Week 9 - Thing 23 (Summary)

23 Things has been an interesting journey. In the beginning, I felt that it was harder than I expected. It was very time-consuming. Things were not spelled out; you HAD to play around to figure out what to do. I even used Wikipedia to look up some terminology I was unclear on.

While I don't have a problem exploring and finding out about the different sites and software, I know some people are more timid about that. They think they might "break" something. Since I was more comfortable with the tech aspect, I was able to help others and act as a resource to them.

I did learn a lot. Some of the "things" I had heard about but never used until now. Other "things" were totally new to me. I enjoyed making the various avatars. I've been adding pictures to my Flickr account. I check my Bloglines every now and then. At some point, I'd like to catalog my personal book collection on LibraryThing. I have also enjoyed looking at the other staff blogs.
For most of the 23 Things, I worked with a partner. We designated times and met in the Eldersburg Computer Lab. We worked through the items together, but separately ... or separately, but together! This was really beneficial for both of us. I think it cut down on frustration because two heads are better than one. We helped each other out and made the whole experience a bit more fun. I tried to encourage staff to work together on this, but it was not always possible due to schedules and technical difficulties and people working at different paces.

All in all, this was an enjoyable and educational experience. I do plan to use some of the things I learned in the future. I'm sure we'll do some programs for adults and teens on some of the "things" we learned about.

If another discovery program like this was offered, I would participate and encourage others to participate as well, because . . . (see quotes below)

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“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” - Sarah Caldwell

“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” - Chinese Proverb

“Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.” - Benjamin Franklin

“Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know.” - Daniel Boorstein