Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Last day of class

Items for the day:
>Q & A session on the projects
>Discussion on the progression of the class this semester.
>Aside from the paper copy, digital dropbox your final and reflection paper on the 10th. Knowledge not shared is not knowledge at all. To preserve and share them, I will link them all via the main class blog.
>Provide some feedback on the class and info on blog use.
>Official university evaluations.

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Reply to this post and respond to these statements. You can choose the anonymous option in commenting.
Use these response types (strong agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree), and provide a written response with each.
>Example: Disagree, I did not learn much from the poster experience, the work expended was less than the benefits gained personally.

a) The assignments in this class were instrumental in my learning. How so? Name the ones that helped or did not, and why?

b) The instructor's approach to class instruction were effective in my learning toward the course objectives. Detail specifics on what helped or did not.

c) Having my own blog was productive for my overall learning in this class. Detail why.

d) The instructor's use of the main class blog was productive for my overall learning in this class. Detail why.

e) The shared group blog was important for my group project. How so?

Lastly, if you have one advice to give to the next group of students taking inls200 w/ this instructor, what would it be?

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

a) I thought all of the writing assignments were useful to the research process.

b) I liked when we worked in groups during class and discussed our research etc. Some of the lectures didn't really relate to our research process.

c) The blog was fine for my own research, but I didn't really have time to read everyone elses.

d) The main class blog was definitely helpful. It outlined what we did in class and information about assignments etc.

e) The group blog was helpful with group communication.

Maybe elminate some of the blogging. It seemed to be the least effective part of the course because nobody read them.

Anonymous said...

a) Strongly agree, the assignments in this class were instrumental in my learning. They gave me a chance to apply what we learned in class. The poster really helped as well as the annotated bibliography.
b)Strongly agree, the instructor's approach to class instruction as effective in my learning because he didn't stress grades, but stressed the fact that we understand concepts.
c)Strongly agree, having my own blog was productive for my overall learning in this class because it helped me track my progress and I could refer to it to see where I left off the last time I was researching.
d)Strongly agree, the instructor's use of the main class blog was productive for my overall learning in the class because it was a way that I could be updated on what was going on.
e)Strongly agree, the shared group blog was very important for my group project because it made communicating with group members really easy.

Anonymous said...

A) The assignments in this class were instrumental in my learning. The poster and the group project were both good assignments that taught me a lot about research.

B) The instructor's approach was effective. The emphasis on learning as opposed to the end result is a great way to teach.

C) Having my own blog allowed me to be more organized in my research, which is a huge help

D) black board sucks, so having a different online source for class information is very helpful

E) again, black board sucks, so a central place for my group to communicate and share ideas was very helpful

Anonymous said...

a) The poster project was definitely the biggest WTF assignment..some of the tedious interviews and reference sessions were also annoying and took up a lot of time..I didn't mind the prospectus tho, that helped more than any other assignment we had to do.

b) Seemed like a lot of busy work but I guess it helped

c) Not really because at times I forgot about it

d) Helped keep us on track..

e) Kind of, didn't really use it that much, email was used more

Anonymous said...

a)agree. The assignments led to my ultimate learning experience however the due dates were a little out of whack.

b)neutral. The lectures were a little dry and I caught myself spacing out a lot.

c)strongly disagree. The blog just bored me and was annoying to have to do. It is basically thinking out loud and I already have my thoughts in my head.

d)strongly agree. The class blog was a very effective instrument in conveying to the class what was expected and citing details of assignments and upcoming events.

e)neutral. Not everyone checked the blog but it was somewhat useful. It basically just kept us from getting each other's numbers or facebooking.

