Amanda's Inquiry Blog

Blog #12: Training materials and colds don't mix...

2008-04-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Finishing up the wiki is almost surreal. When we started it seemed so far off. We have put the finishing touches on what we are doing as far as I know. We tried to contact Nancy and have her attend one last meeting but we never got a response so we are powering forward with what we have. She is welcome to change anything she wants once it is hers. We've finished major changes anyway. Small content changes may be made but we're working on training materials now so major things have to stay where they are. The training materials should go well. We tested the software at our meeting last week and we are all meeting individually to use the screen casting software with Kay. I was supposed to meet with her on Tuesday but have acquired an insane head cold. I'm not sure they want to hear me sneeze, sniffle, and cough my way through their training videos but it hasn't really gotten better and we're running short on time. I'll take some medicine before class this afternoon and hope that works. We'll see. A cold is definitely not in the plans and goes to show that even non-technology can screw up your whole plan.

The Usability test section is done and posted. I now have to go through and test two other wikis. It's weird to look at a wiki that isn't yours and realize that even though you have been working with the wikispaces technology for a while, it's a whole different world to go into someone else's wiki. It will be interesting. I'm not sure if we're supposed to be returning these finished tests to the person or what we're supposed to be doing with them but I guess we'll find out this evening in class. It's also weird to go back to class after having a few weeks without it. With luck VIC will work with us tonight and not throw us off. I have a Saturday class where we get thrown off every week as well. Oh technology, how we love you...

Blog #11: Winding down?

2008-03-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

We're starting to finish up changes on the blog and to work on training materials. It looks like we will be filming our openings on Thursday (so I will try to remember not to look like I just woke up) and we are writing the scripts this week but may not film them this week. We aren't sure yet. It depends on Nancy and what she says she wants to change. This is pretty much her last opportunity to say if she hates something or not before we have to finalize so we can film training materials and finish up. We each have two scripts to write. Mine are the counter widget and the search feature which includes my new and working tag cloud. I have started to kind of play around with what each thing is capable of to write a short script for it. I think I'm just going to jot notes for each step I take and go from there. I'm not sure yet but I better get sure soon since we're looking at them on Thursday at our team meeting.

This has all gone so fast. I can't believe it's almost over. I also can't believe that after all the time, energy, and frustration that the tag cloud was something the wiki had built in to the search feature all along. Oh well. it works now the way I want it to. It's useful and I like it. I'm pretty proud of the way it looks. I've had a coworker take a look at it and she loved the way it looked and wondered if she could get me to set one up for her. As much as this has been very interesting and I'm glad I know how to do it now and feel confident just playing around with things, I think she's on her own with that one. She can learn how to do it when she takes the class.

Blog #10: The Tag Cloud Saga continues...

2008-03-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

I think I might officially hate tag clouds. The truth is that I want to be able to use the tag cloud widget on our site the same way it's used on the wordpress blog and it doesn't seem like an option with a free tag cloud widget. I made a tag cloud out of a sample of 20 words that we can use as pretty general tags on our wiki and I like it but it's small. If they want to keep it and use it I think they should have a list of at least 100 words for tags. I'm also not sure if they'll even want to use it or if it will be just one more step people won't want to do. It's hard to say. I don't know how useful it's going to be to them to see the amount of times a tag shoes up on the site but maybe it will be. It's pretty cool idea but it takes too long to update and it is kind of a pain. I used tag-cloudgenerator.com and I couldn't find a better one. I liked the way it came out and I like the way it goes onto the site so far but I'm just not sure of it in general.

Looking toward the future I think we have to finish it all up and tie up loose ends at this point and move forward with our quick start guide and training materials. I'm not really worried about those as Kay knows what she's doing and I've had a little bit of experience with it as well. I think our training materials will go well and will loom great. We just have to come up with a list of everything that needs to be included as well as write the scripts and just do it.

Also my counter widget is up and running correctly and I like it a lot. I'm glad we changed. I'm glad we're using an easier service and I'm glad it has some additional features that I think are pretty cool. I'm pretty proud of the way the wiki is coming together, especially when you think that none of us had any idea how to do this in the beginning.

Blog #9: World wide widget hunt

2008-03-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

I kind of hate widgets right now. I spent most of yesterday looking in to what I thought would be a pretty simple widget hunt. I had to add a counter widget to our wiki and look at tag clouds to see if they would be useful for our wiki as well. Finding the counter was not had at all. It took me just a few minutes to locate one I liked and only a few more to add it so that it would actually show up on the page. This was the easy part. It was there with the widget adding area of the edit menu. It read 385 visits. There was a place to go to reset the widget for your site but it would not reset. I tried everything I could think of. I took it off, logged back in and relinked it to try it from scratch again. I got rid of all of it and tried again. I tried to reset on different computers. I tried it all but it would not work for anything in the world. I ended up looking around for different widget and loading that onto the site. So far so good. It works and started at 1. Amazing. Now I just have to figure out if I can easily reset it and we'll have to add that information to training materials.

The tag cloud is different altogether. I'm not sure it will even work for us. All of the generators I have been looking at need you to add the tags you want it to look for. This is fine if we want to give them a list of tags to use all the time but if they want to create their own tags they won't want to keep generating new clouds. If there was a cloud that would look at all the tags and create it's own list it would work well but I don't know yet if there is. The tag cloud on the YA area of the ACPL site is great and I am going to ask who found it and where they found it to see if we can recreate it but if not we might have to give up the cloud. It was suggested to us by one of the YA librarians as something they might like to see but if they have to generate new clouds every time they come up with a new tag then it's not worth it to them. They want something quick and easy and that would be neither. It was a cool idea. Too bad it might not happen.

Blog #8: Green Shorts

2008-03-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

No, you don't have to actually wear green shorts to participate but if you feel that will get your creative juices flowing...then by all means.

This week duing YA program on Wednesday afternoon we are beginning a program called Green Shorts. This first meeting will be to brainstorm ideas for short films on how to go green. The summer reading program is going green this summer and at my branch we're taking this very seriously. We've started a One Green Summer blog to talk with each other about ideas and this will be the tens' first program on going green. They're going to come up with ideas on how we can make Youtube videos about going green.

