Nebraska Learns 2.0, the First Three Things, and The Seven-and-a-Half Habits

Well, I've decided to join in on the Nebraska Learns 2.0 action. I realize I'm a little late in the game, since the 23 Things challenge started on Oct. 3, but it runs until January 30, 2009, so I should have time to catch up.

I've created this new blog just for my 23 Things. I was going to do this on my personal blog, but the idea of mixing work and personal stuff just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. So, here it is, a new blog, even though I so badly neglect my old one.

I am Angela Kroeger, a paraprofessional at the Criss Library at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Howdy!

So, here I go: Thing #1: Discovery has never been so much fun!

Okay, they're not actually asking us to do anything for Thing #1, so onward to Thing #2: Lifelong learning.

This involves viewing a tutorial, which has audio. Already I have a small hitch, because at work, where I have a high-speed connection, I have no sound. I could plug in headphones, but it wouldn't do any good. (I've tried.) At home, I have a dial-up connection, so watching videos of any kind is out of the question, unless I want to let it sit for an hour or so and come back to it. But I sallied forth and watched the tutorial and read the text of the narration. I think it went faster than if I would have had to actually listen to it all, so there's an upside, too.

I haven't filled out my learning contract yet, though. I want to put some serious thought into it, and not just dash something down during the last few minutes of my shift on a Friday.

As for the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, the hardest one for me is probably Habit 1, "Begin with the end in mind." I tend to feel my way through things, starting one thing and letting it chain into the next in a somewhat unpredictable path. I don't always even know the exact ending of a novel when I start writing it (although I generally have a rough idea). The easiest might be Habit 3, "View problems as challenges." I enjoy trying to figure out how to make things work. I enjoy "process improvement." I figure there's nothing I do that can't be done better, if I examine it from enough different angles.

And Thing #3: Grab yourself a blog in 3 steps? Uh, you're looking at it!

By the way, Happy Halloween!