What Do We Do Next?
It's been a fun seven weeks crammed with a lot of information and exercises to usher you into the Web 2.0 world. Now that we are finishing up this class, there are a couple of things SEMLS asks of you to tie up loose ends and that you can do to continue your learning.
Post-course evalution - I did a couple of evaluations during the course of this class, but I am pulling together a post-course evaluation for everyone to complete. I will e-mail the link to everyone so that I can reach those who did not follow through to the class's end as well as those who are still on the wiki. If you do not receive this link via e-mail in the next couple of days, please let me know so that I can get it to you.
Continue working with tools discovered through this class - Now that you've had a crash course in all of these different tools, pick the ones you like best to use in your libraries and in your personal life. See if you can use at least one of these tools to improve services to your users. If you come across stumbling blocks along the way, you can always contact me for assistance. I am also available for on-site
consultation.
Keep Learning about new tools - I obviously didn't cover every Web 2.0 tool in this class (I don't think it would be possible) so there is a lot of exploring yet to be done. Here are some places to find more sites to explore:
- I adapted the original Learning 2.0 class offered at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to fit the needs of our libraries and to be contained within a seven-week time period instead of the original eight-week period. The original 23 things included some tools that I didn't have an opportunity to explore. If you liked Flickr, you may want to explore some Flickr mashups. Rollyo is a great alternative to providing links on your library's Web site.
- The original Learning 2.0 program was loosely based on an article from Stephen Abram, 43 Things I Might Want to Do This Year. Check out some of the things he listed.
- Learning 2.1 is a blog from the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County created to support on-going discovery and learning of Web 2.0 technologies as an extension of the Learning 2.0 program.
- Subscribe to RSS feeds from library technology blogs. You can find a bunch if you click on the link for Kathy L.'s RSS subscriptions and then click Library Reads. You don't have to learn about every technology mentioned in these blogs. But if you start seeing the same thing posted over and over again, you may want to check it out.
Face-to-face meeting -
Eileen mentioned earlier in the class that she would like an
opportunity to meet some of the participants face to face, and I
received the same feedback from the last Learning 2.0 class. However, I
know that some of you are people who rarely have an opportunity to get
out of your libraries for SEMLS programs. For the winter CE session, I
would like to hold some kind of roundtable/social gathering for those
who have completed either of the two Learning 2.0 programs. It will be
an opportunity to meet each other in person and to share your progress
with these Web 2.0 tools.
About the semls20 tag - This tag was used to track progress in the class. If you decide to keep your blog, you don't need to use the semls20 tag, but you're welcome to use it if you're blogging about something that would be of interest to people in this class. I also encourage you to keep adding the semls20 tag to del.icio.us bookmarks if you're bookmarking something relevant to the course materials. It will be a great way to continue learning from each other.
Certificates and PDP's - I will be creating special Learning 2.0 certificates for everyone who completed the program. Some of you checked off that you would like a PDP certificate when your registered for the class, but I know some of you check this off because you like to have a certificate. If you really need the PDP's, please let me know so that I can get that certificate to you and so I can keep a record of your work.
Enjoy!
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