All week I have been looking at Youtubes that might work as examples. I've found some of the PSAs from Live Earth that I'm going to show them with actors they know. There are also a bunch of band PSAs I'm going to show them as well.Then we're going to talk about what we can do in the library and start to search for quotes on changes we can make and effects of those changes. From there we're going t start writing scripts and then eventually video tape and edit these videos together. This is planned to take 3 to 4 afternoons to do. It might take more. I've worked with Youtube only one other time and it took me 2 hours to edit a 45 second video. It should be interesting to show teens how to do it and see how long it actually takes. I'm excited to see their finished products and possibly be able to use them this summer and for class visits in the late spring.

Here's the only Youtube I've ever done. I hope you find it half as funny as we all did.

Blog #7: Freaks and Geeks Training

2008-02-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

ACPL has a program which focuses on new technologies that they call Geek Out Don't Freak Out. I haven't been able to attend this session before the one this week. The newest edition of this (which my assistant manager calls Freaks and Geeks Training (as if we need to be trained to be bigger freaks and/or geeks) was today and focused on mp3s, analog to digital music, and the new Amazon book reader called the Kindle. I have to say I really wanted to go see the digital turntable. My dad has wanted to convert his records to cds for a long time. He has some things he can't find on cd. So I wanted to go and learn more about this. I was also interested in seeing the Kindle up close since we've all been talking about it around the library for a while now.

The mp3 portion was something I didn't really need to know. I've geeked around with that equipment for a while. We did all just get new mp3 players if we participated in learning 2.0 though and this will be able to play audio books (which we are getting back as downloadable in the system soon). I'm excited about this since my ipod will not work with them and I haven't had a reason to be able to use it before. I did learn that we are getting that service back soon and am excited about that option.

The digital turntable was great. The One Kay used was called the Ion and it looks very easy though I'll have to make sure my dad cleans his vinyl before we use one. It's funny because I'm so used to burning cds which takes no time at all but to do this, it's like going back to when we had to make a copy of a tape which took as long as it took to play it. It will take a while for him to convert his stuff but apparently we can find them pretty cheap on half.com so this might be worth looking into. Kay also showed us how to take analog music from a guitar and microphone and use Garage band (an apple application) with them. We're starting a band. I get to play drums. I always wanted to be a drummer so this is great. Ha!

The Kindle is kind of cool. I have to admit it. I like the digital ink (e-ink maybe) and how it doesn't look like a computer screen but an actual book. It is kind of cool that way. It turns pages by flashing to the next page which is weird but interesting as well. I have a lot of doubt that this will ever come close to taking a big percentage of book sales but it is cool to play with. It's also really expensive and I can't see owning one even though new releases and best sellers are 9.99.

In less happy technology news, this last week with oncourse has been horrible. First it wouldn't let anyone log on, then it was slow, then I uploaded a few assignments for my other class and one posted but the other one gave me a confirmation screen but didn't post. Being 2 hours away from Indy and turning all assignments in via oncourse, when it goes down and has issues it can be really frustrating.

Well, I'm off to pick up my 35mm film now!

Blog #6: The Wiki Begins

2008-02-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

Starting with the wiki has been an interesting experience. We set up a new group wiki with a common password to get us all in. We logged in and started to look at the look and feel of the site. After a minute or so we decided that we'd wait on that, it being not all that important. We discussed what content we needed and where this content should be located. What needs to go on the navigation bar? What should we include? What should we leave off. We ended up generating a lot of questions...quite a few more than the five we needed to record to answer the next time we meet. With luck we will have answers to these questions and be able to move forward.

After the meeting I started playing around with the wiki on my own. After I actually logged in with the right user name and password that is. It's interesting to just look around and try to locate tools and how they can be used. I made a test page on my own personal wiki just to try it and I'm wondering how easy it is to delete content or pages in case I mess something up and want to start over. It's been interesting just to take a look around but I am excited about actually getting started.

In other technology news, I have been working on trying to put together a digital newsletter and or digital flyers for programming. ure this is something I will ever use but it might be and I've been finding new ways to use Word that I haven't done before because we don't have access to PageMaker and PhotoShop at work like I do at home. It's been a little frustrating but I'm really glad I know I can do the things I want with a program I have access to both at work and at home.

Blog #5: Old technology in new ways...

2008-02-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

In the past week I have gotten a few new toys. I ordered a new Polaroid instant camera, an Action Sampler and a Fish Eye camera. The first is the old style instant Polaroid and the other two are 35mm which I haven't worked with in ages since I got my first digital. I bought the Polaroid for art purposes...well I bought them all for that actually. I want to work with some scratching and manipulation of the instant shots. I did it once in an art class and want to explore more. The Action Sampler takes four pictures in rapid progression and then develops all four shots on one print. Therefor it records action and movement. The fish eye I haven't gotten yet but it's on it's way. It takes 170 degree shots and I am excited about using it to distort images.

As excited as I am about the new stuff I got, each one has involved some level of discovery for me. I haven't loaded 35mm film in so long I forgot how to do it right and spent ten minutes just trying to figure out what I screwed up. I did finally get it but now I have to learn how to use this thing to my advantage. When they say rapid succession they mean it. I could barely move as the flashes went off and everyone I have shown it to is like 'It's done?'. I think I did get some good shots of my new puppy as she moves pretty rapidly but I don't know yet. There's another aspect to get used to again...developing film. No more instant gratification. Also no more steady cam shots. Oh how I do rely on technological advances. I'm also going to try distorting these pictures but I'm not sure how.

Just got the Polaroid today. It's been around a while but I have never used one besides the one time. I didn't know how to load it. I can't even seem to find out how to change the battery or how often it's going to need it. I have started scratching though and that's been a lot of fun.

I realize that this is technically old technology, some of it dating back a while but for the most part I grew up with digital and there are a lot of differences. It will take a lot of getting used to and a lot of exploration. I am definitely finding the irony in me being the person many people come to for help with new technology and not knowing how to use technology that they don't think twice about because they've been using it for so long.

