Week 9, Thing 23!!

23 Things has been quite a journey! I am delighted to get to the finish! It was at times extremely frustrating to find the time to examine the sites and complete the tasks and there were those glitches and retries that didn't always work but I am glad to have undertaken this journey. It was fantastic to finally learn some tech stuff that my kids didn't already know about! I found that I became familiar with some things like flickr that I encountered online while researching something else and I knew what it was!

I particularly liked learning to "play" with the avitars and the wikis could have some real practical uses. The idea of using the bookmarks to have access to favorites from more than one computer could be very beneficial as well. It was wonderful to see the creative ways libraries across the country are using technology to enhance their services.

This look at technology has prompted me to not be as technophobic. Even my blog name scaredytechgirl is no longer as accurate. I am much like the Scaredy Squirrel book character who left the tree and branched out to new directions and experiences. However, while I am aware that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, now I'm more confident that I can embrace and use some of this techy stuff. The door has been opened and I hope to continue to revisit some of these areas and stay more informed.

The training may have been improved by some more background for those of us who do not readily have the opportunities to explore all the tech stuff. Lesa's comments about training for those who had less time/experience using multiple windows/intensive browsing, etc. made a very good point. I'm not sure summer was the best time for this training given our increase in circulation and programs. The increased workload left little time to be away from the desk to work on this and created large gaps of time in getting back to it which made it harder to remember and absorb better. The deadline with the "extra" weeks to catch up was a definite plus!

I would consider participating in future training if it was tied to CEUs and if "on the job" time could be given. I truly had to persevere with fitting this in at work as my dial-up from home and aging computer could not handle this training. It was quite difficult to fit this in around my duties at the branch, the interuptions can just be too distracting and not condusive to being able to learn anything. I'm greatful for the time I was able to work on this and the patient support of coworkers who patiently talked me through my trouble spots. I truly don't think I could have finished if it wasn't for my daughter's generosity in letting me use her laptop and high-speed connection, thanks Jess!

Finally, it was rewarding to be a part of such an undertaking by MD libraries, I know there were many who have shared in the frustrations and joys of getting through the tasks and it had us all talking together about what we were doing. The staff blogs provided unique insights into our coworkers and nowI know who the techy people are that I can go to for help!! As in all valuable learning experiences this program was sometimes confusing and painful but that makes the reward of accomplishment that much greater. I'm thrilled to be finished 23 Things!!!