Laffey Taffy

Did you ever have that teacher who made all their students put their phones in a box at the beginning of class and held them hostage until the end? I know I did. It was my History teacher, and she was a force of nature - smart, funny, engaging, and despised it when students were on their phones in her class, especially when they were on social media. Growing up, there were definitely kids who were bold or crafty enough to check their Insta in class without the teacher noticing, and I was always torn between admiration and judgement of their quick checks. In every syllabi throughout high school and beyond, my teachers made sure to include a no-phone policy in their classroom, and by extension, no social media. Image Source: Flikr As a student and now an educator, this logic still makes sense to me for the purposes of maintaining control of the classroom and student focus, but only to an extent. After all, why fight against a social connective technology that everyone uses in their day-...

Since I began my degree at Dominican University to become a librarian, the important skill of lifelong learning has become more and more valuable to me, both as a student and as a future library instructor. What is lifelong learning? It's a nice enough phrase, but in truth, I believe it is more than simply choosing to gain new skills after one's formal education has ended. Lifelong learning involves adapting to change, embracing new realities, and expanding one's worldview to become a more open-minded person both professionally and personally. Lifelong learning also involves having a more positive and inquisitive mindset, finding new ways to challenge oneself, and, my personal favorite, making time to read. Image Source: Pinterest "Spiderman into the Spiderverse" Used in my first blog post! Take my experience as an example: this time last year, I was wary of using new technology, like Canva, Bookshare, Duolingo, or Seesaw, even if it would improve my teaching ! L...

Have you ever Googled yourself? Don't lie, this is a safe space! If you have, what kinds of information have you found? If you haven't why not? I've Googled myself, and my family members, for fun a few times, and I've been surprised by how little I've found readily available.  Image Source: Google Search Screenshot Most of the links on my results page came up as professional references on LinkedIn of other places of library employment, potentially due to fact that my social media presence and promotion is low, even though my usage is high. I tried looking for images of myself, and found that I was far from the first option in both Google and Microsoft Images (see the bottom left corner) and that the photo was from my time as a high schooler! These kinds of results are called digital tattoos, online identity markers that define and introduce people to you, regardless of whether you authorized it or not. Image Source: Microsoft Bing Image Result Screenshot (I'm pi...

I once worked at a library that had one of the most confusing website layouts ever. No seriously, I even had trouble finding the home button! There was big font that said "Library Catalog" and then underneath it, there was an entire paragraph, at the end of which stated "access access "My Account" through the Library Catalog" and that was where you were supposed to click to access the website.  Image Source: Screenshot from OBPL Now this might seem a little ridiculous for some people, since even though this way of accessing the catalog isn't logical, it's still somewhat helpful. But for people who have cognitive or mental disabilities, this may prove to be a significant barrier between them and their local library. I should know, we got a lot of phone calls complaining about our website's problematic functionality, and sadly there was little we could do to change it without the approval of the Village at large. While website navigation issues m...

A belief has emerged recently, that technology has positively impacted the lives of workers, employers, businesses, educators, students, and everyone. I don't believe that's true. Technology certainly has made people's lives easier, information more accessible, and accessibility more widespread. But technology is a tool - it can be used to harm or uplift, unite or divide, inform or mislead, clarify or confuse. Using this tool everyday can lead people to depend upon it for everything from quick facts checks to emotional support to "human" interaction. Teachers relied on technology a great deal even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the quick shift from in-person to virtual learning is still a valid and thriving option for many students today. The same can be said for librarians, who already had begun buying and distributing access to physical and digital books, journals, and newspapers, and only increased after the shutdown. What's interesting to me, and t...