New directions

Just come back from a presentation about Prezi, a fun non-linear way to present information.  Can't wait to get started - for inductions and other training ideas.  Maybe the students won't fall asleep quite so quickly now.

Moving on!

Yes, A homage to my favourite composer - there may be other references scattered around.
How to build up a record of professional thoughts?  This is my next task.

 There's been a glut of children's book award listings (either being awarded or lists announced)  Roald Dahl - Costa and the wonderful CILIP Carnegie/Greenaway too.  A busy time checking that there are copies in stock of those that we can use; as well as the little local irritation that I can't justify buying all those tantalising titles on the Carnegie listing as many of them are aimed at children/Young Adults - not our primary target age range.  Oh well, I'll get to read them sometimes.  I am going to prioritise The Hunger games series though, and the Paolini ones - neither of which I have read and about which there is so much discussion.  (Forthcoming film and the latest in the sequence making such an impact - does everyone choose their "emergency reading" like this?)

Now inductions etc have finished and having just undertaken some library skills training from a course where I am the student, not delivering the session, has made me reflect on my own practice.  In essence I think I need to build in "some familiarity time" for the layout and needs of each database.  Whether that is in the tabled session or by some means outside it - (not just handouts, but interactive quizzes and using technology more imaginatively etc) I'll have to investigate.

Now the thing is over - what next?

Strangely after being so resistant to blogging and any other form of communicating on the web (apart from strictly professional, work reasons,) I may just try to keep this running as a form of cpd running evaluation.  My older word document is very unwieldy and this may just keep my interest going.

I'll try to add some more interesting "gadgets" - a few more blogs that I follow (although I see them from my RSS feed, so is this just duplication or a way of declaring my interests to others? - which pre-supposes that anyone else looks at this!) and try to make it a little more dynamic and interesting rather than purely reflective naval gazing.

My next task is to really get the most out of Twitter.  Let's see how it goes ...

Thing 23, Reflection

So, did this do what I had anticipated?  Yes, it did, introducing me to new tools for working via the web.  It also gave me an opportunity to reflect on other aspects of career development which I hadn't envisaged doing at this stage, so it was useful to have the "space"  and encouragement to do so.  Looking at other's blogs gave me a chance to see how they were interacting with various networks and what could be gained from each one, thus providing a useful guide to see what I might be able to use effectively.

I shall definitely take away with me some new (to me) technologies to use; Evernote, Google Docs and Zotero are among my favourites. I still intend to experiment a little more with Twitter and whether I continue to blog may be a matter of not only having something useful to say, but also the time to maintain a credible presence.

A six word "story" ?
New technologies; better working, reinvigorated thinking.

Thank you for an interesting summer

Thing 21 and Thing 22

As we're nearing the end of the programme work life is becoming busy, so I'm putting both of these together.
It's a timely reminder to maintain the "info for cv" document that I have by updating it now as I'm learning new skills both at work and over the summer (including this little project!).  Thank you for jogging my memory.
Life is a little busy at the moment, but I've found that volunteering has brought me new skills (and the confidence to use them in different settings) which I've been able to transfer into my work.  However, that was a while back in a very different economic climate,  I would now look very hard at any volunteering description to make certain that it complements the main business of the organisation and doesn't undermine the need for qualified (and remunerated) staff.

Thing 20 - Library Routes

Having previously commented about how I got here in Thing 10, I used this time to have a better look around the Library Routes project.  I've not contributed to a wiki before, so took this opportunity to see how it works.  On reflection the only thing I can say is that I'm incredibly lucky that, having worked in so many sectors I can still be interacting daily with users and learn new things ( no pun intended).  Our profession is so varied and constantly evolving that there is absolutely no chance that what I'm paid to do each day becomes tedious or mind numbingly boring.  You can take your career in lots of different directions just by being open to possibilities and transferring skills from one sector to another can be really useful.

Thing 17 - Prezi and slideshare

In common with many other people I like Prezi.  It allows you to create a contemporary feel to the visual element of your presentation, emphasising how each individual element is part of the whole and how they relate to each other.  ( I feel very much at home with this concept as I've never been that good at creating linear structures!)  What did impress me was the clarity that it will bring to my presentation planning and the ways that you can draw the audience through the narrative, and by zooming, not lose the overall picture.  I can also see the benefits of visually representing the importance of concepts by size of font - they are there but greater attention can be given to the ideas when needed - not overwhelming all the time.  It may also generate the feeling of a much more "spontaneous delivery" of a talk, as it appears a little less like notes for a written speech and more in line with sharing images and ideas.  That said, the ideas still have to be there in the first place!  I think that many of the points that are made in "steal this presentation!"  still apply to using Prezi though - if I can combine the two people may just stay awake during my talks?

I've only really encountered Slideshare when lecturers have been kind enough to share their presentations to be seen again after the event.  A very valuable opportunity to reflect on any learning points.   
(I really hope virtual cvs don't becoming required - I found that example incredibly superficial, with not enough factual information to back up a serious application.  Marketing glitz irritates me anyway and there does need to be some substance to what is presented.)