Blog #4 - Beginning Podcasting

2008-02-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

I am a podcasting newbie. I have to admit I never really had anything I wanted to podcast but thanks to an interesting new possible opportunity, I decided to go ahead and try it. We have a step-by-step explanation in our Library 2.0 site at our library but that seemed kind of complicated and I want to be able to use this podcasting with others who will probably have less experience than I do. In short: make it easy. The less steps the better. There’s a blog on Livejournal (where my personal blog is located) that I read quite often. It’s the blog of a guy from Chicago who has started his own publishing company to self release his own books and audio books. For a long time he has been doing what Livejournal refers to as voice posting, which is basically podcasting. A person can use the phone to call in and host the voice file on the Livejournal site. Recently he has wanted to expand and be able to make longer posts (Livejournal limits to 5 minutes). He is a self professed technophobe and someone gave him a link to a service called Gabcast. He has since used it several times and raves about how easy it is. This was for me. I had to try it. If it really was as easy as he said, I wouldn’t even need a microphone or recording device. All I would need was my phone.

It was that easy! I set up a GabCast account at www.gabcast.com and created a channel for posts so I could use different channels for different aspects of my life and people could subscribe and learn whenever this channel was updated. I got a channel code and pass code to post and all I have to do is call a toll free number, record my post and they convert it and host it. I can delete, listen to make sure everything sounds alright before posting, and then take the link and add it to other sites when I’m done. It’s so easy, not a lot of steps, and I will be able to show others how to use it easily as well. Now all that is left is to try to include it in this posting and see if that works. I’m really excited about this.

Did I mention the podcast can be either streamed or downloaded?

Gabcast! Booktalks etc. #1 - Fat Kid Rules the World

Booktalk for Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Goings.

Blog #3 - Library 2.0...exploring...eventually...

2008-01-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

We've been working with Library 2.0 at ACPL as a way to get the staff involved with learning more about the new technologies. It's an optional program for us but it just made sense to me to be involved. The program includes information and support on learning new things such as blogging, wikis, myspace, facebook, delicious, mp3s and mp3 players, and many other internet options that can be useful for libraries. It has been an interesting getting into some of these aspects but I have learned something about myself in this process.

I am far more likely to tackle the aspects of Library 2.0 that I already have some understanding of. I would like to have been able to tackle the more difficult things first but I didn't. I followed the steps on myspace which is a site I have been using for years. I set up a Facebook figuring it was similar and would be simple. I already had several blogs, a couple of which I have been using since 2004. I even looked into downloadable audio books and mp3 players which I had quite a bit of experience with as well. I did find some more uses for several of the programs which was nice and I did reflect more on the use but I didn't learn much at first. I didn't learn much until I had exhausted all of the familiar options that I had.

It's not that I didn't want to learn the new aspects available. I love playing around with things until I figure them out and what better place than at work where they want me to do it and they want to pay me to do it and it's someone else's technology so I'm not all that worried about getting into something I can't get out of. There is tech support. I have no issues. I want to get into it but I saved all the harder stuff till last. I can definitely relate to patrons and other staff members who find it intimidating to get into new technologies. I need to continue to work on the different aspects set up and learn new things rather than reviewing and adding information about old things.

Wonderful World of Wikis

2008-01-17T07:09:00.001-08:00

I've just begun to look at wikis as I was looking at the syllabus for class and saw that we will be doing a good amount of work with them. Wikis are an area I don't have a lot of knowledge about. The most use I've ever had with a wiki is Wikipedia and what I know about that is that I should always have a source to back up any information I find as Wikipedia is not a reliable source for research and much information. This has been drilled in as along as i have been writing research papers...or at least as long as I have been writing them while Wikipedia has been in existence. I have used the site from time to time for personal use and found mistakes and I also use it when looking up information for patrons for basic things. My point is that my only experience with wikis is Wikipedia and distrust of information.

Needless to say, I'm a little nervous about getting in to wikis, probably partly because of prior experience but also because of lack of experience. I've never participated in creating a wiki entry and I'm not sure how it all works. I am interested in getting started. I read the chapter in Library 2.0 about all the wikis there are and the different sizes of wikis and I'm interested in going to the site which has the index of wikis. I think I'm going to start there so that I can get a greater range of information and knowledge of uses for wikis. I'm also interested in seeing what uses libraries have for them. We use a blog in my branch and I can see the advantages and disadvantages of this. I wonder if having a branch wiki would be more use to us. We currently use our blog just for our summer program but if we had a wiki would allow us to cover multiple topics and keep them separated.

Blog post #1 S554

2008-01-03T08:41:00.000-08:00

I created this blog last semester for another class so I figured I would just use this same blog. I have blogged for personal, school, and work use before. I started a blog in 2004 on livejournal that I have been using ever since. This has been a great way to keep up with people who live far away on day to day events. I'm able to tell my friends and family what is going on in my life and read what is going on with them.

This blog for inquiry class began last semester. I blogged about a project that I had been working on for the class. This was the first time I had used a blog to document my ideas and the process of working through a project. It was an interesting experience and allowed more opportunity to reflect than I normally allow time for.

We're currently in the process of blogging with my entire branch on going 'green' for the summer reading program. We've been throwing out ideas on recycling and and utilizing recylced products as well as educating our community in many different ways. It's been great to work with the whole staff on the blog. We all work different schedules and don't have time to have regular meetings to throw around ideas so the blog has allowed us to read each other's ideas in our own time and communicate that way as well.

I will put a picture on here as soon as I find one I don't hate. Yikes!

In closing...

2007-10-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

Throughout the project I have been sharing the steps with my family and friends. Several of them are as interested in Irish culture as I am. I'm excited to share the finished product with them as well. Though I designed this project mainly for my own use and enjoyment, I think it could be a beginning tool for anyone who is interested in the topic. It's easily accessed on Google maps and simple to decypher. It also includes links to a great deal of more in depth information on the topics. Had I found something like this while researching I would have found it very useful. Others might even find my process interesting if not useful. I usually keep a private blog to share with only those close to me but the public blog might give someone ideas for their own projects.

