Well, I have reached Week 21 and the 21 Lunges program has come to an end. It has been a long time coming (especially for my mentor Daniel, I am sure). I have been interrupted, distracted and diverted. However, despite some procrastination along the way, the journey has absoulutely been worth it. I didn't enjoy the amount of reading involved in the earlier stages of the program, but all the video clips really helped. My personal favourite modules were Blogs, Social Networks and Photos. I refer to all my favourites in an earlier post which quotes from a speech that I am about to give at ALIA09. I also talk about what I can use in the Library - this includes podcasts and vodcasts, Wikis and Survey Monkey, mashups and Groups. Amongs the things that were completely new to me were Digg, Technorati and Yahoo pipes. Also, I wasn't expecting to start learning about Web 3.0 when I am still mastering and practising new skills and applications in Web 2.0.
Daniel and I have discussed at length what might make this a better progam, particularly as we undertook this as a reverse mentoring - one-on-one learning journey. Shorter would be better, both in module content and number of modules - or self selected modules, so that you could skip over ones you already knew a lot about or used (and I felt constrained to do them all in order and thoroughly).
However, it has been a great experience, so a big thank you to all who wrote the modules and undertook to guide the Library staff through the proram as Library site 'champions'. And additonal thanks to Daniel, for not only the mentoring, but for helping to create and realise the further opportunity of writing about our experiences and presenting them as a paper at the ALIA09 conference in Adelaide in September 2009. Tomorrow, the world!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Web 3.0
For week 20 my homework was to read up on what comes after Web 2.0. It's a huge, huge field. As part of my research was searching for the term 'the semantic web', I found the following reference in the The Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography. In 1999, Berners-Lee became the first 3Com Founders professor at MIT, with a joint appointment in the school of engineering and the computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory (CSAIL). In 2004 he was appointed to a chair in computer science at the University of Southampton, UK, where he pursues the development of the ‘semantic web’, a hypertext Web that ‘understands’ the content of documents with the help of specific annotation.
Lists polls and....
Week 19 saw me engaging with 43 things. I played around with a couple of goals and here is my link: http://www.43things.com/person/robynsreflections
IM, Skype and Chat
Week 18 was reading all about VOIP and Skype and since the homework couldn’t be done on site, I tried it offsite. Skype is a great way to connect with family and friends who live a long way away.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Forums, groups and networking
Week 17 was fascinating. I looked at all of the recommended sites and looked at particular professions such as aerospace engineering (50 groups on Google Groups 1328 on Yahoo Groups )
and librarians (375 on Google Groups 1156 on Yahoo! Groups ). So much choice, so little time.
It is a bit concerning that I couldn’t find anyone I knew of on LinkedIn or Spoke, I must mix in the wrong professional circles. I will think up some more names and have another go.
and librarians (375 on Google Groups 1156 on Yahoo! Groups ). So much choice, so little time.
It is a bit concerning that I couldn’t find anyone I knew of on LinkedIn or Spoke, I must mix in the wrong professional circles. I will think up some more names and have another go.
Online image generators, tools & widgets
Week 16 is all about Online image generators, tools & widgets and I have spent some time on Sclipo, but am a little frustrated by the lack of quality in the entries. It seems anyone can set up as an authority and there is not as much material as I had hoped for an academic community. There were 5 courses for engineering and 2 for biology, none of which were inspiring. I have signed up – maybe I can add some content in my spare time!
Like Catherine, I have had trouble with yahoo pipes. I have checked out some great ideas, but not been able to run my own. One that I found OK was http://pipes.yahoo.com/brian/GLEvgE153BGfQ1cmEpPZnA (Add Images to any RSS Feed).
I was far more interested on this topic in Survey Monkey, which I have used before and have recommended to others in the Library (and which was subequently used in a staff survey).
I also want to explore more on Bubbl.us I signed up and played around with making visual representations and interconnections with the projects and people I am working with. It was helpful and I will use it again.
Like Catherine, I have had trouble with yahoo pipes. I have checked out some great ideas, but not been able to run my own. One that I found OK was http://pipes.yahoo.com/brian/GLEvgE153BGfQ1cmEpPZnA (Add Images to any RSS Feed).
I was far more interested on this topic in Survey Monkey, which I have used before and have recommended to others in the Library (and which was subequently used in a staff survey).
I also want to explore more on Bubbl.us I signed up and played around with making visual representations and interconnections with the projects and people I am working with. It was helpful and I will use it again.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Photos
Week 15 focuses on photos and my homework is 'go to an image hosting site and do a search for something that interests you and post a link to it on your blog'. So I searched for a charity on Flickr that does incredible work. Here is the link. Enjoy. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=samaritans+purse If you want to know more about the organisation in Australia go to: http://www.samaritanspurse.org.au/
What I think of the program so far
For Week 14, our homework is give feedback on the program so far.
For me, the journey has been long, interrupted and not without challenges, a few of which I have written about in previous blogs. To recap, I have been doing the program out of sync with the original timing, so a number of links were broken, a few sites were no longer active and I grew frustrated with having to sign up for and log into multiple sites – remembering user names and passwords and just generally navigating around.
