First Peer Review

The reviews are in! I am so relieved to FINALLY have a professor that takes the time to give feedback and answer questions, in a course that’s reflective of what we are supposed to be learning. It’s a refreshing change of pace to be actually learning the material instead of wondering what the heck is going on.

Ranting aside, I found the review process to be extremely helpful. After spending so much time with a document, my brain starts to gloss over the errors. To me, it’s Shakespearean perfection, and I need fresh eyes to give me a reality check.

My peer review buddy, Rob, pointed out a few places where my wording was vague and needed some clarification, and even found some errors where I forgot to remove some information when I changed the type of audience. He also suggested I add some citations about why makerspaces are important to the document to add an extra level of oomph to the justification section. I think the fact that the district requires a makerspace is justification enough, so I’m not sure how much, if any, I’ll add to that section.

While I originally said this course was only for new librarians as they designed their makerspaces, he challenged that notion and suggested that it could be for current librarians as well. While the focus will continue to be for incoming librarians, I think I will say that current librarians would have the option to work through it for PD credit, too. Even though their makerspaces are established, going through the process might give them some insight on areas they could improve. Furthermore, I thought it would be a good idea to have some current librarians volunteer to participate in the discussion boards, so that the incoming librarians would have feedback and perspective from someone already in the trenches.

My ultimate goal is to have a class our district can actually use for incoming librarians. I mentioned that I was working on this to my boss, and she suggested I get feedback from actual librarians in the district as well. I haven’t decided if I’m going to send out my design document, because I don’t know that people will actually take the time to read the whole thing. I may instead ask for general feedback about what they would have liked guidance on when they were getting started, and use that information to tweak the document as necessary. I’ll see what I can get before the final version is due.