Week 9, Thing 23 - Tra la, I'm done!

Well, it looks like I've completed the program. I'm going to run through all the suggested questions that are part of Thing 23......

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I really enjoyed learning about RSS, sites where you can share word processing and spreadsheet files, and del.icio.us.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This can be overwhelming. It gives you the feeling that you can never keep up. I find that I'm more committed now to tracking at least a few sites/blogs/feeds that will keep me at least reasonably up to date on what's going on.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I find I'm using the collaborative shared file sites right away to work with people from other departments and organizations. Like my cool new GPS gizmo, it was one of those things that I didn't realize I could use until I actually experimented with it.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I'd put Thing 3 at the beginning. Setting up a blog is a landmark moment for participating in this program. I think it would be good to have that in place first thing. It's not difficult (at least it doesn't seem difficult now) and it would give folks an instant place to start recording progress.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
You betcha!

How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program?
This program served three important functions for me....

1. It made me familiar with things I'd only heard about. Taking the time to experiment has demystified terms like blog, rss, etc. so that I can now launch into discussions about them with confidence.
2. It made me aware of things I had never heard about and now find completely essential. Shared file sites and del.icio.us are now part of my life.
3. It allowed me to collaborate and celebrate these new technologies with others in and outside my library system. This was just the nudge I needed to launch out in this direction. Thanks!