Thursday 13 October 2011

The end is just a pause along the journey

Well, here we are at the "official" end of 23 Things, but of course what has been learnt will be carried forward so it's not really the end.  I have to say that this has been an excellent course, purely from the fact that I will be carrying lessons learnt forward (you can't say that of all training), and indeed have been using some of the new tools ever since they were introduced to me via this course. 
I have found 23 Things to be very beneficial.  Being introduced to new tools, having a chance to "play" with them, reflecting on their usefulness, and reading through the blogs of others' experiences, has not only given me a range of new tools for immediate use, but has alerted me to the potential usefulness of others.  The course has also been useful in that it really got me to think about my professional image, and really broadened my "library world" through its encouragement of networks, RSS feeds, Google Reader, etc.
23 Things was challenging at times, as I found I had to be very disciplined to keep up to date with the content.  A longer course, with just 1 Thing per week, would have made life easier.
I was very lucky that I was able to complete the course during my working day, as I was able to access all the software via my work computer.  I know others weren't able to do this, and had to work on it from home, which is not such an attractive prospect.
I am happy to think that the course content will be available for me to revisit should I want to.  I can see myself directing colleagues to it, and encouraging them to have a go.

Where to next?  Well I'm up for revalidation of my professional registration mid 2012, and I have a few areas where I still need to complete activities, so my focus will be on those.  Filling these gaps will form the basis of my personal development plan, and the challenge will be in finding courses/material suitable to cover them.  However I have, courtesy of 23 Things, a much broader awareness of where to seek out such resources, so I have confidence I will achieve my goals.

As for this blog...  I'll just have to mull over its future direction.  Guess all I can say is, watch this space

Photo: Dew on fern frond, taken by Anne-Maree Wigley

2 comments:

  1. I don't like things coming to an end. Especially after such a long time. I think we've been lucky to take part in the 23 Things and chat to people around the world. I agree it certainly has been challenging at times fitting it in around work, but like you, I feel I have a broader knowledge from having taken part.

    Good luck and keep blogging!

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  2. Yes it has needed discipline to get to the end of the course. Those weeks where we had more than one thing were a struggle but it has been well worth while and I'm very pleased to have done it.

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