I took three summer classes this year, one online and two on campus. For me it basically came down to the Summer of Social Media. I actually took both Social Networking in Libraries with Alison Miller and Social Media with Anthony Rotolo. Both classes were excellent and although it was not my original plan to take both, more on that at another time, they worked extremely well together. Social Media set me up with the knowledge of Social Media tools and then Social Networking in Libraries used that knowledge to focus on a library environment.
Both classes reinforced the usefulness of Twitter, something I had never seen before. It made me realize that finding and following the right people opens you up to a great resource for new ideas and current happenings in your field of interest. In both classes I was able to create a video for YouTube and got extensive experience working with iMovie. It was intimidating at first, but I am really happy with the results; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9yO0Mxslng and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbmSS_pR1sk
At the end of the summer I now have a fairly detailed Social Media Strategy for the library where I work and we have started to implement some of those changes. I really am quite fortunate in that I am in a position at the library where I can take what I learn here at SU and immediately put it to use. It’s a great feeling.
The third class I took was Grant Writing with Sari Feldman. Another great class and the work I did in this class really paid off, because my branch is now getting a Teen Room!
My final thoughts on these summer courses are that I can’t say enough about the professors in all three classes. If I was younger and just starting out I would definitely be attempting to get a job with one of these three, there is still so much more to learn from them.
It’s great when classwork can be useful in your professional life! I enjoyed being in class with you!
Thanks Asia- that’s the one thing I left out of my post, how great all the classmates were in these classes. I learned a lot from them as well. I enjoyed being in class with you as well – perhaps we’ll meet up again!
Enjoyed reading your post and having met you in class. You were busy this summer but hope you had time for some fun also!
Thanks Elise – I enjoyed meeting you as well. It was a great group to work with and share ideas with. I am definitely having some fun now!