Unit 9

This week we learned about data modeling and proposed a simple database based on our previously created XML document. I really enjoyed learning about this; I felt that the basic concepts were accessible and very immediately useful. I had learned a little bit about entity relationship diagrams in IRLS 515, but felt that I was able to get a deeper understanding of it this time around.

I felt that I gained a good understanding of the crow's foot notation after spending some time on it, as well as a pretty good understanding of the differences between entities and attributes. The thing I am still having a hard time with is how everything goes together in the diagram when you have several or many entities/attributes. I also was only able to grasp a basic understanding of database normalization. I really look forward to learning more about this topic; I have a small business of my own that I would like to create a database for, so that gives me extra motivation to try to understand these topics.

Unit 8

This week we did a lot of reading about technology plans for libraries. I was not aware of technology plans and found it to be quite interesting and helpful to learn about. I noticed some common advice in the readings about what a good technology plan should consider and include:

• the plan should be based upon the organization's overall mission
• users should be the main focus
• the plan should have top management involvement and support
• involve as many stakeholders and end users as possible
• recognize that technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself
• the plan should be a living document and updated often

I looked closely at two technology plans from Connecticut libraries, one from the Avon Free Public Library and one from the West Hartford Public Library. I thought that they were both quite good and were very similar in structure: they each included a technology vision statement, a description of the current technology environment in their libraries as well as their specific needs, their goals with the technology, as well as general plans for staff training and evaluation. I felt that they were thorough yet concise.

I do believe that any networking will be valuable to me in assisting in technology planning in my future career. I believe that a technology plan would be useful to any organization, and having a background knowledge in technology would help in assessing the needs of the organization, as well as how those needs relate to its the goals and mission.

Unit 7

This week we learned some XML, which was really interesting. Luckily I had learned a little bit about it in IRLS 515 last semester, so I had some idea of what it was. However, it was nice to get a refresher on it and to learn more about it. I decided to primarily learn it through the w3schools tutorial, as I like the way these allow you to learn through reading, demonstration, and doing (such as the XML validator, which came in handy). I feel as though I got a good feel for what it is, although I am still a little bit confused as to how it interacts with HTML and JavaScript. These are all pretty new concepts to me, so I think the knowledge will come with time and more experience.

I also went through the JavaScript tutorial since I was unfamiliar with it, and looked at the XML Namespaces module. XML seems to be very important in the current and upcoming web and in the information sciences in general, so I look forward to learning more about it.

Unit 6

I was very excited to learn some HTML this week, as I felt a little behind in that my 504 class last fall did not include the customary HTML section. I decided to use w3schools, as I had good luck with this resource in 515. I thought it was very effective in teaching me the basics, and I generally found it to be easy to follow and understand. Even being a total beginner, I was having fun with it and even decided to add a background color to my website. I also took a look at Codecademy as it was recommended by a classmate in the forums, and it looks like a really great resource for beginners. I plan to go through more of the tutorials, and have bookmarked it for future use. HTML seems to me to be very simple in concept, yet something that can be extremely complex in practice. I look forward to learning more about it, as it is obviously an extremely useful skill to have.

Unit 5

This week we learned about networks. This information was all new to me and was a lot to digest, but it is a very interesting topic. I did find the variety of presentations for this material to be helpful to varying degrees. I like being able to look at a link with a Wikipedia entry so that I can grasp the basic definition of a term before moving on--I usually wait until the second reading of the material to read the entry past the first paragraph, otherwise I can trip myself up by forgetting the basic concept as I continue with the lecture.

I really enjoy videos, especially ones like "Warriors of the Net" where there are helpful visuals rather than just somebody talking. I think that I tend to be a more reflective learner, and prefer to work by myself for the most part. However, as the article mentioned, everybody uses different learning styles sometimes, and a lot of the material in this course is much more understandable to me by being active with it. I think for me it depends upon the nature of the material and my level of comfort with it. I had a harder time determining what other specific learning styles I use, such as visual vs. verbal. Again, I think that I use a mix and it depends upon the material. Sometimes visual aids are extremely helpful to me, while other times they confuse me (I tend to have a hard time with graphs). I appreciate the mix of methods used in this class.

Unit 4

This week we used four different methods of adding users: the command-line interface, the graphical user interface, Gnome, and Webmin. I ran into a small problem while installing Webmin, as I couldn't get the IP address to open up properly in my browser, but luckily I had done a screenshot before I began, and decided to start fresh. The second time, it worked fine. I think I must have made a small mistake in typing out one of the command lines.

Adding users with the different tools went smoothly, as I made sure to follow the directions carefully. I confess that I didn't understand everything that was going on with the CLI, and I had to reference the readings quite a bit to get any idea, but I hope that knowledge will come with more practice. I can see why some prefer the CLI once you have knowledge of what you are doing with it; it seems like a clean and straightforward way of doing things, and I can see there being fewer surprises than you could get with the GLI, since you are in control of exactly what is going on.

The GLI was very simple and intuitive, and is the way I add users on my own computer. This is fine for my everyday needs, but I could see why you would need a more complex tool for many situations. I really liked Gnome, as you can either keep it really simple or add extra user features/permissions if you need to. It was also very user-friendly. Webmin was a little overwhelming to me. It was not very intuitive to use, at least at first, but I could see it being very useful for an organization with complex user and group needs, without having to go directly to CLI. I was able to add a user with no problems by following the directions. I found this to be an interesting exercise in showing the differences between these different tools, and where one could be more useful than others in certain situations. They all seemed to have their virtues depending upon the user's technical level and needs.

Unit 3

This week we installed the Ubuntu server on our virtual machines, experimented with the vi/vim text editor, and also did some file configuration. I found the vi/vim tutorial to be very helpful, and I liked the emphasis on learning by repetition rather than memorization. The commands themselves seem to be simple, but I know it will take a lot more practice for me to get used to using it.

I also used this week to practice using commands in the terminal, and am finally beginning to understand the basic file structure of Linux. I have mostly been working on mastering the basic commands such as pwd, cd, ls less and file. I had a more difficult time understanding the configuration commands, but I am confident that the knowledge will come as I continue to practice and do the readings.