Reflecting on the spring 2018 semester as a whole, I have come to a few conclusions. Perhaps I should have eased into graduate-level work and taken maybe one or two fewer classes (though, I did have to drop one of the four classes I was taking due to my schedule). Perhaps I should have chosen a closer school. Perhaps I should have tried to get more work done during my commute. And even though I have questioned perhaps every decision I have made throughout this semester, I have nearly no regrets about what I was able to accomplish throughout the semester, in LIBSCI700. The content for LIBSCI700 has seemed increasingly more user-friendly as I came to understand it, and as I was actually able to apply it in practical situations throughout the semester.
At the beginning of the semester, I had many doubts about my ability to comprehend many facets of technology. It takes a long time for me to fully understand something, but that time is exponentially much slower when I am required to learn concepts I know are not applicable in a corporal way, even if they are practical concepts. However, I feel like I have made a lot more progress with learning technological concepts than I thought I would make. It was understood that I would have difficulty, which I did, but I did not realize how intuitive a lot of the concepts, especially Google suite, would be for me. All the concepts that I had trouble with at first, like coding languages, eventually did become easier. It makes sense that with time and practice, languages like html would become easier. While it seems quite clear right now, I did not have the prescience to consider technology, with my limited skill-set, to be quite as helpful, intuitive, or easy to configure in a practical setting of a webpage, or in any manner as part of Google Suite.
Contrary to this end-of-semester optimism, I have spent a good majority of the semester struggling with some of the concepts, like JavaScript, or specific lines of code. Often times, progress felt slow, or non-existent. Now with the semester nearly at its close, I have realized the importance and practicality of taking LIBSCI700 as a core class, preferably in one of the first two semesters. While I have learned basic coding languages, basics about Google suite, some particulars about blogging, I think I have also learned perhaps I am more capable when using or learning some aspect of a new technology. Technologies, when implemented correctly, can be beneficial for any future academic endeavors I may have while enrolled at Queens College. Hopefully, I can apply the knowledge I have gained from LIBSCI 700 to produce projects for other library science or history classes further into my academic career. In addition, now that I have a foundation of knowledge of some technologies, hopefully I will be able to continue to apply it, learn more, and build on my understanding in my everyday life. Having spent the semester also considering how technology has changed, how it affects and shapes our lives, and how technology may look in the future, I think I am both more appreciative of the benefits of technology and more critical of the invasiveness of technology. I also am more appreciative of companies producing technologies that attempt to be open access and that pursue goals based on equity. In the long run, I do hope that the compromises we make for technology are benevolent more than they are malevolent.
Based on how frustrated I got when I attempted to do projects at the beginning of the semester compared to now, I think my relationship with technology has changed for the better. I will, and still, get frustrated by many aspects of the languages and technologies I learned this semester, but I am more aware that they are a benefit to understand. Not just for academic purposes, but also for professional purposes. Not to stand out, but to be equivalent to those pursuing similar career paths.
Theresa 