Welcome to Francesca's Files!

Before we get into the content of this course, let me introduce myself: my name is Francesca Coppola and I am very excited to be enrolled in LIS 724/EDU 776 this semester!

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Prior to attending Dominican University, I graduated from Michigan State University in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Hospitality Business. When I wasn't attending classes, I was active in my sorority Alpha Omicron Pi, and our Women's choir called Viridis. I have always been very passionate about music, and during the pandemic, I reignited one of my childhood passions: reading. I am incredibly grateful for the professional skills the Hospitality Business program at Michigan State taught me, but I realized shortly after I graduated that I wanted to pivot to a career path that involved more of my passions. Currently, I work as a Guest Service Associate at Indian Prairie Public Library, and I am very happy to be serving my community in an environment that I love. 

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My Relationship with Technology

My relationship with technology is quite varied; I know how to use social media and various professional resources, but (excluding past school projects) I have rarely used it for educational purposes. In my current position, the main experience I have with technology involves navigating our management software and scheduling people using tools like LibCal and Google Sheets. The extent of instruction I provide our patrons is how to navigate important areas of our website so they feel comfortable using it for themselves in the future.

Conversely, Indian Prarie Library is a very technology-oriented organization; we are fortunate enough to have a Maker Studio space that allows our patrons to get creative with various technologies. As you can see on our website, it is an incredible area of our library where patrons have the ability to learn new technologies at their own pace, or receive instruction from our highly talented staff.  Though I am not as familiar with the intricacies of this department, I am incredibly eager to take this course, as doing so will provide invaluable experience to educate myself in these modern aspects of librarianship. Digital literacy is a vital aspect of this generation, but it is not the most straightforward skill to develop; so integrating technology into instruction allows people to become more fluent in technical aspects that they may have been unsure of before, making it easier to adapt to the norms of the 21st century.