I enjoyed this project. Though at first I was concerned about having no guidelines as to what topic I could choose or how to form the project, I was happy to be able to choose something which is as interesting to me as Irish folklore. The idea of the map came after much thought on the research of the project itself. It is always the most difficult for me to begin a project as I am unsure as to what direction I am going to go in. When an end result is not defined it makes it harder. Thinking about what to do ended up taking a great deal more time than actually doing the work. Having some idea of the area and symbols that I wanted to know more about helped. It gave me a little bit of concrete knowlege to start off with. Making the list of what I might want to understand more, even though it did change along with my basic questions as I went along, was useful as well. There were a few times I let myself become frustrated and had to walk away and rethink things. If I had this project to do again I would have attempted to make a topic decision earlier so that I could be thinking about the 'how' more than the 'what'. Had I had more time for the investigation I would have loved to utilize more materials, have gotten into more of the books and been able to locate and watch some of the videos which I found. I like the way the final project has come together but I have a serious lack of focus in my research meathods. I am a messy researcher. A graphic organizer used in place of my lists would have made it easier to sift through and understand later. If I had taken any great amount of time between the search and the organization I might have been lost with those random notes.

I can definitly relate to the frustration of choosing a topic as well as researching that topic that children and young adults face. Sometimes educators forget how difficult this process can actually be. It's hard to know where to start and once you have started, often times materials which seem to be great sources turn out to be road blocks. It can be very discouraging. As a graduate student I have both years of experience at this and tools which these students do not yet have. I also research every day in the library setting. I know my way around a web search. Younger researchers don't have this experience. I was frustrated, having the tools that I had. I can only imagine the frustration with not even having these tools.

At the beginning of this project I looked at standards from a high school level. I still think this project best suits students at this level. The standards I addressed then were:

Standard 1
Culture Hearths*

Students will examine the physical and human geographic factors associated with the origin and development of culture hearths in various regions of the world.

GHW.1.1 Use maps, timelines, and/or other graphic representations to identify the location, distribution, and main events in the development of cultural hearths in various regions of the world. (Origins, Spatial Distribution, Human Environment Interactions, Human Livelihoods)
Examples: Irrigation-based civilizations: Tigris-Euphrates (Fertile Crescent), Nile, Indus, Huang Ho (Yellow) Rivers (3300–500 B.C.E.); land-based civilization: Mongols of Central Asia (700–1200 C.E.); the rainforest- and valley-based civilizations of Mesoamerica (1200 B.C.E.–1492 C.E.).

GHW.1.2 Ask and answer geographic and historical questions* about the locations and growth of culture hearths. Assess why some of these culture hearths have endured to this day, while others have declined or disappeared. (National Character, Change Over Time, Physical Systems, Spatial Distribution)
Examples: Using the geographical/cultural areas mentioned in examples for GHW.1.1, answer questions such as the following: “Where are culture hearths located and why are they located where they are?” “What are the locational advantages and disadvantages of particular culture hearths?” “How have these advantages and disadvantages changed over time?” (3300 B.C.E.–present).

The AASL standard which would most closely work with this project would be Standards 3 and 4:

Standard 3: Students use information effectively and creatively

Standard 4: Students pursue information related to personal interest.

Though I don't think I would use this project with students younger than high school, sixth graders could use aspects to cover nearly every part of Social Studies Standard 6.5: Individuals, Society, and Culture
Students will examine the role of individuals and groups in societies of Europe and the Americas, identify connections among cultures, and trace the influence of cultures of the past on present societies. They will also analyze patterns of change, including the impact of scientific and technological innovations, and examine the role of artistic expression in selected cultures of Europe and the Americas.

As a class project, parts of this project could be utilized. They could investigate many of the symbols for what they meant to the culture of each time period. They could also use maps to plot events and cultural change.

Before beginning this project my approach to inquiry was not anywhere near as focused as it became throughout the process. I have had a tendancy in the past to think a great deal about ideas but rarely record them or reflect upon them later and change the focus as I proceeded through the process. Inquiry in the past has almost always had a guide and a focused outcome as well. Even if allowed to choose a topic in a certain area, the end results would all be the same. A completely open ended project was more than a little scary at first. I did learn to work through this. It has been nice to go back through this blog throughout the process to regain focus as well as to make the chnages that were needed. My ideas were all in one place and organized as they never are in my head. I liked using the blog to make sense of random ideas and take the time to think things through and flesh them out a bit more. Giving form to ideas and questions helped greater define them. I do still have a tendancy toward messy research though. I'm not sure that will change even though I am aware of ways to change it. I kind of like my mess and though it wouldn't make much sense to anyone else it does make sense to me.

All's well that ends...well...

2007-10-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

The finished product can be found at:

Ireland: Symbolism and Culture

Wonderful websites...

2007-10-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

* http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/
A great pathfinder which lead me to information on multiple areas of interest.

* http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/Celts/celts.html
This site contained a good deal of information in the Celts which I was able to utilize for many of the symbols.

*http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=854&di
splay_order=2&sub_display_order=4&mini_id=1082
History.com had a lot of information on St. Patrick as well as shamrocks and the trinity.

* http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm
This site contained not only historic information on Newgrange but also tips for visiting and how to plan a trip.

* http://www.alisonvardy.com/harp-info/celtic-harp-history.htm
The best and most in depth information on the history of the harp in Ireland came from this site.

* http://irelandnow.com/flags.html
Irelandnow.com was a useful site for a few symbols, including the Tricolour.

* http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AEmblem/Sweaters.html
This site had incredibly in depth information on the history of the Aran sweater. It was also entertaining.

* http://www.unc.edu/celtic/topics/crosses/monast/monast.html
The interactive look at crosses here was very interesting.

The wrap...continued...