Anonymous said...

a) I remember the Kulthau article, and you going into a lot of detail about it, but it didn't seem very important to me. The blogsignments that we did in class for the most part were very useful, like the pulling questions exercise.

b) The class consisted of a lot of lecture, which got dull after a while. Whenever it was broken up and we had to blog something or actually do something I felt that I was learning more. While the blog was annoying, writing blogsignments in class was probably the most help I got for my research process.

c) This really was very productive for me because I probably would not have written out all the information I learned if I had not been forced to do so. When it came time to writing my research paper, basically everything was already written out for me, so it wasn't really difficult.

d) The main class blog was productive too because it enabled you to post assignments, questions, and announcements. This was useful because blackboard can be confusing sometimes so it's nice to have a website to go to that makes it much easier.

e) The way our group worked, the group blog wasn't very necessary. We only used it when it was forced on us and so it wasn't important and it didn't have a lot of information on it. Also because our group involved so many people it was hard to keep track of the blog since everybody has a different style.


My last advice is to try and get the class more involved earlier in the year. It took a while for everyone to start talking to each other and feel comfortable in the class and that took away from learning.

Anonymous said...

a) Strongly agree. The assignments were made to make us think about what we were doing when we researched, like the search logs and annotated bibliography.

b) Strongly agree. He taught us a lot about the topics that had to do with our course objectives.

c) Agree in a way because it did cause me to write down my thoughts on my project, but the time spent doing that could have been spent doing more research rather than worrying about whether or not I was blogging enough to get a good grade.

d) Strongly agree. It detailed what we were going to do that day as well as answered questions that others had on their blogs that would be useful for us to know the answers to.

e) Strongly agree. The group blog was a good idea because it allowed everyone in the group to put in their inputs on the topic and allowed us to share information without having to worry about everyone finding time to get together face-to-face, which is hard when there are six people in the group.

Anonymous said...

a) Agree. The annotated bib and the prospectus helped me to really focus on the assignment. Especially the annotated bib because I had strayed away from it for a while. The search log wasn't that helpful because I knew a lot about the libraries being a junior but I can see how they would be helpful for freshman or new students.

b) Agree. Not having strict dates or assignments really helped me to take in all we learned in a way that made me not worry about having to be tested on it. It would have been helpful to have more prominent reminders about the due dates for the assignments.


c) Agree. The blog allowed me to quickly write what I had been working on and allowed for easy feedback from the teacher. It was also the first blog I have had so it introduced me to them.

d) Agree. It was good to see updates rather then having to read a million emails like the other classes do. However, there could have been a few posts every now and then reminding us to write on our blogs or that an assignment was due soon.

e) Strongly Agree. E-mailing that many people and getting that many responses back get very confusing. This provided for a very easy way of communicating. Howvever, it was annoying at times because people forgot to check the blog so maybe a reminder e-mail or class post from the instructor would cause them to remember to look more.

Anonymous said...

a. Most of the assignments were useful, especially the poster presentation. The feedback was great.
b. I thought is approach was good, however, it seemed he put an emphasis on results more than learning which was he explained was his main approach to the class.
c. I think it has potential to be a useful tool, but emphasis wasn't placed on it so it ended up being under utilized.
d. I liked the main class blog because it centralized information and allowed us more contact with the teacher than in normal classes.
e. It allowed people to share information easily and just organize the project better. Definitely a useful tool for a group project.

My advice would be to just stay in contact with the instructor and let him know how things are going in the class because he is willing to help you out and work with you if your having a problem.

Anonymous said...

a) I felt that the library visits (using RefWorks and the reference session) were especially helpful in learning to research. I liked the group projects but it wasn't exactly useful in learning data retrieval and analysis.

b)I really liked the laissez faire attitude of the class. It helped me learn better in an unpressured environment.

c)I thought it was nice to have a blog in order to reflect on my research. Posting made me stop and think what I was actually doing.

d)I thought the class blog was useful in keeping us all updated.

e)The group blog was a very important communication tool for us.

Advice: I felt the true learning of this course didn't exactly start until halfway through it. Everything was sort of done the second half, and it might have been better spread throughout the semester.

Anonymous said...

