Goal 2: Systems and Services
Students understand the systems and technologies that facilitate the management and use of information resources to serve the diverse needs of users.
Goal 2.A
Students identify and analyze diverse information needs of individuals and communities.
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LIS6514 Digital Libraries - Fall 2018, USF
While each person has unique information needs, intellectual property rights impact everyone who wants to use the information they find. The argument of fair use does provide some freedom; however, the current legal state of intellectual property rights as they relate to online information has not caught up to the culture of the Internet.
Intellectual property rights have always been a topic of interest for me, specifically because they apply to everyone and people can accidentally infringe upon someone's rights without realizing it. Regardless of the information being sought, everyone has to consider what legal constraints are placed on any items they use. The paper used as an example for this criteria covers what intellectual property rights are, the different methods by which scholars are able to publish their work online, the impact intellectual property rights have on the acquisition of scholarly material online, and thoughts for the future.
Intellectual Property Rights Paper
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LIS5937 Open Source Intelligence - Spring 2018, USF
The online community is constantly accessing information. People often access the Internet in order to feed some form of curiosity, to learn something new, or to validate their opinions. While the Internet does provide access to information that appears to support both sides, some of that information is created specifically to feed a false narrative.
False narratives, how they impact the information accessed on the Internet, and how they can be identified were the topics covered in this paper. The focus is on how false narratives can negatively impact information gathered for Open Source Intelligence research (although I also included the impact on broader information professions). The effects of false narratives touch all information professions, creating disconnects and conflicts among "truths." Because false narratives can be found everywhere, it is important that information professionals are able to identify and share methods to check the validity of information gathered, in order to ensure that researchers get accurate and factually-supported information.
Goal 2.B
Students evaluate and select print and digital information resources and systems to meet needs of users.
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LIS6603 Basic Information Sources & Services - Fall 2017, USF
With so much information out there, it is important people are able to gather relevant information and present that information in a way others are able to easily understand. Information guides are one such way to do this.
The final project of LIS6603 consisted of students creating their own LibGuide on a topic of their choice. For this project, I chose to create a LibGuide on creative writing. I identified the key elements of stories: characters, setting, plot, various genres, publishing, and general resources. With each category identified, I then found various printed and digital resources. For each printed resource, I provided a short summary and link to their Amazon page; for each digital resource, I summarized various key points into 10 "Tips and Tricks." Note: The service we were provided to create the LibGuide was discontinued in December 2017. The website has been recreated using GitHub.
Link to Creative Writing LibGuide
LIS5937 Open Source Intelligence - Spring 2018, USF
OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) requires the researcher to identify the best information sources and tools to locate information for their investigation. The purpose of an OSINT researcher is to gather information relating to a specific investigation to give to lawyers and other legal council.
As an OSINT researcher, which I became during my final project of LIS5937, I needed to gather information and present it objectively, allowing others to analyze the information as they saw fit. In addition to using online OSINT resources, I utilized programs and applications (e.g., virtual machine) to gather information. The final product, which is linked here, was created with an OSINT mindset - purely facts, no analysis provided. This is important to be able to do; after all, as an information professional, while one can provide one's own interpretation, it can be more beneficial for the the user of the provided resources to interpret the information themselves (allowing individuals to draw their own conclusion after seeing the information).
Goal 2.C
Students understand and use appropriate information technology for information services.
LIS 6603 Basic Information Sources & Services - Fall 2017, USF
An important skill to have when working in an information management profession is the ability to inform others how to find the information they seek. After all, if people know how to locate information they would like to learn, they become empowered.
The task for the exhibit here was to come up with a search topic, select a library website, and then explain how to conduct a search that would provide useful information on the topic. There was a time limit: I had to include as much information as possible within a three-minute-long video. The information I had to provide included how to navigate the selected library website and find resources on the selected search topic. In order to create this video, I used Screencast-O-Matic as it provides screen-capture and mouse-tracking features.
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LIS5937 Digital Storytelling - Fall 2018, USF
For Digital Storytelling, I produced two videos. The assignments were to create digital stories, with it left up to the creativity of the individual regarding type of story and means by which it was presented. For the first video, I wanted to do more than tell a story: I wanted to share something with which I had experience, something I could inform others about. I decided on a poem reading about Third Culture Kids, a culture that is growing but not generally known to many people. For the second video, I wanted to create an educational video. I decided to create a video to inform the audience about the size of different astronomical measurements (e.g., sizes of planets and galaxies, distances to planets and galaxies) in a playful, personable manner to engage the audience. To create these videos, I used VideoPad Video Editor as it had the features I required to create my desired results.
Link to First Digital Storytelling Video
Link to Second Digital Storytelling Video
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