2007-10-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

So I got Google maps to work very well. I can not only plot points of interest but control the information that will appear both as the title to that point as well as in the text field. I can also place pictures in the box so each entry will begin with a picture that relates to the symbology. It will then contain the information on each symbol as shown in the example for the Celtic cross entry. After each entry will be an area for further reading which will include the links and information for each source used to gather facts. This way I can explain the symbol with not only a place but also another visual in order to best communicate the information. I like the further reading as a way to include my sources in a different way. I have to say I love the map. The only issue I've had with it is that the pictures need to be already online. As I saved the pictures to my computer I now have to go back and upload them to a photo hosting site in order to use them.

Here is an embedded example of the map. I'm not sure how this may or may not change as I finish up the project but I will add the link to the finished product as soon as it is complete.

View Larger Map

It's a wrap (or close)...

2007-10-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a good deal about how I want to present my project since before I really ever picked my topic. I have to admit that the possibilities of how to present the topic had something to do with the topic I chose. Once I knew I was going to look into Irish culture in some way I alternately started thinking about how to present what I had accomplished in both a clear way as well as a useful way.

I thought about organizing a web site with a page for each individual area of interest. The problem with that being that I had no idea how to make a web site and know very little about html at all. So the web site idea was kind of out before it started. I then thought seriously about a powerpoint presentation about the culture of Ireland. This seemed like a pretty good way to show the project and a good final form. Here I ran into a couple of issues as well. The first issue being that the point of my project was to ultimately be used almost as a guide at a later time. I wanted this to be more of a beginning to exploration rather than an end. So I wanted something that I might be able to continue to work with beyond the project. The second issue I had was that I wanted to incorporate a map in some way. I had seen quite a few maps throughout the research project that made it a great deal easier for me to understand the area that the symbols came from. I wanted to be able to better convey this in my own project. Ideally what I wanted was a way to have this map not only on one page of a powerpoint but as more of an active part of the presentation.

While discussing the project with my boss at work she had an idea to use a map as almost a gps type system where each point of interest would lead to information on this place. From that point my ideal changed. What I wanted was some way to have a map of Ireland be the central piece with points plotted on it. Each point would lead to the information from my research when it was clicked on. What I really wanted was something I remembered seeing possibly on google maps where the point of interest had a bubble with information when you clicked on it. This way you wouldn't be redirected elsewhere but get the information from the bubble. I didn't know if I could do this or how much info I could include in a bubble. I also had to think of how to work in pictures I had been saving along the way in my search and the links to the resources used.

Luckily google maps does have a feature which allows you to create your own maps and does have quite a bit of space to put in my information. I'm not sure how I will use the pictures or links yet but as soon as I figure that out I'll update.

I have to say I'm excited about how this project if taking shape.

Taking shape...

2007-10-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

In order to help me organize the information that I found and to present it in a useful and interesting way, I made myself a graphic organizer of sorts. This organizer consisted of four basic thoughts:

What? (What or who is the symbol? Describe the object, person or place)
When? (When did this become an important part of Irish culture? What time period can it be traced to?)
Why? (Why is it important to the culture? Why has it continued to be intertwined and timeless in its importance?)
Now? (What does it mean to current culture? How has it changed? How has it stayed the same? How is it remembered or celebrated?)

This approach allowed me not only to make sure I included each area of interest and question I wanted answered but also allowed me to keep the answers in a pattern, to organize my thoughts and make the information easier to understand. The first paragraph often included the 'what' and 'when' while the second focused on 'why' or the folklore of the symbol. The third paragraph then revealed the 'now' aspect of the area.

Example:

Celtic Crosses

Celtic crosses are a well recognized symbol of Irish and Celtic culture. The crosses date back to the 8^th through 12^th centuries and are distinguished by both the cross appearing within a circle as well as the ornate carvings which can be found upon the entirety of the monuments. Each cross is unique in the size and patterns which can be found on them. The crosses have been found to vary in height from the smallest of about 4ft to some upwards of 18ft. Carvings on the crosses include images of biblical stories, celebrations to the current kings, dedications to certain individuals, and ornate Celtic knot work. Historians believe similar crosses were probably made from other materials such as wood and bone but only the stone crosses have survived the passing of time. These crosses were found mainly near churches or as markers to important crossing along the roads.
Irish folklore credits St. Patrick with introducing the cross. Legend has it that St. Patrick took the cross and held it up to the sun making the impression of the first cross surrounded by the light of the sun. The Celts held the sun in high regard, and so the sun being related to the cross was embraced by the people as St. Patrick attempted to convert them to Christianity. The Celtic cross was then established as a symbol of the joining of old and new ideas.
The Celtic cross is extremely prevalent today in Irish religion and culture. Religious beliefs have the circle representing eternity and God’s endless love circling the cross which is a symbol of the crucifixion. The symbol is not only used in churches but is a popular symbol in jewelry making both in Ireland and around the world. A revival of Celtic crosses has made this symbol popular in memorials and new crosses are becoming more prevalent in cemeteries. Similar crosses have been found in other countries as well but the symbol is nearly always synonymous with Irish culture.
Though crosses can be found throughout the country, this particular cross called Muiredach’s Cross is one of the best preserved. Found in Louth, the 10^th century cross stands 18 feet high and includes illustrations of many biblical stories.

Weaving (insert cheesy aran sweater joke here)...

2007-10-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

This morning I printed out the 13 pages of information I gathered yesterday. It is currently something I don't even want to attempt to understand, much less ask someone else to decypher. So I have to find a way to put this information together in a useful manner. Each individual cultural symbol will remain independant from the others but the information within must make some sense. For this I'm going back to my original questions to give me some kind of pattern to follow but I have decided to change them a bit.

The original questions are:

Where did the event/lore originate?
What time period did this take place?
Who was involved? Are the people still remembered?
How has this been embraced and/or changed over the years to continue to be of importance to the culture of today?

I want to keep with this basic thought process but I want to organize each entry so that it makes more sense to the reader. What I'm looking at right now is to begin by explaining what each symbol is or who the person is. From there I want to explain the lore which surrounds the person, object, or place. After that I want to discuss how these symbols are celebrated and used in current culture of Ireland and the world. This is slightly different than my initial questions but I think still includes most of the questions I had, refocusing them to better comunicate the answers.

