Thing #23--This is it!

I can't believe the journey is coming to an end! Oh the many things I've learned and experienced (not the mention the joys of this online diary :)!). There are a couple of highlights for me, but first answers to a few questions...

My favorite exercises involved using a variety of user-created in a variety of ways. I really enjoyed exploring Flickr and learning about the very neat different image generators (of course the ability to embed iamges and other user-created content was an added bonus). I also really enjoyed using the wiki. I really think wikis can do wonders for collaborative work and I plan on incorporating them in the library environment where I will eventually work (right now my office is singing the praises of Microsoft SharePoint, which I feel I have a basic understanding and can apply a lot of the same tools/techniques as an online wiki).

I really liked the format of the Classroom Learning 2.0. I think that my professor (and I'm not kissing up here), was ingenious for including these weekly activities as part of our weekly "homework" assignments. The process certainly changed or altered my overall learning goals. I've always considered myself to be on the up-and-up with regards to technology. Since I come from a younger (somewhat) generation than the "typical" librarian, I thought I knew soooo much already about technology that I didn't have to push my self to learn more. What I did discover is that EVERYBODY can learn more. Often we get ourselves in these "comfort zones", these areas where we feel we know more than everyone else, so why push further? Well, this class (and Classroom Learning 2.0) has shown me that there is ALWAYS more to learn. I've learned so much from this experience, and I know I will always have more to learn from others experiences as well. I'm excited for my life-long learning journey to continue!

One thing that surprised me was that I found out how much I love blogging. Not that I have really that many important and interesting things to share with the world, but just the practice in itself was fun and I can definitely see myself keeping up the library blog where I work. Whether it's blogging about books, new services of the library, or publicizing the great reference services, blogging was such a great experience and one that I will continue in the future!

One thing I think this program could improve upon is the PR aspect. I've never come across the program in all of my readings, online searching, etc. I wish that more people (esp. teachers and librarians) knew about it! While word of mouth is good, I think additional publicizing would help attract more willing participants!

One word about Classroom Learning 2.0--ESSENTIAL!