It has been an extremely interesting couple of weeks for me. I believe this is mainly due to the fact that I have discovered a range of interesting resources throughout the module readings. I have particularly found that the module activities have helped me to ‘understand’ these resources more in-depth as I have delved into these more than I may have otherwise. I am very conscious of trying to keep up to date with the most recent resources as I am not in the classroom and I feel very grateful that this subject is helping me with exactly that. The discussion forums have also been extremely helpful as it is great to read what works for other teacher librarians and take their ideas on board also.
This is my first week of beginning the subject, Resourcing the Curriculum and I am already feeling very inspired and motivated by what I have read. I am a primary school teacher and I am currently on maternity leave so I feel as though this is such an insightful subject which will keep me up to date with changes that are happening with resources in schools as well as what students and teachers are finding to be the most effective resources and modes of information delivery.
I must admit that I do feel quite apprehensive about this subject as I am not currently working in a school and I hope that I can complete the assessment tasks adequately. I particularly hope that I can gain access to the resources I need to help me with the assessment tasks as well as have an understanding of what resources are of a high quality.
Overall, I am approaching this subject with enthusiasm and look forward to what I will learn not only from Tehani but from other students, as I know this information will be of such great benefit for me now as well as going forward.
Inquiry learning can be extremely complex and different schools have different approaches. From my experience, the schools which have a very clear approach to inquiry learning are the schools who engage the students effectively and wisely use their teacher librarian. As stated on my blog, “teacher librarians need to have a strong understanding of the broader information landscapes” (Catherall, July 2017) which is why they are so effective for teachers to plan with. For example, when there has been a passionate leader in the school such as a teacher librarian who feels very strongly about inquiry, information literacy models and incorporating these successfully into all subject areas and the entire school, it has worked extremely well. When this has been done well, students are more likely to be engaged in everyday experiences and will continue grow into lifelong learners (Wallace & Husid, 2016, p.11). From my experience of teaching in primary schools, these leading teachers and teacher librarians generally have a wide knowledge and understanding of the different information literacy models and approaches to inquiry learning which in turn filters through the staff. As Kim Bedingfield points out on her blog that collaboration between teachers and teacher librarians is extremely important to provide students with excellent units (Bedingfield, October 2017).
The need for a process to scaffold inquiry learning in schools is absolutely vital and this is where teacher librarians can assist staff greatly throughout the school. This scaffolding is vital as there needs to be a process and a framework teachers and staff can work with in order to support the students’ thoughts and questioning processes. If staff and students go straight to the ‘Going Further’ section of Kath Murdoch’s phases of inquiry model they have missed out on vital pieces of information and skills to help scaffold their understandings to guide them to this section. Consequently, it would be impossible for students to produce work of a high standard if they do not have knowledge and understandings from the previous sections to use for these tasks. This is where teacher librarians can be of assistance as their role in this day and age is to prepare students for the twenty first century by giving them the skills to learn, collaborate and lead (Wallace & Husid, p. 1, 2014) which is possible throughout these inquiry planners. Gillian Cornwell mentioned on her blog that teacher librarians are leaders of schools as a result of being information specialists and need to lead schools when working on their information literacy policies (Cornwell, September 2017).
I have been very fortunate to teach in some schools where there have been passionate leaders who lead the curriculum in such an effective manner which consequently filters through the entire school. My current school has always focussed on Kath Murdoch’s model of ‘The Phases of Inquiry’. I have been part of some fabulous units of work using this model and one was a whole school focus on ‘Asia’ which I was fortunate enough to coordinate. It was simply astounding to see what the school was able to accomplish at each different year level and share at whole school assemblies. We were lucky to have the support from many people to achieve this however, as mentioned on my blog, the schools I have worked in without teacher librarians were not able to give staff the opportunity to collaborate with a librarian to enable them to create units of that could be as rich as possible which consequently effects student outcomes (Catherall, July 2017)
As a result of my experience using Kath Murdoch’s ‘Phases of Inquiry’ it was the natural choice for me to use in this project. I had read through the information about the different information literacy models in the modules and I still felt that this was one I wanted to work with further. Inquiry learning allows students no matter how academic they are to explore, discover and present their findings (Savitz, 2016, p. 334) and I believe the ‘Phases of Inquiry’ model enables this to occur very naturally.
