Cranston PFE: Letter of Assessment from my Supervisor

                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                      

"November 21, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing in regard to Christina Dufour. Christina has been working at the Cranston Public Library since September 2013 as a field experience component of her graduate work at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Services.

Christina has been an immense help to me during the time we have been working together. The library offers a full slate of computer classes, and Christina began assisting with these classes on her very first day working here. Her technology skills, patience, and good nature have made her a favorite with the library patrons who attend these classes. The classes range from introductory courses for people who are new to using a computer, to slightly more advanced classes on how to use various softwares including the Microsoft Office suite, social media, and other applications. She designed handouts for several of these classes, and she also developed a new class about how to use a free music application called Spotify that went over very well. We will definitely be offering it again! 

The Cranston Public Library is a six-library system, and providing support to staff and the public when hardware and software issues inevitably arise is a formidable task. Christina is a quick learner, and she has helped take some of the burden off of me in this area. Her assistance with troubleshooting, software configuration, and staff technology training has been invaluable.

Christina’s bright and friendly personality makes her a natural in working with the public. She has undertaken everything asked of her with enthusiasm and good cheer. She has even gone beyond what was required of her by sharing her time and knowledge of video games when our newly appointed Head of Youth Services began to explore developing a gaming program for teens at several of our libraries. Christina also worked well independently during the times I was not at the library with her.

I honestly cannot think of a single aspect of library service in which Christina would not excel. Between her technological savvy, willingness to try new things, and ability to provide excellent customer service, I have no doubt she will be a huge asset to whatever library she may work at in the future.

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions about Christina’s time working with me at the Cranston Public Library. I am more than happy to speak about her talents and capabilities.

Sincerely,

Corrie MacDonald

Technology Coordinator

(401) 943-9080 ext. 129

cmacdonald@cranstonlibrary.org"

Cranston PFE: Technology Knowledge & Skills: Outcomes

4a.
      Part of my decision to create an online portfolio came from the want to display a fraction of the things I learned at Cranston Central.  While I was assisting many classes I was already familiar with, I found myself assisting ones that I knew nothing about.  Blogger is something I have been using for some time, but Tackk is new to me.  As I can show in my journals, Lisa taught it to me in my first few weeks of class.  My use for it is far different than the use of the patrons in that class, but this was something I discovered as a student who uses Microsoft Word- every person has a curiosity about technology but they also have varying needs of the software. 

Another instance of communication technologies would be social media.  At Cranston, I assisted Corrie by making Facebook class handouts.  After two months of being at Cranston Central, I was included in on meetings concerning the teens.  It began as a meeting about which gaming console was best- Xbox & Kinect or the Wii- and how best to get teens the multiplayer gaming the asked for.  It was also to be about what to do with the teen room, which we decided would be more of a gaming center than a lounge.  What the meeting turned into was a search to bring Minecraft to the teens.  After our initial meeting, I set out to figure out how LAN works, what server would be needed, could it be wireless, and how many copies of the game we would need to purchase.  Unlike all of the free software classes we teach, Minecraft requires a purchase.  Rather than tell my supervisor we need several, I waited and attended a teen program at the Auburn branch and gathered information from teens who had been playing successfully.  As it turns out, we only needed to purchase one copy of the game in order for the teens to login on a single player option.  But, to play the multiplayer options that they asked for, we would have to purchase a few more (as well as create a sever) because the game would start kicking people off for trying to be the same person. 

4b. During my time at Cranston, my supervisor taught me how to image, or ghost, computers.  This means that we took a working laptop that was running slow and, using an external hard drive and images from OSL, restored the computer so that it worked like new.  However, in doing this, you lose all your computer preferences.  My notes for the day we did this go as follows:

It is important to point out that we also changed the Google Chrome, Modzilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer options.  At home, it can be convenient for your computer to save your passwords, browsing history, and prompt you for a reset when your browser crashes.  On public-use computers, this is exactly the opposite.  To protect our patrons, we had to manually go into each of these browsers, each in a different fashion, and take away these saving issues.  While the laptops do not use Envisionware, they do use DeepFreeze which means that the changes we made will stick and our patrons do not have to worry about what they do one their computers. 


When I was hired for this PFE, one of the first things I was asked was “What classes do you feel we should offer?”  Not knowing the community, I went with programs I was using in my personal time that I really knew.  I suggested we add a class on Spotify- see notes on class- and I would teach it.  I also said that Facebook was still a relevant addition, which they planned to teach already, because many people still do not use it.  If there was enough time, I would have added Pinterest because, not only are there good pictures, but you could create a board for DIY housework, arts & crafts for a library teen department, and so much more. 
As for other new technology, my supervisor taught me as much as she could and I have great notes as a result.  In my first week, I was learning Deep Freeze, Envisionware, and shortly after Drupil. 

Cranston PFE Conclusion

               I learned many technological aspects in this internship that I never imagined I would be learning.  While I have talked with Dell before, I did not know the procedure in a library.  Before this internship, I did not know how to image a computer, therefore making it run faster and learning what goes into resetting it.  I learned about patron privacy on computers as well as their desire for knowledge of the technology they do not know.  From music programs like Spotify to basics such as the mouse, icons, and the internet, people of all ages have a desire to learn.  My internship gave me a chance to discover teaching techniques in a classroom setting that work best, slow talking, repetition of main points, observation of hands up for questions, and more.  My work on the Minecraft project allowed me to observe how different departments work to collaborate together.  It also taught me about what it it takes to bring a new program to a library and how to listen to what the patrons, in this case teen,s say they want.  I feel I could not have picked a more perfect PFE in the end. 

Cranston PFE: Introduction

               In September, I began an internship at Cranston Public Library.  For twelve hours a week, I would travel forty-five minutes to their central branch.  On my very first day I assisted a class on computer basics.  This set the tone for me as far as my 135 hours went.  From the beginning, they put faith in me and trusted me with responsibilities.  Every day working at Cranston, I had many things technology related to accomplish.  Amongst the classes I assisted, I also created one of my own to teach.  A few weeks in, I had become part of a team that consisted of my supervisor, the teen librarian, and the children’s librarian.  They handed me the task of figuring out what was needed to run the game, including wireless LAN, purchasing of the game, and observing how one of Cranston’s other branches’ teens were running it. 

Cranston PFE: 7d- Continuing Education

As my technology handouts aim to display, I taught and assisted multiple classes throughout my 135 hours at Cranston Library.  Our aim was to bring technology, software, and other devices to our patrons whom attended our class.  Information literacy was the channel for which we did so and these skills are part of the patron, as well as our (the teachers), goal to advance their lifelong learning.  When teaching something like a computer basics course, learning the proper way to click a mouse and just how many times is the start toward the trajectory of connecting to writing software, picture folders, the world wide web, and much more.  

When I was planning for my Spotify class, I was aiming to expand on patrons’ knowledge of the car radio- for those that did not know much about the computer- and relate it to other programs such as Pandora- for those who knew more than the class.  By creating this class out of something I was using in my personal time, I found myself learning how to teach co-workers, my director, and patrons.  These levels varied but the same goal was clear- a love of music.  The reference desk of a library is most know for its information literacy skills and, in a way, I assisted with this in teaching Spotify.