LIS 698 - Capstone - Student Learning Objectives

For my Capstone class, we have to demonstrate that I have learned the 8 Student Learning Objective. I've gone through them, and started working on both the reflection part and the artifact part. My professor wants us to look at the SLO, and deciding what we have learned during our time in this program, and demonstrate how we have applied what we have learned.

The first thing I did was write out my rough draft of all of the SLOs, shown here, below. These will, of course, change, as I learn more about what my professor is looking for, potentially redesigning an SLO, and adding/changing/removing artifacts from my SLOs. This is a rough draft, so there will be changes....

SLO 1

SLO 2

SLO 3

SLO 4 

SLO 5

SLO 6

SLO 7

SLO 8

LIS 644 - Curate Yourself

For this assignment, I was asked to explain what makes me special, using the items I have collected over my life.

Hey everyone,

My name is Megan Bennett, and I am recently returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

I mention this first and foremost as that is one of the most important thing that happened to me. I taught English as a foreign language to secondary education students at the Kirovograd Regional Educational Complex/Oleksandriya Gymnasium-Boarding School, Oleksandriya, Ukraine.

My vyshyvanka

A Vyshyvanka is a traditional blouse of Ukraine. It can be hand embroidered, and the pattern often represents where the vyshyvanka was made. Mine has the red of central Ukraine; the geometric pattern is also from central Ukraine. Some embroidery represents other things, similar to what would be seen on a Pysanky. These can be worn at any time, although many people wear theirs the way someone would wear a nice set of clothes - birthdays, church, tests, and holidays. 19 May is considered Vyshyvanka Day, and people are encouraged to wear theirs. Many people also wear theirs on Ukrainian Independence Day (24 August). At my school in Ukraine, most of the students wore theirs to school, as the girls were required to wear white blouses, and the boys had to wear a tie otherwise.

My Vynok. This is me just before I rang the COS Bell,
which ended my Peace Corps service. 

My Vynok. A Vynok is a traditional flower crown of Ukraine. They can be as simple as made with fresh dandelions or as complicated as the ones with ribbons attached. They are traditionally worn on birthdays, holidays, and weddings, but women are beginning to wear them all the time. This became much more common during and after the EuroMaidan protest movement, as the Vynok is one of the symbols of Ukraine. It has become fashionable for bride’s to wear a very nice Vynok at their wedding. Girls also wear Vynoks on the first and last day of school - First and Last Bell, respectively.

Pysanky

Pysanky. Often called Ukrainian Easter Eggs. Pysanky can come in countless colors and patters, and each color and pattern have a traditional symbolism. These were bought either at the Craft’s Bazaar in Lviv or on St. Andrei’s Spoosk. The one with the flower motif is from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, while the others are all from western Ukraine. One of the ladies I bought some from told me that that pattern is common in Zakarpattia Oblast. Traditionally, Pysanky are made from eggshells, from which the inside egg has been blown out. These are as fragile as eggshells, and must be protected if being taking to the church for an Easter blessing. Nowadays, many Pysanky are made of hollowed wood, which allows them to be much more durable. This allows them to be sold to tourists, as well as ensures fewer break. Broken Pysanky must be very carefully collected, as witches can use the shells for evil.

Total nerd. Star Trek books, Doctor Who mugs, and Star Trek Uno. 

Marvel movies, including X-Men movies. Not pictured:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (iTunes purchase)

I am a total nerd. I have a collection of Star Trek The Next Generation books, Avengers’ DVDs, and Doctor Who ceramic mugs. I have a combadge pin, and a copy of Entertainment Weekly with an article on Doctor Who. There is an Age of Ultron poster hiding somewhere in my room (a friend gave it to me when I babysat his kid when they saw it early). The Marvel movies are part of a shelf full of sci-fi/fantasy/action movies. They are all alphabetized by the name of the hero, followed by chronological order, which is why X-Men First Class and X-Men Days of Future Past are before X-Men. This also means that Casino Royale (not pictured) is filed under "B" for "Bond."

U2 books and DVDs

I am a huge U2 fan, and I have a large collection of their materials. This photo doesn’t include the oversized materials, which includes a gigantic copy of U2 by U2 and copy of Time with an interview with Bono. I do not have Live at Red Rocks, as that can be hard to find; same with the Songs of Innocence and Experience Tour filmed concert. The books are in the order that they were published. The DVDs are arranged by the concert date. This is because I have two Elevation Tour DVDs (Live from Boston, and U2 Go Home), and some concerts were released several years after the concert tour.

U2 CDs

Theses CDs are mostly in order of their release date, with the exception of The Best of: 1980-1990 (deluxe) (called The B Sides in this image), which wasn’t released until 1998, after three more albums had been released. I intentionally put this when the material on the album was released, as the album has only material from pre-Achtung Baby. Achtung Baby was released in 1991. As you can see, I bought Songs of Innocence, as I wanted a) to play it in my car, and b) to have the songs released with the deluxe edition. Edit: War and The Joshua Tree are downstairs, as they are my mother's. Forgot they weren't in the picture. 

