Final Thing - CPD 23 Things Overview

Now that I have tardily reached the end of the CPD 23 Things, it's time to reflect on the program. For Thing 23 we're supposed to do a SWOT analysis - but I suck at that sort of categorization - and a personal development plan - but I'm allergic to goals - so I'll just share some general thoughts.

Overall, I found it well-organized and thorough. It really did touch on many aspects of professional development. There were a few things that weren't relevant to me. Of course, as a free online program one doesn't have to do every single thing, nor are you paying for it and therefore feeling compelled to do everything. It seemed a little academically focused with the bits about citation resources, for instance, and was definitely British-centered. Although I do love the British with their charming accents and Jammy Dodgers, I still have no idea what CILIP or chartership are. I just felt free to ignore those parts.

Some of the Things I've focused on a lot recently anyhow because of my long-term job search, but I appreciated that they were included and I definitely learned about some new tools for presentations and whatnot. Although I may not need to use them, it's nice to know about them. The only thing covered in the program that I have totally jumped on board with is Evernote, which I find incredibly useful for creating drafts of blog posts, as well as to-do lists and lots of notes for work.

I think my only recommendations for improvement in the program would be to make some of the very specific Things more general. For instance, instead of focusing just on particular tools maybe have it more about, say, giving good presentations and then list Jing or whatever as a tool to achieve that goal. If you're going to touch on presentations I think there is a lot more to cover than just the technology aspect. There are a few Things in the program that could benefit from this more rounded-out approach I think.

I'm very grateful for the people who put together this kind of online learning and then offer it up for free. It's clear that they have put a ton of work into organizing this which must involved lots of time and effort and is really a valuable contribution to the profession. Thanks to the organizers for the opportunity!