I like the Greenaway model of Do-Plan-Review. I already reflect on the user education sessions I deliver at work. I find it helps to highlight the good and bad parts of the sessions and it makes me record changes that I might incorporate the next time I deliver the session. I'm also using CILIPs CPD audit sheet for my Chartership Revalidation log. This simple form makes me think about what I have learned from an activity and how I'm going to apply or why I'm not going to apply it in the workplace.
Reflecting on the last few weeks of cpd23, I think the tools I've used so far have taken me outside my comfort zone such as making my postings/tweets public and making comments on other sites. I still need to improve my online presence and I think it's something that will build slowly over the duration of the course. In terms of using the tools at work there's not been much progress (mainly because we are not encouraged too but with a new VLE due in 2012 there is scope for more web tools). I'm finding it easy and convenient to use GoogleReader to keep up to date with other blog posts. Opening my tweets up on Twitter hasn't resulted in anything bad in fact I've gathered two new followers - one of which I exchanged tweets with on the iPad2 and e-book app Overdrive.
Monday, 18 July 2011
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Thing 4: Current awareness - Twitter, RSS and Pushnote
I already use Twitter for a mix of personal and professional activities but haven’t reflected yet on why I do so. I am somewhat lacking in tweets but use it instead to follow other people – a few librarians (one who sits on the desk behind me at work which says a lot about how open plan offices work), a few libraries, the local theatre, some cyclists on the Tour de France (don’t ask!) and several comedians. I’m not entirely sure what I should tweet about and I suspect this will need to be considered in terms of my online brand but at the moment I’m happy to follow the others. Many of the people I follow use it for commercial purposes - plugs for their TV shows etc which is ok as I follow them because I like them and I will probably watch their shows anyway. The Twitter accounts I like best for librarianship news are @Philbradley and @ijclark.
Google Reader is the most useful tool I’ve discovered this week. I’ve added all the librarianship blogs that I follow. I’m getting used to seeing everything in the one place although it does seem a bit cluttered. I’ve decided to restrict it to librarian blogs only so that I can use it purely for current awareness. My best blogs for current awareness are Phil Bradley’s weblog (to keep me up to date with the different products available), Sheila Webber’s Information Literacy Weblog (local to international news etc for info lit) and Dean Giustini’s The Search Principle Blog (I like his use of Slideshare and I’m looking forward to week 12: Presenting information which includes Slideshare).
After reading Helen’s 23 Things post I’ve started an iGoogle page. I’ve kept it quite simple and only added widgets/gadgets for Hotmail, GoogleReader, Twitter, calendar, YouTube, weather, To Do list, BBC news and just for fun some waddling penguins which frankly are the best thing on there at the moment. I kept this open on my work screen for the whole of yesterday and it’s quite nice to scan everything at once but will only be of use if I remember to log in each day (I fear I may have to write myself a note to remind me!). I've put iGoogle on a trial but it looks promising.
iGoogle seems very similar to Netvibes which I have messed around with in the past. Yesterday I saw a great example of how to use Netvibes for current awareness from Emma Aldrich at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Libraries MTW NHS Trust Knowledge Services I’d like to do something like this for the students I support at the university but web 2.0 tools are looked at with some suspicion here. LibGuides and Wikidot look like other useful tools and maybe my workplace will explore these at some point.
Monday, 27 June 2011
Thing 3: Consider your personal brand
I don't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or be slightly miffed. I tried Googling my name, trawled through the first 10 pages of results and found nothing! I'd like to point out that if you Google my name I'm not the author, the glamour model or the housing manager. Still I carried on thinking I must be on the old interweb somewhere. I added in 'library' and lo and behold I found a couple of references to me.
On the first page of results I found a photo of me that I can't remember being taken nor did I give my permission for it to be put on the web with my full name! In terms of boosting my online presence, it's not my best side and I could do with a little airbrushing so I won't be getting snapped up for Paris Fashion Week. It's work-related but I think you should always ask permission if you put someone's photo up on the web. I would have said ok but not with my full name just my job title.
On the third page of results I found my work contact details. The fact that it only appeared on the third page doesn't say an awful lot for the web presence of my institution.
On the fifth page was my Twitter account. I've recently made my tweets public but think this will only last as long as cpd23 because I feel a little vulnerable. I keep my Facebook page locked down as much as possible as this is my personal not professional space - not that there's anything outrageous on it.
In terms of improving my brand I need to up my comments, tweets, blog posts etc to generate some more traffic. I'm hoping cpd23 will help with this.