French langage reference materials

I also have a large collection of foreign language materials, specifically in French and Russian. Some of the French materials I bought in France while I was studying abroad, and others I used while a university student. Others I bought since I graduated, as I do some creating writing in my spare time, and I want my French-speaking characters to use idioms and slang correctly. I have multiple translation dictionaries, as well as a thesaurus and two idiom guides.

Books in French

Here are the novels I own in French. They are arranged in alphabetical order by author, and then alphabetical order by title, excusing any “Le,” “La,” “Les,” “L’,” or “Un(e)”s as that means “The” or “A” in French. The translated versions of Prisoner of Azkaban and Congo are filed in their language, not with their author.

Russian language reference materials

I learned Russian while I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. I was given the little tiny pocket dictionary [far left] when I went to Ukraine the first time. I have since bought more language materials, as I hope to continue to improve my Russian language skills. I have a conjugation guide, and a book of Russian slang.

All reference materials for non-English language reference

I have a few others, as they were interesting. I bought the Irish dictionary in Dublin’s Temple Bar District as a cool souvenir. I got the Haitian Creole dictionary for my creative writing. And I have several teaching guides for teaching English as a foreign language, including an American idiom guide and a British-American English guide. I can also use the latter with my creative writing.

I'm back from Ukraine

As the title suggests, I have recently returned from Ukraine. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer with Peace Corps Ukraine for the last year. While in Ukraine, I learned a lot about Ukrainian customs and the Ukrainian people. Did you know that you are supposed to make a wish when you have two Tanyas together?

I was taking one class a semester while I was in Ukraine, and I hope to get some of that material posted in the next few weeks.

Despite recently returning, I have started my LIS Practicum, which is where I learn practical skills in a library environment. Most students chose to do their practicum in the same style of library they want to work in, so someone looking to get their certification and become a school media coordinator would do their practicum at a school media center, and someone looking for their public library certificate would do their practicum at a public library. Something that greatly interests me is archives, so I wanted a practicum with a special collection or an archive. I was selected to work with the Special Collections and Archives at Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University for my practicum. I am currently reading and learning material related to the running of archives and the preservation of materials within archives.

Well, what do you say we get started?

As everyone who reads this blog knows, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine, arriving in September 2013 for my training, and was then evacuated in February 2014. After being evacuated, I talked to UNCG, and they helped me become a student for the 2014-2015 academic year. Below is what I posted on my Peace Corps blog, along with some commentary specific to UNCG.

There is a Ukrainian tradition that states that a person will return to wherever they have left things. While this is usually physical objects, this can also mean unfinished business. As I left Ukraine in late February 2014, my counterpart (A), told me that I had to return, as I had left a lot of things in my apartment. That weekend, the official evacuation order was given, and I was home before the next week was out. Home, in this case, being Winston-Salem.

I started talks with UNCG, where I had been accepted into the Library and Information Studies (LIS) program in 2013. I turned them down to go to Ukraine. I called my contact, the amazing Lee Shiflet, and he got me the forms needed to become a student for Fall 2014. I spent the end of the 2013-2014 academic year substitute teaching off and on. I spent a few weeks in July with my grandparents, and then started school in the fall.

I was offered a Graduate Assistantship from the LIS Department, and I started work in August. I started classes a week after I started my GA work. I took six classes over the two semesters. As part of my Foundations class, I started this blog, and I plan on using it as part of  my Capstone class requirements. I started talks with the wonderful Chelcie Rowell to do my summer practicum with her at Z. Smith Reynolds Library.

After the Peace Corps evacuated us in February 2014, we were given a window, during which we would be able to go straight back to Ukraine. That window passed before Ukraine settled down enough, and the Peace Corps post closed. Everyone hoped that the post would reopen in time for the Volunteers to return before the 2014-2015 school year began, but the post did not reopen until November 2014, a year-to-the-day that the EuroMaiden protests broke out.

At that point, we were asked if we wanted to return, and when we could leave, but everything was nebulous, with nothing concrete. In April, just shy of two years after my original, life-changing Invitation email (which was April 29, 2013) and about a year from the ending of our holding window (April 14, 2014), the Peace Corps announced that Volunteers could go back, starting in late May.

After careful thought, and talking to many people (my parents, Drs. Shiflett, Bird, Chu, Carmichael, and of course Chelcie Rowell), I asked to return to Ukraine, as of June 01. I learned that I would be going back to my school, the one I left in 2014. I will be helping with a summer camp, the first my school has done, during at least some of the summer. I will be teaching English, and hoping to run an English club for the students and instructors. I will be remaining a continuing student at UNCG, by taking online classes during the school year.

Summer Practicum Meeting 1

I just got back from a meeting with the amazing Chelcie Rowell, the Digital Initiatives Librarian at Wake Forest University, Z. Smith Reynolds Library. I'm in the process of starting a summer practicum, and it looks like we are a good fit. Her department is in the process of digitizing the University Depository, so that people will be able to view rare and unique collections of Wake Forest history.