I quite like the way this model is set out as it clearly scaffolds the students’ learning as it is very gradual and supportive of each individual student and the stage of learning they are at. It enables students to investigate individually or in small groups in the ‘going further’ section once they have gathered, compared and contrasted information. It also has a strong focus on questioning and reflection throughout the unit which is also important for the teacher so that they can gauge ongoing learning from the students and assessment at the same time. This emphasis on questioning is supported by Coffman who states, “Inquiry learning implements a constructivist approach so students interact with the content by asking questions to increase understanding and comprehension and at the same time construct their own knowledge” (Coffman, 2012, p. 6).
I investigated the NSW Information Search Process (ISP) which I quite liked. I felt it was very fluid and covered all necessary areas when investigating a particular topic. However, I did feel that Kath Murdoch’s model works well with students from an early age and when models are being implemented into a whole school for some units of work it is important that it is appealing to all ages. I felt that the selecting, organising and presenting aspects (What is the DEC Information Process (ISP)?, n.d., para. 4) of the ISP would need a large amount of input and direction from teachers for students of a young age.
I also looked at The Big6 model which I felt was quite clear and easy to understand and there also seemed to be much written about it. However, similar to the ISP model, I felt that Kath Murdoch’s model was excellent for teachers to implement with very young students as the Big6 model begins with defining information and identifying what information is needed (Wolf, Brush & Saye, p. 3, 2003) which would require a large amount of assistance from teachers in order to assist students with understanding this. However, an article did outline teachers’ concerns about a particular task students were asked to do without teacher assistance and the teachers were pleasantly surprised by what the students achieved (Wolf, Brush & Saye, p. 19, 2003).
There are without a doubt some fabulous information literacy models to assist with scaffolding inquiry learning. What I found very valuable throughout this assignment is the reminder that schools, teacher librarians and staff from all year levels need to implement the model that fits with their school best and what they want to achieve.
References
Bedingfield, K. (2017, October, 1). Reflective practice- Inquiry learning and information literacy models. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/kimbedingfield/2017/10/01/reflective-practice-inquiry-learning-and-information-literacy-models/
Catherall, E. (2017, July 27). The information society. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/emmasonlinelearningjournal/2017/07/27/the-information-society/
Catherall, E. (2017, July 19). The role of a teacher librarian. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/emmasonlinelearningjournal/2017/07/19/the-role-of-a-teacher-librarian/
Coffman, T. (2012). Using inquiry in the classroom: Developing creative thinkers and information literate students. Retrieved from Ebook Central Proquest.
Cornwell, G. (2017, September 8). Information literacy. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/gillian/2017/09/08/information-literacy/
What is the DEC Information Process (ISP)? (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.nthsyddem-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/curriculum-activities/library/information-process
Murdoch, K. (2010). Phases of inquiry. [diagram]. Retrieved from https://learningconnections.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/screen-shot-2011-12-05-at-10-08-57-am.png
Savitz, R.S. (2016). Using inquiry based learning to keep students engaged and learning in all content areas. Childhood Education, 92(5), 333-335.
doi: 10.1080/00094056.2016.1208016
Wallace, V.L., & Husid, W.N. (2014). Collaborating for inquiry-based learning: School librarians and teachers partner for student achievement. Retrieved from Ebook Central Proquest.
Wallace, V.L. & Husid, W.N. (2016). Collaborating for inquiry-based learning: School librarians and teachers partner for student achievement, 2nd edition. Retrieved from Ebook Central Proquest.
Wolf, S., Brush, T., & Saye, J. (2003). The big six information skills as a metacognitive scaffold: A case study. School library media research, 6. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/pubs/slr
Now that we are well into our introductory subject to Teacher Librarianship, I feel extremely pleased with what we have been learning and excited to use and implement this.
The module readings have been quite interesting but I have really enjoyed the process of writing my literature review which is based on the information access problem of ‘fake news.’ It has been interesting to read a range of different articles related to the topic from a range of different viewpoints, that is teachers, academics and students. It has been interesting to read about the different approaches teachers have taken in order to combat this problem and how students can benefit from these strategies. It has been an enjoyable topic to learn more about, particularly the way schools and teacher librarians are combatting this issue for the benefit of their students.
