Thing 23: Summarize Your Thoughts about this Program

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I had so many favorites, it is hard to pick. I’m very excited about the Nings. I loved finding groups of people who do what I do and being able to share ideas, bounce them off others. I like finding people who are excited about what they do. I also loved all the photo & word toys: Flickr Toys, Image Generators, Wordle, Glogster, Dumpr… I know there are more… I had a blast playing with those and I know children will too. My granddaughter was here when I was exploring Dumpr and she’s still sending me things she is making. Rollyo is awesome. Delicious is destined to be my new best friend. Honestly, there is so much I really liked, I can’t pick a favorite. I loved how you can subscribe to blogs and then you don’t have to visit their site to see if something is new. They just send it to you if they have something new. That was cool.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This program has literally changed my life. There is so many ways I can introduce students to Web 2.0 that I feel sure I can find something to please them all. I know I won’t be able to teach it all immediately but I plan to start with several things and get them started. Wikis seem easy to use and they are a great way to get students working in groups and brainstorming. What I want to do is take all that I have learned and pass this new love I have on to my teachers so that they too will get the bug so we can work together to teach the children.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I would say a lot surprised me because I just didn’t realize how much was out there. I mean like Delicious. Folders were one way to organize favorites but you know they never work because many sites cover a wide variety of subjects and this way, I can tag one site with everything I would want to and be able to find it.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Hmmm…Actually I have loved it all. Improvements? Wiki section maybe. It seemed that all of the examples were older and no longer being used. It made it feel like they didn’t work. I do see that Wikis are often used for a project and then closed out but going to older wikis and then seeing others use different things for their projects now, made them look less useful. Some of the links didn’t work. It would be helpful if they were checked a little more often to see if something had been moved or was no longer there. I know my blog had someone who was checking it to see what I was doing. It would have been helpful to have had a little more feedback…. Personally a little, “You’re on the right track” or “You’ve got it” would have made me feel a little more comfortable. Even a few admonitions if I got on the wrong track would have been okay. I did go and give feedback to others and I received a few from some other bloggers but as a program, I wanted a moderator to touch base a little more often. Maybe with so many it would have been an impossible task but it would have been helpful.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? Most definitely, I have loved all the things I have been introduced to and I would love to see more or more in-depth. I have other librarians in my district doing the North Texas 23 things and I can’t wait to sit and compare. I’ve already introduced one to Rollyo because it wasn’t part of theirs and she loved it.

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? One Word – AWESOME. One sentence – This could change your library forever.

I have loved this opportunity to be a part of this program. I am greatly in your debt for opening it up outside your district and allowing me to be a part of it. I have learned so much and I just hope I can eventually incorporate all of it into our school to give our students the absolute best chance of being a success in this technological world they were born in. Thank you and God bless you.