This is the final thing. The end of the CPD 23 scheme. It has been fun and I've learnt a lot. It has genuinely helped me to develop professionally.
I have gained some useful technical knowledge about tools like Jing and Audacity and Prezis. Using RSS feeds has given my professional reading new focus.
Perhaps even more important than knowing more about various tools I have adopted a mindset of evaluating new tools for their potential usefulness. Evaluating the uses that I could put them to in the Library and their potential uses as learning tools for our students. I think learning to look at technology with that kind of reflective attitude is going to be one of the most long lasting things that I take from this scheme.
I like to think of myself as a reflective person but I have gained a lot from the process of writing this blog. CPD 23 has helped me to firmly integrate blogging into my life and my professional practice. I said in a very early thing, it might even have been number one, that I am one of those people who write to think.
I admire the CPD 23 organisers decision to build a strong emphasis on reflection into the scheme. That emphasis combined with the structured blogging has really helped me to reflect on my own professional practice and the wider context that we are working in.
The reminder that reflection is the key to professional development has been welcome. I think for me personally however the usefulness of this blog as a venue and a tool for reflection has perhaps been the more life changing lesson.
The community element of the scheme has also been memorable. I've enjoyed reading other participants' blogs and sharing ideas. That sense that we were exploring things together and sharing our experiences was a powerful part of CPD 23.
I'd like to thank everyone who helped to set this up. It has been a great journey.
Where next?
In terms of my career development completing Chartership is my big project at the moment. Interestingly one of the first steps in that process is drawing up a personal professional development plan similar to the one that the CPD 23 post for thing 23 mentions. Identifying areas for development and deciding how to fill them is clearly a useful exercise.
My plan is slightly different because I need to fulfil the Chartership criteria but the essential idea is the same. Drawing up my PPDP for Chartership really helped me to think about what I wanted to do in order to progress as a librarian.
I should say that I put completing CPD 23 on my Chartership PPDP. It seems oddly circular that at the end of the scheme we've been advised to draw up a professional development plan.
In the long run the important thing for me is to hold onto the good habits that I've gained from CPD 23 and the Chartership process. Habits like reflecting on my own practice and development. Habits like using this blog as a tool for reflection and sharing ideas. I intend to hold onto and build on those habits.
That's thing 23 done!
Showing posts with label CPD 23. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CPD 23. Show all posts
Friday, 21 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 22 - Volunteering
My own experiences of volunteering have been overwhelmingly positive. I would recommend it to anyone both as a way to further your career and simply as a way to have some interesting experiences. I have no doubt that my time volunteering in a secondary school library played a very real part in helping me to secure my current job. It gave me a real insight into what working in an educational library involves. I also got hands on experience of lots of different aspects of librarianship.
The school library had other volunteers but as a library science student who was there to get professional experience I was entrusted with a wider range of tasks and a greater level of responsibility. I produced a series of information resources guides. I helped teachers and students with enquiries. I researched and reported on the possibility of lending ebooks and / or ebook readers.
I won't list everything I did but essentially I feel that I was given a real chance to taste what being a School Librarian would be like. I will always be very grateful for that opportunity.
In my pre-librarianship life I did various other bits of voluntary work. Regular readers will remember that I recently mentioned my time as an English teacher and a conservation worker in Peru. I hope that post gave an impression of what a great experience that was. I have also been doing children's group work for my local church for several years.
For the purposes of this 'thing' the interesting thing about these examples of volunteering is that although I didn't see them as career opportunities when I signed up they did actually play an important part in shaping my career. They guided me into teaching which in turn led me to working in an academic library. Arguably those voluntary jobs played their part in leading me to librarianship. Their role was indirect obviously but the lesson is perhaps that voluntary work might turn out to be useful in ways that aren't obvious at first.
Actually I met my now wife doing youth work for the church but this is meant to be about the career development benefits of volunteering.
I am very positive about voluntary work. It has had a huge positive impact on my life. However the sad truth is that today must surely be a difficult time to be a volunteer in libraries and in other public services. The combination of Big Society talk from politicians and the huge budget cuts must make volunteers feel that they need to tread very carefully to avoid undermining rather than supporting the services that they love (and in many cases hope to find paid work in one day). I'm sure many of them will be worrying about this even when they are in roles that have always been voluntary. I worry that current policy will have the opposite effect to the intended one and end up undermining Britain's previously healthy culture of volunteering.
Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. I don't want to end my post about volunteering on a negative note. If you are thinking about voluntary work don't be put off by the difficult political climate. It really is a great way to gain experience and to develop your skills. It also has lots of other advantages. From meeting people to increasing your confidence to feeling that you are helping your community.
The school library had other volunteers but as a library science student who was there to get professional experience I was entrusted with a wider range of tasks and a greater level of responsibility. I produced a series of information resources guides. I helped teachers and students with enquiries. I researched and reported on the possibility of lending ebooks and / or ebook readers.
I won't list everything I did but essentially I feel that I was given a real chance to taste what being a School Librarian would be like. I will always be very grateful for that opportunity.
In my pre-librarianship life I did various other bits of voluntary work. Regular readers will remember that I recently mentioned my time as an English teacher and a conservation worker in Peru. I hope that post gave an impression of what a great experience that was. I have also been doing children's group work for my local church for several years.
For the purposes of this 'thing' the interesting thing about these examples of volunteering is that although I didn't see them as career opportunities when I signed up they did actually play an important part in shaping my career. They guided me into teaching which in turn led me to working in an academic library. Arguably those voluntary jobs played their part in leading me to librarianship. Their role was indirect obviously but the lesson is perhaps that voluntary work might turn out to be useful in ways that aren't obvious at first.
Actually I met my now wife doing youth work for the church but this is meant to be about the career development benefits of volunteering.
I am very positive about voluntary work. It has had a huge positive impact on my life. However the sad truth is that today must surely be a difficult time to be a volunteer in libraries and in other public services. The combination of Big Society talk from politicians and the huge budget cuts must make volunteers feel that they need to tread very carefully to avoid undermining rather than supporting the services that they love (and in many cases hope to find paid work in one day). I'm sure many of them will be worrying about this even when they are in roles that have always been voluntary. I worry that current policy will have the opposite effect to the intended one and end up undermining Britain's previously healthy culture of volunteering.
Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. I don't want to end my post about volunteering on a negative note. If you are thinking about voluntary work don't be put off by the difficult political climate. It really is a great way to gain experience and to develop your skills. It also has lots of other advantages. From meeting people to increasing your confidence to feeling that you are helping your community.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 21 - Promoting yourself in job applications and interviews
Oh dear. Job hunting. Shudder. Have I mentioned that finding my first professional library post was hard work?
I do have some hard won advice. I don't know how profound it is and I know that it's mostly available elsewhere. Also you might be better off taking advice from someone who got the first job they applied for.
I'm going to focus on advice for people who are looking for their first professional role because that's the stage I came through last year.
All that said here's my advice...
Advice for library school students.
- Experience. You need to get as much experience as you can while you are studying. Apply for part time jobs. Do voluntary work. (More about volunteering in the next thing.) Do whatever it takes to get as much experience as you can while you are studying. This will make you look better as a candidate and it will give you more to talk about in your interview(s).
- Research. Use your research skills. Find out about the roles and sectors that you are interested in. Doing your homework on the job market while you are studying will give you a head start. (Don't get depressed though. It is tough out there.)
Advice for people looking for their first professional post
- Looking for jobs to apply for
Follow @uklibrary jobs on twitter.
Look at CILIP's own Lisjobnet.
Sign up with Sue Hill recruitment. They are library and information work specialists. There are others. Have a look round.
Most councils give you the opportunity to sign up for vacancy notifications. Some universities and colleges offer the same service. Sign up for these.
Use your contacts. Let people know you are looking for library work. Word of mouth is a very useful way to find out about vacancies.
- Applying for jobs.
Keep a record of the vacancies that you have found and the ones that you have applied for.
Take your time over each application and make sure that you are completely happy with your work before you send it off. Sending out a shoddy application is a waste of time.
Keep sending the applications out. Perseverance is key.
The person specification is vitally important. The people looking over your application and considering your interview answers will be judging you against those criteria. On your application form (or in your application letter) address each point one by one. Don't leave a point out. If you don't think you quite fit one do the best you can.
- Interviews
Don't panic. How do you manage that? Erm. Following the rest of this advice might help. If not find out what works for you.
Preparation. Prepare answers for probable questions. There are standard questions that almost always come up. Things like...'Tell us about yourself.''Why do you want this job?' 'What's your greatest weakness?' Apart from that remember they are judging you against the criteria in the person specification and judging your ability to do the job as outlined in the job description. Thanks to those two documents you know exactly what the interviewers are looking for. Use that knowledge to guess what questions they will ask. Prepare answers to all likely questions.
The CAR answer pattern in the CPD 23 post for this is very effective. Use that when planning your answers.
Practice answering questions. Interview practice is horrible. It brings up some of the same fears as real interviews. For example you worry that you are going to sound like an idiot. Put that fear to one side. Practicing will make you more confident and less likely to sound like an idiot when it really matters. Practice with friends and family or use any careers support that is available to you.
Practice on your own if your friends and family get fed up with listening to you. There are private consultants you can use. I have the details of a good one somewhere. I'll dig that out and update this. The CPD 23 post for thing 21 says CILIP members are entitled to two sessions of careers advice per year. I didn't know that. It's a useful tip.
- Coping with rejection
Don't get down if it doesn't go well. Think of failed interviews as practice for the next one. Make sure you get feedback and work on any areas for improvement that they mention.
- Perseverance
Keep at it. Stay positive. When you get the right job you probably will be glad that you didn't get that other job you went for.
Good luck.
I do have some hard won advice. I don't know how profound it is and I know that it's mostly available elsewhere. Also you might be better off taking advice from someone who got the first job they applied for.
I'm going to focus on advice for people who are looking for their first professional role because that's the stage I came through last year.
All that said here's my advice...
Advice for library school students.
- Experience. You need to get as much experience as you can while you are studying. Apply for part time jobs. Do voluntary work. (More about volunteering in the next thing.) Do whatever it takes to get as much experience as you can while you are studying. This will make you look better as a candidate and it will give you more to talk about in your interview(s).
- Research. Use your research skills. Find out about the roles and sectors that you are interested in. Doing your homework on the job market while you are studying will give you a head start. (Don't get depressed though. It is tough out there.)
Advice for people looking for their first professional post
- Looking for jobs to apply for
Follow @uklibrary jobs on twitter.
Look at CILIP's own Lisjobnet.
Sign up with Sue Hill recruitment. They are library and information work specialists. There are others. Have a look round.
Most councils give you the opportunity to sign up for vacancy notifications. Some universities and colleges offer the same service. Sign up for these.
Use your contacts. Let people know you are looking for library work. Word of mouth is a very useful way to find out about vacancies.
- Applying for jobs.
Keep a record of the vacancies that you have found and the ones that you have applied for.
Take your time over each application and make sure that you are completely happy with your work before you send it off. Sending out a shoddy application is a waste of time.
Keep sending the applications out. Perseverance is key.
The person specification is vitally important. The people looking over your application and considering your interview answers will be judging you against those criteria. On your application form (or in your application letter) address each point one by one. Don't leave a point out. If you don't think you quite fit one do the best you can.
