LIS 2600 Intro to Information Technology - Post 1

This is my first attempt at blogging. I have never done it, but I have used edublogs with students in my seventh grade reading/language arts class. We used edublogs to recreate a chatroom that appeared in a novel we were reading in class. The students seemed to enjoy it, but it scared me a bit.

Since this is my first post (and blog), I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Erin Parkinson, and I am an LIS student in the school library certification track. I have been teaching secondary English for 4 years in both Virginia and Pennsylvania. I've taught all grades except twelfth and have also taught theatre arts. I am currently looking for a school library position because I do have my PA certification and endorsement.

Right now I feel very overwhelmed with my summer course schedule. I am taking both LIS 2600 and LIS 2000 Understanding Information. So far in the program I have only taken school library courses, so now that I am halfway through it is time to start core classes; I guess I've done things in a bit of a backward order. I've been trying to work through both course syllabi, while juggling my teaching duties. This weekend I graded reading guides on Saturday night and have been working on LIS assignments on Sunday. That is my usual schedule because the week itself can get very hectic. My family is excellent about giving me Sundays to work on "Pitt Stuff" as they call it because they understand how important getting my MLIS degree is to me.

My biggest fear for this course is what I consider a lack of knowledge in technology areas. I have great skills for the school library because of my teaching experiences, but I do not have any experience with digital materials, so I am a bit concerned about my abilities when it comes to technology. I do utilize software in my classroom, but it is software that I have been trained to use or taught myself. I do feel overwhelmed right now, but I'm hoping to get hold of everything and figure it out. I am looking forward to this class because I hope that I will be able to take some of the programs and utilize them in my classroom.