Reply to this post and respond to these statements. You can choose the anonymous option in commenting.
Use these response types (strong agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree), and provide a written response with each response.
Example: Disagree, I did not learn much from the poster experience, the work expended was less than the benefits gained personally.

a) The assignments in this class were instrumental in my learning. How so? Name the ones that helped or did not, and why?

group blobs facilated communicaion boring lectures did not help.

b) The instructor's approach to class instruction were effective in my learning toward the course objectives. Detail specifics on what helped or did no/ Leo as very concerned and excited about us mastering the material.

c) Having my own blog was productive for my overall learning in this class. Detail why. It wasn't useful for me to check it.

d) The instructor's use of the main class blog was productive for my overall learning in this class. Detail why. Yes we spent a majority og the class researching and impelementing researching skiis.

e) The shared group blog was important for my group project. How so?

it provided vital means of communication. We didn't even have to meet out of class.


Lastly, if you have one advice to give to the next inls200 class w/ this instructor, what would it be?

Just be engaging and clear in what you ssy.

Anonymous said...

a) Agree. The assignments in this class were instrumental in my learning because they all built up to our final papers.

b)I agree, the instructor's approach to class instruction were effective in my learning toward the course objectives.

c) Agree, having a blog helped me to keep up with my project

d) Agree, the instructor's use of the main class blog was productive for my overall learning in this class because it kept me on top of what was being done when and why.

e) Agree-The shared group blog was important for my group project because it was a good way for us to communicate and comment on each others ideas.

alexinusa said...

a) library stuff ( refworks, lib itself) were helpful. Some internet search tools were helpful.
b) class instructions were helpful when I could hear them. Please speak louder.
c) Having a blog was helpfull as it kept things organized
d) negative on this one. The instructions were often posted in the last moment. The direct email communication was a lot more effective.
e) Negative. I guess it was supposed to be helpful, but the mojority of people failed to utilize it.

Anonymous said...

a)The readings were not helpful at all because they were dense and there wasnt much discussion of them in class. The other assignments all seemed relevant though.

b) Except for the blog idea which fell through, I thought the other approachers were helpful like the poster idea.

c) Having my own blog was somewhat productive. I wish things would have been organized better so we could see an outline of what we needed to blog by when b/c a lot of it seemed last minute.

d) I thought the main class blog was productive, b/c by the end we always knew where to go to find the latest info. I think it should have been used more in conjunction with blackboard.

e) I thought the shared group blog was great b/c it kept us from clogging eachother's inbox's with random emails. It was a central location where we could post good links and ideas. So I thought it was helpful.

I would say for the next class just plan better at the beggining of the semester what exactly the schedule and expectations are gonna be and stick to it. It got really confusing, especially with us having so many other classes, to keep up with the constant changes in this class.

Anonymous said...

O and the expert interview was silly since we all had pretty specialized fields where it was hard for you to find an expert in the very specific topic you were researching. I didn't learn anything from it.

Anonymous said...

(a) Agree: I felt the assignments in class were useful in learning and retaining the information taught to me in this class. I do; however, feel some assignments could have been explained and discussed more in class prior to the assignment such as the readings.

b) Strongly Agree: The approach this class took was quite different from anything I have taken at UNC at the moment and for my life. I enjoyed the outlook about how to analyze the information we receive and judging it for our uses. I never thought about my own thought process and this class let me do that.

c) Agree: I feel the blog was useful in keeping a journal of my thoughts and my journey, but the idea can be tweaked some how. I am not really sure how it can be changed, but it needs to be changed so that it would not consume such a large amount of time in order to review others blogs.

d) Strongly Agree: The main blog headlines was quickly useful. I found that the best part of class knowing I read those.

e) Agree: The shared group project was more useful then the individual project.