- Interviews
Don't panic. How do you manage that? Erm. Following the rest of this advice might help. If not find out what works for you.
Preparation. Prepare answers for probable questions. There are standard questions that almost always come up. Things like...'Tell us about yourself.''Why do you want this job?' 'What's your greatest weakness?' Apart from that remember they are judging you against the criteria in the person specification and judging your ability to do the job as outlined in the job description. Thanks to those two documents you know exactly what the interviewers are looking for. Use that knowledge to guess what questions they will ask. Prepare answers to all likely questions.
The CAR answer pattern in the CPD 23 post for this is very effective. Use that when planning your answers.
Practice answering questions. Interview practice is horrible. It brings up some of the same fears as real interviews. For example you worry that you are going to sound like an idiot. Put that fear to one side. Practicing will make you more confident and less likely to sound like an idiot when it really matters. Practice with friends and family or use any careers support that is available to you.
Practice on your own if your friends and family get fed up with listening to you. There are private consultants you can use. I have the details of a good one somewhere. I'll dig that out and update this. The CPD 23 post for thing 21 says CILIP members are entitled to two sessions of careers advice per year. I didn't know that. It's a useful tip.
- Coping with rejection
Don't get down if it doesn't go well. Think of failed interviews as practice for the next one. Make sure you get feedback and work on any areas for improvement that they mention.
- Perseverance
Keep at it. Stay positive. When you get the right job you probably will be glad that you didn't get that other job you went for.
Good luck.
CPD 23 - Thing 20 - Library Routes - Further Thoughts
I wrote about my route into librarianship for thing 10. If you are looking for my post for the Library Routes Project Wiki it's back a bit. CPD 23 - Thing 10 - Becoming a Librarian. The link from the Wiki will take you straight there but I realise this title is potentially confusing. There will be some clarification here but thing 10 is really the place to go if you want to know about my journey into librarianship.
As you've probably guessed I have added my story to the Library Routes Project's collection. For any readers who haven't heard of this it's a Wiki that brings together librarians' stories of how they got into the profession and what they've been up to since they joined it. The idea is that it is a useful resource for people who are considering a career in library and information work or for those who are planning the next step in their career.
Having read some of the other contributions I think my entry might need some editing or perhaps just this postscript. I may have given the impression that my career path was clearer than it actually was. I didn't go straight from university to teaching, then from there to being a college librarian. Dabbling with teaching after finishing your studies then moving into our arm of the education sector seems to be quite a common story. Although a lot of people have the self-knowledge to make the jump before or during their teaching course.
My CV isn't as tidy as I implied. After studying English Literature at Lancaster University I spent a couple of years mostly doing admin type jobs. These ranged from a few days temping to more interesting roles. For example I spent a year working on a digitization project for a planning department which in retrospect isn't a bad thing for a librarian to have on their CV. At the time however it was in no sense part of a plan.
Halfway through those two years I spent nearly six months doing voluntary work in Peru. Unsurprisingly this was much more interesting than admin work in London. I spent a few months teaching English in a Peruvian secondary school and a few months working on a conservation project in the rainforest. As a volunteer teacher I was able to stay with a local family. I loved my time in South America.
My positive memories of teaching in Peru probably nudged me towards doing my PGCE a year later but again implying a straight cause and effect would be me tidying up the reality to give you a neater story. I did slightly fall into that trap in my becoming a librarian post.
The Library Routes Project is very reassuring for those of us who feel that our CV seems to show a slightly roundabout journey. People who feel called to be librarians from childhood (or even young adulthood) seem to be the exception. Frankly I wanted to be a Ghostbuster when I was a child.
It seems to be common for librarians to have come via other kinds of role. The consensus seems to be that this gives people the chance to pick up skills that they can then use in a sector that can find uses for a bewildering array of talents.
It would be interesting to compare this to other professions though. It's a truism to say that people don't stick with the same organisation for life anymore. People move around much more during their working lives than they did in previous generations. Perhaps most professions would show a similar pattern? I'm sure it's pretty common for people to have tried different kinds of job before finding something that seems to fit. Is this truer of librarianship than of other fields? Perhaps we are claiming a general pattern as our own? I'm not saying that's definitely the case. I'm just throwing the question out there.
As you've probably guessed I have added my story to the Library Routes Project's collection. For any readers who haven't heard of this it's a Wiki that brings together librarians' stories of how they got into the profession and what they've been up to since they joined it. The idea is that it is a useful resource for people who are considering a career in library and information work or for those who are planning the next step in their career.
Having read some of the other contributions I think my entry might need some editing or perhaps just this postscript. I may have given the impression that my career path was clearer than it actually was. I didn't go straight from university to teaching, then from there to being a college librarian. Dabbling with teaching after finishing your studies then moving into our arm of the education sector seems to be quite a common story. Although a lot of people have the self-knowledge to make the jump before or during their teaching course.
My CV isn't as tidy as I implied. After studying English Literature at Lancaster University I spent a couple of years mostly doing admin type jobs. These ranged from a few days temping to more interesting roles. For example I spent a year working on a digitization project for a planning department which in retrospect isn't a bad thing for a librarian to have on their CV. At the time however it was in no sense part of a plan.
Halfway through those two years I spent nearly six months doing voluntary work in Peru. Unsurprisingly this was much more interesting than admin work in London. I spent a few months teaching English in a Peruvian secondary school and a few months working on a conservation project in the rainforest. As a volunteer teacher I was able to stay with a local family. I loved my time in South America.
My positive memories of teaching in Peru probably nudged me towards doing my PGCE a year later but again implying a straight cause and effect would be me tidying up the reality to give you a neater story. I did slightly fall into that trap in my becoming a librarian post.
The Library Routes Project is very reassuring for those of us who feel that our CV seems to show a slightly roundabout journey. People who feel called to be librarians from childhood (or even young adulthood) seem to be the exception. Frankly I wanted to be a Ghostbuster when I was a child.
It seems to be common for librarians to have come via other kinds of role. The consensus seems to be that this gives people the chance to pick up skills that they can then use in a sector that can find uses for a bewildering array of talents.
It would be interesting to compare this to other professions though. It's a truism to say that people don't stick with the same organisation for life anymore. People move around much more during their working lives than they did in previous generations. Perhaps most professions would show a similar pattern? I'm sure it's pretty common for people to have tried different kinds of job before finding something that seems to fit. Is this truer of librarianship than of other fields? Perhaps we are claiming a general pattern as our own? I'm not saying that's definitely the case. I'm just throwing the question out there.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 19 - Reflecting on things so far
Thoughts on reflection and the dangers of speed
Having fallen behind over the summer I now feel that I am doing quite a good job of catching up. I hope to have the remaining four things (including this one) completed by the end of the week. If I achieve that I will have finished CPD 23 a week behind the official schedule. I had set that timeframe as a personal goal (having given up on finishing on time) so I'm quietly pleased that I should be able to keep to it.
However before I start patting myself on the back for this I think I need to acknowledge the risks involved in taking the latter half of the scheme at a faster rate than the organisers intended. The scheme has an admirable focus on taking the time to reflect on our professional development.
Taking the things a week at a time has the advantage that you have the time to think about each thing in depth. Even if most of the time you are busy with other matters some corner of your mind can be contemplating this week's thing.
There was a danger that I was going to fall into a box ticking attitude towards the scheme. I think I have managed to avoid that. Obviously you can judge for yourselves by browsing my previous CPD 23 blog entries. In each case I have made a conscious effort to reflect on the implications of each thing for my own professional practice and development.
I hope that I have been successful at this. I have always been a reflective person. My previous career as a teacher encouraged me to develop a reflective attitude towards my work. More recently engaging in the Chartership process has focussed my mind on the importance of reflection as a tool for improving my own practice, engaging effectively with my profession and developing myself as an information professional. I hope that attitude can be seen in my CPD 23 posts.
Congratulations to everyone who did manage to finish CPD 23 on time. I salute you.
Thoughts on my favourite things
I won't rank my favourite things because I like them for different reasons so it wouldn't be a fair contest. Also I'm on a tight schedule here I want to do three more things before the weekend. So in purely chronological order here are my personal favourites. Some of them have already become an important part of my practice. Others are things that I intend to integrate into my working life or my personal professional development.
Things 1 - Blogging
This blog existed before the scheme and I did have plans to revitalize it as part of my attempts to be ready for Chartership. That said I am very grateful to CPD 23 for giving my blogging some structure and helping me to post reasonably regularly.
Don't worry though I am going to maintain momentum once I've finished the scheme. It has helped me to get into the habit of blogging about librarianship. That habit is now firmly integrated into my life.
Blogging regularly has helped me to increase my online professional presence. It looks very likely that this will be increasingly important in the future both in terms of my own career and in terms of trends within the profession.
Thing 2 - Reading Blogs
Reading and commenting on each others' blogs helped to create a real sense of community. I enjoyed the sense that CPD 23 was a community of people who wanted to develop new skills and share their experiences. I hope we manage to keep that going post-things.
Thing 4 - Current Awareness Tools - RSS Feeds
RSS feeds are one of those tools that make you wonder how you used to manage without them. My professional reading is so much more organised now I use Google Reader.
Thing 15 - Events
Events are great. Everyone should go to more training events and conferences if they get the chance. They are fantastic opportunities to learn new things, keep up to date with our fast moving profession and meet lots of friendly and interesting people. I knew that before thing 15 but I was happy to share this enthusiasm with the world.
That wasn't enough to gain 'events' a place as one of my favourite things though. The decisive factor was the prod in the direction of speaking at events or organising our own events. That really got me thinking. I have set speaking at an event as a personal goal and I am going to investigate organising events as well. So far I've just read some blogs about it but in November I hope to attend a training evening that promises 'top tips for event organisers'.
Thing 17 - Prezi
A controversial choice I know. Prezi doesn't get a place because I love it as a tool in its own right. It has good points but it also has flaws. I can see why some people hate it. This is a favourite because I am convinced that mastering it and using it is an opportunity to convince others that librarians know their stuff.
For educational librarians particularly this is a highly noticeable way of showing our colleagues outside the Library that we are trying new things. If we use this in research skills sessions or library inductions it will spread the message that librarians know all about the latest technology for teaching and learning.
Thing 18 - Screen Capture - Jing
The screen capture tool Jing is my newest favourite. I see it as an opportunity to make my sections of our VLE more informative and more interesting visually. Putting demonstrations on the VLE could help students to master a range of tasks from searching online journals to accessing e-books.
Final Thoughts
For someone who has admitted that he wants to cover several 'things' in the next few days I seem to have written quite a lot for thing 19. I think this is because it strikes me as an important one. Reflecting on how we can integrate the things into our lives is vital if we want to make sure that this process has a real and lasting impact on our professional development.
Having fallen behind over the summer I now feel that I am doing quite a good job of catching up. I hope to have the remaining four things (including this one) completed by the end of the week. If I achieve that I will have finished CPD 23 a week behind the official schedule. I had set that timeframe as a personal goal (having given up on finishing on time) so I'm quietly pleased that I should be able to keep to it.
However before I start patting myself on the back for this I think I need to acknowledge the risks involved in taking the latter half of the scheme at a faster rate than the organisers intended. The scheme has an admirable focus on taking the time to reflect on our professional development.
