Reflections

My first thought on this course is a huge thank you to the organizers! It was exactly what I needed. For months, I had thought of some of these technologies--particularly blogs and wikis--and would think that I needed to learn to use them. But I didn't know where to start, and it's just one of those things you can always put off until tomorrow. The course was exactly the impetus I needed to learn.

As for most of the other technologies--well, it's embarrassing to admit, but I knew nothing about them. I had no idea that something like del.icio.us or Second Life existed. I had heard of Flickr but didn't know how it was used. I am now an avid user of two out of these three I mentioned. (Second Life may still be one of those things I can put off until tomorrow!)

I have already started our internal blog for our library and am planning to start up several other new adventures in the next couple of weeks. So, unlike most conferences I've attended, the payoff has been immediate and tangible.

What would I change if I could? Maybe the course should be longer, with less of a time commitment each week? I don't know if that would help, but I just couldn't get to all the reading and screencasts and exploring on the actual technologies. Maybe more emphasis on actually setting up one of everything for yourself instead of reading and screencasts? (For example, you must set up a Flickr account and load some pics, you must set up a Wiki outside the course site, etc.) Again, these are just random thoughts. I really don't think I could have improved on this course much, and I appreciate that a lot of the readings will still be there for us to take advantage of after the course ends.