The term information society refers to information saturated world that we live in today. It refers to a world where we can now gain access to information through a range of different forms in which we have to look at with a critical eye in order to gauge whether that information is legitimate. This information is available through our phones, computers, iPads and obviously still the physical book but it is now so easy and fast to gain access to.
Teacher Librarians need to have a strong understanding of the broader information landscape as students can be delivered information and find information in such a variety of formats now and therefore Teacher Librarians need to have a strong understanding of what these formats are and how they work.
There is now such a large amount of information provided for people in this world we live in. Teacher Librarians need to teach students the most efficient and effective ways to search for this information and know how to analyse this information critically in order to test its validity. Teacher Librarians need to constantly be keeping up and ahead with technology in order to understand the different ways in which information is communicated in order to be able to educate students about this.
I have taught in a range of primary schools over the past decade, throughout this time there were only two schools with a Teacher Librarian and the other schools had classroom teachers who would take their students to the library once a week to return and borrow books. I actually felt this to be quite disappointing as it was taking away the importance a library has in a school and all that it can offer to staff and students. Audrey Church, the President of the American Association of School Librarians reiterated the importance of school librarians in her article and emphasised the impact they have on student learning outcomes which is why it is vital to have as many librarians in schools as possible (Church, 2017, p. 5). This resonates with my experiences in schools without Teacher Librarians as staff did not have an opportunity to collaborate with librarians to create units of work that could be as rich as possible which in turn has an impact upon what students are being taught and consequently student outcomes. Even having a Teacher Librarian to help students find books they love to read for enjoyment has an impact on student outcomes simply by fostering their love of learning, “school libraries are an integral part of the educational process and they carry the responsibility for encouraging students to become learners who enjoy reading and develop the habit of using library resources in their daily lives” (Domínguez, García, Martinó & Méndez, 2015, p. 236).
In my opinion and from what I have seen, the Teacher Librarian is an information manager, inspires students and staff, encourages students to find literature they enjoy reading, assists students and staff with resourcing, manages budgets, educates and trains students and staff with technology and social media and promotes the library throughout the school and all of the many wonderful resources, programs and opportunities it provides. It is difficult to identify all of the roles a Teacher Librarian is responsible for as there are so many and from my experience, different schools have different expectations of the Teacher Librarian. One survey which was completed suggested, “school librarians are not only managers of school libraries but are also playing other roles such as of educators, administrators, teaching consultants, information specialists and information literacy (IL) teachers” (Lo & Chiu, 2015, p. 696) which again demonstrates the many hats a Teacher Librarian wears.
In the schools I taught in with Teacher Librarians, they were looked upon very highly by other staff members and administrators in the school, as they added so much value to the curriculum and the students absolutely loved the time spent with them. The Teacher Librarians in both these cases also collaborated extremely well with other teachers in the school, ensuring they were assisting with resources and ensuring their classes were linked to the inquiry unit in some way making the content in their library classes even more meaningful.
The role of the Teacher Librarian has definitely changed over time and it is an extremely diverse role offering so many positive experiences to staff and students.
Reference List
Church, A. (2017). An effective school library program…for every student. Knowledge Quest, 45(3), 4-5. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=a53ff532-2552-4adf-80ee-eda2598dc880%40sessionmgr4007
Domínguez, N., García, I.,Martinó, J., Méndez, A. (2015). The school librarian as motivational agent and strategiest for reading appreciation. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 48,(3), 236-246). doi: 10.1177/0961000615591650
Lo, P., & Chiu, D. K. W. (2015). Enhanced and changing roles of school librarians under the digital age. New Library World, 116(11), 696-710. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1732338136?accountid=10344
It has been a positive start to our subject, ‘Introduction to Teacher Librarianship’ this week. I feel that I have navigated my way around the student portal relatively well. I have enjoyed reading everyone’s introductions in the student cafe and I have found the discussion forums to be an excellent way of clarifying my thoughts and ideas. I also gained some really valuable information and ideas from the online meeting regarding library resources and searching.
I actually began the Master of Information Science course at the end of 2016 in session three and while completing the first subject it reinforced my passion for education (I have been a primary school teacher for eleven years) and therefore I decided to swap over to the Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course so that I could focus specifically on the academic field. There weren’t enough places to swap straight into this subject so I had to complete an elective if I didn’t want to take a session off. I completed Social Networking for Information Professionals in session one of 2017 which I absolutely loved as it had some fun and interesting assessment tasks that were so relevant to the way we teach and disseminate information today.