Taking the things a week at a time has the advantage that you have the time to think about each thing in depth. Even if most of the time you are busy with other matters some corner of your mind can be contemplating this week's thing.
There was a danger that I was going to fall into a box ticking attitude towards the scheme. I think I have managed to avoid that. Obviously you can judge for yourselves by browsing my previous CPD 23 blog entries. In each case I have made a conscious effort to reflect on the implications of each thing for my own professional practice and development.
I hope that I have been successful at this. I have always been a reflective person. My previous career as a teacher encouraged me to develop a reflective attitude towards my work. More recently engaging in the Chartership process has focussed my mind on the importance of reflection as a tool for improving my own practice, engaging effectively with my profession and developing myself as an information professional. I hope that attitude can be seen in my CPD 23 posts.
Congratulations to everyone who did manage to finish CPD 23 on time. I salute you.
Thoughts on my favourite things
I won't rank my favourite things because I like them for different reasons so it wouldn't be a fair contest. Also I'm on a tight schedule here I want to do three more things before the weekend. So in purely chronological order here are my personal favourites. Some of them have already become an important part of my practice. Others are things that I intend to integrate into my working life or my personal professional development.
Things 1 - Blogging
This blog existed before the scheme and I did have plans to revitalize it as part of my attempts to be ready for Chartership. That said I am very grateful to CPD 23 for giving my blogging some structure and helping me to post reasonably regularly.
Don't worry though I am going to maintain momentum once I've finished the scheme. It has helped me to get into the habit of blogging about librarianship. That habit is now firmly integrated into my life.
Blogging regularly has helped me to increase my online professional presence. It looks very likely that this will be increasingly important in the future both in terms of my own career and in terms of trends within the profession.
Thing 2 - Reading Blogs
Reading and commenting on each others' blogs helped to create a real sense of community. I enjoyed the sense that CPD 23 was a community of people who wanted to develop new skills and share their experiences. I hope we manage to keep that going post-things.
Thing 4 - Current Awareness Tools - RSS Feeds
RSS feeds are one of those tools that make you wonder how you used to manage without them. My professional reading is so much more organised now I use Google Reader.
Thing 15 - Events
Events are great. Everyone should go to more training events and conferences if they get the chance. They are fantastic opportunities to learn new things, keep up to date with our fast moving profession and meet lots of friendly and interesting people. I knew that before thing 15 but I was happy to share this enthusiasm with the world.
That wasn't enough to gain 'events' a place as one of my favourite things though. The decisive factor was the prod in the direction of speaking at events or organising our own events. That really got me thinking. I have set speaking at an event as a personal goal and I am going to investigate organising events as well. So far I've just read some blogs about it but in November I hope to attend a training evening that promises 'top tips for event organisers'.
Thing 17 - Prezi
A controversial choice I know. Prezi doesn't get a place because I love it as a tool in its own right. It has good points but it also has flaws. I can see why some people hate it. This is a favourite because I am convinced that mastering it and using it is an opportunity to convince others that librarians know their stuff.
For educational librarians particularly this is a highly noticeable way of showing our colleagues outside the Library that we are trying new things. If we use this in research skills sessions or library inductions it will spread the message that librarians know all about the latest technology for teaching and learning.
Thing 18 - Screen Capture - Jing
The screen capture tool Jing is my newest favourite. I see it as an opportunity to make my sections of our VLE more informative and more interesting visually. Putting demonstrations on the VLE could help students to master a range of tasks from searching online journals to accessing e-books.
Final Thoughts
For someone who has admitted that he wants to cover several 'things' in the next few days I seem to have written quite a lot for thing 19. I think this is because it strikes me as an important one. Reflecting on how we can integrate the things into our lives is vital if we want to make sure that this process has a real and lasting impact on our professional development.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 18 - Screen Capture and Pod Casting
Screen Capture Tools - Jing
More new tools to experiment with. I got quite excited when I saw that screen capture tools were coming up. I have been looking for ways to make my areas of our Moodle VLE more exciting. I'm responsible for making sure that the science, technology, engineering and maths areas of the learning resources section are useful and engaging for our students.
I have been considering using screen capture to show them how to use some of our online resources. Advice on searching them for example or even just simple things like how to access our ebooks. We do cover this is in our start of year library skills session but some students miss them and others don't remember everything we show them. To be fair we do try to cover quite a lot in a short session. We have written directions on the VLE but a lot of our students are very visual and seeing something demonstrated is helpful for everyone.
Jing seems like a very clever sceen capture system. I love how easy it is to share the finished product. I was a bit worried about that side of it before I tried it out for myself. It seems like it should be very easy to put some screen capture tutorials up on the VLE.
We've looked at some interesting tools during CPD 23 but this is one that I really can put to use straight away. The scheme has motivated me to explore something that I've been meaning to try for a while. Thank you CPD 23.
Pod Casting - Audacity
I'm less sure about pod casting. I know they can be very effective but my past experiences of actually trying to create them suggest that they are not as technically easy as their more enthusiastic supporters claim. It's reasonably easy to create a pod cast but if you want to create one that actually sounds good then you have to either really spend some time mastering the finer points of sound recording or you have to beg for help from technical support.
As pod casting tools go Audacity seems reasonably easy to use and being free is always a plus. To be honest though unlike screen capture technology this probably isn't something that I will be using in the very near future.
It is entirely possible, even likely that I will one day find myself in a situation where pod casting seems like the answer to a need. When that happens I will be glad that CPD 23 gave me another chance to explore the idea and helpfully pointed me towards a free piece of software to do it on.
More new tools to experiment with. I got quite excited when I saw that screen capture tools were coming up. I have been looking for ways to make my areas of our Moodle VLE more exciting. I'm responsible for making sure that the science, technology, engineering and maths areas of the learning resources section are useful and engaging for our students.
I have been considering using screen capture to show them how to use some of our online resources. Advice on searching them for example or even just simple things like how to access our ebooks. We do cover this is in our start of year library skills session but some students miss them and others don't remember everything we show them. To be fair we do try to cover quite a lot in a short session. We have written directions on the VLE but a lot of our students are very visual and seeing something demonstrated is helpful for everyone.
Jing seems like a very clever sceen capture system. I love how easy it is to share the finished product. I was a bit worried about that side of it before I tried it out for myself. It seems like it should be very easy to put some screen capture tutorials up on the VLE.
We've looked at some interesting tools during CPD 23 but this is one that I really can put to use straight away. The scheme has motivated me to explore something that I've been meaning to try for a while. Thank you CPD 23.
Pod Casting - Audacity
I'm less sure about pod casting. I know they can be very effective but my past experiences of actually trying to create them suggest that they are not as technically easy as their more enthusiastic supporters claim. It's reasonably easy to create a pod cast but if you want to create one that actually sounds good then you have to either really spend some time mastering the finer points of sound recording or you have to beg for help from technical support.
As pod casting tools go Audacity seems reasonably easy to use and being free is always a plus. To be honest though unlike screen capture technology this probably isn't something that I will be using in the very near future.
It is entirely possible, even likely that I will one day find myself in a situation where pod casting seems like the answer to a need. When that happens I will be glad that CPD 23 gave me another chance to explore the idea and helpfully pointed me towards a free piece of software to do it on.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 17 - Prezi and Slideshare
Prezi
Ah, the famous Prezi, the new all-singing, all-dancing alternative to poor old Power Point. I feel a bit sorry for Power Point. Everyone makes jokes about it and moans about it but actually it's not the tool's fault that people load it up with bullet points and then read them out or set up 43 slide presentations. Used properly Power Point does a perfectly good job of displaying information visually and thus making your talk more interesting and giving it some structure.
That said I am curious about Prezi. I have heard mixed reviews. Some people are very excited by the idea of a visual presentation that isn't tied down by a linear pattern. Prezi allows you to whiz around from idea to idea thus offering a better reflection of how people actually think. They see it as liberating us all from the tyranny of Power Point. On the other hand some people find that it is horribly time-consuming to set up and all that whizzing around makes them feel physically sick. It's hard to imagine two more different responses to the same piece of software.
The time-consuming argument is perhaps unfair. Using a system that you are unfamiliar with is bound to take longer than using one that you have known for years. People will get faster with practice.
However I think the time factor will stop teachers and lecturers from being eager to embrace this new tool. I hate to sound sneaky but I think this is an opportunity for librarians in educational institutions. Mastering Prezi and using it in inductions or research skills sessions will make us look ahead of the curve. I know it isn't really the latest thing anymore but using Prezi rather than Power Point would be a very noticeable way of highlighting the fact that we are experimenting with new digital tools. Spreading the message that librarians are experts on all the latest educational software must be a good thing. You could even see it as an example of advocacy as discussed in the previous 'thing'.
My own experiments with Prezi suggest that it will take me a while to feel completely comfortable with it. It seems like something that you have to spend some time playing around with before you unleash it on an audience. I want to impress people without making them sick or getting myself hopelessly lost. Once I've got the hang of Prezi it will be useful to have the power to create presentations that look more technically impressive than those created on the much maligned but perhaps genuinely overused Power Point.
Slideshare
Did someone at CPD 23 share my sense that Power Point gets a bad press? That seems like a plausible reason to pair Prezi with Slideshare. This is sort of a social network for people who use Power Points, a flikr for Power Point presentations. If you want to see examples of really effective or creative use of the software than this is the place to go.
I am very familiar with Slideshare because I used it in my teaching career. I uploaded my favourite Power Points onto the site in the hope that other teachers might find them useful. I'm not saying that any of them were particularly mind blowing but I'm a firm believer in sharing resources to spread good ideas and to stop us all going crazy. I also used it to find inspiration or resources for my own lessons. That is part of the spirit of Slideshare. It's a place for spreading good ideas and sharing best practice. It would be great if we all started to use it to share library and information literacy presentations.
The other useful aspect of Slideshare is that you can use it to learn about all kinds of interesting topics. Have a browse. You will be very surprised what people make presentations about.
I guess we might need something similar for Prezi soon. There's a project for someone. Unless that already exists somewhere?
Additional:
Interesting counterargument to my "hey give Power Point a break" naivety.
Power Point is Evil from Wired Magazine.
Ah, the famous Prezi, the new all-singing, all-dancing alternative to poor old Power Point. I feel a bit sorry for Power Point. Everyone makes jokes about it and moans about it but actually it's not the tool's fault that people load it up with bullet points and then read them out or set up 43 slide presentations. Used properly Power Point does a perfectly good job of displaying information visually and thus making your talk more interesting and giving it some structure.
That said I am curious about Prezi. I have heard mixed reviews. Some people are very excited by the idea of a visual presentation that isn't tied down by a linear pattern. Prezi allows you to whiz around from idea to idea thus offering a better reflection of how people actually think. They see it as liberating us all from the tyranny of Power Point. On the other hand some people find that it is horribly time-consuming to set up and all that whizzing around makes them feel physically sick. It's hard to imagine two more different responses to the same piece of software.
The time-consuming argument is perhaps unfair. Using a system that you are unfamiliar with is bound to take longer than using one that you have known for years. People will get faster with practice.
However I think the time factor will stop teachers and lecturers from being eager to embrace this new tool. I hate to sound sneaky but I think this is an opportunity for librarians in educational institutions. Mastering Prezi and using it in inductions or research skills sessions will make us look ahead of the curve. I know it isn't really the latest thing anymore but using Prezi rather than Power Point would be a very noticeable way of highlighting the fact that we are experimenting with new digital tools. Spreading the message that librarians are experts on all the latest educational software must be a good thing. You could even see it as an example of advocacy as discussed in the previous 'thing'.
