Back to Life, Back to Reality...

Cohort 6 Rocks for real! I spent almost a week with some of the coolest, smartest, funniest folks on the planet. If it wasn't for my Husband, Family, Work and stuff, I could have easily stayed longer. The students, profs, advisor, t.a.'s all rocked. But thanks to Cara I know I've got to spice up my blog. For shizzle.

The quiz is done

The quiz is done, and it wasn’t nearly as painful as I had imagined. Now it’s time to get back in the trenches. War is Hell but I have friends. Friends who are kind and compassionate and smart and whom I’ve never laid eyes on in life. If I can help someone, I will because I’ve learned from people like Cara, William, Jeff, Ragini and Katy just to name a few. The list can go on and on. This is not a race, but an education.

It's Not a Race!

What happens to the educational environment when competition is no longer an issue. People plain old freak out. They can't take it. Yes, this program is difficult, but it's Grad School not High School. Are we expected to be experts after seven weeks, no but we have been exposed to so much cutting edge technology that it's unbelievable. When I read a June 8th weblog posting from a cohort member Celia Prince from the Virigin Islands I took the suggested advice and it really helped me. I laughed hard when I read Merrit's weblog from June 30th. Amen Merritt, the graphic was perfect.

A few posts ago I had a whine a cheese party, but the party’s over for me.

I have learned more in these weeks than I thought humanly possible. Has it been easy? Well of course not, but it's been challenging. My lack of expertise (which is a strong admission because I thought I knew everything) and the lack of hand holding in this program have forced me to reach out to my fellow cohorts and say…help. I have witnessed selflessness in people I’ve never met. And I’ll be really honest with you, if it had not been for the structure of this program, I would not have said a peep, well maybe not, to a soul.

Toledo Museum of Art - The Cloisters

http://homepages.utoledo.edu/rputney2/cloister/cloister.htm
Library school has given me tunnel vision. I eat, sleep and drink the Fast Track Program. I was delighted that the library decided to meet at the Toledo Museum of Art for our monthly manager’s meeting. Here in Toledo, we have one of the finest museums in the world and I don’t take advantage of it. It brought back fond memories of hanging out in The Cloisters as a child. I was an art museum kid. Three years of art lessons, which probably explains my fascination to Ben Shneiderman's Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies. Of all the books thirteen books required for reading this semester, Leonardo’s Laptop has been my favorite. The entire concept of collaborative learning will forever influence the way that I teach and learn.

The docent stopped us in front of this beautiful Rubens Crowning of Saint Catherine. As many times as I have seen this picture as a child, today it was as if I was viewing it for the first time. The fabric looked so real that I'm sure the satin would feel like satin. I could have looked at that picture for much longer but it was off for the tour. I will be back. As exciting and time-consuming as the Fast Track Program is, I must remember to stop and smell the roses or look at the paintings.