Those around me would describe me as curious, inquisitive: a lifetime learner. Reading any book I can get my hands on, eyes bleary from late night blog skimming, fingers stained from newspaper print, and eavesdropping on everyday conversation, I am someone who appreciates several tangled avenues of obtaining information and learning. I would say that I am “just plain nosy.”
My first steps along these avenues went well beyond the normal curiosity children exhibit concerning the world surrounding them, because growing up as an African American female in a working class household increased the intensity of my questions. Why, despite both of my parents working 40+ hour weeks, was the rent sometimes late? Or during a particularly heartbreaking conversation, why did Lisa insist that I use the black crayon to color my skin when it is clearly brown? Age appropriate answers never quelled my need to know and my ruse of playing quietly in an effort to listen in on family gossip was often uncovered. So, at every opportunity, I turned to libraries and books. There, I had access to resources for my questions, and also discovered that knowledge informed and shaped the context of my and every others’ existence. The power of access to knowledge and the impact of information however did not truly coalesce until my senior year of high school—reading, questioning, and thinking had led me without question to more: acceptance to college.
Studying English and Anthropology allowed me to learn about worlds, both real and imagined. More importantly, Amherst helped me develop a stronger framework for analysis and emphasized the intersections of several fields of study. Some of my most memorable days while as an undergrad student were those when a...
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...rograms and systems that increase accessibility and sophisticated use, particularly for those in underserved communities. As methods for information consumption changes, digital librarianship and information seeking habits is what I would like to study. Reading about the Information School’s research projects investigating unequal access, I am excited about the opportunity to contribute.
Flexible and quick to adapt, I know that I have the ability to motivate others and myself in this ever-advancing field. My personal experiences in pursuing higher education as a first generation college student have made me no stranger to adversity or creating my own path, qualities I believe add greatly to leaders within librarianship. My commitment to reading, learning, and questioning make me the outgoing and accomplished candidate the University of Washington needs.
Librarians are defined as “a person, typically with a degree in library science, who administers or assists in a library.” In truth, they are much more than that. In a recent interview with Traci Glass, the Teen Librarian at the Eugene Public library, we explored her personal story with becoming a librarian, including how it has benefitted and affected her life.
Lifelong learning and adult education is not just a trend, it is something that has the potential to lower our nation’s health care costs and prolong the quality of life for each and every one of us. In relatively wealthy countries, individuals who have stayed in formal education for longer, and who have gained higher qualifications tend to enjoy better mental and physiological health than their less well-educated counter-parts. (e.g. Burnette & Mui, 1994; Montgomery & Schoon, 1997; Vega Deinstmaier et al., 1999) Education has always been something that we did for ourselves to improve our lives personally as well as the society we are a part of. The idea that adults are not capable of continuing to learn into their golden years is no longer
Wildemuth, B. M. (2009). Applications of social research methods to questions in information and library science. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Darnton, Robert. "The Library in the New Age." NYBooks.com. The New York Review of Books, June 12, 2008. Web. 6 March 2012.
The Association of College and Research Libraries, (2000) defines Information Literacy as an understanding and set of abilities enabling individuals to ‘recogn...
I am enrolled as a student at Ashford University in the Bachelor of Arts Program. My major is library science and media. My ultimate goal is not to become a teacher, despite the required education courses required to earn this degree. The library science and media major is relevant to my chosen profession because the role of the library is changing and evolving, much like today’s classrooms, with technology. For almost three years, my job title has been library branch manager/library assistant III. I intend to continue in this field with aspirations of being offered a full-time position and/or better pay. I enjoy working for and getting to know the people in the community, who visit the library. Often times, my patrons make me feel more appreciated than those who I employed by. I enjoy helping my patrons find books and movies and assisting them with the computers as they need me. The library is a safe and welcoming environment for all, and I like being part of that.
Public Librarians’ Attitudes Regarding Acquisition and Access. Judaica Librarianship [serial online]. July 2014; 18:54-87. Available from: Academic Search Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed February 4, 2015.
Hudak, Tina. (2008). Are Librarians reading teachers, too? Library Media Connection, 26(5). (Hudak, Tina, 2008)
Lifelong learning is developing a new skills or knowledge through lifelong, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of education for professional reasons or personal purpose. In other words, lifelong learning is the process of one educating oneself from early childhood to late senior years. A lifelong learning idea represents that, people learned by their selves, in groups, and from each other. Also, they learn by making real model solution to new products where we have to apply our skills and they take their skills that they learned and apply it to a real-life practice field. There are some factors that play an important role in lifelong learning through self-directed learning such as: creativity, self-concept as an effective learner, and openness to learning opportunities. Dave Truss, in a philosophy essay, states, “The goal of education is to enrich the lives of students
Frey, Darcy. “The Last Shot.” Reading and Writing the College Experience. Huron Valley Publishing: Ypsilanti, 2003. 171 – 192.
Education is an ever-changing part of society. A classroom teacher is faced with new challenges and obstacles that have never been dealt with before. Students come to the classroom with different life stories. Every student has strengths and weaknesses that surface in the classroom environment. Teachers must understand and focus on utilizing each student's strengths and work to improve weaknesses. Students learn in a variety of ways. The classroom must be a safe zone that appreciates student's viewpoints and allows room for mistakes. When topics in the classroom are related to "real-life" experiences, the information is more likely to be retained. Students learn from one another. The ideas and perspectives that each student brings to the classroom can bring insight into what is being learned. Students have to be allowed to explore new ideas, try them to see if they work, and sometimes fail. When students are encouraged to explore, they begin the process of becoming lifelong learners.
We live in a society that is rapidly changing and where we are becoming lifelong learners. A lifelong learner is someone with aspiration and ambition to improving knowledge and skills with a personal, social, work related and civic outlook. Constructivism is the theory of how a person constructs knowledge when new information presented and it combines with existing knowledge that one gains through experiences. In a review of the constructivism theory through a student’s view, teaching and learning are the implications through hand-on, experiential, collaboration, project-based or task based projects. Learning is a continuous active process of gaining knowledge through experiences and interactions within the world. Learning occurs when an individual encounters thoughtful challenges, naturally occurring or in a problem-solving activity. Most importantly, it is worth noting to state that learning is a social
People with disabilities face many obstacles throughout their life. There are many things that can be done to ensure that a person with disabilities reaches their full potential. People with disabilities face many issues pertaining to lifelong learning such as; the beginning diagnosis, early intervention, assessments, educational progress and transitional programs.
Learning is a process that involves effort and hard work, but it definitely pays off in the long run. Once a foundation is set on how to become a better student, the student with the foundation is set up for success. A student should be taught methods on how to become better at concepts related to success attained at the college level because it helps the student out so much once he or she knows how to effectively study. While studying might seem tedious and overwhelming at time, it can be proven to be instrumental if a person knows how to effectively do it and get the most out of it. I strongly believe that learning never ends, and a person can continue to learn new things as long as he or she lives. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner,
The Center for the Digital Future’s 2005 report found that 'among users 17 and older, 56.3 percent consider the Internet to be a very important or extremely important source of information for them' (p. 4). Online resource capabilities save an individual time as well as provide ease of access and availability to a broad scope of materials. Print books and journals, though they provide in–depth information on a particular subject, are not easily accessible and available at any particular moment. In order to access many books, an individual must either visit the local library or contain the book in his or her own private collection, which could be costly. Online resources can be accessed anytime at anyplace. “Overall, there is expanded access to information in a variety of formats from worldwide institutions, businesses, and universities" (Darrow & MacDonald, 2004, p. 22). Access to “worldwide” information puts a broad range of information in the h...