As a result of completing this subject, I have already set up a blog which has my reflections and assessment tasks from INF506 on this. I have spent this week trying to reorganise my blog as it initially worked well for one subject however it was not going to be user friendly for more than this. My main objective was to make this blog easy for readers to engage with and follow.
As we begin this subject, I am really looking forward to learning and interacting with everyone!!
Part A
Social networking and social media play a very important role for Information Professionals, “as a modern librarian’s task is to be able to use and distribute information in many formats other than print, he or she must be able to use all media, including digital media and social media” (Vanwynsberghe, Vanderlinde, Georges, & Verdegem, 2015, p. 284). It is therefore important that information professionals have strong understandings of Web 2.0 and the skills needed to use it effectively as well as have an understanding of their organisations’ policies in order to ensure it is being used appropriately.
A range of skills are vital for an information professional to do their job effectively, especially in a Web 2.0 world. Firstly, their ability to understand how social media works and its benefits are extremely important. This not only allows them to interact with their clients/students but it also allows them to market their library effectively, as social media platforms provide libraries the opportunity to develop further relationships with those in the community through making their library more noticeable through showing what is available (Singh, 2014, p. 106). Web 2.0 has changed the way people use the internet as content was once presented to its users and it was simply one way. It now enables a range of communication benefits such as wikis, blogs, email, social media and video conferencing (Small, 2016, pp. 77-78). Web 2.0 has provided opportunities for libraries to connect with their patrons via social media sites which not only provides information but also a communication pathway.
Arizona State University Library is connected to many social media platforms in order to inform patrons and stay connected with them. Social media is an ideal way to connect with clients as, “social media has become ubiquitous in the daily and personal lives of students and teachers alike” (Cuevas & Kohle, 2015, p. 15). The Arizona State University Library has Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts to name just a few which provides information and allows for feedback and questions. Arizona State University Library has short, humorous and captivating ways of disseminating information through what they call The Library Minute videos. This university displays excellent use of social media to connect with patrons before they have even entered the library door. Social media now provides anyone with a smart phone, tablet or computer the opportunity to be presented with information, seek information and communicate with others.
In conjunction with this, any organisation using social media, needs to have information policies in order to ensure social media and the internet is being used correctly in the work place. In relation to the academic field, “it is imperative for students to know and understand the social media policies at their college or university; likewise, it is crucial for higher education institutions to examine what their students know about their policies and to educate students on appropriate social media use” (O’Connor, Schmidt, & Drouin, 2016, p. 619). It is important that all people using social media and the internet which includes staff and students understand what is and is not acceptable in that environment. Social media and the use of the internet is now a part of life for the majority of people in a personal and business sense and the benefits are endless, as “social media empowers individuals and communities to communicate and disseminate information cheaply and instantly on the web, with a potentially global reach” (Arnaboldi & Coget, 2016, p.48). The more up to date and relevant organisations are to ensure its positive use, the more beneficial it will continue to be.
Information professionals also need to be extremely flexible and willing to learn new skills as the industry is constantly changing and “information organizations face significant challenges such as technological development, collection and space management, competition with the proliferation of information sources found on the internet, publishing industry changes, and increasing budget pressures (Yi, 2015, p. 19).” Information managers need to be knowledgeable about the latest technologies in order to assist their patrons/students in an effective way so that people have an understanding of how to use their databases and website as well as being able to communicate with them through social media and The Arizona State University Library is an excellent example of this.
In summary, it is evident how beneficial social networking and Web 2.0 are for information professionals. This is why it is vital that information professionals continue to stay updated and relevant with their skills in order to use social networking to benefit their libraries and those in their community.
Part B
This subject was quite ‘eye opening’ for me as I always felt I had a strong understanding of what social media and social networking was, however I discovered that my understanding of these platforms were on a basic level and there was much more to strengthen them than I had realised. I am currently on maternity leave so I have not had the opportunity to apply the knowledge I have gained from this subject however I do have an assortment of ideas which I know I can implement once back in the workplace. The three main platforms I have focussed on are Facebook, Twitter and blogs.
