I thought my message was pretty clear last night but maybe not.
A couple of points of information:
-I do not want the list to be an unwelcoming place. The more the merrier. I think
LM_NET is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Join, read, participate.
-I've got nothing against newbies-- used to be one myself. In fact, I'm pretty
sure everyone on the list was new to it at one time-- even Peter Milbury (if you
don't know who that is you need to brush up on LM_NET history). Nothin' but love
for all the MLS students out there.
-I hope professors keep guiding there students toward LM_NET. I've learned as much
here as I did at dear old SJSU-SLIS. And I found LM_NET because a professor told
me to join.
-I am not a curmudgeon who flames everyone who makes a mistake or a typo in
posting. Living in glass houses and all that. I am just opinionated and believe
passionately that everyone has a right to think as I do ;-)
-I did not choose the word "lurk" to make it sound like something dark and nasty.
It is a commonly used word in online communities with no negative connotation.
Lurking on the list is way different than lurking in the shadows.
As I wrote in the original post, my comments were directed at a few professors, not
the students. They were directed at the assignment, not the postings. Assigning
people to post a message just to post a message is weak. It is like telling
someone to e-mail their Congressman to get the thrill of e-mailing their
Congressman (an assignment one of our teachers once gave). If everyone did that
then my Congressman would never see my urgent message about my neighbor's barking
dog. High school (not to mention graduate school) assignments should have a deeper
purpose. Even assigning someone to post a comment on a current discussion thread
may not be very good. What if there are no current threads that are applicable to
a student's experience/expertise? Are they supposed to comment on something they
know little or nothing about? I expect better from Library and Information Science
professors (and at San Jose State I was rarely disappointed-- Go Spartans!).
Tony
--------------------------------------------------
Anthony Doyle, Teacher Librarian
Livingston High School
Livingston, CA
tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us
What am I reading now? http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/whats-he-reading-now/
"When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only
think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself." (Isaac
Asimov, from his autobiography I Asimov)
The contents of this message are private and are intended for the recipients named
in the To and CC fields. You may not forward this message without the expressed
permission of the author. The contents of this message are the work of the author
and do not represent the opinions or policies of the Merced Union High School
District or Livingston High School.
________________________________________
From: School Library Media & Network Communications [LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On
Behalf Of Doyle_Tony [tdoyle@MUHSD.K12.CA.US]
Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 10:29 PM
To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: [LM_NET] GEN: MLS list assignments
It is almost 10:30pm and I just finished catching up on LM_NET messages--always a
worthwhile endeavor but time consuming none the less. I noticed several intro
messages from MLS students. My comments are not directed at them but at the
professor or professors that assign students to send messages to the list.
Maybe I am just getting old and cranky but does LM_NET need superfluous messages?
And is that the best e-mail list assignment that could be devised? How about
having students lurk and summarize some of the most discussed topics? Or what
about researching controversial issues in the archives? Or they could lurk on
several lists and compare and contrast them. Sending a message to a professional
list just for the sake of sending a message doesn't seem like an activity worthy of
a graduate program.
Or is it just me?
Tony
--------------------------------------------------
Anthony Doyle, Teacher Librarian
Livingston High School
Livingston, CA
tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us<mailto:tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us>
What am I reading now? http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/whats-he-reading-now/
"When I read about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only
think that American society has found one more way to destroy itself." (Isaac
Asimov, from his autobiography I Asimov)
The contents of this message are private and are intended for the recipients named
in the To and CC fields. You may not forward this message without the expressed
permission of the author. The contents of this message are the work of the author
and do not represent the opinions or policies of the Merced Union High School
District or Livingston High School.
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