Class
Despite the fact that we were all punchy due to lack of sleep and paper overload, class was decent this past week (though I will admit that it got hard to stay awake and pay attention around the 6:45 mark). I especially enjoyed our group discussion about the bloggers we follow and the issues that they cover. Even though I knew that we would have overlap between the blogs that we follow, it was still neat to have those connection moments (“You read the Bubble Room? Me too!” “You hate the Daring Librarian? You’re not alone there!”)
I know I brought this up briefly in our group, but we didn’t have much time for a response. I’m curious about people’s views on the ethics of librarians’ personal facebooks. What do you do when a patron (who you only know through the library) requests to be your friend? If you are friends with library patrons, what obligations do you have (if any) regarding what you do and do not post?
Hoffert
As someone who loves reading, I always find it exciting to learn about interest in book clubs. It was neat to read about videoconferencing with authors, and I hope that it’s something that happens even more often than the article suggested it does (given the increased popularity of Skype, I bet it does). I was intrigued by the idea of book club meetings that focus on a theme, rather than a particular book that everyone reads. Though I recognize that this is a great way to bring together people interested in reading different types/genres of books, I’m curious as to how discussion of these would work out. Does it end up being various people summarizing the books they read, or can discussion of bigger issues emerge? Additionally, I’m someone resistant to all kinds of spoilers-- I don’t know that I would want to participate in a book discussion where people are talking a lot about books I haven’t read.
Metzger and Tredway (but, to be honest, mostly Metzger)
I had never heard of these Socratic seminars, and boy are they an exciting way to foster learning in high school English classrooms. After finishing Metzger’s article, I found myself wishing my English classes had done some of these seminars.
Metzger’s point that mediocre readers get ignored in the classroom was something I’d never thought of, but I realized how true it can be; the poor readers get extra help and attention, the great readers speak up more and/or get advanced reading classes, what happens to the middle group?
Though I’m still a little fuzzy on what the outside circle does during these seminars (how exactly do they interpret the inner circle’s thoughts?), I like the idea of an environment that fosters a “non-competitive” discussion.
I noticed that the examples of Socratic Seminars that Metzger gave were all incredibly short works or passages. Would the seminars work when discussing a larger piece, or would it be necessary to give directions to focus on a particular passage?
Though it may be considered unprofessional to have a personal Facebook account, I do not think we can still uphold that notion in this day and age. I think it is impossible to ask a librarian not to have personal Facebook page. Even if they friend a library patron I feel that they still have the right to post what they want on their page. They also have the right to decline the friend request from the library patron. That is why libraries should have their own Facebook page.
ReplyDeleteCool question about Facebook! I also wish we had more time to discuss that in class, but this is the next best thing! If I were in the public library setting, I probably wouldn't friend public library patrons unless I was actually their friend outside of the library. But I might get a work-specific Facebook account or direct patrons to friend/like the library on Facebook. It might depend on the community, too, and I suspect some libraries are going to develop policies about this. As far as I'm aware, it hasn't come up at AADL yet, but I could see them being one of the first libraries to address it.
ReplyDeleteIn the world of schools, it's generally frowned upon to "friend" your students, but its becoming more and more common to have school/teacher/class-specific Facebook pages that might be used strictly for communicating about school stuff. Since teachers have been fired for stuff they put out on social networking sites, we're well aware of the need to be careful with our online identities. I wouldn't friend students as a school librarian, but I would probably have a Facebook account for the school library (if I were in a high school, since you have to be 13 to be on FB legally) that I would use to communicate with students specifically about school library stuff (new resources, events, research tips, etc.)
I share your concerns about thematic book discussion groups in which everyone reads a different book. How do we get past everyone summarizing what he/she read? How do we encourage thoughtful exchange and opening up minds without giving away too much of the books? It seems like it'd be a great way to learn about other books to read, but difficult to get into too much depth without spoiling the books.
And yes, what about those "average" students? Most students are going to fall in that mediocre/average group, and letting them just coast through without challenging them isn't going to help them improve. Socratic Seminar does seem like a great way to get more participation out of more students and maybe even level the playing field while still allowing for differentiation.
The thematic book discussion seems cool but I hate spoilers too! Knowing me, I would probably read everything that everyone else is reading before hand, just so that I wouldn't hear any spoilers. That kind of defeats the purpose then. I have a feeling that a lot of people don't care as much about that kind of thing, though.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Facebook, one of the bloggers I followed (David Lee King) said that it is against Facebook's rules for one person to have multiple accounts and that violating this can result in both accounts being shut down and possibly the library's account being closed too. I don't know if this is true (I assume it is) but that has a big effect on things. I pretty much agree with Nikki, though. Librarians who have personal accounts should have the right to do what they want on their page. Personally, I wouldn't accept a friend request from a patron I only knew through the library. I don't want them involved in my personal life.