First, lets tie up loose ends and talk about UM Connect. I haven't used it much for online meetings, but I have used it for troubleshooting website issues. If I need to see what someone is seeing on their screen, setting up a UMConnect meeting works really well. I've been able to take over their screen and make changes too. I haven't had much use for it as a presentation tool yet, but I'm sure I will at some point. And now I know how...

And now, the wrap up. I signed up for this not so much to learn for myself, but to learn what others in Extension are learning. In my role, I'll need to provide support for Extension 2.0, and it is nice to see what people are doing, what they're learning, and what they like. It was also nice to learn a bit along the way.

If we were to do it again, I'd like to see a bit more interaction between the participants. I could get to everyone's blogs through the links on the course blog, but I didn't really look at anyone else's stuff, and I doubt they looked at mine. Comments on the blog were few and far between as well.

It might be nice to create a group on one of the social networking sites to have a better place/way for ongoing dialogue.

But, overall, I thought this was very well done. I hope the information can be translated into something that is around for a long time...

Anyways, on to the homework. I've used instant messaging at work for years. I've found it to be a great tool for working with people who aren't physically close to me. The kind of question where you'd just stop by someone's desk can be accomplished with chat.

But, you also have to be careful with it. It can increase interruptions if you try to answer everything that everyone asks all the time. That also means you need to remember to ask people if they have a minute, before you take over their time with your chat.

At a previous job, someone who sat 10 feet away from me would chat with me via instant messaging. I found that to be a bit excessive. When you can communicate face to face, that is always better. But, when someone is on the other side of the bulding, campus, or world - chat brings us all closer together. Awww....

For me, that time is now.

So, I've following the Extension 2.0 blog every week, like a good student would. However, I've been really bad about posting my homework to my course blog. I'm really really sorry about that. I know that all of you (and by all of you, I mean Amy) check this blog regularly to see what is going on. You've seen nothing, but that doesn't mean that nothing has been happening.

You see, I've been reading wikis, and trying to use the ExtensionWeb wiki more. That's the place where the ExtensionWeb team stores all sorts of documentation and also the latest greatest design ideas from Tom. One day, it will even have standards, and templates, and things useful for people outside our group. But, for now, it works for us, and thats pretty good.

I've also been busy with productivity tools. Mostly NetFiles and UMCal, because I'm a good little employee and I use the tools that the University endorses. I'm curious about Google's tools, but frankly, Google scares me. They have a pretty, happy face, but they're on a road that makes them even more scary than Bill Gates when he isn't hanging out with Seinfeld.

Then there's social networking... in the technology world, networking is everything. Rarely do we tackle a problem that nobody has tackled before. Often, we need to find others who have been in similar circumstances, or who have evaluated similar products. When I left my last job to join Extension, I created a LinkedIn profile to keep track of the people who I'd worked with over the previous ten years, and to keep track of people going forward. You never know when you'll need someone (or someone they know) again!

Tune in next week, for the next installment.

Hopefully...

Okay, fine. I'll write more than a word. I'll write a few words. Right now, I don't listen to many podcasts because I'm too lazy to exercise, and my car is too ghetto for my iPod.

The NerdMobile that is on its way, however will be way cool for listening to podcasts. Of course, the odds of my wife letting me drive the NerdMobile are somewhere between slim and none.

It's probably for the best. If I listened to more podcasts, I'd probably replace MPR with Bill Simmons's podcasts. MPR is better food for my brain.

I haven't used many of the fancy features, (and didn't know about some of them until taking the tour today) but it sure does make aan easy way to share pictures from our trip to the Galapagos!

If you're the type of person who finds himself or herself surfing here, there and everywhere all the time, they can solve your problems. However, you'll soon find that you have a new one - figuring out what to do with all the time you used to spend going from site to site.

It isn't a real blog. If it was a real blog, I'd write all about my life and things that happen around me. That stuff is interesting, but it won't be shared here.

Why?

Because I don't work for free.

If I was ever going to sit down and write about my life, I'd sell the stories to NBC and make millions.

So, sit back and enjoy while I play with the technical aspects of UThink.

If you want to know more about my life, keep checking TV Guide. Eventually, you may find me in there.