On the first page of results I found a photo of me that I can't remember being taken nor did I give my permission for it to be put on the web with my full name! In terms of boosting my online presence, it's not my best side and I could do with a little airbrushing so I won't be getting snapped up for Paris Fashion Week. It's work-related but I think you should always ask permission if you put someone's photo up on the web. I would have said ok but not with my full name just my job title.
On the third page of results I found my work contact details. The fact that it only appeared on the third page doesn't say an awful lot for the web presence of my institution.
On the fifth page was my Twitter account. I've recently made my tweets public but think this will only last as long as cpd23 because I feel a little vulnerable. I keep my Facebook page locked down as much as possible as this is my personal not professional space - not that there's anything outrageous on it.
In terms of improving my brand I need to up my comments, tweets, blog posts etc to generate some more traffic. I'm hoping cpd23 will help with this.
Using Screenr
I've been using Screenr this week to make screencasts of key databases for a group of students in Malaysia. I'd seen someone use it at LILAC 2011 for their presentation and thought it might be an alternative to Adobe Captivate. I don't like airplanes so there's no way I'm going to meet these students in person but I can still do some user education with them using this tool. It was easy to set up and fairly intuitive - thankfully I didn't need to download any software and could log in using my Twitter account. I had to think carefully about what aspects of the database I wanted to show as Screenr only gives you 5 minutes in which to do your screencast - I think this is good because it concentrates the mind and stops you waffling on and on. I also wrote myself a mini script for the audio to make sure I used plain language that they could all understand. The course tutor is going to let me know how they are received by the students and I've made sure that the students can add comments to the Screenr page.
It was excruciating listening to myself talk over the slides - I understand why actors don't like to watch their own films - but I'm now comfortable with it and wouldn't hestitate to use it again. I've got some plans to use it with other courses - not necessarily distance learning courses - in order to back up some of the search hints and tips I talk about in my library lectures (I should say 'talks' really but the academics advertise them as lectures and it makes me sound more important!).
It was excruciating listening to myself talk over the slides - I understand why actors don't like to watch their own films - but I'm now comfortable with it and wouldn't hestitate to use it again. I've got some plans to use it with other courses - not necessarily distance learning courses - in order to back up some of the search hints and tips I talk about in my library lectures (I should say 'talks' really but the academics advertise them as lectures and it makes me sound more important!).
Monday, 20 June 2011
Thing 2: Investigate some other blogs
Two sites I already read: I know the Bookmouse (http://bookmouse.wordpress.com/) and I've been reading her blog for a while now. I also know the writer behind the Special Collections blog (http://blogs.kent.ac.uk/specialcollections/) and would love to be able to do something like this at my workplace.
I've looked at the cpd23 participants list - took a random approach but ended up reading Tina's Library Related Stuff, Trumpet Major and Marie's23things.
I've looked at the cpd23 participants list - took a random approach but ended up reading Tina's Library Related Stuff, Trumpet Major and Marie's23things.
Thing 1: Blogs and blogging.
It was easy to set up the blog - the hardest thing was thinking of a name for the blog! I'm taking part in cpd23 because I've been meaning to do some of the things listed on the course but haven't managed to sit down and get on with trying out new tools. Now I have a reason to start blogging and use different tools. It's nice to know other people are trying the same tools and trying to think about what to write for their first post.
I work in Kent as a subject librarian for health and social care. I'm one of those annoying people that enjoys their job and I've just registered to revalidate my Chartership so cpd23 will fit nicely into my professional development plans. I've been working in libraries for a decade - I've been a graduate trainee, library assistant, senior library assistant, library manager..... but in my current role I really enjoy connecting with students on a daily basis. I'm hoping cpd23 will equip me with new skills that I can use to reach out to the students and take the info to them rather than them having to come to the library. I've recently bought an iPad and am hoping to use all these new web tools on the iPad rather than simply looking at the John Lewis website and playing solitaire!
I work in Kent as a subject librarian for health and social care. I'm one of those annoying people that enjoys their job and I've just registered to revalidate my Chartership so cpd23 will fit nicely into my professional development plans. I've been working in libraries for a decade - I've been a graduate trainee, library assistant, senior library assistant, library manager..... but in my current role I really enjoy connecting with students on a daily basis. I'm hoping cpd23 will equip me with new skills that I can use to reach out to the students and take the info to them rather than them having to come to the library. I've recently bought an iPad and am hoping to use all these new web tools on the iPad rather than simply looking at the John Lewis website and playing solitaire!
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