Thing 5: Reflective Practice

So far I have found the CPD 23 Program to be very helpful. I've been blogging (and therefore reflecting) on a much more regular basis, and I've read some fascinating blogs by other librarians. I've really enjoyed reading what everyone is doing, and I've learned from everyone.  I think the pace of the program is perfect - not too fast, but not too slow. The ways the Things are presented has been very helpful, too. Rather than investigating something purely for its own sake, we are asked to investigate it through the lens of a librarian. It makes total sense because technology in isolation is just a toy. We don't expect our students to learn a technology for its own sake, and neither should we.
The most valuable thing I've taken out of this so far was the reflection on branding. It is something I've really worked hard on, but was unable to come up with anything I really liked. I don't, however, consider this a failure. Not having a catchy name is ok with me, though, because I think we can communicate our brand in other ways. I have a chance to show my students who I am everyday at school - which is something other librarians do not have the benefit of. Sometimes having a captive audience is good. :)
I am happy that I've been doing better at keeping up with my RSS feeds, although I know it will not be as easy once school starts up again. I've also really started using Evernote to keep important ideas easy to find again. Next year, I'd really like to get a Twitter account going for my school library for parents. I'm not sure how many parents are on Twitter, but maybe I'll do a survey at the beginning of the year to find out.