Red, we can help others too!
I must admit I never thought I would finish this project and not because it was too difficult, but simply because I was too overwhelmed to get started. After our first day of training, I had completed the first four items but my progress quickly came to a screeching halt. My first hurdle was long overdue - I didn't have the Internet at home. I know it is hard to believe that someone in my position could survive without the Internet at home, I just never had a real need until this assignment.
I tried to continue working but the need to override everything and the difficulty in viewing pictures initially on Flickr brought my enthusiasm and progress to a halt. The second workday (months later) brought me the motivation to get working again. With the help of a wonderful friend and fellow blogger, I was able to hit the ground running. The ease with which I was able to progress and the quiet time I have found in the library the first two weeks after the Holidays, gave me the opportunity to bust a move! While my back is sore and I feel like a blob for sitting at my desk or on my couch for hours on end the last two weeks - I did it!
My favorite discoveries along the way include: Google Reader, RSS feeds, online image generators, LibraryThing, Del.icio.us, YouTube, Animoto, and online productivity. The ease with which we moved through the assignments made me realize that such new ideas and products are right at your fingertips and not so scary after all. While the initial thought of completing 23 things was overwhelming, this format was very helpful. Everything we needed to be successful was right at our fingertips. I am not sure I would take the time to go out and search for online tutorials and explore such programs unless I had a direct need in my library. By exposing us to so many programs and sites, we were able to think about new ways to use them in our library without even knowing they existed. It seems like the authors of this assignment did all the hard work and we were simply able to "play and learn". Thank you for making this possible.
I would definitely continue such a discovery program and would love to have updates in the future. One or two assignments a month would be very beneficial to our success in the library and definitely manageable given our crazy lives in the library.
I will definitely continue to use several programs on a regular basis and found them to be a great asset to my life. I appreciate the knowledge this has given me and I have already begun to share several programs with my coworkers, family, and friends. We must pass this information along to those we serve or all of this hard work will have been wasted.
4 comments:
I'm so proud of you and was a tad jealous you finished BEFORE me! But the competitor in me made sure we finished on the same day at least--:) Look for my wiki invitation soon...I'm working hard on it.
You've done an excellent job with this assignment. All of your posts are honest and thoughtful and you've really learned a lot. Go back and read your first post and you'll see that you have come a long way! Congrats on making it to the finish line!
You did it! I'm so glad you didn't let yourself get too discouraged and quit. It's nice to have friends to spur us along.
I am so proud of how well you did. Having finished my 23 Things last night, I am a tad jealous that you completed this so early.
I liked the sincerity and integrity of your posts. I also think that getting together helped many of us get to the task at hand. "The journey of a thousand posts begings . . ." and all that! Way to finish strong!
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