And so it begins...

Welcome to my first post on my grad-class blog. I do have a scarce amount of blogging experience which I should explain up front. This summer I decided to participate in the 23 Things on a Stick program which was my very first venture into blogging. From there, I have actually developed a blog for my school library (http://lourdeslibrary.edublogs.org) which I plan on going live with when school starts on Wednesday.

I guess my reasons for choosing a blog format for my job website fits into the first question for this assignment. First of all, I really like the way a blog allows you to update and post news without having to change the entire site. I plan on using the front page of my blog to post news and such about the library in a timely fashion. Hand-in-hand with that, not so current posts will eventually "disappear" so I do not have to worry about deleting the post about August's new arrivals come October or whatever - it will eventually end up in the archives which is fine. At this point, I do not plan on making my blog interactive. The main reason for this is that this is totally new to the school that I am working in (they did not even have a library homepage when I started) and I know there is some reservations from the powers that be about internet safety and the like. But, besides their concerns, I do not believe that I am ready to be totally interactive. If someone has a comment or suggestion for the library, I advise them to email me with such information. As I get more comfortable with this endeavor, I can definitely see myself opening up to the idea of interactivity. I am already brainstorming ideas such as online book clubs/discussion groups, etc.

As far as my overall opinions of blogging - that is where it gets tricky. While I myself like and use the format, I cannot say that I am a huge fan of all blogs. I guess what bothers me the most is the way that anonymous voices have been given such power in our society. I am all for the First Amendment and a person's right to free speech - however, I believe that with such priviledge comes the responsibility of standing behind what you say and claiming it as your own. Nothing bothers me more than the "comments" section that online newpapers are now using and the fact that no one who posts their thoughts/opinions have to take any credit/blame/responsibility for what they say. I think this is especially important to keep in mind when blogging in an educational setting. Giving children the opportunity to say whatever they want without hlding them accountable for it can be a dangerous thing. That is something that I am currently working on as I think about opening my own blog up to commentary and the like. Having said all that, however, I still am in favor of using blogs (particularly in a school setting) because I think it is important to expose kids to something that appears to be becoming a prevalent (maybe even necessary) form of communication.

I look forward to working with and sharing such ideas with all of you throughout the semester.