Thing #23! At Last!!!

Yay, that laptop is mine!

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite discovery is that most of this stuff was not as hard as I thought. There was so much of it, and I'd heard about a lot of these things for so long, I was afraid my aging brain would explode trying to wrap itself around all of it. Actually, the web has come a long way in ease of use; ditto most of these services/programs/thingies. For the most part they were pretty intuitive. Gotta say I had a lot of fun--way too much, actually--with the image generators and YouTube. It's that visual thing.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
It's given me a lot more ideas about how to spend my retirement, and confirmed that I have to get broadband as soon as that happy day arrives. I'm definitely going to use LibraryThing to catalog my personal library. It's convinced me I need to get an M3 player. It's given me a lot of good info to share with friends and family. Since I'll be continuing my involvement with a Mythopoeic Society, it's given me some tools that might be useful for group projects in that context or any other small nonprofits I might become involved in. As someone with a visually disabled family member I really appreciate knowing more about audiobooks & podcasting, and will continue to educate myself about those possibilities.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
See #1 & #2--the fact that these were not as hard as I expected, and more things to amuse myself with in retirement--YouTube junkie coming! It was also surprising to see all the attention we got from people outside the library. Adding the ClustrMap was a great idea and a real revelation!

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
This program was perfect for me, because this is the way I learn best--give me a little guidance and leave me alone, then let me write about what I learned. Not everybody learns best that way--it was probably good that you added those drop-in sessions for people who learn more effectively in more of a group setting.

And last but not least…If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
You betcha. Especially if I don't win that laptop!

Major kudos to all who worked so hard to make this happen and keep it going!

Learning Contract

I gotta tell ya, I have my doubts about this. I can see the logic behind it--writing stuff down often helps when it's something you don't really want to do or have trouble accomplishing successfully. Example: writing down everything you eat often helps you stick to a diet. With me, it's just another irritating obstacle (see previous post for how well I do with those). My philosophy of lifelong learning is the same as those Nike folks--"Just Do It!" I see some people getting so wrapped up in doing the contract they never get around to beginning the learning...using the thing as a mechanism for avoidance. Maybe it's because most of the things I've had to learn--especially for work--have been things I needed to figure out in a hurry. I wouldn't have time for a contact even if I wanted to do one.

Those 7 1/2 Habits

Which of those "7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners" is easiest for me and which is hardest? Habit #4 is probably the easiest (Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner). After 2 Master's degrees and almost 36 years in a field that forces you to learn new things all the time, if I weren't "a competent, effective learner" I'd have gone down in flames by now.

Of course, there's that problem of my constitutional inability to learn how to knit. A couple of truly excellent needlewomen tried to teach me and threw up their hands. It's like my depressing career as an art student--no matter how good a learner you are, and how hard you work, for some things you just need talent or ability (like physical coordination) that no amount of learning can make up for. That's why I'm an art librarian with a degree in art history today, instead of an artist.

What skill is hardest? Hnads down, "View problems as challenges." (#3) At this stage of my life it's hard to view problems as anything but a pain in the kiester and an irritation. (Speaking of learning, I'm studying to be a curmudgeon when I grow up.)