My own experiments with Prezi suggest that it will take me a while to feel completely comfortable with it. It seems like something that you have to spend some time playing around with before you unleash it on an audience. I want to impress people without making them sick or getting myself hopelessly lost. Once I've got the hang of Prezi it will be useful to have the power to create presentations that look more technically impressive than those created on the much maligned but perhaps genuinely overused Power Point.
Slideshare
Did someone at CPD 23 share my sense that Power Point gets a bad press? That seems like a plausible reason to pair Prezi with Slideshare. This is sort of a social network for people who use Power Points, a flikr for Power Point presentations. If you want to see examples of really effective or creative use of the software than this is the place to go.
I am very familiar with Slideshare because I used it in my teaching career. I uploaded my favourite Power Points onto the site in the hope that other teachers might find them useful. I'm not saying that any of them were particularly mind blowing but I'm a firm believer in sharing resources to spread good ideas and to stop us all going crazy. I also used it to find inspiration or resources for my own lessons. That is part of the spirit of Slideshare. It's a place for spreading good ideas and sharing best practice. It would be great if we all started to use it to share library and information literacy presentations.
The other useful aspect of Slideshare is that you can use it to learn about all kinds of interesting topics. Have a browse. You will be very surprised what people make presentations about.
I guess we might need something similar for Prezi soon. There's a project for someone. Unless that already exists somewhere?
Additional:
Interesting counterargument to my "hey give Power Point a break" naivety.
Power Point is Evil from Wired Magazine.
Monday, 10 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 16 - Advocacy
We are living in interesting times. I've started my library career in the middle of an economic and political storm. Global economic crisis, a government that's decided cutting public spending is the solution, tight budgets everywhere etc. In the middle of the storm public libraries have become a symbol of what we stand to lose if we focus entirely on balancing budgets.
You all know all this. Perhaps that has been my problem with advocacy in terms of taking part in the public debate. I'm not sure what I have to say that isn't already being said. But then perhaps I'm just looking for an excuse because I can't claim to have played much of a part in the great library survival debate.
Thing 16 asks us to think about what we are doing to convince people that libraries deserve their support. All kinds of libraries obviously.
At the CoFHE Conference this summer one of the speakers showed us a map of the country with all the library closures marked on in it. It was very similar to this library closure map from the nice people at Voices for Libraries. It is a scary sight. We can't underestimate the scale of the crisis.
On the other hand it is reassuring to see all the people who come together when local libraries are threatened. It is a cause that unites people from across any community. There is a reason why critics of the cuts like to use libraries as their favourite example.
The situation with college libraries is slightly different to the crisis facing public libraries. Barring the fallout of mergers and other reorganisations most college libraries aren't living under the threat of actual extinction. Budgets are very tight right across the public sector though. Libraries that are part of educational institutions need to justify their place within the organisation. We need to show that the resources spent on supporting our service have a real impact on students' learning and attainment. Like all libraries we need to show that we make a difference to the lives of our users. We also need to show that non-users are missing out.
My job title is "Liaison Librarian". The CPD post for thing 16 considers the possibility that advocacy will soon appear on all library job descriptions. Advocacy is already part of my job description. I'm a Liaison Librarian because I liaise with the teaching staff within the subject areas that I support. It's my job to show them how much we can do to help them and their students. I have to be an advocate for our service. It is a central part of my role at the College.
We all advocate just by doing our jobs. Every happy library user is a potentially a voice raised in support of your service if those storm clouds come too close.
Should I be doing more? Probably. Publication is definitely a possible route but I should look into other options. It's not just about my career a world with fewer libraries is a world with less space for thought, fewer dreams and less hope.
You all know all this. Perhaps that has been my problem with advocacy in terms of taking part in the public debate. I'm not sure what I have to say that isn't already being said. But then perhaps I'm just looking for an excuse because I can't claim to have played much of a part in the great library survival debate.
Thing 16 asks us to think about what we are doing to convince people that libraries deserve their support. All kinds of libraries obviously.
At the CoFHE Conference this summer one of the speakers showed us a map of the country with all the library closures marked on in it. It was very similar to this library closure map from the nice people at Voices for Libraries. It is a scary sight. We can't underestimate the scale of the crisis.
On the other hand it is reassuring to see all the people who come together when local libraries are threatened. It is a cause that unites people from across any community. There is a reason why critics of the cuts like to use libraries as their favourite example.
The situation with college libraries is slightly different to the crisis facing public libraries. Barring the fallout of mergers and other reorganisations most college libraries aren't living under the threat of actual extinction. Budgets are very tight right across the public sector though. Libraries that are part of educational institutions need to justify their place within the organisation. We need to show that the resources spent on supporting our service have a real impact on students' learning and attainment. Like all libraries we need to show that we make a difference to the lives of our users. We also need to show that non-users are missing out.
My job title is "Liaison Librarian". The CPD post for thing 16 considers the possibility that advocacy will soon appear on all library job descriptions. Advocacy is already part of my job description. I'm a Liaison Librarian because I liaise with the teaching staff within the subject areas that I support. It's my job to show them how much we can do to help them and their students. I have to be an advocate for our service. It is a central part of my role at the College.
We all advocate just by doing our jobs. Every happy library user is a potentially a voice raised in support of your service if those storm clouds come too close.
Should I be doing more? Probably. Publication is definitely a possible route but I should look into other options. It's not just about my career a world with fewer libraries is a world with less space for thought, fewer dreams and less hope.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 15 - Events
Thing 15 involves thinking about training events in terms of attending them, speaking at them and organising them.
I've got a lot out of attending training events in this my first year of librarianship. I particularly enjoyed the CoFHE Conference. That weekend away in Wrexham was genuinely inspiring and it had a very real impact on my professional practice. Shortly after I got back I posted a quite detailed report on the various different sessions that I attended so I won't go into that kind of detail here. If you are interested please have a look. I hope that my report will convince you that conferences are very worthwhile.
The downside is that they require a large commitment in terms of time and money (your own or your employer's limited, probably being squeezed at the moment, training budget). Go to a conference if you get the chance but we also need to recognise the value of smaller scale training events.
I strongly recommend teachmeets. These have been springing up all over the place recently so it shouldn't be too hard to find one near you. They involve people getting together to talk about ideas for teaching information literacy and such like. Attendees prepare brief talks about an aspect of their own teaching practice which they want to share with others.
If you can't find a teachmeet near you then this might be a good kind of session to organise yourself. If I was going to take the plunge into organising something I think I would try to set up a teachmeet. I like the practical emphasis on discussing ideas that people have been using in their own libraries. The informal, people sharing ideas style means that it would be cheaper and hopefully less stressful than organising a more traditional event.
Having said that I imagine you have to do some arm-twisting to make sure that enough of the attendees are prepared to present. That might get stressful. The success of your event would be very reliant on the enthusiasm of others. Audience led events probably require more behind the scenes organisation than the philosophy implies.
I think I'd be good at sorting out the refreshments though. Remembering to bring cake is one of my areas of expertise. People might be in trouble if they don't like chocolate but that's a very small percentage of any group.
Attending the CofHe LASEC information literacy training day and teachmeet gave me lots of new ideas. I'm still drawing on that event for inspiration when planning my library skills sessions. Our new students should be very grateful to the organisers and the presenters for helping to make my sessions more exciting. Read my blog entry about the day if you want to know more. That entry also links to relevant blog entries by the organisers. Maybe you can pick up some tips for teaching or organising your own event?
I have yet to speak at an event. It is something that I would be interested in doing in the future. Actually I would even say that it is a goal for me. I would like to present something at a conference (or perhaps a smaller event). I'm a confident public speaker. It's often much less scary than trying to make small talk with a stranger. No? Maybe I've revealed too much. Still you do have a detailed plan for what you're going to say and you have the opportunity to practice until you're happy with it. Public speaking in and of itself isn't a problem.
My issue would be that I'm not completely sure what I would talk about. Still nobody's asking me to talk at a conference tomorrow so I've got time to think about it. I'm sure if I spent some time brainstorming ideas I would be able to come up with something halfway coherent, useful and hopefully vaguely interesting.
Training events are amazing opportunities to learn new things, to meet people and to share ideas. We should all go to more. By extension more of us should be brave enough to speak at them or even to try organising them. Watch this space because if I find the inspiration and the opportunity to do either of the latter then you will read it here first.
Please feel free to let me know about any events that you are organising.
I've got a lot out of attending training events in this my first year of librarianship. I particularly enjoyed the CoFHE Conference. That weekend away in Wrexham was genuinely inspiring and it had a very real impact on my professional practice. Shortly after I got back I posted a quite detailed report on the various different sessions that I attended so I won't go into that kind of detail here. If you are interested please have a look. I hope that my report will convince you that conferences are very worthwhile.
The downside is that they require a large commitment in terms of time and money (your own or your employer's limited, probably being squeezed at the moment, training budget). Go to a conference if you get the chance but we also need to recognise the value of smaller scale training events.
I strongly recommend teachmeets. These have been springing up all over the place recently so it shouldn't be too hard to find one near you. They involve people getting together to talk about ideas for teaching information literacy and such like. Attendees prepare brief talks about an aspect of their own teaching practice which they want to share with others.
If you can't find a teachmeet near you then this might be a good kind of session to organise yourself. If I was going to take the plunge into organising something I think I would try to set up a teachmeet. I like the practical emphasis on discussing ideas that people have been using in their own libraries. The informal, people sharing ideas style means that it would be cheaper and hopefully less stressful than organising a more traditional event.
Having said that I imagine you have to do some arm-twisting to make sure that enough of the attendees are prepared to present. That might get stressful. The success of your event would be very reliant on the enthusiasm of others. Audience led events probably require more behind the scenes organisation than the philosophy implies.
I think I'd be good at sorting out the refreshments though. Remembering to bring cake is one of my areas of expertise. People might be in trouble if they don't like chocolate but that's a very small percentage of any group.
Attending the CofHe LASEC information literacy training day and teachmeet gave me lots of new ideas. I'm still drawing on that event for inspiration when planning my library skills sessions. Our new students should be very grateful to the organisers and the presenters for helping to make my sessions more exciting. Read my blog entry about the day if you want to know more. That entry also links to relevant blog entries by the organisers. Maybe you can pick up some tips for teaching or organising your own event?
I have yet to speak at an event. It is something that I would be interested in doing in the future. Actually I would even say that it is a goal for me. I would like to present something at a conference (or perhaps a smaller event). I'm a confident public speaker. It's often much less scary than trying to make small talk with a stranger. No? Maybe I've revealed too much. Still you do have a detailed plan for what you're going to say and you have the opportunity to practice until you're happy with it. Public speaking in and of itself isn't a problem.
My issue would be that I'm not completely sure what I would talk about. Still nobody's asking me to talk at a conference tomorrow so I've got time to think about it. I'm sure if I spent some time brainstorming ideas I would be able to come up with something halfway coherent, useful and hopefully vaguely interesting.
Training events are amazing opportunities to learn new things, to meet people and to share ideas. We should all go to more. By extension more of us should be brave enough to speak at them or even to try organising them. Watch this space because if I find the inspiration and the opportunity to do either of the latter then you will read it here first.
