At times, I despaired of being able to finish with 23 Things, but I am so glad that I pushed on to finish. As I looked back over the list, I think my favorite "things" were the ones where I could be creative, like Flickr and its mash-ups, the Avatar, Animoto, and the online image generators. I feel like I understand the whole concept of podcasting now and would like to explore more about how to make podcasts. Now that I'm more comfortable with the whole general concept, I'd like to go back to the beginning and get the connections that I missed.
During this process I realized that I have been WAY behind the times! I have heard of many of these technologies, but didn't see their importance to me. One thing I learned is that much of their value lies in the sharing and networking that they make possible. The RSS feeds let information come to me, so that I spend less time searching for it. My goal is to identify the programs that I want to maintain and to look for ways to improve with them. At the rate that technology changes, I think my goal may be to keep my head above water!
Some unexpected outcomes were that I actually like RSS feeds. I created as many accounts in Google as I could, so my Reader and calendar, maps, weather, YouTube and more are right there on my iGoogle page. I have been a day ahead of when I usually find out about news. I know I'll keep up with that page. Another result is that blogging doesn't intimidate me anymore since we've had to make so many posts. I was REALLY surprised that a program like Animoto exists for free. I also found out alot about my family from Facebook....their friends and how they present themselves to the world. I'm not sure they want me to be that up-to-date!
I'm not sure what you could do to improve the program. Maybe you could reserve a few rooms at the PDC for us periodically to meet with others on our own for support. I would definitely participate in any future discovery program. How else are we going to learn? Reading about the technologies is one thing; using them is another.
One of the influences this will have on me is how I keep up with library world news. By selecting a few blog feeds from people I respect, I hope to be better informed about new library ideas. I will also use the online image generators to spice up presentations. I would also like to look for creative ways for the students to express themselves, either through participating in some type of group created in Ning or maybe Facebook. Thank you, mmw and ds, for pushing us in areas we didn't know we needed to go.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I agree with you about reserving the PDC for some after school sessions. On several things I could have used some time with others to ask questions and figure out what I was doing wrong that prevented me from accomplishing what I had set out to do. Sometimes I was overlooking something really simple, and sometimes the school network prevented me.
I like to work in a group also. It helps to have someone there to spur you on, but isn't learning thru "play" the best! Congratulations! You did a great job!
I also applaud the support that we have received from the wonderful ladies in charge at library services. I also think this is a great way to keep us current in the area of new and innovative ideas in the library.
I liked iGoogle, too! This course also helped me learn things I had never heard about before. Did RSS come up in our podcast training? If so, I did not remember it, but really enjoy that feature, as well. I think this will be added to my morning routine to help be informed for the day!
Post a Comment