Corinne said...

a. I really liked learning about the services that the libraries on campus offered, like the data bases and refworks. I have found them useful for other classes. I would have liked to spend some time in class with the Ant. Bib. when I was
doing it I did not feel real confident.

b. I really thought Leo did a good job in organizing the class. The notes up on BB so we could look at them in class was a great help to me and I really like knowing what is happening.

c.I liked having the blog up while class was going on so as to keep up. I tend to space out and it was helpful having something to interact with while lecture was going on.

d.Yes the blog was helpful to keep up with things, I ended up looking at it more than the syllabus for what we were up to.

e. yes after email proved to be a pain in the butt and we all switch to the blog it really helped move things along. It also made it possible for us to get more done with less time.

maybe use a mic:-)

Anonymous said...

(a) The paper itself was helpful. I feel like any big research assignment has to end in either a presentation or a paper so the researcher is forced to consolidate his ideas into a useful format and present it to the public.
The annotated bibliography was good in that it showed the researcher how to effectively analyze sources and demonstrate the need for a variety of sources.

(b) I liked the idea of not having a lot of busy work so that we could focus on the primary objective of our research project (and effectively going through the process)

(c) I did not find the blog helpful at all

(d) I didn't find the blog any more useful than a normal website with class information posted on it

(e) I didn't find the shared group blog very helpful. File transfers were made through blackboard and communication was primarily (most effectively) done through email.

(f) My advice would be to work on clearly communicating the expectations you have of students, both in general and for individual assignments. Some people including myself came into poster day unsure if what they did was even what you were asking for. Some of us thought we would be giving a presentation to the class for example.
Have an easily readable course plan/schedule from the beginning and try to stick to that as much as possible. I made sure that I knew the due dates as much as possible but from what I overheard from classmates, people did not always know when something was due.
I think the biggest thing is to have in writing and express verbally what is expected for each assignment and what is expected for students to do on a day-to-day basis. This does not mean you have to give a concrete example. It just means you need to tell the class what you factors you are going to use when issuing grades on specific elements of the class.

Anonymous said...

a.) I think that the assignments were instrumental in helping me learn. The poster project was a great help because it allowed me to narrow down my broad topic. I also got a chance to see how other people were handling the information which helped me to organize mine.
b.) Even though he posted pretty much everything we had to do and read, he reinforced it in class which helped answer some questions I mite have had.
c.) Well the class blog helped me get some feedback about my topic which was a good thing. But I dont think it was overall really productive. First of all I had never blogged anything so I had to learn. Towards the end I dont think it helped out any because people didnt really have time to post comments on other people's blog because they were too busy working on their research project.
d.) The main class blog was quite helpful because it allowed us to pretty much keep in contact with each other. I think it mite have been more helpful to the instructor though.
e.) The shared group blog helped out a lot because it was a way for us to keep in contact and keep our information together. Even though we could not meet very much the blog helped us stay on top of things.

Anonymous said...

a) yes they were very instrumental. it helped to formulate ideas and follow along with research step by step. the prospectus helped the most in writing down what you really wanted to research.

b) yes it being very loosly structured helped me learn the things at my own pace and helped me retain more information.

c) i was able to blog how i was feeling on my topic and it let me get some feedback on how my thoughts were flowing

d) yes, he kept us updated on daily tasks and kept us knowing what is going on

e) this group blog helped my group communicate and put everything together without having to email tons of stuff back and forth. we would just blog our sections of the work and the project manager put it all together in a coherent piece.

One advise I'd give is to make sure you keep up with the assignments because they can creep up on you and some of them take a long time to complete.

phatdatt03 said...

Leo,
a) I agree because the assignments were basically the focal point in this class and I would say the group projects in front of the class were the most effective in this class. The next most helpful assignment was the Search Logs because talking to the reference librarian for the first time really helped me learn what questions to ask and get the most out of the experience.

b)I think the learning and instruction style of this class was incorporated well with the material because the process of retrieving and analyzing data cant be specifically taught through basic classroom settings. I think the notes and lectures we did early in class, although laid back, can use some more interaction. I know I tuned out on several occasions with the ability to access the computer at hand.

c)The blog felt like a chore somtimes, but in retrospect, I can clearly see my ideas evolve throughout this course. I can visually see how I learned to look deeper into subjects and draw conclusions.

d)The main class blog was pretty much the lifeline of this course. It updated us on the upcoming assignments and how to approach them.

e) Our group blogs were vital to our group projects because it allowed us to communicate on a regular basis. The idea of a blog was never more useful.