Please feel free to let me know about any events that you are organising.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 14 - Reference Management Systems
Zoetero, Mendelay, Citeulike
A good reference management system is one of those tools that put you in danger of coming across as insufferably smug when talking to people who aren't using them. I know this because back in my student days I wasn't an early adopter of this technology. That was foolish of me because we had free access to Endnote so there was no excuse. Once I got into the swing of things I learnt to love Endnote. Who doesn't love technology which genuinely saves you time and makes your life easier?
Thing 13 asked us to look at two free reference management systems, Zoetero and Mendelay. We were also encouraged to try Citeulike, a tool which is primarily designed for sharing articles. Although there is an overlap it really performs a different function to the other two systems.
I tried all three tools but I focussed on Mendelay because it seemed like the most relevant. I use Firefox at home so Zoetero would work for me personally but its browser compatibility issues would make it harder to recommend it to students.
Mendelay compares well to Endnote particularly bearing in mind that it is free and the latter is a commercial product.
· It performs the essential functions of a reference management system so it would save students time and make their lives easier.
· It would also almost guarantee that their references were correctly set out. This isn't always the case when they do their references by hand.
· It is easy to use. Give yourself time to explore it but once you've had a look round it will all make sense.
· The "watched folder" feature is a really nice touch. It means that Mendelay can be used to tidy your research up if you've allowed it to get a little messy.
Areas for improvement
· Why does everything have to be a download? Very few workplaces will let you download anything without begging. I don't know about other institutions but at my own place students wouldn't be able to download this onto a college computer. There's definitely a gap in the market for a web-based, free, reference management system. Unless anyone knows of one?
· It's easy to use once you've spent some time playing with it. There might be space to make it a bit more intuitive though. I'm picturing a slightly panicked student trying to use it at the last minute.
Reference management systems are genuinely a great idea. I'm happy to have two new free systems that I can recommend to students. At the moment I'm particularly pleased with Mendelay but I will look at Zoetero in more detail in the future.
A good reference management system is one of those tools that put you in danger of coming across as insufferably smug when talking to people who aren't using them. I know this because back in my student days I wasn't an early adopter of this technology. That was foolish of me because we had free access to Endnote so there was no excuse. Once I got into the swing of things I learnt to love Endnote. Who doesn't love technology which genuinely saves you time and makes your life easier?
Thing 13 asked us to look at two free reference management systems, Zoetero and Mendelay. We were also encouraged to try Citeulike, a tool which is primarily designed for sharing articles. Although there is an overlap it really performs a different function to the other two systems.
I tried all three tools but I focussed on Mendelay because it seemed like the most relevant. I use Firefox at home so Zoetero would work for me personally but its browser compatibility issues would make it harder to recommend it to students.
Mendelay compares well to Endnote particularly bearing in mind that it is free and the latter is a commercial product.
· It performs the essential functions of a reference management system so it would save students time and make their lives easier.
· It would also almost guarantee that their references were correctly set out. This isn't always the case when they do their references by hand.
· It is easy to use. Give yourself time to explore it but once you've had a look round it will all make sense.
· The "watched folder" feature is a really nice touch. It means that Mendelay can be used to tidy your research up if you've allowed it to get a little messy.
Areas for improvement
· Why does everything have to be a download? Very few workplaces will let you download anything without begging. I don't know about other institutions but at my own place students wouldn't be able to download this onto a college computer. There's definitely a gap in the market for a web-based, free, reference management system. Unless anyone knows of one?
· It's easy to use once you've spent some time playing with it. There might be space to make it a bit more intuitive though. I'm picturing a slightly panicked student trying to use it at the last minute.
Reference management systems are genuinely a great idea. I'm happy to have two new free systems that I can recommend to students. At the moment I'm particularly pleased with Mendelay but I will look at Zoetero in more detail in the future.
Monday, 3 October 2011
Cpd 23 - Thing 13 - Google Docs, Wikis and Dropbox
Spot the connection? The thread that ties these three tools together is that they are all used for collaborative working. They allow people to share documents and perhaps more importantly to work on the same document.
Google docs and wikis are both old friends. I haven't used google docs recently but it was a very useful during my Masters course. Using google docs allowed us to work on a single document from our own homes. This made one particular group project much easier.
In the past I have contributed to wikis about teaching and about career development. I've also asked students to create a wiki as a class project. They are an easy to use tool and they can be good fun. As other participants have commented they aren't really something that most people would integrate into their daily working lives but that isn't really their function. Their strength is allowing groups to share their collective knowledge, experiences or learning.
Dropbox on the other hand is a new tool for me. Is it going to become a new friend? Well, I hope so. It looks like it could be very useful. The downside is that I'm not sure I'm going to be able to download it at work. Even if I can't it is still good to know about tools like this. They might prove useful in the future. Also as a college librarian I like to be able to talk to students about the different tools that might help them with their studies.
Tools like these have the power to make collaborative work much easier.
Google docs and wikis are both old friends. I haven't used google docs recently but it was a very useful during my Masters course. Using google docs allowed us to work on a single document from our own homes. This made one particular group project much easier.
In the past I have contributed to wikis about teaching and about career development. I've also asked students to create a wiki as a class project. They are an easy to use tool and they can be good fun. As other participants have commented they aren't really something that most people would integrate into their daily working lives but that isn't really their function. Their strength is allowing groups to share their collective knowledge, experiences or learning.
Dropbox on the other hand is a new tool for me. Is it going to become a new friend? Well, I hope so. It looks like it could be very useful. The downside is that I'm not sure I'm going to be able to download it at work. Even if I can't it is still good to know about tools like this. They might prove useful in the future. Also as a college librarian I like to be able to talk to students about the different tools that might help them with their studies.
Tools like these have the power to make collaborative work much easier.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 12 - Social Media
You've already had to put up with some of my musings about the professional use of social media so I will focus this post on answering the questions that were part of the cpd23 post for this thing. If you would like more detail I have written about social media in thing 6 - online networking, thing 4 - current awareness and way back in thing 2 - our personal brand.
Are there any other advantages to social networking in the context of professional development other than those already outlined?
As the cpd23 blog implies social media can be used to organise and promote events. This is a good example of online networks working hand in hand with or even helping to create face to face networks.
Social media also helps us to stay in touch with the latest developments in the library world and it helps us to take a wider view of our profession. It offers us all an easy way to look beyond our day to day working experiences and think about the broader perspective. For example it gives us a taste of the variety of different roles that are part of the library and information profession.
Can you think of any disadvantages?
I think there is a danger that being a part of various different online professional networks can make you complacent about participating in face to face professional networks and building up 'real life' professional relationships. I don't want to devalue online networks or imply that they are inherently shallow but at their best they feed into and feed from other kinds of network. My point is that despite the dizzying array of different tools for online networking it is just one method of communication. We shouldn't let it blind us to the other ways that we can reach out and connect with our fellow library professionals.
Has CPD23 helped you to make contact with others that you would not have had contact with normally?
Yes, it definitely has. CPD23ers come from every sector of our profession and every corner of the world. This has been one of the huge strengths of the scheme. It has given us the opportunity to share ideas with a wide variety of different people. I'm sure lots of us have connected with people that we probably wouldn't have met in any other context.
Did you already use social media for your career development before starting CPD23? Will you keep using it after the programme has finished?
Yes and yes. The importance of using social media to stay up-to-date with developments in the field and to build up professional networks has been a recurring theme ever since I got into this profession. It was practically the first thing they told us back when I started my Library Science course. Since then it has been emphasised at almost every training event that I have attended.
As part of the interview process for my current job I had to give a presentation on how the Library could use social media to engage students.
I regularly train teaching staff in the use of our Moodle VLE. Encouraging them to use the social media aspects of the system to create active learning communities is a big part of that.
My own experience has supported this overwhelming consensus in favour of the career development potential of social media. Using social media has helped me to be part of the conversation, to stay in touch with developments in the library world and of course to stay in touch with library people.
In your opinion does social networking really help to foster a sense of community?
Yes. It's easy to be cynical and dismiss online networks as shallow or ephemeral but they do help people to communicate and to connect with each other. That said it shouldn't be the only way that we are trying to build a sense of community. It is one set of tools among many.
Are there any other advantages to social networking in the context of professional development other than those already outlined?
As the cpd23 blog implies social media can be used to organise and promote events. This is a good example of online networks working hand in hand with or even helping to create face to face networks.
Social media also helps us to stay in touch with the latest developments in the library world and it helps us to take a wider view of our profession. It offers us all an easy way to look beyond our day to day working experiences and think about the broader perspective. For example it gives us a taste of the variety of different roles that are part of the library and information profession.
Can you think of any disadvantages?
I think there is a danger that being a part of various different online professional networks can make you complacent about participating in face to face professional networks and building up 'real life' professional relationships. I don't want to devalue online networks or imply that they are inherently shallow but at their best they feed into and feed from other kinds of network. My point is that despite the dizzying array of different tools for online networking it is just one method of communication. We shouldn't let it blind us to the other ways that we can reach out and connect with our fellow library professionals.
Has CPD23 helped you to make contact with others that you would not have had contact with normally?
Yes, it definitely has. CPD23ers come from every sector of our profession and every corner of the world. This has been one of the huge strengths of the scheme. It has given us the opportunity to share ideas with a wide variety of different people. I'm sure lots of us have connected with people that we probably wouldn't have met in any other context.
Did you already use social media for your career development before starting CPD23? Will you keep using it after the programme has finished?
Yes and yes. The importance of using social media to stay up-to-date with developments in the field and to build up professional networks has been a recurring theme ever since I got into this profession. It was practically the first thing they told us back when I started my Library Science course. Since then it has been emphasised at almost every training event that I have attended.
As part of the interview process for my current job I had to give a presentation on how the Library could use social media to engage students.
I regularly train teaching staff in the use of our Moodle VLE. Encouraging them to use the social media aspects of the system to create active learning communities is a big part of that.
My own experience has supported this overwhelming consensus in favour of the career development potential of social media. Using social media has helped me to be part of the conversation, to stay in touch with developments in the library world and of course to stay in touch with library people.
In your opinion does social networking really help to foster a sense of community?
Yes. It's easy to be cynical and dismiss online networks as shallow or ephemeral but they do help people to communicate and to connect with each other. That said it shouldn't be the only way that we are trying to build a sense of community. It is one set of tools among many.
CPD 23 - Thing 11 - Mentoring
A mentor, a guru like figure to guide you through the mysteries of librarianship. What new library professional wouldn't want such a figure in their life?
That said CPD23’s implication that people should just go up to someone and ask them to take on this role out of the blue seems slightly odd. If you are going to have a formal mentor relationship than perhaps it should spring from some kind of formal process? Have you considered Chartership? Just to pick an example out of thin air.
Thing 11 involves thinking about our experiences of mentorship. Thanks to my attempts to work towards Chartership I have recent experience of being formally mentored. Working with a mentor is at the heart of the process. It's central to the whole ethos. Since this is an important part of my working life at the moment I will be very much looking at mentoring through this prism. I am sure other cpd23ers have looked at it in other ways and I look forward to reading their (your) thoughts on this.