I will post the first entry as soon as I finish it for an example of how this turns out.

The research...a glorious mess...

2007-10-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

In order to spare everyone having to see 13 pages of mass insanity, here is the interestingly assembled hodge-podge that is the current state of one subtopic:

Celtic crosses

- celts came to Ireland around 600bc

- The Cross did not become a common symbol of Christianity until the 4th century. Images of the cross were in fact quite rare before the Golden Legend became popular and the "discovery" of the "True Cross" promoted fragments of the "True Cross" as powerful relics.

- cross in a circle as is common in many Welsh crosses of the early Celtic Christian period which followed the Roman withdrawal from Britain.

- There are many regional variations. The Iona group crosses are distinctive in their shape. Many of the Irish High crosses of the 10th century are capped with a pitched roof or "house cap" that are similar to reliquaries made to resemble a Celtic oratory.

- Some of the stone crosses even back to some of the earliest ones have inscriptions that dedicate them to the memory of certain individuals. While many of these were not specifically grave markers, some quite likely were and in this way the purpose of the monumental stone Celtic Cross has remained constant since the beginning.

- It is my opinion that the story of St. Patrick making the cross over the circular pagan symbol is in itself symbolic of the way things really happened. Celtic Christianity used symbols and ideas that were familiar to the Druids to bring them to Christ. The Celtic monks of the early Church practiced a simple life, close to nature that found joy in the love of God’s creation. This was what the Druids already sought in their worship of nature so the missionaries were able to build on what they already had in common with the Druids to convert them to Christianity.

- St. Patrick’s CrossCarndonagh, County Donegal. Carved of red sandstone and accompanied by two short pillars. This primitive sculpture probably dates to the 7th century. It stands about 8 feet tall by the roadside at the church graveyard.The art historian Francoise Henry wrote that this cross represents a transition in design in that it is one of the earliest stone cross sculptures to break free from the slab. Earlier cross monuments were carved on slabs but the Carndonagh pillar is cut out in the shape of a cross.

- Muiredach's Cross dates from the early 10th century. It is one of the finest and best preserved of the Irish High Crosses. It is a "scripture cross" illustrating the crucifixion on the east side and the last judgment on the west side, with other Biblical stories and histories of saints illustrated in the many panels of relief sculpture. The total height is 18 feet, 5.5 meters. http://www.unc.edu/celtic/topics/crosses/monast/monast.html

- Cross of the Scriptures
or King Flann’s Cross Clonmacnoise, County Offaly, 12 foot tall, buff millstone grit. Dated circa. 900 naming Flann Sinna, King of Ireland 879 - 916.

- The Irish Catholic priest will have no hesitation telling you that the circle of the Celtic Cross is a symbol of eternity that emphasizes the endlessness of God’s love as shown through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That is unless he says the circle is a halo. He may go on to explain that the crucifixion is important not just as an event at a certain point in time but, as the circle symbolizes, as the unending mystery of how through the crucifixion and resurrection Christ continues to offer the hope of salvation to the faithful throughout all time.

- There is a legend of how St. Patrick when preaching to some soon-to-be converted heathens was shown a sacred standing stone that was marked with a circle that was symbolic of the moon goddess. Patrick made the mark of a Latin cross through the circle and blessed the stone making the first Celtic Cross. This legend implies that the Saint was willing to make ideas and practices that were formerly Druid into Christian ideas and practices. This is consistent with the belief that he converted and ordained many Druids to lives as Christian priests.

- scholars generally agree that they date from the late 8th century to the 12th century, with the ninth and tenth centuries as the most productive period. (revival crosses used today)

This is my cut and paste method of researching. I will figure out a way to work this out into something useful in the morning.

History vs. folklore...

2007-10-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

I spent the day searching for information on Ireland and the various symbols that I had been interested in learning more about. I began the search with the two pathfinder addresses from the comments area of my blog and used quite a few links from them. With these links I took information on any of the subtopics I found and started lists but it didn't seem to work out as well as it could. It seemed to be taking a good deal of time to find little information. From there I decided to change the meathod a bit and focus on one subtopic at a time. I started with a google search of each topic, typing in keywords such as "history of celtic crosses" and followed many of these links to information. This was a bit easier as I had a focus and I didn't have the issue of dead links with the google search. I used my basic questions for each subtopic to help me keep on track and not get too deep into any particular area and go beyond the information that I was looking for.

Once I began to get into the research I decided that I needed to take my previous list of possible subtopics and decide on ten that I was particularly interested in. After listing which were the most important to my project I came up with eleven.

Celtic crosses
Gaelic language
Irish National Flag
Claddagh
Aran stitchwork
Harp
Book of Kells/celtic knotwork
St. Patrick/Holy Trinity/shamrock
Irish castles
Newgrange
Connemara

With these topics set I went on to research in differnet areas. I began with an internet search using Google. In checking that information was authentic, I checked into if an organiazation ran the site as well as the credentials of the site. If the site was a .org or .edu it was easier to trust that the information provided was more reputable. Any sites which listed bibliographies of information were also useful both in that the information was backed up and that the links to books and other materials lead to another source for the subject. The interent search provided me with ideas for other materials such as print materials, dvds, computer software, and digital books (such as those from the google book project). I had planned to look into print materials but the other sources were great resources which I had not thought of.

From the interent resources I found some great book lists. I also did a catalog search of the ACPL materials on Symbology of Ireland and History of Ireland.

I found a few texts that were useful but not as many as I had hoped and most just coincided with what I had already found on the internet. The dvd-rom on The Book of Kells was interesting but didn't give me a lot more information on the book, just more understanding of what was inside.

