Blog #4 Planning and Implementation

Well I have to admit that for most of the semester I felt as though I was playing catch up and struggling to keep pace. No excuses, but I was working, running a business, traveling doing training, starting grad school, working on the car and bike, getting ready for the holdays and being part of a family. All satisfying and rewarding pursuits but it became a chocolate mess for a while trying to juggle and plan how I could manage all the important things in my life. Then came the learning curve of new technologies presented in class, I had moments of being overwhelmed and questioning of what was going to have to give. So, it had to come down to planning and dilligently multi-tasking or risk having to make some serious decisions.
Come to find out that some of those web 2.0 tools could actually organize some parts of my overflowing life pursuits, if I could just figure out how they work.
I focused on the interaction of school and the training business and how they could complement each other. I have always needed to have a practical application of something to keep my interest, never went for novels, had to be non-fiction to appreciate the reality of it all.
I was lucky to be at a point in my training business where a web 2.0 tool fit nicely into a new initiative we were doing. I presented the overall plan to the powers that be and to the particpants themselves and everything was very well received, so off we went! i spent some frustrating times preparing to launch the tool (wiggio.com) trying to get all of the parts to work and even with some shortcomings, loaded up the site with lots of my work (with a nod to the concept of creative commons)and sent out invitations to the participants. The response has been good, not great, but a very good start. Some people had issues (what do i click on?) which indicated the group is going to go through a similar experience I went through, how does this stuff work.. how do I fit this into my busy life.. they are no diferent than I was at the start of the semester.. sometimnes overwhelmed. Plus they may naot have the motivation I had I'm trying to get another grad degree and a good enough grade so I get reimbursed from my employer, so they may not share my enthusiasm or perspective.
So as I near the end of the semester I truely have to say that I have learned alot, what more can a teacher or student hope for than that declartation? I look forward to where I can take this, I am committed to following through because I have made it part of my training company, hopefully that was a wise decision. I think ti is the right direction, it is not the destination but the direction.. I could always find another web 2.0 application and intetgrate that without degrading the overall direction. best luck to everyone and I hope you have a peaceful holiday with your loved ones, because we all know that they are the most important social network there is.

Blog #1

Sometimes it seems a bit of outside looking in when it comes to the world of Web 2.0. My world is not overly tech loaded but centered in human to human interaction. So, while it's not like I am stuck on the sidewalk, not able to navigate the information super highway ( I think I am at least driving along but maybe just in the right hand lane)I need to see how this technology can supplement but not supplant the interaction part of my training world. I am, at times, excited and also apprehensive about finding a balance between connecting with the newfound tools while maintaining the human connection.
As new tools and opportunities are presented I am looking from my own perspective while trying to appreciate and learn how others apply the new methods to their situations so I might also benefit. One of the areas that I can really see benefits would be using a wiki as a way to teach and share with people who are spread out over an expansive area. I would like to jump in and transfer a group of people I am working with onto a wiki as the central repository and see if it works for that group. Some of the obstacles will be the age of the participants, socio-economic constraints, time restrictions, technology competance and resistance to change.All are obstacles but nothing that can stop the opportunity.