Finding a Chartership mentor
Finding a mentor for Chartership can be a slower process than you might think. The list on the CILIP website is a good place to look but it is not strictly speaking up-to-date. Don’t be put off if you don’t get a reply or the potential mentor isn’t available anymore. Keep at it. You will find someone. I did find my mentor through the list so I shouldn’t really complain.
If you find the official list frustrating you could also try asking your colleagues or other library folk if they know anyone in your area who is registered to mentor Chartership candidates. Alternatively you could always try using one of these online professional networks we are all talking about so much.
The official advice is that it is best to have a mentor who doesn’t work with you because that will give them an outsider’s perspective on what you do. It will also help you to take a broader view of your profession, which is actually a requirement if you want to pass. By the same logic there is an argument for choosing a mentor outside your own sector of the profession.
While looking for a mentor I decided I didn’t want to stretch this too far. I wanted someone who worked in an educational library which would therefore have similar goals and similar challenges to my own workplace. I thought that would make our discussions more helpful. Partly in the spirit of adopting that broader perspective I was more than happy to look beyond further education though. That has worked out very well. My mentor is an Academic Liaison Librarian at a University so her role overlaps with mine enough for us to compare notes. We can talk about issues like building professional relationships with teaching staff and running induction sessions for students and so on. But in some ways she works in quite a different environment to me. For example higher education doesn’t need the behaviour management focus that is actually quite an important part of the job at further education level. On the other hand her libraries are significantly bigger, geared towards a higher level of the education system and they are ‘libraries’ plural which all clearly brings challenges that I haven’t had to face yet.
If you are looking for a Chartership mentor I wish you all the best with the whole process. Good luck finding the right person to guide you through it and good luck with getting all your evidence together.
Working with your Chartership mentor - Being mentored
I'm glad that being mentored is such an important part of the Chartership process. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the qualification it involves putting together a portfolio of evidence which has to prove that you meet certain criteria. This requires careful planning and an ability to step back from your day to day work and think about the wider context and impact of what you're doing. From there you have to reflect upon and improve your own performance. With the guidance of a good mentor this can be very productive. You start to feel that this is a qualification that is giving you new insight into your role and into the profession itself.
Without a mentor it would be very easy to feel that you are getting lost in the maze. I would advise anyone who is considering Chartership to get a mentor as soon as you can. It seems natural to try to get your head round it all and then get a mentor when you feel that you're ready to start. Don't. You can do some background research while you're looking for someone to guide you but start looking early on, if not straight away. You will feel much more comfortable with the whole process once you've talked it through with your mentor.
When I first had a look at the qualification I didn't feel that the criteria were immediately crystal clear. Attending a CILIP working towards chartership workshop was a huge help and all potential candidates should read the book but it was talking them through with my mentor that gave me the confidence to pin the criteria down. One to one guidance has the huge benefit of ensuring that you are confident about what you need to do.
Each mentor / mentee partnership has to work out how they're going to organise the practicalities. In my own case we meet up regularly and we email each other as and when we need to. We've been taking turns to host each meeting which is great because it gives us the opportunity to see each other's workplaces. Apart from simply being interesting that helps us both to put some flesh on our discussions by giving us a better understanding of the physical context of our respective working lives.
I enjoy working with my mentor and I've found it very useful. Most obviously I've relied on her to guide me along the winding paths that lead to Chartership but there have also been other benefits. Perhaps most importantly I've found our meetings very productive in terms of encouraging me to be more reflective about my experiences. That's a key part of the Chartership process but it has also helped me to be a more effective librarian. I'm better able to learn from my experiences at work and to incorporate training experiences into my professional practice. I recommend being mentored and indeed taking the plunge into Chartership.
That said CPD23’s implication that people should just go up to someone and ask them to take on this role out of the blue seems slightly odd. If you are going to have a formal mentor relationship than perhaps it should spring from some kind of formal process? Have you considered Chartership? Just to pick an example out of thin air.
Thing 11 involves thinking about our experiences of mentorship. Thanks to my attempts to work towards Chartership I have recent experience of being formally mentored. Working with a mentor is at the heart of the process. It's central to the whole ethos. Since this is an important part of my working life at the moment I will be very much looking at mentoring through this prism. I am sure other cpd23ers have looked at it in other ways and I look forward to reading their (your) thoughts on this.
Finding a Chartership mentor
Finding a mentor for Chartership can be a slower process than you might think. The list on the CILIP website is a good place to look but it is not strictly speaking up-to-date. Don’t be put off if you don’t get a reply or the potential mentor isn’t available anymore. Keep at it. You will find someone. I did find my mentor through the list so I shouldn’t really complain.
If you find the official list frustrating you could also try asking your colleagues or other library folk if they know anyone in your area who is registered to mentor Chartership candidates. Alternatively you could always try using one of these online professional networks we are all talking about so much.
The official advice is that it is best to have a mentor who doesn’t work with you because that will give them an outsider’s perspective on what you do. It will also help you to take a broader view of your profession, which is actually a requirement if you want to pass. By the same logic there is an argument for choosing a mentor outside your own sector of the profession.
While looking for a mentor I decided I didn’t want to stretch this too far. I wanted someone who worked in an educational library which would therefore have similar goals and similar challenges to my own workplace. I thought that would make our discussions more helpful. Partly in the spirit of adopting that broader perspective I was more than happy to look beyond further education though. That has worked out very well. My mentor is an Academic Liaison Librarian at a University so her role overlaps with mine enough for us to compare notes. We can talk about issues like building professional relationships with teaching staff and running induction sessions for students and so on. But in some ways she works in quite a different environment to me. For example higher education doesn’t need the behaviour management focus that is actually quite an important part of the job at further education level. On the other hand her libraries are significantly bigger, geared towards a higher level of the education system and they are ‘libraries’ plural which all clearly brings challenges that I haven’t had to face yet.
If you are looking for a Chartership mentor I wish you all the best with the whole process. Good luck finding the right person to guide you through it and good luck with getting all your evidence together.
Working with your Chartership mentor - Being mentored
I'm glad that being mentored is such an important part of the Chartership process. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the qualification it involves putting together a portfolio of evidence which has to prove that you meet certain criteria. This requires careful planning and an ability to step back from your day to day work and think about the wider context and impact of what you're doing. From there you have to reflect upon and improve your own performance. With the guidance of a good mentor this can be very productive. You start to feel that this is a qualification that is giving you new insight into your role and into the profession itself.
Without a mentor it would be very easy to feel that you are getting lost in the maze. I would advise anyone who is considering Chartership to get a mentor as soon as you can. It seems natural to try to get your head round it all and then get a mentor when you feel that you're ready to start. Don't. You can do some background research while you're looking for someone to guide you but start looking early on, if not straight away. You will feel much more comfortable with the whole process once you've talked it through with your mentor.
When I first had a look at the qualification I didn't feel that the criteria were immediately crystal clear. Attending a CILIP working towards chartership workshop was a huge help and all potential candidates should read the book but it was talking them through with my mentor that gave me the confidence to pin the criteria down. One to one guidance has the huge benefit of ensuring that you are confident about what you need to do.
Each mentor / mentee partnership has to work out how they're going to organise the practicalities. In my own case we meet up regularly and we email each other as and when we need to. We've been taking turns to host each meeting which is great because it gives us the opportunity to see each other's workplaces. Apart from simply being interesting that helps us both to put some flesh on our discussions by giving us a better understanding of the physical context of our respective working lives.
I enjoy working with my mentor and I've found it very useful. Most obviously I've relied on her to guide me along the winding paths that lead to Chartership but there have also been other benefits. Perhaps most importantly I've found our meetings very productive in terms of encouraging me to be more reflective about my experiences. That's a key part of the Chartership process but it has also helped me to be a more effective librarian. I'm better able to learn from my experiences at work and to incorporate training experiences into my professional practice. I recommend being mentored and indeed taking the plunge into Chartership.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 10 - Becoming a Librarian
Thing 10 asks us to share the details of how we became librarians. My journey into librarianship didn't follow the most direct route. Traineeships sound great but I didn't do one myself. More controversially I didn't have library experience behind me when I started studying for my Library Science MSc.
Where had I come from? Why did I think that this profession was for me?
I came into librarianship via teaching. I spent nearly two years working as an English teacher in secondary schools. Towards the end of that second year I realised that I had chosen the wrong career path. I needed to try something new.
Despite my disillusionment with teaching I was still the same person. I still had the same interests, ideals and motivations that had drawn me to teaching English. I enjoyed helping people to learn and to explore their world. I wanted to stay in education.
I also really liked reading of course (although it sometimes seems that it is the done thing in library world to pretend that this had no impact on our career choice).
Libraries have always played an important role in my life. Without them my world would be a narrower place. My enjoyment of life, and my understanding of the world would be diminished.
Ever since stumbling upon 'Bunnicula' (the first non-picture book I read on my own, it's about a vampire rabbit) in my year 1 class book corner I have devoured books with a ravenous hunger that only libraries could meet.
Later on I relied on libraries to support me through my studies. They opened up new perspectives and revealed new horizons. I see an educational library as a base camp. Librarians give students the equipment, training and guidance that they need to explore their world.
With these formative experiences to inspire me it seems almost natural that I decided that the library was a better place than the classroom for me to pass on my love of learning. If anything I should have thought of it before but it is good to have some teaching experience. Librarianship has definitely turned out to be a better fit for me though.
Having decided that this was the path for me I looked into how to make the jump. I spoke to people I knew who worked in the sector. I investigated different courses. I applied for a couple of library jobs (without success). I investigated all the avenues.
In the end I enrolled on the Library Science Msc at City University. I enjoyed my year there and I learnt a lot. It did seem to go by very quickly though. One minute you’re in the ‘welcome to the course’ lecture and the next the dissertation is due in. I would advise any current library school students to realise that you’re not actually going to be there for very long. This is corny but it’s up to you to get what you can out of the experience in the time that you have.
Luckily I did manage to get some library experience while I was studying. I worked voluntarily in a local secondary school library. Then I started to work Saturdays as a Library Assistant in a public library. That was completely invaluable. Library school students do need to get as much experience as they can while they’re studying.
Look at me handing out advice. The really sensible library students have a job already and combine the course with their day job but where’s the fun in that? More seriously it obviously doesn’t work out like that for everyone.
Having gained my shiny new qualification in library science I set out on the great library job hunt. I stumbled across my notes from that yesterday. I had a table of jobs I’d applied for with the responses and the levels of success. The failures ranged from no response to interview offered but then the post was abolished to simple failed interviews. The latter were the ones that really brought back fun memories. The point here is that this part of my journey was a bit of a slog.
As you know there was a happy ending. Almost exactly a year ago I started work here at the College as a Liaison Librarian. Everything that I’ve mentioned has been a stepping stone that has helped me to get to here: teaching experience, my library science course, experience of working in libraries, even all that interview practice. That said becoming a Librarian isn’t the end of my library journey. It is just the beginning. ..
Further thoughts and some clarification
Where had I come from? Why did I think that this profession was for me?
I came into librarianship via teaching. I spent nearly two years working as an English teacher in secondary schools. Towards the end of that second year I realised that I had chosen the wrong career path. I needed to try something new.
Despite my disillusionment with teaching I was still the same person. I still had the same interests, ideals and motivations that had drawn me to teaching English. I enjoyed helping people to learn and to explore their world. I wanted to stay in education.