While I was sorting through the good sources versus the not-so-great sources of information on the topics I felt that the webbing and wiggling begin to blur together. Why I chose certain materials and sources had a lot to do with the evaluation of the source. Even if a source had a lot of inforamtion, if there was nothing there to back it up I couldn't trust the material and I would look for material that was more substantial. I did have a few sites that I used as a basis for further study, to see if the information was represented in the same way on more notable sites. If a site which had no organization or school affiliated with it had information that corroborated with one that did I was much more likely to use both sites as resources. Also, books are generally more widely accepted for information than web sites as they are believed to be more credible sources so I generally didn't need information from another source to go along with the information from books. In this way I was both weebing in choosing different materials and wiggling in evaluating these materials based on credibility and prior knowledge.

On the other hand, Ireland is a difficult area of study for complete accuracy in matters of history. The history of Ireland, its traditions and folklore was very much an oral tradition for many years. As a result much of the tradition has been changed and parts lost throughout the years. Exageration of facts also happens with oral history. Therefor, much of Irish history has to be pieced together to the best of the historian's ability by using information from surrounding countries. There is a good edal of speculation among different researchers on the exact events and seperating folklore from actual historical events. Since there isn't a concrete history to folklore it makes it more difficult to find typical resources for the project.

Time out...

2007-10-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

A little reflection in the midst of the search.

I have found some great information on many areas of my topic. Celtic crosses have so much history behind them. I had no idea that there was so much history, from the carvings to the shape of the cross to the meaning behind the circle both religious and structural. It's amazing and so interesting. I could keep at this for months and continue to learn new things. This is why I have taken my research questions and posted them in front of me above my computer...to stay on task!

I have found that I need to combine a few of my original topic areas as they are too intertwined to be addreessed alone. The folklore surrounding the shamrock in Ireland is so much a part of the folklore of St. Patrick and the Holy Trinity that they must be together. The same goes with the Claddaugh and fishing villages (I have found a place and name for the original claddaugh which is exciting.)

I have also run across areas which I had forgotten. I can't believe I forgot about Newgrange and the tombs. I have to address these. This would be a place I would definitely want to visit and study in travels.

I also found some Google books which I hadn't though of at all but were pretty useful.

Some online links so far:

http://www.clannada.org/culture.php (newgrange info)

http://www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/history/ (limerick, st. Patrick)

http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/ (pathfinder)

http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48449 (pathfinder)

http://www.unc.edu/celtic/topics/crosses/crosses.html crosses

http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/Celts/celts.html who were the celts?

http://www.celtarts.com/celtic.htm celtic crosses

http://www.unc.edu/celtic/topics/crosses/crossmap/crossmap.html location of crosses w/pics

http://www.mezzofanti.org/irish.html gaelic language

http://emeraldtiger.com/general/lang.htm gaelic

http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/travelireland/gaeltachtstatistics.php gaelic

http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/Eire/7.16.html claddaugh

Some books to look into:

Hillary Richardson & John Scarry AN INTRODUCTION TO IRISH HIGH CROSSES Mercier Press, Dublin 1990, ISBN 0853429545

Francoise Henry IRISH ART IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN PERIOD, Methuen , London 1940

J. Romilly Allen & Joseph Anderson THE EARLY CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS OF SCOTLAND 1903 Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Reprint Pinkfoot Press, Forfar, Angus 1993

J. Romilly Allen THE HIGH CROSSES OF IRELAND, Whiting & Co., London 1887 Llanerch facsimile reprint 1992

Marianna Lines SACRED STONES SACRED PLACES Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh 1992

I'll proabably try to find as much online information as I can today and go to the library to find print resources tomorrow. There's also a dvd and some online interviews that I would like to get to if possible.

Pathfinders and road blocks...

2007-10-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

I started searching a little early when I found a couple pathfinder ideas in my comments (thank you!) and it gave me somewhere to begin. The pathfinders are both great. Each has quite a few links that have lead to some great information already.

http://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/

http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48449

The only bad thing about searching online using pathfinders is that they aren't always kept up and many of the links are dead. That's frustrating. Some of the links have been very useful but there have been several that I thought would work really well and the sites are no longer in existance.

I have found some historical timelines and information on the time periods when the Celts and the Gaels came to the country. I also found some great information on the Stone Age and Newgrange which is something I had forgotten about.

I also now know that many believe that St. Patrick and Palladius, first bishop of Ireland, were actually the same person. Very interesting.

Oh the tangled web...

2007-10-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have the next two days entirely to myself for researching my topic. I'm actually really excited to get into the project in more depth though I am completely unsure of where to start. I'm sure I'll be able to find a good deal of information in books on the history of the country but I definitely don't want to spend the whole day attempting to find the small pieces of information I'm looking for. I'm not sure where to start on the internet though I'm sure there is a good deal of information to be found. I've also been thinking of looking in to online databases but I'm not sure what good that will do.

The wondering stage was frustrating in the beginning, trying to figure out where to go and what questions I really wanted to ask but as I'm entering the webbing stage I have a whole different set of issues. Where can I go to find what I need? I started with the Irish History book but that won't be much good to me moving forward. I'm sure there are scholars out there who have taken interest and studied many of these areas of Irish culture. It's just a matter of finding relavent information.

I have set up a notebook with a few pages for each of the areas of interest I have. This way any piece of information I might find can be recorded with the heading and I can go back later and make sense of it. I have found it useful in the past to start with a loose organization of information and revisit it later to organize in a way that makes more sense and is more cohesive. I will also need to figure out exactly how I would like to present this information and make myself a guide. I'm thinking right now that I might want to turn this into a guide or plan of some sort which would help organize a trip. I have also seen these great maps which allow plotting of points of interest on a map and when hovered over each plot information pops up to explain this place. That seemes like a cool idea but I'm not sure how to do that or where I might find that out so this adds another possible aspect to the project.

Onward we go...

2007-10-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

It was an insane weekend followed by two full days of work so I haven't had much time to blog. I have been thinking though. I know now what my topic is and what questions I have about this topic but Ireland is a country rich in it's history and culture and what aspects of this would I like to focus on? There are many different ways I could go with this. I could study this for years and never know all of it. The country is old and full of tradition. I knew I wanted to look into some of the parts of culture that are so woven into the culture that when you ask a person what they know about Ireland these are the things they come up with. I began and knew I was interested in some aspects but not sure which. I couldn't get a clear picture of how I was going to go about finding the information or what to focus on to keep this from becoming a huge undertaking. I needed to further focus the topic so I thought about why I wanted to look into this information to begin with. Why did I want to know about the places and people involved in the history of these symbols of the country?

