Gave an informal talk about the course to Cilip in London. Despite the proximity to our bank holiday, was able to tell a roomful of people about the good things that have been happening here.

As the talk was informal, it meandered around in response to comments and questions from the floor, but, for anyone who's interested, I've posted the basic text of what I said here:

http://annewelsh.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/cilip-in-london-social-libraries-talk/

I also wanted to say how much I enjoyed being able to take part in the course and how brilliant it is to see new blogs springing into life.

My favorite experiences in the course were the group chats with group 8! Michelle ROCKS!! I also enjoyed the webcasts in OPAL. Of course, learning about all the new technologies and opportunities was great but the interaction while learning is what I most enjoyed.

The technology I found most interesting for my personal use is a toss-up. I liked learning about Flickr, but IM in Meebo is a lot of fun!! Professionally, blogs and wikis are no doubt the tools that will be the most useful for so many reasons.

I didn't expect to grow so fond of colleagues from around the country. I expected there to be a lot of discussions while learning and I expected to learn a lot but I didn't expect to feel such a bond with people. Hhhmm.....imagine that....becoming socially networked while learning about social networking! I'd say the course achieved what it was intended to achieve. It helped me understand the students we serve and why they can be better served with the new technologies. I GET IT NOW!! :)

This course exceeded my expectations on every level, and I am so happy to have been a part of it. I have learned so much! Reflecting on the experience has made me realize just how much information I have absorbed over the past few weeks. I could go on and on, but it wouldn't be very structured, so here are my answers to the questions posed by the 5weeks creators:

Favorite Experiences:

• Webcasts (once I got all the technology glitches worked out on my old computer - easy solution was to just buy a new one!). I particularly enjoyed the webcast on flickr given by Steve and Michael - they were so much fun!
• Weekly online chats - I really got used to the dynamic of online chatting (which I had never done before) and learned what it takes to communicate effectively in that medium.
• Variety of sources of information - podcasts, online readings, screencasts - all were effective in their own ways and got me used to using them.
• Reading other peoples blogs and profiles and meeting such great people!
• Looking at the other 5weeks members Flickr photos

Technology most useful to me:

• What were your favorite experiences in the course?

My favorite experience in the course was the Wednesday chat.  We had a great group-covered serious topics, answered questions, and had a fair bit of fun banter. 

• What technology did you find most interesting for your personal use? What technology did you think would be most useful professionally?

I found Flickr surprisingly interesting and fun (I had thought I wouldn't).  I actually see ideas for both personal and professional use.  I liked stumbling around with Wiki and REALLY appreciate the easy to use pbwiki platform.  I can see real potential for wiki in school settings.  Finally blogging might prove very useful in student input sites.

• Were there any unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Not really, because I went into it expecting to be surprised.  I liked learning wiki.  I'm still messing around with RSS.  And I'm still thinking about de.lici.ous...

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

No specific ideas.  I liked a lot about the format.  My only difficulty was an inability to access live broadcasts aired during worktimes (daytime).  Evenings were easy though!

• If there is anything else you'd like to tell us about your experiences in this course, please feel free to do so.

No, but I'd recommend it to other librarians--some teachers also would enjoy it...

A big thank you to the organizers, presenters, and all who made this course happen.  I don't feel I've expressed my appreciation clearly enough.  I appreciate your time, perhaps most enough, as I found it hard to find enough of it to participate fully so I realize your commitment.  I admire your thoughts and ideas that went into this course and the advocacy and promotion that this will help build for implementing social software into librarianship. This course will always remain a highlight of my library career.

Personally, I LOVE Flikr. I love taking photos and looking at them and making comments and sharing them! What a great concept!. Professionally, I think learning about wikis and more about del.icio.us will benefit me professionally. I never quite got the hang of RSS feeds, although I do understand their use.

  An unexpected outcome from this course was that I didn’t expect all this stuff to be so much FUN! I found it very interesting and although there is still a bit of a generation gap, I was glad to learn that the baby boomers are embracing this technology as well.

The only thing I would suggest to improve upon the program would be for the presenters and facilitators “dumb” things down a little. Be aware that not everyone knows what you are talking about. Many times during the presentations, words were being thrown around and I had no clue what they meant. Even though a word may be in your everyday vocabulary, it doesn’t mean it’s in everyone’s. And even if it is a word we’ve heard, we still might not know exactly what it is or what it can do. At least this is the way I felt. When I read to the younger grades I always stop when I come across a unfamiliar word and make sure they understand it.

This course has been a terrific experience! Really, my favorite experience has been the interaction with fellow librarians, whether in chat or comments on the blog posts. It's a rare activity for me to be able to talk about technology such as we have with other librarians, and that has been great. I've had some experience with many of the social software tools we've been learning about, but this course gave me a better understanding of how they work, clarification of their differences, and how they might work in conjunction with each other. I think what I have found most interesting is how to use del.icio.us and using it with tools such as grazr or feed2js- a concept I think I may find most useful. Experiencing the course, too, and how it has been constructed has provided me with an excellent template that I hope to use in the future as I hope to promote and teach the use of these tools with other librarians.

In addition to being able to close my door for a few hours every week, I really enjoyed the variety of readings and presenters-- and the presenters seemed to care what we said AND responded! I've also told many people how much more meaningful and practical the readings became when I could talk to the organizers, other participants, and presenters about random thoughts I was having, questions I had, problems I saw. It was like being in grad school again, but without the books, tuition, and bureaucratic nonsense. And, I must admit, I really liked having this blog.

Personally, I can't see myself jumping into the SecondLife pool, nor can I envision setting up a Facebook or MySpace account. It may be that I can't overcome my own preconceived notions of thos programs being for the young'ens, but I also think social software tools are only useful when they are useful-- at this point they aren't. However, if I've learned anything in these five weeks, it's that I never know what I'll suddenly find indespensible.

What were your favorite experiences?
Like those who have answered before me one of my favorite experiences was the weekly chat. The weekly chat, for me personally, added the element of being able to get to know those in your group. I have taken online course before and one of major grips about these courses was that I never had the opportunity to get to know those who were learning alongside of me. I also enjoyed the OPAL-Online lectures, the webcasts, participants’ blogs, and the readings.

What technology did you find the most interesting for your personal use? What technology did you think would be most useful professionally?
The one technology that I find myself using the most is social bookmarking (Del.icio.us); I found that once I transferred my favorites to my Del.icio.us account I use it all time, including at work. Professionally, I think a blog would be the most useful because it would allow museum visitors and library patrons to be able to more actively participate in our public programs and various events.

I sure did have fun this winter!

And it is all because of Five Weeks to a Social Library!!!

What were your favorite experiences in the course?
Working, playing and discovering with all of you! My favorite experiences were the webcasts, screencasts, activities and the group chats. I looked forward to my 11am group chat on Fridays. What a great group! Thank you so much for all your support and inspiring conversations. Honestly, I loved everything about this course.