Week 9, Thing 23: Summarize Your Thoughts

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite discovery was the bloglines account and being able to subscribe to news feeds and favorite blogs. It makes my blog even more useful to me since I can access my blogroll right from my blog site! I also especially liked learning to set up a wiki. It's going to help me with a project that I'm working on for my job.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This program has helped tremendously. A blog is a great way to record my thoughts and ideas as I learn new things. It's much better than taking notes on paper for me. It doesn't take up physical space, and I don't forget where I put it. It's something that I can continually refer to if needed.

Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
Yes, I didn't realize that I would find a wiki to be such a useful too. I was surprised at how many new and useful things that I learned.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I liked the program just the way it was, but sometimes found it difficult to spend as much time as I wanted on particular topics. That's ok though. I can always go back and explore further.

And last but not least…
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate? Yes, I would definitely participate. This is a great way to learn, and I can work at my own pace.

How would you describe your learning experience in a few words or a few sentences, so we can share our successes and promote this program? Fun, Useful, Creative, Exciting

Week 9, Thing 22: Learn About Audiobooks

This was an especially helpful exercise for me due to the increase of related customer questions. I can instruct people much easier when I have actually explored it myself. My most FAQ has been about whether there's a need to download the software before being able to listen to the book. I downloaded the software for Overdrive onto my computer, and it took a long time with my dial-up connection. I do not have a portable player yet, so I listen to the audiobooks via the computer. I am curious to find out how to put it onto the MP3 player. Can this be done directly or do I have to first download to my computer and then transfer it to the player?

I'm really looking forward to using a portable player to listen to books. Being busy with my children makes it more difficult for me to read print books, so this will be a nice option!

Week 9, Thing 21: Discover Useful Tools for Locating Podcasts

I looked at two tools for locating podcasts. Podcast.net and Podcastalley.com. Both led me to find interesting literature related podcasts like Book Voyages which I added to my bloglines account. I saw several podcasts that do online readings of literature and storytelling! It's pretty neat that anyone can create a podcast. I can definitely see how libraries could use this format for book reviews, storytelling, etc. While participating in the 23 Things program, the podcasts proved to be a helpful learning tool. Sometimes I remember more if I hear it rather than just reading it.