Wrap-Up/Reflections (Activity 23)

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

Meebo, YouTube and Sign Makers were probably my favorites. I'm being very cautious of YouTube until after Easter since I'm not watching TV for Lent. I don't know that I'll give up TV entirely, but cutting back certainly can't hurt me. It's too easy to sit in front of the TV or YouTube for hours without thinking about it. (Update since Easter: I still watch too much TV and YouTube.)
Meebo allows me to be connected to multiple IM accounts at the same time so I don't have to log into all the accounts. Plus it's web-based so if I'm using another computer that doesn't have the IM software installed it doesn't matter.
The sign maker site was just plain fun. I don't currently have a printer. However, I can make a sign, save it and run it to the printers or to my online photo company if I need a poster for an amusing birthday present.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I appreciate this program's allowance for play. It allows me to work at my own speed and spend more time with the things I enjoy or find useful. Several of these things I may or may not use all that much in the future. I can see how most of them are useful, but I don't necessarily have these needs and so probably won't use them.

Perhaps the most confusing is the RSS feeds. I understand how they work, but not necessarily why one would use them. I don't read enough news or blogs that are constantly updated to use RSS effectively.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I most appreciated the time to work on this project with my co-workers. In helping each other and teaching each other we learned more about the program and the skills necessary to make it work better. Though I was often asked the questions, everyone participated and in many cases started punching buttons until something worked. The hardest part was figuring out what buttons we pushed a second time to do it for ourselves or the next person who wasn't sure.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
I would cut back one of the RSS assignments. Picture plays are fun for everyone. When you're sitting on top of Information Services it's easier to call them than sift through my RSS feeds.
I appreciated being given time to do this at work, however it is difficult to retain the process one week to the next. Early on we were given two hours to work with Discover 2.0 and that was very helpful.

Feel free to write about whatever else comes to mind.
I had fun doing this project. Somethings were slightly Greek/Geek to me. Next time I would like a little help getting through RSS and a few of the other activities. I did have a great time showing my friend smiley faces on Meebo. (My personal favorite: >:D<>

Tumblr Alternative Blogging (Activity 22)

I suppose for most of this assignment I could have used Tumblr. Only a few of my posts really needed more than a few hundred characters. It's a good thing I used Blogspot though because I tend to be long winded. So I'll quit here.






WAIT, WAIT! Here's my tumblr url: http://mcdata.tumblr.com/