Learning & Playing @CML!
Hey!
Sorry its been so long between posts (a later post will explain). However, a new initiative by my employer, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, will hopefully get me back into a good posting groove.
Basically, they’re trying to get CML employees more hip to the world of Web 2.0 with a program called “Learn & Play @CML”. This is somthing that I whole-heartedly support and I want to set a good example for my fellow Dublin Branch employees, so I will be participating fully (the drawings for tech stuff are a small inducement as well if I’m to be completely honest). As part of my participation, I will be posting from time to time as required by my exercizes. I shall, of course, be writing so that such posts fit as naturally as possible into the typical, day to day content of this blog. This news should reassure my regular readers (both of you).
With that said, I’ll be talking a little about what came of my little self-examination in an exercize called Seven and 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners (see link for specifics). As the post indicates we were supposed to think about which of the 7 and 1/2 things we were especially good at and which we’d need a little work on. Take a look at it, as its actually pretty interesting stuff!
I felt a strength of mine was habit #7 1/2 ”Play”. Since I grew up with Atari (and later Nintendo), I suppose I have developed somthing of a “Instructions?! I don’t need instructions!” sort of mentality. This serves me well, as I am fairly confident about jumping in and trying stuff. I am very comfortable feeling my way around interfaces and have developed an “instinctive” understanding of how stuff is tends to be organized. I believe that one of the most important parts of learning tech skills is a comfort and willingness to just try stuff. I haven’t irreparably broken anything yet!
I felt a weakness was #3 “View Problems as Challenges”. This is because I have a tendency to view problems as unmitigated disasters, at least at first. Of course, part of this may come from what I understand a problem to be. The fact that something is not working properly is not a problem in my view. Stuff happens! A problem is when after hours of tinkering I still can’t solve the issue/malfunction and this failure is keeping me from doing something I need/want to do. My frustration builds very slowly at first and simmers at a low level for a long time. Then all of a sudden I just can’t take it anymore. The occurrences are mercifully rare (and I have gotten a lot better about this over the years, just ask my parents). Nonetheless, frusteration does not help to solve the problem. A change in mindset is therefore in order.
