Pacing of tech assignments

I am only taking one course this semester. If it wasn't for the detailed installation/troubleshooting instructions I think many of us would be overwhelmed with questions and frustrated - so thanks for making that available for us! I'm excited to have a chance to play around with various technologies. The readings are appropriate but sometimes more than I'd like to undertake since I am a slow reader and find it hard to focus on the content. I'm still getting used to the pairing of two tracks into one course. I find the pace just right for my personal health because I can pace myself better during the week and have opportunities to spend time with friends and family unlike last semester.

Review of CMS article

The article I read from the special issue dedicated to content management systems in Library Hi Tech issue 1 2006 was Leveraging resources in a library gateway by Jerry V. Caswell. I selected this article because there is an invariable displeasure with the static webpage at my organization. The author described the use of guided search forms to aid users with access and advanced searching of resources. The argument he made was that our systems are too complicated for users and required a lengthy study for their effective use. Caswell advocated for simplification and mediation by libraries of these information systems.

He shared his organizations' strategic placement of guided search forms on subject guides. The forms, running JavaScript code, were preset to run a qualified search for the user. That is, advanced selections were preprogrammed so the user would directly enter a keyword and retrieve all relevant items (i.e., maps) for a specific task or assignment. Ironically, today my supervisor mentioned the availability of a new gadget which we intend to place in a course management system and preset appropriate qualified search parameters.

Another way the organization instituted guided search forms was by providing only two maximum search parameters: dropdown box at top and radio button selections on the bottom. The selections on the bottom were simply a teasing apart of some of the advanced features. Said search form allowed users to see all allowable limits in advance and run a more effective search.

The author also talked about a successful collaboration with the cataloguing department. Cataloguers added fields to bibliographic records to aid in the set-up of qualified searches.

I still had some lingering questions about the creation of the form, issues faced, decisions made, etc. Caswell shared a few web pages as examples that contained the guided search forms. However, when I accessed the sites I did not find any of these forms.

Discussion of digital collection

My initial plan was to borrow a subset of a real special collection from my employer but my query went unanswered. In lieu of that I decided that I did NOT want to work on a personal collection because I wanted to interact (i.e., ask questions) with a stakeholder and treat it as a dress rehearsal if you will. I am lucky to have a supportive husband that was very willing to share with me a subset of work images. The following is a description of my digital collection:

What is the collection: 15 images of various sizes in jpeg format
What is it about: animals specifically fish and wildlife
Who might access it: fish and wildlife researchers, game and fish employees, fish and wildlife employees, gamers, anglers, legislatures, educators
Terms to provide access: reptiles, large mammals, amphibians, fish, frog, eagle, elk, spikedace stoneroller, mexican grey wolf, flat horned lizard, golden eagle, bald eagle, black footed ferret

I would like to deviate from the systems and ontologies of yesterday and instead of the typical search interfaces I would like to experiment and replace it with cloud tags or icons.

MySQL

I am late completing this unit because of both personal and business factors. I began the work at home, then went out of town, and came back to the material. Issues with my vm also delayed my progress. I am not sure if this messed up my uptake of the material but boy was mySQL extremely difficult for me to understand especially privileges and left/right join syntax. The hard part for me was visualizing the tables and columns so that I could generate a statement. It was a lot of trial and error, going back through notes and online, so that I could create my homework statements. Although I was able to run the statements on my vm, it doesn't mean that they are correct. I would say that it's going to still take me a fair amount of time to fully understand mysql conceptually. Interesting stuff but not the kind of thing I would like to do in huge amounts on the job.

MySQL

I feel confident with the mysql command line. I reviewed the required uacbt tutorials and took notes so I feel that I can perform basic operations. However, I have difficulty with the relational database concepts: including entities, attributes, relationships and database normalization. When I began reading the lecture, readings, and tutorials I felt I was gaining some understanding but as I went on reading through more examples I just got confused and stayed confused. For example, the invoice reading began strong for me, then as more and more tables were compiled, I got lost with the normalization. What might help me understand these topics? Well, I think some stripped down between-the-lines explanations would help me. I hope that the database part 2 (retrieval) will help fill in some of the missing gaps in my understanding. Also, as I go through the hands-on exercises and assignments I hope that things will "normalize" :)

Technology Plans

I found this weeks readings largely useful. I thought many offered valuable tips including: Schuyler's statement that technology plans are political documents and make sure you make them generic and flexible in particular don't spend time researching specific technology because it's very likely that newer technology will be available at the time that funds are at hand. Dugan's suggested IT plan sections serve as a useful template when we have to write our own plan: introduction/executive summary; user needs/rationale; mission; vision; key challenges; priorities; implementation/action plan; public awareness; evaluation/measures/assessment; maintaining the plans currency; and appendices. Whittaker's evaluation of causes for IT project management failures with schedule overruns occurring more frequently than budget overruns was helpful and paralleled similar causes of currently unsuccessful projects. Gerding and Mackellar's practical account that the need is not for the technology itself but to solve a problem that exists in the community.

Learning XML

In order to learn XML, I used the following resources in the order specified: W3Schools XML tutorials, Mark Long's uacbt XML tutorials, and the ten min youtube video "Just Enough XML to Survive". I inadvertently assumed that 'tutorial' was video so when I accessed the first one, I admit I was somewhat disappointed that it was nothing but text. Luckily it was short and to the point so I was able to quickly read all the documentation in the XML Basic grouping. I next accessed Mark's tutorial. I was able to run the main sections (Welcome, XML Basics and XML Documents) and corresponding subsections recommended. Since I had the written context (learning style) from the first tutorial was able to listen (learning style) more intently and reinforce the initial learning. I wasn't fond of the youtube video only because when I accessed the video (late at night) my eyes couldn't focus on the light-colored, small letters (looked like a ppt) sitting on a white background.

My demo system installation is complete and I am following along with the assignments. I also have a working vm installation for fall back.