Method 12 Last Dance: Reflection and Evaluation

It only took me three years to finish this second round by the Texas State Library…but I have finished! Again, it was a wonderful chance to learn about a variety of web tools and how libraries can use them. Some of my favorite sections were the ones about e-readers and making a 30-second movie with Animoto.
 

There were a lot of programs to learn about, even though some were not imperative to know or to use in my current position. This time around, I did not particularly like or need certain modules, and I found myself less excited about certain topics. That could be attributed to several factors, including the long time I took to do all the exercises and then broken links I encountered. My enthusiasm would wane and occasionally it was a struggle to get through some exercises, not discerning how I would need or use it at work.

As a result, I did not embellish my blog posts much with either words or photos this time around nor was I eager to try the extra exercises. But, I perked up with interesting and interacting topics when I could create something.

Our current culture produces so many new web, app, and software tools, they can be overwhelming as well as quickly obsolete. This was expressed in one method where a public library jumped on service but found patrons did not generally use it much. This could become costly to library budgets if such programs were expensive. With the rush and abundance of so many new tools, it must be difficult for libraries to know whether something will endure or become passé. How can they decide which to use or offer? Popularity or longevity? I imagine those choices will become more prevalent and more confounding.

Method 12

Yay—I’ve come to the end of the exercises in this course and have completed it before the deadline!

Some of my favorite discoveries centered on acquiring more knowledge about Flickr, Picasa, and YouTube. And I loved learning about making movies with either your photos or videos using Windows Movie Maker. These 12 Steps has indeed rekindled my love for learning. It was very energizing. In my art, I always love to try new techniques and use different media. I am always experimenting and asking myself, “what would happen if I did this or that?” Because of that intuitive approach, I become a conduct for the creative process instead of dictating and planning.

In these exercises, there was a lot of high-tech terms I had heard about but not really understood or had ever used. Now, I have a better understanding of RSS feeds, of sharing documents and bookmarks, of twittering and IM’ing, of wikis and podcasts. And I thought of new potentials for social networking that I already used.

This is a well-thought out program that builds on previous steps, so I think it succeeds quite well. And yes, I’d definitely like to take another like this in the future, even if it was not offered through work. As a matter of fact, I put a link to the Dozen Ways to Two Step on both my personal Facebook site and art blog and have a few positive responses for spreading the word!