Facebook is a social networking platform I now feel much more positive about since studying this subject. I initially used it in a basic way to stay in contact with friends, however, I can now see how effective it can be in the library environment for students and colleagues and communicating in a closed group, as done throughout this subject. One study even states, “It has been proven that use of Facebook in education has positive effects on the knowledge of students” (Lambic, 2016, p. 319). The benefits of such closed groups is the sharing of information, ensuring that everyone has the same understandings, asking questions and responding to questions from others and making others feel part of something important and less isolated when working towards a goal as a group. An example of this being used in an academic environment is setting up a page related to a particular topic all students are studying such as ‘Children’s Literature,’ and promoting a range of reading which students can also add to, sections for discussion of assignment topics and sections with videos related to the subject.
Since beginning this course and delving into Facebook further, I have also discovered the ability to ‘follow’ organisations to assist with my understandings and interest in general such as the New York Public Library, Australian School Library Association and the National Library of Australia. Following organisations such as Scienceworks or the National Gallery of Victoria could be of great benefit for staff and students in order to assist with research tasks and gaining a stronger understanding of the related topic.
Twitter is a platform I had not used before beginning this subject, however I found it to be an extremely useful tool that can be used in the workplace. The brevity of Twitter is what engaged me and made me think that the succinct nature grabs one’s attention and one study suggested “the 140 characters limit prevented long-winded comments and encouraged concise expression” (Tang & Hew, 2017, p. 110). I immediately thought this would be a great tool to use with students and parents as it enables the opportunity to disseminate information in a variety of mediums quickly which can also be retweeted to gain the attention of even more people. For example, a tweet could be put out by the librarian discussing the focus for the week with students staying safe while on the internet including a quick video clip, the more a tweet like this is retweeted the more people are hopefully going to see it and have a better understanding of what the library is trying to achieve.
When beginning this subject, I thought it was a great opportunity to learn more about blogging and how that works in a Web 2.0 world. Through our online learning journal task, I really thought this would be an exciting platform for staff and students in schools as it is such an easy way to disseminate information in an attractive way as “using tools such as videos, wikis, blogs, and social media can transform learning and capture the interest of students” (Budhai & Taddei, 2015, p. 18). There are a range of opportunities to apply this in schools for someone who is coordinating a unit of study, an example being, ‘Studies of Asia.’ On this page there could be links to online resources, physical resources, ideas for classroom activities, videos, excursion and incursion ideas. Staff can also respond to this information and give feedback or ask questions. After completing the social networking project, it became evident that it is extremely important to ensure there is marketing and advertising related to this before beginning so that more people are excited about it and therefore become involved.
I always felt that social media and social networking were more closely related to dissemination of information rather than exchange of dialogue. I have since discovered that when there is this exchange it makes the platform much richer and more interesting. There are many exciting social networking platforms out there for information professionals to implement in their workplace for colleagues and students but the key is to find the right platform/s for that particular group.
References
Arnaboldi, M. & Coget, J.F. (2016). Social media and business: We’ve been asking the wrong question. Organizational Dynamics, 45(1), 47-54.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2015.12.006
Budhai, S.S. & Taddei, L.M. (2015). Teaching the 4cs with technology: How do I use 21st century tools to teach 21st century skills. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzEwOTIzNDFfX0FO0?sid=978a7c38-91a0-49f8-97f8-b0600bde07ca@sessionmgr4008&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1
Cuevas, A. & Kohle, F. (2015). Social media: Changing the way we teach and changing the way we learn. In J.P. Sahlin (Ed.) Social media and the transformation of interaction in society (pp. 15-23). Retrieved from IGI Global infosci books.
Lambic, D. (2016). Correlation between Facebook use for educational purposes and academic performance of students. Computers in human behavior, 61, 313-320.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.052
O’Connor, K.W., Schmidt, G.B., & Drouin, M. (2016). Suspended because of social media? Students’ knowledge and opinions of university social media policies and practices. Computers in human behavior, 65, 619-626.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.06.001
Singh, R. (2011). How tangible is your library in the digital environment? Implications of social media marketing in reinventing communities library experiences. In D. Gupta & R. Savard (Eds.), Marketing libraries in a web 2.0 world (pp. 97-108). Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.
Small, R.V. (2016). Creating a collaborative culture in a digital learning environment. In M.A. Mardis (Ed.), Librarians and educators collaborating for success: the international perspective (pp. 69-81). Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.