The fact is that I have been looking into taking a class in Ireland or spending a summer there and there is so much to see and do and learn about that I would like to narrow down the aspects of the country and culture that I am most interested in so that when I do get there, however and whenever that may be, I will have a grasp on what to see and where to go to get the most out of the experience. For that reason I decided to get a book on Irish history as a starting point, to look through and make a list of the areas that really interested me.

I found a book called Irish History by Seamus Mac Annaidh. This book was short and not extremely useful for research but included a great deal short pieces on historical events along with many pictures and references to places of interest. From this book, I made a list of pieces of Ireland that I am interested in knowing more about. From this list I will probably choose 10-12 to look further into.

1. Celtic crosses
2. Limerick
3. Gaelic language
4. Irish Dancing
5. Ireland's flag
6. Claddaugh symbol
7. stitchwork
8. harp
9. shamrock
10. celtic knots/Book of Cels
11. St. Patrick
12. Rose of Tralee
13. castles
14. fishing
15. Connamara

These are areas of Ireland's culture so common that they are the symbols that people think of when asked what they know about Ireland or think of when they think of the country.

Subject questions...

2007-09-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

So, I have a main research question now. What I want from this question are the areas of folklore and history which are most prevalent in the culture today. I would also like to know where and when these aspects of the culture came from as well as any persons who might have been involved with this. For example, the cladaugh symbol is very widely known not only in Ireland but around the world. I know this symbol is one that is widely associated with the country. I walso know that the folklore surrounding it states that it came from and old fishing story about a man who went away and gave his wife or girlfriend the ring as a symbol of his love and when he came back she was still wearing it. I know that the heart, crown, and hands symbolize different things. What I would like to know is if there is a specific place that this lore began as well as names of the people if possible and also deeper information into the meaning and how it is used today in current culture.

I would like to look into the most prevalent areas of this folklore, such as the harp as the national symbol, the celtic crosses, the celtic knot work from the Book of Cells, the meanings of the stitching in the sweaters and the area where they come from, and natural phenmenon which has been influential as well including the marble.

For each area the questions I have are:

Where did the event/lore originate?
What time period did this take place?
Who was involved? Are the people still remembered?
How has this been embraced and/or changed over the years to continue to be of importance to the culture of today?

Narrowing a topic

2007-09-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is a graphic organizer taken from http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/topic/index.htm which is meant ot give focus to a topic and help to create an actual research question in which to continue to look into.

General Topic:	folklore and traditions
Time span:	no distint begining to present
Place:	Ireland
Person or group:	all ages, current culture
Event or Aspects:	folklore, traditions and stories from history

Narrowed Research Question:

How has the folklore of Ireland continued to affect and immerse current Irish culture?

Confessions of a horrible blogger...

2007-09-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have got to get better at this.

My general problem is that I tend to think things through at night when I have gone to bed and should be attempting to sleep rather than thinking about everything else. Possibly this is leading to the dark circles under my eyes.

Either way I have been doing a lot of thinking about my project and what topic I would like to focus on and it comes down to the fact that I am and always have been very interested in about anything I could get my hands on about Ireland and the traditions and folklore of the country. I guess it took me so long to decided this because I have done other projects on the topic coming from very different places with it as well as different products. I felt as though it would be interesting to try another topic. Also the topic was a bit daunting. I have however, decided that this project will focus on a completely different aspect from previous areas of study and give me a great opportunity to learn more about an area that I have been wondering about for a long time and have not gotten into much.

I know a great deal about the literary history of the country and the authors who have become prevalent. I also know a good deal about the major historical events in the country. What I don't know much about is the folklore that is still so prevalent in the culture today. There are many stories and so much current interest and use in many aspects of daily life that I find fascinating. Much of the jewelry of the country focuses on objects such as harps, shamrocks, and the cladaugh symbol which all have folklore surrounding them. The places in Ireland such as the marble quaries, natural phenomenon, lakes, and fields, castles, and crosses all have history and legend. Even the sweater patterns and stitches have symbolism. All of these things I know but what I don't know are what these stories are.

Where do these stories come from? What time period are the stories from? What historical figures, if any, are linked to these stories. How much of it is linked to religious belief? Why are these the objects and places which have become so important to the culture? Why are they the ones that have survived? How are these stories and objects woven (figuratively and literally) into the current culture of the country? What are the most important of these?

This focus and these questions are as a result of my wondering for the past ten days. I hope to get better at expressing thses things as they come to mind rather than letting them culminate before discussing them.

The beginning...

2007-09-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

I just created this blog today though I have been thinking about my topic for about a week now. I'm still not sure what I'd like to do exactly. I have several ideas. I'm just not sure which I'd like to use. In looking around me I found several themes which are reocuring in my own surrounding and life that I am interested in.

I've always been interested in Ireland and the history of the country. I love all of the folklore that surrounds the country and how it's all incorporated into the current culture there today, the celtic knotwork, crosses, trinity knot, etc. I'd love to learn more about it and possibly plan a trip to see the places and things that have shaped this culture through the years.

I've also thought about doing something with music. I am a huge music fan and I spend quite a bit of time and money traveling to see shows since the bands I enjoy don't usually make their way anywhere near Fort Wayne. I've also been saying for a while that I'd love to open up an all ages venue in town to bring music here because we don't really have anything like that at this point. It might be cool to make a mock buisness plan for opening a venue.

I've been writing for as long as I can rememebr. I enjoy writing fiction in my space time from young adult fiction to picture books. I also like to illustrate the books that I write for children though I've never attempted to get published. I might want to find out more about the process of getting published and the steps that it might take along with some of the history of publishing in the United States. It would be interesting to finish one of my picture books with illustrations and attempt to possibly get it published.

These are just a few ideas I have been throwing around. I hope to narrow this sometime within the next couple of days to begin to work more in depth on the project.