Sunday, January 27, 2008

Bonus Activity!!!

How do I spell relief? I-P-O-D! What a great reward that will be for challenging myself to try so many new technology and communication applications! Some of these exercises are things my children are used to; now I can not only speak in their language, but I can enjoy an iPod like they do, too!


Some of my favorite discoveries were Animoto, YouTube, flowcharts/mind maps, online productivity sites, LibraryThing, and the ever-popular avatar. The first day we all worked together at MMS, I really thought I was flying since I completed the first four exercises in one day (with lots of help). I immediately hit a road block with Flikr because I am a little camera-shy when it comes to uploading pictures and saving them properly. Since several applications built on that skill, I bogged down and resorted to my girls for help.

As for Take-aways, I was able to utilize the mind map and create a sample one for a teacher the day after she mentioned needing a way to organize research topics. I also filled a library need by creating a floor plan on Gliffy. It was fun, relatively easy, and I've used the product since completion of that activity. Of course, the blog and avatar (which has changed clothes twice!) have been ongoing useful and fun tools. I haven't added to my LibraryThing yet, but I did sell a teacher on it, and she's having a ball creating an account for the books she allows her students to check out from her classroom.

I knew my life long learning as a librarian would be just that--an ongoing process. I never dreamed it would take such curves, leaps, and bridges that would urge me into such advanced forms of communication. Reading about Library 2.0 made me realize that sitting still in my learning would make me obsolete and in need of weeding. I am thankful for this gentle challenge that let me dabble in new areas before having grand expecations put on me.

I think this program's format is perfect. It is flexible and self-paced. I wouldn't change anything (except maybe to get rid of that countdown clock. It raised my blood pressure! LOL I would definitely be interested in another discovery program of this sort. If not for this one, I would be in the dark in soooooo many areas.

When I struggled with certain exercises, I would ask myself if I would ever use these applications. At the time, the answer was NO. Now I'm seeing ways to use these collaborate and exciting tools to make my job easier and to make my library webpage and program more appealing to the technology savvy kids we have today. I hope to take some of the summer staff development offerings to brush up on the skills I DID master and to get schooled on the ones I didn't. Using these skills regularly will make it easier for me to get on board and stay there. I think I knocked a few bunnies off this Dustyshelf since October. Thanks!

2 comments:

Debbie said...

Great reflections! I'm so amazed at all of the "things" we learned and I even learned new ones this time around too. We didn't have the Animoto in our session so I really enjoyed learning it. You can tell what's on your mind by your video. IPOD IPOD IPOD!!

rileyreader said...

I loved your ipod animoto! Very original!