David Joyner said...

A. Yes, the assignments were instrumental in my learning. The paper helped me in exploring different types of sources for information. Previously in college I have relied on books checked out of libraries and simple catalog searches. The research paper being short while requiring many sources gave me the opportunity to spend my time on researching new ways and places to get information without having the worry that I needed to start writing immediately. The anno. Biblio. Was also helpful since I have never really been taught how to write one properly before. The posters were helpful but, I feel they would have been more helpful if the input from the other people had come sooner in the process of doing my research. I hated the group project but, it did teach me more about the difficulty of working in groups of people who are not uniformly concerned with their grades or other group member’s opinions of them.

B. Yes your approach did help. By keeping the readings to a small number and the assignments few and spaced out I feel I was able to relax more and think about the material without the stress of the workload preoccupying my mind.

C. I think the use of blogs for class is interesting but, I found the interface cumbersome and distracting.

D. Again the interface is an issue (see C.) Also having the information of the course in several places adds to the overhead costs associated with staying up to date.

E. Yes, this is the one application where the blog was priceless. The blog allowed the group to document the division of labor among the group. Additionally the blog served to augment and document the communication between the group members.

Jesse Pegg said...

a) The assignments in this class were instrumental in my learning. How so? Name the ones that helped or did not, and why?

The annotated bibliographies were probably the most helpful tool in my learning. They forced me to research and ultimately to the realization that I wasn't happy with my topic. You mentioned that it was a tough assignment, but it really wasn't that tough. I think more of those would have helped encourage more research and a better-defined topic. I also enjoyed the posters.

b) The instructor's approach to class instruction were effective in my learning toward the course objectives. Detail specifics on what helped or did not.

Echoing someone else's comments today, I felt pretty lost in class the first couple of weeks. I had a hard time bringing all of the lectures together to see the bigger picture. I think it would have helped to have assignments early on that actually incorporated the content of the early lectures and readings. i.e. the Kulth..... blog where we had to relate our current state of research to the theory. More of that would have helped. It was obviously a reading that you meant to stress, so going back to it at different phases of research may have been effective. I noticed a turn in the class when we began the more interactive part, like commenting on people's work and working in groups. More of that closer to the beginning of class would have helped me.

c) Having my own blog was productive for my overall learning in this class. Detail why.

It was... because it forced me to stop and really evaluate my progress at different points in my research. I actually think that more blogging would have helped. If you wanted to encourage comments on other people's topics without reverting back to your original idea of posting to blogs, you might consider using the discussion forum in Bb. You could require a weekly post on your project followed by 2 responses to other posts. That works well for my online courses.

d) The instructor's use of the main class blog was productive for my overall learning in this class. Detail why.

Yes, it was great to have a centralized access point for information and for everyone's blogs.

e) The shared group blog was important for my group project. How so?

It was a great idea, but not utilized as much as it should have been. IT might help if you set requirements there... maybe each group member needs to post a certain number of times on different days and that would affect the final grade?

Lastly, if you have one advice to give to the next inls200 class w/ this instructor, what would it be?

Seriously encourage involvement. If the class isn't involved, they probably are not getting the point.

Nina said...

a) agree, there was a variety of assignments which covered all aspects of learning.

b)strongly agree, the class was not ONLY about developing a research project, but also about the process of that development. that is a key component of the class not many courses offer at this university.

c) strongly agree, the blog was a place I could vent when I was frustrated with any project.

d) strongly agree, if I missed class there was always a way to find out what was missed by continuously visiting the class blog. the class blog did not allow me to get behind in the course.

e)disagree, our group mainly used facebook to communicate. although the group blog essentially did the same thing as facebook.

My advice is...don't leave things until the last minute!