Thing #23 - Summarize your thoughts about this program

You mean I'm finished!!! I can't believe that I made it to the end! Some of my products, like my blog page, are kind of crude and not as attractive or informative as others, but I tried my best. This was a true learning experience in so many aspects. One thing that was reinforced is that I am a visual learner and on-line courses are difficult for me. I need someone to model the task, watch as I do it, and be immediately available if I don't understand. Ironically, this has also been a positive experience in that I became really discouraged, but I didn't give up. For that, I will give myself a pat on the back. Once I get back to school, I will get someone to help me make my blog page more attractive and help me with some of the techniques that I attempted. I'm sure there is an easier way for doing some things. Every "Thing" was a learning experience for me. Almost all of the lessons were new concepts for me. Now that I have received the exposure and some practice, I am ready to start perfecting and utilizing. Thank you for offering this course.




1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey

Actually, every lesson was a discovery for me! I promised my librarian that I would enroll in this course, so I would stop asking her so many questions. Wow. I liked several activities: Flickr, Google's Cool Tools, Image Generators, Online Productivity Tools, and Videos. I received great information about Blogs, Tagging, Wikis, and RSS feeds. The feeds are keeping my emai account busy because I'm receiving about 10 a day. I still need to practice on EVERYTHING, so I plan to get with it this year.


2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I knew that I was a dinasaur when it came to understanding and utilizing technology. I will admit---it scares me and the pace is so fast. Even with the cell phones. By the time I get the hang of using my phone, a more advanced version is introduced. This program has shown me a whole world exists outside the doors of my bedroom and I need to join the bandwagon. Technology can be fun and exciting, and there are so many tools to make my life easier and more efficient. This program has really enlightened me.


3.Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

I didn't think I would finish it because I did get discouraged at times, plus I worked most of the summer, so I was under a time crunch. I am taking away everything because everything was new to me. I was surprised that my children weren't aware of some of the concepts, so they couldn't help me. My unexpected outcome is that I feel a little bit of empowerment now that I am understanding concepts. Web 2.0 is not going away. It will just become more advanced, so I need to continue to be a life-long learner.


4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

Some directions were confusing and some videos did not work as planned. I would check participant's comments to see how to address a problem. Sometimes it helped because they told me how to do something and sometimes it helped because I realized that I wasn't the only one having problems.


5.If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?

I would choose to participate because I NEED to. At this point, it wouldn't be a choice; it would be a necessity.


6. 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?

Challenging


7. Now go and comment on some of the other Players' blogs.

Okay!