Wow...eleven weeks of 1.5 hour classes, hours of homework, lots of hair pulling computer frustration, lots of laughs and "HOW DO YOU DO THAT" conversations with fellow media clerks and now I am typing my final reflection for this class that I was afraid to start. I have gone from square one of "what is blogging all about" to having confidence with navigating at least 23 "things" on Web 2.0, the Read/Write web, an interaction of information flowing back & forth.
Did the instructor cover the content adequately?
Myra was an excellent teacher and encourager to all of us (media clerks) in this class. She was always very well prepared and experienced in all of these Web 2.0 applications. A+ to Myra!
Did the class meet your expectations?
The 25 hours of class time and probably about 50 hours of homework, more than met my expectations for this LIBRARY LEARNING 2.0 for MEDIA CLERKS.
What were your favorite discoveries?
Some of my favorite "things" were exploring Flickr, a popular image hosting site, Library Thing, a way to catalog your favorite books on line, then various image generators, and learning about wikis. These discoveries are all tools that can be used daily in the media center.
Probably the most valuable tool that we all worked on as a group was our Media Clerk wiki. We each were assigned one or more of our job tasks and asked to compile a job description for that task. This tool can be used by any of the clerks as a reference to a particular task that they may have a question on. Also, our district media manager can use this compiled job description when talking to human resources about classifications and pay scales.
How will I apply what I have learned?
The students that come in to the media center constantly keep me challenged on what is out there on the Internet. I have so much more confidence about Web 2.0 things now! I may not have all of the answers and be totally proficient in an application, but at least now I know the lingo, have some Web 2.0 knowledge on how to find these web tools, and can usually help guide the student in the right direction! The students will keep me accountable!
Would I do the class again?
YES! I think the 2nd time around would be so much more relaxing and the information would sink in better! Learning and applying 23 new applications in an 11 week period seemed overwhelming at times.
What is the most important thing that you learned about yourself and working with your Personal Learning Network?
I learned that I can still absorb new information and not feel "outdated"!!
I think the best part about this class was that I got to know 12 other media clerks from this district. We got frustrated together, laughed, shared ideas, encouraged one another and really pulled together as a team of professionals for the media clerk wiki job description. It was neat to spend 11 weeks with a group of gals that all had the same type of job. We were constantly bouncing ideas off of each other of what worked in a library and what didn't, how were we going to use some of these Web 2.0 tools, etc. A wonderful experience!
What would you suggest for another topic for a Professional Study Team?
I think that we could take any of the 23 "things" from this Web 2.0 class and spend more time on them. A 1-2 week class on several "things" would just reinforce this 11 week class that was mainly an overview of the hundreds of Web 2.0 free tools that are available.
Myra continually challenged all of us to keep learning these new technology tools that are available on the Internet for free!
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