@claireburke I also really loved and enjoyed this class, and I’m sad that it’s coming to an end! Professor Stephens was really great throughout the whole semester and is just so kind. The assignments for this class have really helped me, and all of the comments and feedback as well.

Hi, @claireburke. I am SO into the idea that learning about people who are different from yourself promotes empathy, so this was right up my alley. We all need to get out and meet different people! And your slides are gorgeous. : )

@claireburke I adore this idea! It is so exciting to learn about other cultures and backgrounds – and it makes it way more immersive to combine art, food, and storytelling. My Spanish class in college did this, representing all of the different Spanish speaking countries, and it was so amazing and I learned so many new things.

I *love* this idea, @claireburke! The library is a great place to have a program like this! When I took 260a I (theoretically) planned a bunch of cultural activities, and it was so fun to explore the different organizations and resources in my area that could be potential partners. I just love the beauty of connecting with each other through stories and experiences.

hi @claireburke, I love the idea of “culture days,” especially the way the event marries art, food, and storytelling. Stories, just like art and food, are so embedded in culture that it’s hard to think of them as something separate from all the other elements of that cutlure. This is such a cool and holistic approach. Really enjoyed your slides and ideas.

@claireburke thank you for sharing your own experience with messy learning! For myself, true learning and exploration of a topic has never come without effort, frustration, and a sacrifice of some kind–the psychology quote you shared definitely resonates with me. Also, I really appreciated the grace of flexible deadlines this semester, as it allowed me to engage with content when I was capable of doing so; it felt like an acknowledgement of messy learning. I think libraries can embrace the “mess” in order to facilitate some actual learning.

I love reading about people supporting messy learning! I think it is one of the best ways to learn within a space. I oftentimes have trouble thinking about ‘trust the process’ when I am creating and realize that although I struggle through the process, I almost always come out on the other side. Great job!

Hi Claire,

I love this! I enjoyed reading your blog about embracing messy learning and how learning is a process that’s not always instant. It gives people the chance to make mistakes and try, try again.

-Lilia

@claireburke I have never been to a human library, but it is now on my bucket list to find one that I can attend. The concept is just so cool. It is one thing to read about a culture, it is a whole other thing to actually meet someone that is a part of that culture and hear first-hand stories and experiences.

Hi @claireburke,

I really love the idea of the human library. I genuinely wish I could experience it first-hand. I already love hearing about others lived experiences through documentaries and YouTube. I can’t imagine how much more real and life-changing it would be to experience it in-person, being able to witness that person’s body language in addition to their words. It’s truly inspiring to think that how much respect and change these encounters can spark, especially in younger generations. Thank you for sharing what libraries can, and in my opinion, should be about!

@claireburke I agree that VR field trips by no means replace physically going on a field trip, but I do feel like they are supplemental. Maybe it wouldn’t replace field trips, but it could be “mini field trips” in between. It would allow users to go to places far away, that they probably wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise. I would have absolutely loved something like this when I was younger!

@claireburke I so agree with you about the plus and the minus of the VR field trip. I would hope that we will find a balance eventually between connecting via VR to some very far away place that it would be impossible to get to for a field trip and having that experience of going to a place with all of its sensory inputs.

@claireburke I agree with what’s been said so far by others, and with what you yourself said about VR fieldtrips! I remember reading about the senses and memory retention when I was studying for the MCAT (when I needed those memory skills the most, RIP). I like the idea of using VR to reach places that would otherwise be out of budget, but to still keep those physcial trips in place where possible. Even going somewhere local as a kid was exciting, so I think a balance could definitely be struck. Great reflection!

Hi Claire,

Thank you for sharing, this such a great and well-thought out idea. We get various adult special needs groups come in throughout the week at my local library and this would be a wonderful resource for them (and also the library system overall).

@claireburke I actually didn’t know about sensory rooms and kits in more detail, until recently. I actually went into a sensory room, and I instantly felt relief. My anxiety has been out of this world lately, and I started to feel burnt out, and the sensory room honestly gave me life again. It allowed me to reboot and “work again”. I think this idea is so beneficial and thoughtful, and would get great use!

@claireburke Sensory rooms and kits are a great idea. This reminds me of an art installation I once saw in NYC: LaMonte Young’s Dreamhouse, which is a continuous sound environment with sine wave drones that never stop playing! It’s a highly controlled environment that changes sensory perception and even invites a kind of meditative experience. I’m not saying that it’s exactly right for a library, but it is an interesting conceptual art piece that promotes the exploration of controlled sensory environments and the perceptual effect of continuous sound. You say that the sensory room would contain a speaker. I wonder what kinds of sounds people are interested in exploring! Cheers! — Arthur

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_House_(installation)

@claireburke this is a great project! Also, it’s a great cause that I wish we could actually launch at my library. I did a WebJunction “Helping librarians to be autism-ready” toolkit this summer in preparation for working with ASD children at my library. I can see the thought and research you put into your plan: everything you included aligned with what was in the toolkit!

@claireburke Right on target with your ideas and thoughts related to the book banning module. I know there are concerted efforts for folks to put in book challenges for the Bible as a way to point out the hypocrisy of what the very organized book ban groups are doing across the US. Home of the free is right – it needs to stay that way!

@claireburke Wow, you make such an awesome point about the those who are challenging books and the hypocrisy behind it all. I love it!