public files and change the permissions to 744. Hopefully they will be viewable now.

Semester is winding down and I hope all of my assignments are found (getting a little anxious) about this because we do not have all of our grades back and I cannot tell wheter or not my work is recorder. Oh well, guess I will find out soon enough...

Google Sites

Spent a long time yesterday trying to complete the web pag/css assignment. I had a lot of trouble with trying to transfer the css file from Amaya to Google Sites. Thought i was going crazy or would go crazy until Dr. Tomer posted a message about Google Sites not allow style sheets etc.

Pitt

Got here Saturday night. Hard to remember where everything was since I was last here, so had a hard time getting re-oriented. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday have been a whirlwhind and very hard to remember everything that I have learned (or at least been presented with) in these last few days. Met all of my cohorts and they are all very nice and most , thankfully, are a bit overwhelmed with all of the reading, etc. I was afraid I was the only one who was in the "what have I gotten myself into" boat. Most felt, as least somewhat, the same. Did not get to the International Rooms in the Tower because we got there too late (they close at 2:30). Will check them out next time...if there is time.

ALso tried some of the various ethnic restaurants in town: I highly recommend ALi BAbba! must try it agin when I get back here...

Late assignment

The Jing/Zotero assignment below was due a few weeks ago, and I just realized yesterday that I had not done it properly. I figured I should get it in even though it is too late for a grade. I thought that I could just link to the Jing page, and that would be the embedding. admiteddly, I was struggling with it the whole time and was surpirsed that I even was able to do as much as I did (make a video recording!). After working on the HTML Thoreau "fragment" assignment, another one which I am not so sure I am doing correctly, I realized that what I hade done was incorrect because I found the embedidng directions in our lis2600.info page.

Next post from Pittsburgh...

Zotero

Post Two Today

Getting ready for my trip to Pittsburgh. Been in much contact with other members of my "study group" re. the hot topic of social networking in libraries. I have not been able to find much negative in this regard. All opinions of librarians seem to be pointed at sn and web 2.0 as being inevitable and positive for the future of libraries. This is really a no-brainer but I just wanted to point out that it was hard if not impossible to find a negative opinion.

Jagd Versuch

This is the name of my new website. Jagd is German for Hunt and Versuch is German for, among other things, experiment: so the site is my experiment.

I chose Google Sites for my site because it seemed the most convenient and easy site to learn. I spent quite a long time yesterday trying to figure out how to format the fragment of Thoreau. And no, I did not get caught up in reading the fragment though I would have liked to -but who has the time for that?!! I also chose Amaya as my site composer/editor though I am still learning just what all that means. As far as I can tell, it does the HTML work for you though you can manipualte it if you want to. I am still learning how to do this via the tutorials, so I do not feel too confident or sure about it all. I have posted the fragment on my site and may change it around some more to give it a more 19th c. "look." However, I just wanted to see if I could even do that much.

Pittsburgh

I'll be back in Pittsburgh next week. It's been almost ten years since I was there last. Wow, I never thought I would be gong back for more school! I'm looking forward to seeing the Pitt campus again and checking out all that the school has to offer. I am especially interested in finding out as much about the other student's lives and comparing notes with them a to see how they are dealing with the fasttrack program...

July 4th Weekend

Lots of eating (and drinking) this weekend. Am really trying to get things done for LIS 2000, book review. Not sure what else to say now except that I really enjoy what I am learning in this program but I wish I had more time to absorb it all...

Thoughts on the Fasttrack Program

Seems like everything is coming to a head now. I have to write an essay on three books that I am reading, help prepare for a presentation and continue to do all the other regular keeping up that we are required to do for LIS 2000 and 2600: lectures, blogs, other readings, etc... The work is not difficult, just intense...I guess the best advice I would give to anyone entering the MLIS fasttrack program is to, first get plenty of sleep before you start, but secondly, manage your time wisely. That is is the most improtant thing that the program has taught me so far. As a regular, full time student it was easy to get work done and have plenty of time to do it, but the fasttrack is just that fast. I love what I am learnign but I only wish that I had more time to absorb everything.