And in conclusion...

We have learned so many things since this class started, and at such a fast pace, haven't we? I had to go back and read my own Blog postings just to remember all I learned.

Back at the beginning, we created a blog. Since we had to use it all the time to report on what we were learning, I now feel really comfortable with blogging-- I can say with confidence that I know I will continue to use it.

Next came RSS feeds. My initial reaction was that I would probably drop my Bloglines account after this class was finished. But guess what? After checking Bloglines routinely for 3 months, I have had lots of interesting discoveries from them. I think the trick is not to overload. I dropped several after realizing that I was never getting any "WOW" moments from them (you know-- the lightbulb above my head...) So Bloglines stays for the time being.

I like Flickr (except for the spelling of it). But I didn't use it enough in this class to make it be something that I can do effortlessly. It will stay on the back burner for now, at least until I get a digital camera. (My kids and husband all have digitals, so I just let them do all the picture-taking in the family.)

Podcasts. I thought they were okay at the time we studied them, probably not something I'd use. But after accidentally running into podcasts on other sites and seeing how they were used, and having my sister sending me a link to a very inspiring TED talk podcast, I'm finding myself more and more impressed. Podcasts are cool.

YouTube. My kids are really into this. I hear one yelling to the other, "Hey come look at this," followed by hoots of laughter. Unlike podcasts, I haven't really run into anything on YouTube that "feeds my brain." Perhaps it's there, and I just didn't look hard enough, but this one's going by the wayside for now.

The tagging I liked a lot, but now that I am thinking back on it, I don't think I really grasped the "social bookmarking" aspect of it. I guess that's where you tagged something and found out that 678 other people had tagged it too, and you got to see what tags they used. I liked my own tags just fine, I guess.

Wikis. I can really see the value in them for collaborative projects, but there are a lot of people out there who get their kicks putting their sicko marks on otherwise good stuff. Take the "Definition of a Librarian" page that I recommended in one of my posts. I went back to that wiki myself about a week after my first visit there, and found some pretty crude content had been added. I have a friend who has many wiki entries out there in wiki land. He monitors them daily for changes, and spends a lot of time repairing the damage on a routine basis. He finds it pretty frustrating.
Incidentally, he is the one who is heading up the National Historic Landmark Wiki. Those of us who are part of that project have to log on with a password in order to add content or make changes.

I would definitely be interested in future learning opportunities in this format. If I were to do anything differently, it might be to provide classes in shorter bursts. Say a three-week course just on using Flickr, Podcasts, and YouTube, for example. One extra week at the end for those who fell behind for one reason or another. I know that I got overwhelmed at a point in the middle of the class, and it took some effort to pick it up and get going again.

And on a final note, thank you so much to Lauren, Maggie, Suzanne, and Tracy. This was a huge undertaking for you all, and I want you to know that it was very much appreciated.

Irene Scheidecker, Butte Public Library