The End to the Beginning

It's amazing that the semester is over and I made it!  I knew this course would be both intimidating and exciting ~ intimidating because I had virtually no experience in technology outside of email and Sakai and exciting because I was about to learn a lot.  But, little did I know just how much I would learn and how much fun was involved!

Looking back, I have to say that my views towards Facebook haven't changed much.  I do view this as a more personal and "friend"ly tool and not one for the work force.  I've enjoyed my experience and may log in from time to time, but that's about it.  Twitter proved to be more for me for the simple reason of instant access and short talk times - I think Laura mentioned that she prefered Twitter for the limit in the amount of discussion.  I agree wholeheartedly.  I used Twitter for the simple questions or statements and, at one point, getting immediately in touch with a classmate because I knew she had twitter on her phone. 

I would have to say that my favorite has been blogging.  I like that it's the "hallmark" of social media where you are sending out the very best to all who want to be reached.  I have even convinced my brother-in-law to create a blog while he is spending 4 months living in Argentina.  I can't wait for the first blog and living life in Argentina through his eyes (he's an educator so it should prove very interesting). 

While I liked conducting a book review with social media tools, I don't think podcast is for me and that was the least enjoyable experience.  Having been exposed to Voki this morning during a lesson presentation, I would have preferred to use this instead; although I think there is a time limit with that as well.  In any event, I know we could use a variety of forms, and I, speaking as someone with limited knowledge, would have liked to have more options suggested. 

In offering input for possible changes to the course, I can honestly state that I tried my best to keep up to date with postings and the vast amounts of reading - 20+ classmates' posts, blogs, tweets, as well as required readings.  I've thought that it may have been more manageable had this have been a "regular" semester and not over the summer, but I'm not sure if that would have made a difference.   It just goes to show you that there is so much out in the virtual world and it's your preference as to how much you want to interact in it.

As for the future, I can say that I too feel more confident in the use of social media tools.  I feel I can be much more persuasive in helping our district incorporate at least some of these tools in the school libraries.  Working on an implementation plan was great and brought a "real life" component to the semester in showing what we can do for libraries.  I have certainly taken a lot of knowledge away from this experience and I am so grateful to have been part of this class. 

As for the class, Suellen, you are awesome and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute! 
Classmates, it was great embarking on this social journey with you and all the learning that we shared.  Best of luck as you continue your journey and I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere in cyberspace!