Tang, Y. & Hew, K.F. (2017). Using Twitter for education: Beneficial or simply a waste of time? Computers and Education, 106, 97-118.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.004
Vanwynsberghe, H., Vanderlinde, R., Georges, A., & Verdegem, P. (2015). The librarian 2.0: Identifying a typology of librarians’ social media literacy. Journal of librarianship and information science, 47(4), 283-293.
doi: 10.1177/0961000613520027
Yi, Z. (2015). The factors influencing American academic library directors’ approaches to setting goals for change in the information age. Chinese Librarianship: an international electronic journal, 39, 19-29. Retrieved from http://www.iclc.us/cliej/cl39yi.pdf
Information policies in organisations relating to customers’ actions as digital citizens need to be current and up to date as a result of the constant changing nature of information communication technology and the growing use of social media. It is vital that organisations understand what is and is not acceptable when using social media, particularly when “research indicates that cyberbullying is occurring among middle and high school student populations at increasing rates” (Pelfrey & Weber, 2015, p. 227). It is also important that organisations have a clear understanding of the impact it has in relation to ‘news’ and ‘advertising’ and therefore the way they can have a presence in these areas. Below are some statements and facts from the attached video with a description outlining what this means for organisations.
https://youtu.be/GsdcFOiTYxw
- Online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction – This immediately shows universities how much work and effort needs to be put into ensuring they continue the high levels of teaching to online students but it also makes one question why are the face to face students not performing as well and what can be done to help with this further.
- We no longer search for the news; the news finds us- Organisations now need to think about ways they can get their news into people’s news feeds. Companies want clients or interested people to be ‘following’ them so they can keep abreast of what is happening in that company and by liking or sharing information it continues to provide a form of advertising and presence in others’ newsfeeds and lives.
- 50% of the mobile internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook- This is such a large proportion of people for just one social media platform which immediately demonstrates how successful Facebook is. If businesses are trying to reach as many people as possible it is important that they have a presence on Facebook which is the most popular type of social media.
- YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world- If companies have a presence on YouTube they will most likely be found in some form by people who are searching the same or similar topic words. It is vital that companies have a presence on these platforms and these videos can then also be put onto Twitter as another way of being ‘heard and seen’ by the public at large.
- Social media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate- It is vital that companies are aware of what their clients/patrons and future clients/patrons consume in the world of social media as this is where they need to have a large presence. They need to be able to communicate easily with others and inform others about their company and what is happening and what will be happening into the future. Social media is also a way of gaining new clients as a result of observing interaction throughout these social media platforms.
References
Pelfrey, W.V. & Weber, N. (2015). Student and school staff strategies to combat cyberbullying in an urban student population. Preventing school failure, 59(4), 227-236.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2014.924087
- The above post is of particular interest to me. http://digitalpubliclibraryofamerica.tumblr.com/post/158512332260/wishing-you-good-fortune-and-a-happy-st-patricks This is a postcard from 1908 of an Irish man and woman dancing titled ‘St. Patrick’s Day In The Morning.’ My ancestors are from Ireland and this is of particular interest to me as Ireland has a special place in my heart. I love the happiness of the photo as well as the sense of humour evident from the Digital Public Library of America when publishing this, comparing it to their ‘#FridayFeeling!’
- I believe the primary target user of this post is people who have connections in some way with Ireland but I also believe it is for people who like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The primary target users for the Digital Public Library of America site in general could be for people who are interested in these documents from the archives who have not necessarily got onto the website before. It is also a very clear and simple way of presenting the information.
- The content scope for the postings on the Digital Public Library of America archive is related to American history. There are a range of images depicting a part of American history that is significant, they also post many images which have relevance to an event on that day. For example, the St. Patrick’s post that I was interested in was posted on St. Patrick’s Day, there were also many people from Ireland who travelled to America during the potato famine and therefore many Americans have connections to Ireland through this. There were also a range of posts about significant women as well as significant moments in time for women throughout Women’s History Month.
- The simplicity is the most engaging feature for myself. The use of hashtags also makes it easy for searching and overall this website is very straightforward to use which then makes one want to use it even more. I found that it looks appealing with the white background and the pictures placed on this. I also like the way it that there is not a lot of print as not much needs to be said about many of these images as they speak for themselves.
