Summary: The End AND The Beginning!

What have I learned here? Let me count the tools . . . (a poor paraphrase, I know). I started this course on June 15 (late start because I was out of town) and finished today, July 18. I started with some trepidation, not knowing if I really could do the unknown, but wanting to at least try. There were times I tried the same thing 5 times, and it didn't work all 5! I'd email or call for help, get it and go on. Some things I tried more than once, and when it didn't work, went back again, re-read the information, tried again, and was elated that it worked! Sometimes I slogged through Things, fussing and cussing (silently) that I had ever tried to do things out of my comfort zone—and there were any number of those! It was time-intensive for me; I spent hours at the computer, so many that my husband accused me of not listening when he talked to me. Huh? I was one with that computer!

I think my favorite discovery was first, that this was something I could do, and second, that it opened a new world of terms, tools, places, communication, creativity, possibilities, and that's just the start. I enjoyed creating slideshows, the motivational poster, the playlist . . . really, I can't think of anything I didn't enjoy (maybe not in the process, but joy came when I saw the result). I created two wikispaces, one for some friends, and one for my family. If anything, 23Things has shown me that whatever I do, when I teach, or just live on this earth, it's going to be connected to technology. And that's something I need to communicate to my students who are in many ways more connected than I am! Unexpected outcomes? Probably in every Thing! While I had general knowledge about a few aspects, everything else was like a gift to unwrap (and it takes more effort to unwrap some gifts!), and that made it fun as well as challenging.

You two leaders did a great job in cheering us on, answering questions when needed, and making comments. I think the format was good, content unbelievably well-presented. I would make sure people know it's not a simple month-long course that you can do sitting down each day for a short time—it took concentrated time, at least for me. It might be better spread out over a semester, especially during the teaching year. My first reaction, if asked to take another discovery program like this, would be: heck, no! But on second thought, when I consider all that I've learned and all that will be happening in the future, I would probably change my answer to: let me try it!

My biggest surprise came today, when I was checking my blog before posting #23. I had a comment on #22, and figured it would be from one of my blogmates or from Mary. It was the guy from Keener 13 who said he had more stuff not generally available that he would be happy to share with me. Wow! I never expected that anyone besides this group would read my blog. I know, it's a bigger world now! :)

Where to go now? Full speed ahead! I plan to keep this blog going, although I may make a few changes. I want to keep learning and plan to use the RSS feed for . . . Learning 2.1? There's more?!? I'll start with new developments in 2.0 and go from there. Most of all, I want to use the tools I've learned in lessons—podcasts and videos, motivational posters and comic strip generator, playlists, calendar, and more—and encourage students to move beyond what they thought they could do, as I have through this program. Maybe we need to do a 23Things Revisit sometime, and share ways we've actively used what we learned. It's definitely been a journey for me, and one that I'm glad I took!