Friday 31 August 2012

CPD Thing #17

Thing #17 is Medium is the message, Prezi and slideshare.
I love Prezi, I played last year and made some quite slick productions for a few minutes of play, I have found other uses and had much fun since then too. Also had friends share their prezis and other information all of which I would have no idea with out this thing :-). Slideshare from what I have seen is more like a powerpoint and business tool, the market is much more traditional and is a very slick way to make and show information across many systems and means the finished item is what every one sees, and not as powerpoint which can sometimes reformat if the end user dosen't have microsoft office. I have browsed slide share and watched many different presentations, which have told me loads.
Prezi mean while is more the play side of presentations. I like Prezi, you can drag and twist, make funky or tone down, increase speed or freeze it, add moving pictures and anything else you have in your computer. Its fun and you can make rubbish and still learn through it. Of the two prezi is the one I would turn to to make some fun of my kids, or to show off some plan I had, while slide share is more a report format, calm and infomation heavy. But both are good tools for use.

CPD Thing #16

Thing #16 Advocacy, speaking up for the professional and getting published.
Until I went to the Umbrella conference in 2011 I wasn't really sure what Advocacy meant for me in real terms, how I could help or what I got from it. The conference opened my eyes. I realised I had to be part of this, it is the only way we have to show our professionalism consistently across society. A way to put back some of the bonuses I have got out of the profession and above all a way to raise our profile in the current climate of 'rationalisation' and cuts. I came away wishing I had known more sooner and Promised I would be part of any solution in future!
A year on I am still promoting the good, challenging the bad and keeping the level of professionalism in my own service as high as I can get it :-) this fits well in my mentoring persona, and in my more general career plan (which didn't much exist last year). Best practise has become one of my measuring criteria, and with my increased social links I feel I am making a difference even if it small steps up here.
My latest piece of writing hasn't been my much adored fiction (that I never enter or publish) but an attempt at a technical piece for one of the group magazines from CILIP, I have found getting the motivation hard but I haven't missed this deadline (yet) and once done I hope it will be one of many items I get published. So to sum up thing #16 I am getting more involved and helping to encourage others to also get involved, I do speak up for our profession and feel that is very very important as no man is an island, has never been more true. Finally while I may think my opinion is a bit boring others seem to want to know what I think and say so I should publish more along with my reading more.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

CPD Thing #15

Thing #15 Attending, presenting at and organising seminars, conferences and other events.
I like this thing, I know its not normal to like that but I am a bit odd! I enjoying meeting and listening to others, I enjoy shareing ideas and passions, I love the buzz that a group of people make when they are all engaged. Part fo this is fomr school, I have no worries stood in fornt of the classes, the year groups or the whole school, even on stage has no worries for me. I do my best and that all I can do, so speaking has few worries, I will add total unknowns sacres me, and I alwasy worry some one brighter or more knowledable may stand up and challeneg me. But those fears are nice and normal. Had to do a slot at our last meeting and did mine off the cuff! :-) which was fun and a great challenge! I have said I shall speak at the next Umbrella in 2013 If I have a topic that I can share and be passionate about.
I enjoy teh shareing that goes on at conferences and meetings, I have plans for a mashup which will be in easter 2013 in inverness so watch out for more info to follow. I think I may have a venue! I also have some who already are interested! But I need to soting it out now so mext weekend I shall go down and talk to my potential venue and see if I can either get funding or sponsorship to make it a free event! (bring a packed lunch though as I doubt I can get much) So I am not sure how I would class this thing? Like most others it is an ongoing thing! I may organise an event in inverness for the CPD23 but it would have to be in the october break and that may be too late! I shall see :-).

CPD Thing #14

And again on the heels of 13 comes 14!
Thing #14, Zotero / Mendeley / citeulike Tools for use.
I had problems with these as I don't have download on to my computer at work and try not to make too many changes between home and work so I can keep everything the same. Zotero is firefox based with some chrome and safari, all of which I don't use!
Mendeley also needs a download which I may yet try as I like the scribble on PDFs idea, I use a lot of PDFs to keep my files neat and to keep work organised esp at home so this would allow me to add and change ideas with out re-editing all the document.
Overall this was the thing I thought I would get least out if at this time :-) But after going through it I may yet have some use for it :-) just shows that by doing even the ones you think wont have any return for you, you get more out of this. Thank you CPD23!

CPD Thing #13

On the heels of Thing #12 comes Thing #13, Google Docs, Wikis & Dropbox.

I enjoyed using Google documents and had a lot of papers I was working on that I sent back and for to home, but as I used it I found it stripped the coding's and formatting off, I realise it isn't word and need to simplify things but when I spent an hour getting the layout right and then sent to good docs for work, when I arrived in the morning and pulled it down it was all messy again, and I didn't have time to get it right! very annoying. Up in Scotland we have a system called Glow that is an online email and forums and many other things tool, I have document space that I now use for this that keeps it as I uploaded, I went to all the trouble of matching home and work computers to stop this happening so will keep using glow for now to save things as I wanted them, also allows me to send things and keep them formatted!
I haven't used dropbox as it asked for a download and the machines at work don't allow that! that was why I liked google, I still use it but not much.
I do like the idea of a wiki and may get one running to help the QI groups I am part of to share information and keep abreast of changes. I shall blog more of this when I get time to make one (ah time that strange and missing thing, I have a host of things to do when I have time!)

Thing #12

I am behind as I thought I would be, so I am rolling several together and I shall do the same again later int he week :-).

Thing #12 putting the social into social media, reflect on how you put the social into your social media use.
I started using twitter and being more social on facebook after doing these tasks in last years CPD23, and while I was very wary at first I now love my social media, so much I am currently looking into a phone that allows me to keep my access to twitter etc while I am out and about, to lift it from my work computer or home computer to a life tool! I started very carefully and didn't sign up for loads of tweets, I haven't signed up for everything and sold my soul on media, but I am gradually finding my first non work task is to check twitter, my last task before bed is check facebook and then sign out and shut down, My interaction with the 'real world' of library has increased. I asked a twitter friend for an idea and he sent me some, I loved it and shared it to colleagues and found out the twitter friend is a cutting edge guru! and I just found him nice and useful! I chat to all sorts and it has helped my professional side as well as playing the pun books game Friday lunchtime with @scottishbktrust and I see articles like this http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/2012/08/how-many-new-libraries-are-being-built-3.html which is so part of the wider profession, keep abreast of this while living further north than Moscow, and being closer to Oslo than London is hard with out social media. As a mentor I am keen to promote interaction with the wider profession, we do get locked in our little boxes, Public library highland, school library highland, long way from anywhere, long dark winter nights, wrap up warm and no one understands! Being a part of the rest of the library world isn't a location thing anymore and we can gain so much from social media, and be able to contribute no matter where we are.

I did plan to roll several things together but now I will leave this to stand alone. Social Media isn't a toy but a tool to open the world, and to participate in it.