I also really liked reading of course (although it sometimes seems that it is the done thing in library world to pretend that this had no impact on our career choice).
Libraries have always played an important role in my life. Without them my world would be a narrower place. My enjoyment of life, and my understanding of the world would be diminished.
Ever since stumbling upon 'Bunnicula' (the first non-picture book I read on my own, it's about a vampire rabbit) in my year 1 class book corner I have devoured books with a ravenous hunger that only libraries could meet.
Later on I relied on libraries to support me through my studies. They opened up new perspectives and revealed new horizons. I see an educational library as a base camp. Librarians give students the equipment, training and guidance that they need to explore their world.
With these formative experiences to inspire me it seems almost natural that I decided that the library was a better place than the classroom for me to pass on my love of learning. If anything I should have thought of it before but it is good to have some teaching experience. Librarianship has definitely turned out to be a better fit for me though.
Having decided that this was the path for me I looked into how to make the jump. I spoke to people I knew who worked in the sector. I investigated different courses. I applied for a couple of library jobs (without success). I investigated all the avenues.
In the end I enrolled on the Library Science Msc at City University. I enjoyed my year there and I learnt a lot. It did seem to go by very quickly though. One minute you’re in the ‘welcome to the course’ lecture and the next the dissertation is due in. I would advise any current library school students to realise that you’re not actually going to be there for very long. This is corny but it’s up to you to get what you can out of the experience in the time that you have.
Luckily I did manage to get some library experience while I was studying. I worked voluntarily in a local secondary school library. Then I started to work Saturdays as a Library Assistant in a public library. That was completely invaluable. Library school students do need to get as much experience as they can while they’re studying.
Look at me handing out advice. The really sensible library students have a job already and combine the course with their day job but where’s the fun in that? More seriously it obviously doesn’t work out like that for everyone.
Having gained my shiny new qualification in library science I set out on the great library job hunt. I stumbled across my notes from that yesterday. I had a table of jobs I’d applied for with the responses and the levels of success. The failures ranged from no response to interview offered but then the post was abolished to simple failed interviews. The latter were the ones that really brought back fun memories. The point here is that this part of my journey was a bit of a slog.
As you know there was a happy ending. Almost exactly a year ago I started work here at the College as a Liaison Librarian. Everything that I’ve mentioned has been a stepping stone that has helped me to get to here: teaching experience, my library science course, experience of working in libraries, even all that interview practice. That said becoming a Librarian isn’t the end of my library journey. It is just the beginning. ..
Further thoughts and some clarification
CPD 23 - Thing 9 - Evernote
"You want to be able to make comments on webpages and archive them along with your own notes so that everything is all in the one place and easy to access." - CPD 23 Blog
Erm. Do I? Now you mention it that might be useful but it's not a problem that's been keeping me up at night. The cpd 23 blog entry about evernote starts off with this 'problem'.
Once I'd got over the slight sense that cpd 23 was making up problems for me to worry about I realised that this might actually be useful. I decided to try using evernote to organise and make notes on my professional reading.
Evernote does have the potential to help me. Being able to make notes on blog entries, articles etc might help to make my professional reading more effective.
I'm just starting to explore this tool really. For example I haven't tried the photo feature yet but so far it looks interesting.
Perhaps most importantly evernote gives you a cool elephant icon. What's not to like?
Erm. Do I? Now you mention it that might be useful but it's not a problem that's been keeping me up at night. The cpd 23 blog entry about evernote starts off with this 'problem'.
Once I'd got over the slight sense that cpd 23 was making up problems for me to worry about I realised that this might actually be useful. I decided to try using evernote to organise and make notes on my professional reading.
Evernote does have the potential to help me. Being able to make notes on blog entries, articles etc might help to make my professional reading more effective.
I'm just starting to explore this tool really. For example I haven't tried the photo feature yet but so far it looks interesting.
Perhaps most importantly evernote gives you a cool elephant icon. What's not to like?
CPD 23 -Thing 8 - Google Calender
Reading others' work before you do your own is a mistake. I would have thought that the danger is that you worry about saying the same thing as everyone else but actually I feel left out and worse a little behind the times. I use a paper diary at work and perhaps odder my library uses a paper shared diary which we all update with meetings and so on. Is that hopelessly oldfashioned? I've never thought of it as unusual before. I've used outlook calender in other jobs but those teams were larger and spread out across a wider area.
Other cpd23ers seem to either already use Google calender at work or their workplace uses outlook calender to coordinate everyone. Perhaps we should be using google calender? I hate to let go of retro chic and I can see the advantage of just picking up a diary. It means people don't have to be logged onto a computer in order to check what's happening or to make an appointment.
In terms of embedding a calender in our website the college already has an online calender on our VLE which we do use to keep users informed.
My own investigation of Google calender suggests that it is a good online calender. It does what it should in terms of letting you organise your own life and it offers calender sharing options that would be useful for collaborative work or keeping a workplace coordinated. It can also be embedded into a website in order to promote events or to keep people informed about opening hours and such like. It's all very useful. I will look into using it at work.
Other cpd23ers seem to either already use Google calender at work or their workplace uses outlook calender to coordinate everyone. Perhaps we should be using google calender? I hate to let go of retro chic and I can see the advantage of just picking up a diary. It means people don't have to be logged onto a computer in order to check what's happening or to make an appointment.
In terms of embedding a calender in our website the college already has an online calender on our VLE which we do use to keep users informed.
My own investigation of Google calender suggests that it is a good online calender. It does what it should in terms of letting you organise your own life and it offers calender sharing options that would be useful for collaborative work or keeping a workplace coordinated. It can also be embedded into a website in order to promote events or to keep people informed about opening hours and such like. It's all very useful. I will look into using it at work.
Monday, 12 September 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 7 - Face to face networking & professional organisations
Online networking is great but talking to people face to face does have its advantages. Obviously we don't have to choose between the two. They feed into and enrich each other. Presumably in the bad old days people often had really interesting conversations at events and then had no easy way to maintain that connection after they returned to work. Online tools make it much easier to keep the lines of communication open.
The danger is that we will neglect face to face networking. We have all of these clever tools for staying in touch. It's so easy to feel that you are already participating but if you're neglecting real world contact then you are missing out.
Let's be honest here. In almost all cases face to face networking requires a much greater commitment than its younger sister does. It takes more effort to take part in real life meetings and events. The extra investment is worth it though. It is worth taking the time to build up real world friendships and connections within the profession.
What is the best way to go about doing that? Professional organisations are a great place to start. I am a member of CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals). I've particularly benefited from being a member of CoFHE (colleges of further and higher education), the subgroup that serves my particular sector. That's actually about to be replaced by a new subgroup but the principle is still sound. If you're interested in the finding out how CILIP has given me opportunities to take part in some interesting face to face networking than please browse this blog. The best examples are probably my report on the CoFHE conference in Wrexham and my post about their local branch's information literacy training day.
Obviously these are also examples of a professional organisation supporting continuing professional development. That is another very important part of their role. The chartership process is another key example of that.
The danger is that we will neglect face to face networking. We have all of these clever tools for staying in touch. It's so easy to feel that you are already participating but if you're neglecting real world contact then you are missing out.
Let's be honest here. In almost all cases face to face networking requires a much greater commitment than its younger sister does. It takes more effort to take part in real life meetings and events. The extra investment is worth it though. It is worth taking the time to build up real world friendships and connections within the profession.
What is the best way to go about doing that? Professional organisations are a great place to start. I am a member of CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals). I've particularly benefited from being a member of CoFHE (colleges of further and higher education), the subgroup that serves my particular sector. That's actually about to be replaced by a new subgroup but the principle is still sound. If you're interested in the finding out how CILIP has given me opportunities to take part in some interesting face to face networking than please browse this blog. The best examples are probably my report on the CoFHE conference in Wrexham and my post about their local branch's information literacy training day.
Obviously these are also examples of a professional organisation supporting continuing professional development. That is another very important part of their role. The chartership process is another key example of that.
CPD 23 - Thing 6 - Online Networking
Apologies for absence
I'd like to start by apologising to any regular readers for the long gap between posts. I got married in August, which was amazing but it meant that this was a pretty busy summer. I have managed to fall even further behind on the 'things' than I thought I was going to. I do intend to catch up so please bear with me.
On with the 'things'...
Thing 6 - Online networking
Twitter
There is some overlap between thing 6 and two of my earlier 'thing' posts. When discussing the use of twitter as a current awareness tool I explained that I started to tweet because my Library Science Msc lecturers told me to. As I said then cpd 23 has helped to cement my impression that twitter can be a very useful tool for professional networking. It removes barriers and gives us all a chance to be part of a million ongoing conversations about every aspect of our profession (or whatever else you want to talk about).
Facebook
There seems to be a developing understanding that facebook is primarily for the more 'social' side of social media. The informal, staying in touch with friends aspect of it all. I have 'library' friends on facebook but I draw a fuzzy distinction between staying in touch with old classmates or coworkers and seeing a site as a natural place for professional networking.
Linkedin
My impression of Linkedin is that it is primarily a job hunting tool. It wouldn't be my first choice if I was trying to exchange ideas or discuss experiences because I feel active users are primarily there to sell themselves as potential employees. Good luck to them obviously but doesn't that make the conversations less free than it is on sites where users have a less specific agenda? Is that unfair? It's arguably ill informed prejudice so please educate me if you're an enthusiastic Linkedin user. (Only if you use it for something other than job hunting though. I understand that it's useful for that. Thank you.)
Librarians as Teachers
I am a member of the Librarians as Teachers network. This 'thing' has reminded me that I really should be a more active user. As a former teacher who's now working in an FE college in a librarian role that involves teaching I'm pretty much exactly the kind of person that this site is designed for. I recommend this network if you are in a similar role.I have picked up some useful tips. I should try to contribute more.
I'd like to start by apologising to any regular readers for the long gap between posts. I got married in August, which was amazing but it meant that this was a pretty busy summer. I have managed to fall even further behind on the 'things' than I thought I was going to. I do intend to catch up so please bear with me.
On with the 'things'...
Thing 6 - Online networking
There is some overlap between thing 6 and two of my earlier 'thing' posts. When discussing the use of twitter as a current awareness tool I explained that I started to tweet because my Library Science Msc lecturers told me to. As I said then cpd 23 has helped to cement my impression that twitter can be a very useful tool for professional networking. It removes barriers and gives us all a chance to be part of a million ongoing conversations about every aspect of our profession (or whatever else you want to talk about).
There seems to be a developing understanding that facebook is primarily for the more 'social' side of social media. The informal, staying in touch with friends aspect of it all. I have 'library' friends on facebook but I draw a fuzzy distinction between staying in touch with old classmates or coworkers and seeing a site as a natural place for professional networking.
My impression of Linkedin is that it is primarily a job hunting tool. It wouldn't be my first choice if I was trying to exchange ideas or discuss experiences because I feel active users are primarily there to sell themselves as potential employees. Good luck to them obviously but doesn't that make the conversations less free than it is on sites where users have a less specific agenda? Is that unfair? It's arguably ill informed prejudice so please educate me if you're an enthusiastic Linkedin user. (Only if you use it for something other than job hunting though. I understand that it's useful for that. Thank you.)
