Ginny Swale

1.) I just read the article on Harrisburg’s annual “social media blackout”. Without having experienced this before, I think totally disconnecting from (specifically) my iPhone would be horrible! I use my iPhone in between classes to check my e-mail, calendar and text my friends. I also use it on a daily basis to plan the rest of my day with my friends, texting about when we’re going to get together later. Disconnecting from Facebook would be easier than disconnecting from the iPhone, but it would still be difficult. Checking these social media sites to catch up on friends and their activities is how I unwind at the end of the day. I also use Facebook to stay in contact with groups I’m a part of, and to know when my groups are organizing an event or get-together.

2.) I attempted my “unplugging” from technology day on Saturday, and I decided to unplug from Facebook. I was slightly busy with other things that day, so I wasn’t really affected by the absence of facebook until around 4pm, when I had a lapse in my day. I knew my friends had all posted pictures of us at a recent social event, and I really wanted to look at them. However, instead I decided to be more productive and organize my calendar in preparation for the coming week. I also read a little in a book that I borrowed from the library for pleasure reading. I then spent the rest of the evening with friends and that kept me distracted. Ignoring Facebook turned out to be a little more difficult than I thought, only because I have Facebook on my iPhone. However, I was able to live for a day without Facebook- and it was actually pretty easy, and made my day more productive.

3.) Because completely unplugging is difficult and sometimes unnecessary, I have found a few alternatives. I found that by taking social media out of my life for a day, I was able to get more accomplished. A website called Anti-Social (http://anti-social.cc/) or anther website, Freedom (http://macfreedom.com/) allow you to block certain websites for a period of time, so that you can get work done, as distracting websites are not available for your use. You may also be able to find other non-technological forms of entertainment, such as a book for pleasure reading or catching up with a friend in a face-to-face conversation.

I completed most of the iPad training today during my two-hour shift, except for the last part regarding the PA troubleshooting questions and the Noterize app. I tried to find the COPHS group on blackboard, which would direct the rest of my iPad2 training without success. Hopefully on Monday I can find it with Kristen’s help and I can finish completing the iPad2 training. I also tried to open the WordPress training document again on both a Mac & a PC and the file still didn’t open. I didn’t have enough time to devote to the Blackboard IC training but again, I will start that on Monday after completing the previous trainings.

Today, Kristen helped me find my Word Press page where my ‘duties’ are located. First, I edited my Word Press page by creating an “About Me” page and adding a bit of information about me, as well as inserting a picture. Then I went over the CAT student handbook by following the link from the Info Commons word press. I then checked out Libstats and then took the MS Office Skills survery on SurveyMonkey. By the time all this was done it was about time to go, so I wrote this blog post. I come back today from 4-5 so I’ll probably work on my half-page bio during that time. See ya later!

This year, my goal for my job at Information Commons is to understand how to navigate Blackboard. I would like to learn more about it as the year goes on, so that when students come in with questions, I will be able to answer them without having to constantly bother the staff with their questions. I think this would make Info Commons more successful for me and as a whole, as I would be able to be more time-efficient with my work by helping students myself, so that the staff could get more of their work done. So students would get their questions answered in a timely manner and I would feel more confident in my work. As a whole, I would like to get to know my co-workers better, so that asking one another for help if we need it would be easier. I would also like to get to know them better so that we can create a friendly work environment, so that going to work is fun, and not something to be dreaded.