I have had the opportunity of currently seeking employment to "play" around (without the need to prepare for a new job or current library job) with all different types of online tools both for students and for professionals with this blog and the professional development blog included! I have checked out webinars, which in my opinion is a great way to get professional development without having to leave the comfort of my home and "jammies" as well as having attended some great classes through BOCES. I have gotten involved in Google+ as a means to have a social learning network devoted to professional connections only. I believe trying to keep a Facebook and Google+ page would be crazy and too timeconsuming if I added more than a professional connection to Google+! In addition, I am trying out Twitter as a means of professional information although that has been a bit slower in going.
One of my favorites right now is the Google Reader with the RSS feeds that we learned about with this class! I continue to add blogs that I believe will benefit my Personal Learning Network. Again, I have a luxury right now with not having my own library although I cannot wait to be working in my own library in the future!!!
I am also planning on checking out some of the tutorials and videos that are offered through Gale to learn more about that product as most schools seem to use Gale as a database. In addition, I was intreged by the TeachingBooks.net, which seems to have a lot to offer both librarians as well as classroom teachers.
I do have to admit that I can feel overwhelmed by all the information coming my way and have to keep a close eye on management of my time as I could do this all day long with so much more to go. Overall, I think that the way to go for me would be to try out any new things that come my way and after trying, decide whether or not it is worth the extra time to continue using it.
As a librarian, I hope to utilize and have a strong online presence with a webpage, blog, possibly Twitter but again, it will take time to assess what will be the most useful and time efficient.
I truly enjoyed working with everyone on this online professional development class and felt that it was very informative. A big shout out and thank you to Amy and Diane for planning and executing this summer program!!
