And now...the end is near...

Q & A

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite was learning abuot wikis. It was something I was already interested in learning about, and this sort of forced the issue for me.


How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
I've always been a lifelong learner, and this was just another interesting course on that road.


Were there any take-aways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I've gone Wiki-Wild! A few years ago I started a Readers' Advisory committee at my branch at SWC. We haven't done much with it, but I had a project in mind that I wanted to do - I wanted to create a website of some sort about Florida authors. We started the project originally thinking about using Google Docs and Excel to collaborate and collect information. But after learning how easy it is to use wikis, we went that route instead. It's been very easy to do, and so accessible. All the committee members are happy with it and it looks like it will be a very successful project that we hope to have linked to the county website in the near future. Check it out:
FLORIDA AUTHORS

It also came in handy for school. I'm taking a class called Medical and Consumer Health Sources. One of our projects was to create a tutorial as either a PowerPoint presentation or a website, teaching others how to use a particular medical or consumer health database. After Rachel Mick did a presentation on the Community Health Information Service, I asked my professor if I could do my tutorial on that, and she agreed. It's not done yet but I've started it:
PBCLS COMMUNITY HEALTH TUTORIAL


What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Perhaps some scheduled voluntary meetings with either the branch coordinator or someone who was comfortable with the technology to answer questions and encourage participation, especially from those who are somewhat technologically challenged or computer-phobic.


And last but not least…
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again chose to participate?
Definitely! It was fun and incredibly useful, and how often do you get to say that?

Overdrive

It's really a shame that Apple hasn't seen the light and gotten on board with these downloadable audiobooks. Since they have approximately 75% of the market, they are disenfranchising their customers.

I am not a big audiobook fan, my mind wanders too much but my husband likes them. We got a small Sandisk MP3 player just for books for him.

Podcasts

One of my favorite podcasts is NPR's Books.

"NPR book reviews, news and author interviews -- for people who love to read. The best of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other award-winning NPR programs."

NPR Books Podcast

YouTube and PowerPoint

For anyone who's ever had to do a PowerPoint presentation, or had to sit through a really bad one...