Librarians as Teachers
I am a member of the Librarians as Teachers network. This 'thing' has reminded me that I really should be a more active user. As a former teacher who's now working in an FE college in a librarian role that involves teaching I'm pretty much exactly the kind of person that this site is designed for. I recommend this network if you are in a similar role.I have picked up some useful tips. I should try to contribute more.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 5 - Reflective Practice
This is the key to CPD 23 and to professional development in general. We are all trying out new things and then reflecting on our experiences. That is the only way to progress in any field.
I don't think I've mentioned this on here but I had a previous career as a teacher before I moved into librarianship. I mention this now because the importance of being a reflective practitioner is something that the teaching profession emphasises heavily. Teachers at all levels are encouraged to reflect on each lesson. To think about what worked and what didn't and then use their conclusions to improve the next lesson. This is a good example of the do - review - plan - do circle.
I'm used to thinking of reflection as an important part of my working life. I have brought that across into my new career. I've tried to keep up good habits.
The Chartership process and being a part of CPD23 have both helped to underline the importance of reflection, and the advantages of putting my thoughts into writing.
Encouraging me to record my reflections and to share them with others is perhaps the most important thing that CPD23 has done for me. I really enjoy having this blog and I've found it very useful as a tool for reflecting on my professional development. It would exist without CPD23 but the scheme has given it a greater sense of structure.
Sharing ideas with others has been the heart of my CPD23 experience. I love the sense that we are building a community here. The scheme has been quite foccussed on that aspect of professional development. The next two things are the offical networking things but really almost everything we've done so far has had a networking element. We've set up blogs to share our thoughts, we've explored each other's blogs, we've thought about how we come across to others, and we've tried new tools for sharing information. Networking, community building, idea sharing seems to be the thread running through everything we're doing.
Readers who look beyond my CPD 23 posts will see that I write quite detailed reflective posts on training course that I attend. They are all tagged as 'training'. Reflecting on training experiences is the only way to gain anything lasting from them. Obviously if you never think about what you've learnt it's a waste of time! The process of reflecting in writing helps me to think about how I'm going to incorporate new ideas into my actual practice. It also makes it easier for me to get other members of staff on board when I want to suggest something new.
Reflection is the key to personal and professional development. The alternative after all is to rely on habit or to blindly react. We need to reflect on what we're doing if we want to get better at it.
I don't think I've mentioned this on here but I had a previous career as a teacher before I moved into librarianship. I mention this now because the importance of being a reflective practitioner is something that the teaching profession emphasises heavily. Teachers at all levels are encouraged to reflect on each lesson. To think about what worked and what didn't and then use their conclusions to improve the next lesson. This is a good example of the do - review - plan - do circle.
I'm used to thinking of reflection as an important part of my working life. I have brought that across into my new career. I've tried to keep up good habits.
The Chartership process and being a part of CPD23 have both helped to underline the importance of reflection, and the advantages of putting my thoughts into writing.
Encouraging me to record my reflections and to share them with others is perhaps the most important thing that CPD23 has done for me. I really enjoy having this blog and I've found it very useful as a tool for reflecting on my professional development. It would exist without CPD23 but the scheme has given it a greater sense of structure.
Sharing ideas with others has been the heart of my CPD23 experience. I love the sense that we are building a community here. The scheme has been quite foccussed on that aspect of professional development. The next two things are the offical networking things but really almost everything we've done so far has had a networking element. We've set up blogs to share our thoughts, we've explored each other's blogs, we've thought about how we come across to others, and we've tried new tools for sharing information. Networking, community building, idea sharing seems to be the thread running through everything we're doing.
Readers who look beyond my CPD 23 posts will see that I write quite detailed reflective posts on training course that I attend. They are all tagged as 'training'. Reflecting on training experiences is the only way to gain anything lasting from them. Obviously if you never think about what you've learnt it's a waste of time! The process of reflecting in writing helps me to think about how I'm going to incorporate new ideas into my actual practice. It also makes it easier for me to get other members of staff on board when I want to suggest something new.
Reflection is the key to personal and professional development. The alternative after all is to rely on habit or to blindly react. We need to reflect on what we're doing if we want to get better at it.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
CPD23 - Thing 4 – Current Awareness
Thing 4 is all about using different tools to keep up to date with the fast moving library world. We all try to stay informed and engaged but the myriad distractions of everyday life and the disorientating effects of information overload mean that it can be tricky. I have been asked to investigate three online tools that are designed to help.
Current Awareness Tool Reviews
1. Twitter
The first tool is one that I imagine almost everyone on the scheme was already fairly familiar with. Although no doubt some people have previously recoiled in horror from the thought of being overloaded with celebrity gossip and random comments.
Current awareness of library and information issues was actually my original reason for joining Twitter. On the first day of my Library Science course we were told to sign up. Our lecturers wanted us to use it to communicate with them and with each other. They also highlighted its use as a current awareness tool. But behind those practical arguments was the clear implication that this was the future of information and we needed to be a part of it. It did prove to be a useful tool for staying in touch with other students, sharing information and for developing awareness. Is this the future? It is always too soon to tell.
Since signing up I’ve slipped into using it for other things. I found some of my non library friends on there. I also went through a period when I was mostly using it to publish very short stories on the excellent but sadly now defunct tweetzine Thaumatrope. (Is tweetzine a real word? I might have just made that up.)
As an aside I should say that I found @UKLibraryJobs very useful when I was trying to find my first professional librarian post. I recommend following them if you’re job hunting.
Prior to setting up this blog I did go through a bit of a tweet drought. CPD 23 has already helped to bring me back into the flow. I’ve been using twitter to tell people about my blog posts. I’ve also started following some of my fellow participants. Mostly because I was following their blogs and I thought having them on my tweet feed would remind me to read their entries.
I’ve also increased the number of library and information thought leaders that I’m following. I intend to use the crowd sourced recommendations on the CPD23 blog to start following even more interesting and insightful library folk.
2. RSS
RSS feeds are a useful way to make your online reading more organised. You can bring together the latest updates from all the blogs and such like that you follow. This is one of those online tools that I’ve long thought I probably should be using.
I have now signed up with Google reader as recommended. I will gradually build up the number of RSS feeds that I follow. I think this will quickly become a helpful part of my online routine. I do need a way to make my professional reading a bit more focussed.
As a note of warning if you have only just signed up to Google reader I’m not sure following the whole cpd23 bundle is the best way to start. My experience was that opening that led to a serious sense of information overload. I’m sure they are all great but I’d rather slowly build up the number I follow or just wander from blog to blog when I have some time to spare.
3. Pushnote
Social media tools have a bit of a chicken and egg problem. However clever the actual tool is they are only really useful if a reasonable number of people are using them. In most cases preferably people you know.
As far as I can tell I don’t know many people who are using pushnote. This means that I am unlikely to make much use of it myself. It would be different if there was a sense of enthusiasm from cpd23 participants. We could just use it amongst ourselves to share useful library or professional development websites. Presumably that was the plan. Unfortunately my impression is that the group consensus is that people are fairly underwhelmed by pushnote. Please let me know if that’s wrong.
This must be very annoying for people who are trying to develop new social media tools. There seems to be only two ways round it.
1. Aim your product at a niche market. Design it for people who share a particular interest or specialist need.
2. Make sure that your product has a unique selling point. It should be doing something that the more established services don’t.
Pushnote is clearly meant for the general market so I can only assume that we are meant to see it as a tool that does something new. I’m not convinced. I feel that we already have lots of ways of using social media to recommend websites to each other.
Not being compatible with Internet Explorer is probably a handicap in terms of gaining a larger number of users. For our purposes it means that fewer of us can even try it at work. Like many libraries my own workplace uses IE. This is something that the pushnote team should try to sort out.
As I write this I’m haunted by a nagging fear that this last review will look silly in a year’s time. Perhaps everyone will be using this. Of course if they are it will be much more useful and I will probably join them. Chickens and eggs.
Current Awareness Tool Reviews
1. Twitter
The first tool is one that I imagine almost everyone on the scheme was already fairly familiar with. Although no doubt some people have previously recoiled in horror from the thought of being overloaded with celebrity gossip and random comments.
Current awareness of library and information issues was actually my original reason for joining Twitter. On the first day of my Library Science course we were told to sign up. Our lecturers wanted us to use it to communicate with them and with each other. They also highlighted its use as a current awareness tool. But behind those practical arguments was the clear implication that this was the future of information and we needed to be a part of it. It did prove to be a useful tool for staying in touch with other students, sharing information and for developing awareness. Is this the future? It is always too soon to tell.
Since signing up I’ve slipped into using it for other things. I found some of my non library friends on there. I also went through a period when I was mostly using it to publish very short stories on the excellent but sadly now defunct tweetzine Thaumatrope. (Is tweetzine a real word? I might have just made that up.)
As an aside I should say that I found @UKLibraryJobs very useful when I was trying to find my first professional librarian post. I recommend following them if you’re job hunting.
Prior to setting up this blog I did go through a bit of a tweet drought. CPD 23 has already helped to bring me back into the flow. I’ve been using twitter to tell people about my blog posts. I’ve also started following some of my fellow participants. Mostly because I was following their blogs and I thought having them on my tweet feed would remind me to read their entries.
I’ve also increased the number of library and information thought leaders that I’m following. I intend to use the crowd sourced recommendations on the CPD23 blog to start following even more interesting and insightful library folk.
2. RSS
RSS feeds are a useful way to make your online reading more organised. You can bring together the latest updates from all the blogs and such like that you follow. This is one of those online tools that I’ve long thought I probably should be using.
I have now signed up with Google reader as recommended. I will gradually build up the number of RSS feeds that I follow. I think this will quickly become a helpful part of my online routine. I do need a way to make my professional reading a bit more focussed.
As a note of warning if you have only just signed up to Google reader I’m not sure following the whole cpd23 bundle is the best way to start. My experience was that opening that led to a serious sense of information overload. I’m sure they are all great but I’d rather slowly build up the number I follow or just wander from blog to blog when I have some time to spare.
3. Pushnote
Social media tools have a bit of a chicken and egg problem. However clever the actual tool is they are only really useful if a reasonable number of people are using them. In most cases preferably people you know.
As far as I can tell I don’t know many people who are using pushnote. This means that I am unlikely to make much use of it myself. It would be different if there was a sense of enthusiasm from cpd23 participants. We could just use it amongst ourselves to share useful library or professional development websites. Presumably that was the plan. Unfortunately my impression is that the group consensus is that people are fairly underwhelmed by pushnote. Please let me know if that’s wrong.
This must be very annoying for people who are trying to develop new social media tools. There seems to be only two ways round it.
1. Aim your product at a niche market. Design it for people who share a particular interest or specialist need.
2. Make sure that your product has a unique selling point. It should be doing something that the more established services don’t.
Pushnote is clearly meant for the general market so I can only assume that we are meant to see it as a tool that does something new. I’m not convinced. I feel that we already have lots of ways of using social media to recommend websites to each other.
Not being compatible with Internet Explorer is probably a handicap in terms of gaining a larger number of users. For our purposes it means that fewer of us can even try it at work. Like many libraries my own workplace uses IE. This is something that the pushnote team should try to sort out.
As I write this I’m haunted by a nagging fear that this last review will look silly in a year’s time. Perhaps everyone will be using this. Of course if they are it will be much more useful and I will probably join them. Chickens and eggs.
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