Week 9 # 23 Summary and Comment

"Paradigms are mental models that constrain our thinking and are often based on assumptions so strong we don't notice them. New paradigms cause disruption and uncertainty, even calamity, and are nearly always received with coolness, hostility, or worse. Vested interests fight against the change, and leaders of the old are often the last to embrace the new.(emphasis mine) Consequently, a paradigm shift typically causes a crisis of leadership." ( Wikinomics, p.274)

That paragraph certainly describes my approach to being wedged between the traditional library world and Library 2.0 before taking 23 Things!

What were my favorite enlightenment exercises? Wikis and the Word Processing (Zoho and Google Docs) because those are valuable and pertinent to me in reference and teaching; YouTube (who'da thunk?) and Podcasts just because I liked them.

What was involved in the entire process? 23 Things filled me in on the definitions of the hottest buzzwords in the Internet community today -- and dragged me with through a brief stampeding of their applications.

Even being familiar with how the buzzwords are applied, however, does not mean I will use all the applications 23 Things taught in my professional capacity as a librarian, except in public teaching. It's good to be proficient in what patrons might want to know.

The reality of retention because of the speed of this class: to be able to demonstrate ANYTHING proficiently after today will depend on my consistently pursuing what I've glimpsed these last nine weeks. The time was short and the information was very rapid-fire. I worked hard to get ahead of schedule during 23 Things so that I could take 2 1/2 weeks of leave in the middle of the course. When I got back to work I couldn't remember a thing I'd done before I'd left! I had not worked with any of the lessons, merely through them. I had to go back and review everything.

What surprised me? Even after feeling like I was panting and playing catch-up through the whole 23 Things experience, my interest and enthusiasm were so sparked that I checked out three books on blogging and MySpace (all brand new titles) because I'm interested in what's going on in the 2.0 world. When I read about episodes like four volunteer computer geeks creating a mashup that allowed thousands of families to track each other after disaster of Hurricane Katrina (when all the government lines of communication were inoperable) I understood that the applications of new technology can be practical and valuable. So my attitude as well as my knowledge base has been broadened.

The course itself? Many of the sites could easily have been offered by themselves for the 9 weeks because there was so much to them. This fact coupled with the multiple assignments within the lessons warrants more than 1.8 CEUs for the finished product. Pare down the number of topics, otherwise 3.0 CEUs would be far more accurate for the amount of work involved as the course is now, especially for those novices that this course is supposed to be geared toward. Two hours a week did not even begin to cover the time involved for everyone in my library except the technocrats who already had the skills and were cruising for easy CEUs.

How did this experience affect my lifelong learning goals? Besides introducing me to Library 2.0 philosophies and technologies, this course reignited my passion for teaching. It also gave me new things to teach. I am involved with five new courses for our patrons this Fall and I plan to incorporate some of the 23 Things into the classes. (Teaching for me has always been about growth through an exchange of information.) I am very happy to have been challenged to expand my repertoire.

What encouraging words would I give to others? My outlook has changed significantly -- for the better -- about 2007 library philosophy and the technology available to our community today. I feel less creaky in my brain. My vocabulary has expanded. I have new skills that I have already begun to put into practice.

Would I take another course like this one? Yes.