THING 19 - MUSINGS ON LEARNING 2.0

The time has come to celebrate! I'm done. I've completed Learning 2.0. And believe me, I'm going to party hearty! Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to live it up, go shopping, to the pub, or whatever some may do to congratulate themselves after a big accomplishment. That's not my style. By celebrate, I mean I'm going to do more exploring on the web without the nagging (in the back of my mind) that I've got to "get it right," without thinking man, I feel so dumb, or wishing the web had never been invented. No, all those negative feelings just kind of flew off my shoulders when I pushed the "submit post" button for Thing 18. What a liberating feeling! That, to me, is worth celebrating.

As I have reviewed my blog, I realize it could be a little more polished in it's looks and layout, but hey, I comleted it, I worked through everything (sometimes for hours on end,) and I'm not changing anything at this point. The work's done, I feel great, now I want to move on to using what I've learned to actually bless my library life. My blog for INST 5030 is staying the way it is for two reasons: It's going to be my reference to fall back on when I want to refresh my mind on what I did where, but more important, it will be there to reinvigorate me when I feel less than capable, or feel like, oops, the web and Shelly were never ment to meet.

I still feel like I'm more technology illiterate than literate, but gosh, when I look where I came from, it's like comparing myself to a baby, just learning to walk. She first stands, very warily and wobbly, maybe even a little frightened, but she's determined to take those first steps. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, everyone is there to encourage her and be there when the first bump comes. Before you knowit, the baby is a toddler, running here, there and everywhere. She still isn't able to run a marathon, but, at this point in time, that thought is absurd. She just needs to continue to practice, grow, and try. The marathon will come, if that's what she wants. The important thing is at this stage is to realize that the growth has been phenominal. I now know if I can surprise myself to the extent I have doing Learning 2.0, I can continue to surprise myself and do even more and more. I don't plan on tackling a "technology marathon." However, at least I know, if I want to, if I'm willing to do the work and believe in myself, you bet I can do it.

Thanks, Anne. Thanks for believing in me and being there to pick me up when the first, second and all the numerous "bumps" came. You're terrific!