Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I attended this class through Wimba. The class looked at how to access the research material in the Stockton library. There are links to tutorials that will help you understand the process to obtain the research articles. The tutorials offer some great insights about how to work efficiently and give you information you will appreciate. Having a way to get the APA formatting for a document is my favorite. It is so much easier than trying to do it yourself. Just remember to double check the formatting since it does not always format correctly. The tutorials are set up so that you can watch them on video or read the information.


The library link is: Library

This is a list of the tutorials and what is most important about each.

Video Tutorial 1: Education Research Complete

o   Automatically format the citation into APA

o   Limit search results to no more than 50; 35 is preferable

o   Ability to limit search results to peer reviewed papers

o   Ability to forward research via email with the APA citation

Video Tutorial 2: Preserving your results

o   Seems to be a review of the first video in that it reviews emailing the results with APA formatting

o   Ability to save to a folder during the research session

Video Tutorial 3: ILLiad registration

o   Illiad provides the ability to obtain resources from other libraries

o   Ten day window before arrival

o   Requires registration with Stockton Z#

Video Tutorial 4: Submitting a request

o   Check Stockton’s library for the needed resource before following the ILLiad steps above (Stockton cannot have the required resource available)

Video Tutorial 5: Peer reviewed Articles

o   Articles are more difficult to submit and get approval for journals, therefore the implication is a higher level of validity

o   Check the peer reviewed check box to limit your search to these resources

The class also looked at the first IT Timeline presented by Robynn. She did an excellent job and has set the standard at a very high level. Way to go, Robynn!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Today’s class was cancelled due to the IVLA Conference. This was an opportunity to catch up on some of the work I need to complete. I did catch up a little bit but have a way to go.
More importantly, I attended the IVLA Conference on Friday. The website address for the IVLA conference is: http://www.ivla2011.org/index.cfm.

The Seaview, where the conference was held is aptly named. It has a beautiful view of the sea; hence the name. This is the website address: http://www.dolce-seaview-hotel.com/.


The Seaview Resort and Spa

The conference was excellent and offered a chance to hear people from all over the country and some international people. The presenters spoke about the work they were doing in visual literacy. They used various media to show their work and answered questions both during and after their presentations. The atmosphere was casual and unimposing. Observers were able to comment and ask questions.

The key note speaker on Friday was Wendel White. He presented his work: Hidden in Plain Sight: African American Artifacts and Architecture in the American Landscape.
The presentation looked at photographs of African American artifacts, some taken in South Jersey a short distance away from the conference. The images that impacted me the most were of the segregated schools throughout the country. The images showed the school in its original location. The area around the school was made gray so that the school becomes the highlight of the image. Mr. White uses the images to speak about segregation in northern states. I don’t usually think of segregation occurring in this part of the country as much as the South but you can’t deny that it was a definite part of our cultural history. Segregation continues to exist in some form today. This is a link to Mr. White’s website: http://wendelwhite.com/. I have included one of the photos presented by Mr. White at the conference. The school building is highlighted while the background is faded. The image below is of a school in Whitesboro, NJ.



Another presentation I enjoyed was: Shape and the Placing of Visual Literacy: The Case of Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachian Photography. This was presented by Jennifer Mooney from Virginia Tech. Shelby Lee Adams photographs subjects from the Appalachian region of the country. He seems to pick subjects that evoke negative reactions especially from people who are native to the region. Ms. Mooney used Face Book to gauge the reactions of people from different parts of the country to different photos of Appalachia. Photographers included: Shelby Lee Adams, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Earl Dotter and Wendy Ewald. Overall Adams’ photographs evoked the most negative reactions from all participants but most especially from Appalachian natives. The interesting thing about attending a conference in person is you get to speak directly to the presenter and interact with them. Ms Mooney encouraged people to contact her. She sent me a copy of her presentation as well.

I hope to be able to use some of the ideas explored in the presentations as I learn about visual literacy.