Welcome to 23 Things On a Stick

Oh, no!! Round 2 of 23 Things On a Stick is closed. The blog will stay up indefinitely so you can continue on your own. And, watch for More Things On a Stick in January 2009. Thanks for participating.

Have you ever thought, ”Gosh, I wish I had time to learn more about Flickr, wikis, or (enter your Web 2.0 tool here)?” Well, this is your chance to take the time to focus on your personal and professional development around Web 2.0 tools. It’s fun to explore these tools and figure out ways to use them in the library, with your personal Web sites, or in other ways.

23 Things On a Stick is the Minnesota twist on the Library Learning 2.0 program developed by Helene Blowers at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County and adopted or adapted by many other libraries and organizations since then. 23 Things On a Stick was developed by the seven multitype multicounty library systems as part of the staff development the multitypes offer in their regions.

Who Can Participate
This program is open to all staff in any Minnesota library—public, academic, school, or special—as well as members of their Governing Boards, their Friends groups, or Advisory Groups. 23 Things on a Stick is approved for Minnesota Certification for Library Employees and CEUs. Experienced Web 2.0 users as well as novices and everyone in between are invited to join. This is self-paced and self-directed.

Registration for Round 2 begins May 15, 2008.

• You must register your blog by June 15, 2008 and then complete all 23 Things by September 15, 2008.
  
• Each person participating must have and register his/her own blog.
• Didn't finish all 23 in Round 1? You can re-register your blog and finish in Round 2.

How It Works
You are in charge of your learning in this program. We have identified the 23 Things for you to do over the course of the program, but you decide when you do them—and the amount of time you spend and the depth of your exploration. Each of the 23 Things can take as little as an hour or as much more time you have to give. You document your participation by setting up and maintaining a blog (Thing 1).

Each Thing will show you one or more Web tools. These Web 2.0 tools are bringing library staff and our patrons in touch with the entire world through social networking, video, audio, and gaming sites. We have found many places for you to explore, experiment with, and think about creative ways to use this in your library. Participation in 23 Things on a Stick allows you to take time to explore and enjoy these tools.

Even if you think you know all about all of the tools in 23 Things On a Stick, we encourage you to join the program. We have added Challenge sections to some of the Things to stretch you and you can always learn more about any of the tools through independent exploration. And we will learn from you because you will blog about your discoveries.

Everyone who registers by June15, 2008 and completes all 23 items on the list and blogs about each one by September 15, 2008 will receive a completion prize and be eligible for other prizes. Otherwise, there is no deadline and this course will remain online through 2008.

Read on! Registration occurs as part of Thing 1.

Tutorial Format
Each week begins with a brief explanation of a new Web 2.0 topic or tool, followed by a numbered list of activities related to the tool. These exercises give you the background you need to understand the tools you're learning about. Don't skip them!

When you have done the items in each list, you comment or post to your blog. (You will learn how to set up a blog in Thing 1.) Your blog is the tool to communicate your reactions, new-found skills, ideas, questions, and favorite Web sites to the other 23 Things On a Stick participants and is how your completion of all 23 Things is documented.

There will be no statewide classes or workshops offered to support this program. Instead, staff are encouraged to work together with others in their libraries or region and share with each other their discoveries, techniques and "how to" both in person and through their blogs.

Check your multitype region’s Web site for any regional 23 Things On a Stick updates and activities.

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