One of the major reasons why my progress through the program has been delayed, is that Daniel (my site champion) and I had taken a different approach when I had asked him for help. We began with his help on a one on one basis, but then structured it more formally with meeting times in a meeting room where he could spend more time explaining, demonstrating and giving encouragement (he is good at that!). It became a reverse mentoring that took on a life of its own. Although we weren't always able to stick to the meeting schedule, we persevered alongside the parallel challenge of the reverse mentoring relationship.
As I have mentioned, we decided to write a paper about our experience and this has taken a significant amount of our time and energy. In fact, it became more important than the program itself in terms of having to meet deadlines and submit progressively the written paper (nearly 5,000 words), prepare a powerpoint and prepare and practice the combined talk we are giving at the ALIA09 conference in just 6 days time.
So what I have thought of the program so far, is that is truly leads to so much more. I am quoting from part of our prepared talk when I say”..[the benefits include] confidence and increased competence in Web 2.0 for me and a learning and empowering experience for Daniel…The most positive outcome for us was that Web 2.0 was a catalyst for the strengthening of our professional relationship.
[Fot the actual program] (and looking ahead to Weeks 15 -21) Tools on sites such as Sclipo, bubbl.us and SurveyMonkey have uses for our Library. The more enjoyable elements such as signing up to Facebook and communicating via messages and chat resulted in a greater understanding of how our students, not to mention my own children, choose this medium to contact others. Using image hosting services such as Flickr and ImageShack extended my skills and presence in cyberspace and once I was into Skype, there was no stopping me. The complete 21 Lunges program contains so much more and is worthy of transferring or adapting to other library staff learning situations. Some modules are more relevant that others, but all were interesting'. This quote from our prepared talk jumps ahead to the areas I have already looked at - but as Daniel keeps reminding me - I need to document it all via my blog as homework. So I will do a few final posts to demonstrate that I have in fact finished and that I am ready to apply the skills I have learnt in my work situation.
For me, the journey has been long, interrupted and not without challenges, a few of which I have written about in previous blogs. To recap, I have been doing the program out of sync with the original timing, so a number of links were broken, a few sites were no longer active and I grew frustrated with having to sign up for and log into multiple sites – remembering user names and passwords and just generally navigating around.
One of the major reasons why my progress through the program has been delayed, is that Daniel (my site champion) and I had taken a different approach when I had asked him for help. We began with his help on a one on one basis, but then structured it more formally with meeting times in a meeting room where he could spend more time explaining, demonstrating and giving encouragement (he is good at that!). It became a reverse mentoring that took on a life of its own. Although we weren't always able to stick to the meeting schedule, we persevered alongside the parallel challenge of the reverse mentoring relationship.
As I have mentioned, we decided to write a paper about our experience and this has taken a significant amount of our time and energy. In fact, it became more important than the program itself in terms of having to meet deadlines and submit progressively the written paper (nearly 5,000 words), prepare a powerpoint and prepare and practice the combined talk we are giving at the ALIA09 conference in just 6 days time.
So what I have thought of the program so far, is that is truly leads to so much more. I am quoting from part of our prepared talk when I say”..[the benefits include] confidence and increased competence in Web 2.0 for me and a learning and empowering experience for Daniel…The most positive outcome for us was that Web 2.0 was a catalyst for the strengthening of our professional relationship.
[Fot the actual program] (and looking ahead to Weeks 15 -21) Tools on sites such as Sclipo, bubbl.us and SurveyMonkey have uses for our Library. The more enjoyable elements such as signing up to Facebook and communicating via messages and chat resulted in a greater understanding of how our students, not to mention my own children, choose this medium to contact others. Using image hosting services such as Flickr and ImageShack extended my skills and presence in cyberspace and once I was into Skype, there was no stopping me. The complete 21 Lunges program contains so much more and is worthy of transferring or adapting to other library staff learning situations. Some modules are more relevant that others, but all were interesting'. This quote from our prepared talk jumps ahead to the areas I have already looked at - but as Daniel keeps reminding me - I need to document it all via my blog as homework. So I will do a few final posts to demonstrate that I have in fact finished and that I am ready to apply the skills I have learnt in my work situation.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Getting back on track
After quite a gap, due to commitments at work and co-writing a paper for ALIA09, I am getting back on track and doing the required postings for finishing the 21 Lunges program. I actually read ahead and investigated all the recommended sites, but neglected to do my homework and post my observations on my blog. So, now it’s catch up time and Daniel will be monitoring this to keep me on track and headed towards the finish line.
Week 13 has seen me looking at mapping and mashups. I looked at the examples of mashups provided and of course have seen them when looking at interactive maps. I found an interactive map of flights in and out of the Netherlands and today when following my AFL team, live action tracking players across the oval. I started considering the application for our library and I would really like to pursue the possibility of our current print maps (of different site libraries) being online with the capability of mousing over and having pop up views of the actual site and position in the library, with maybe a few words of explanation.
Week 13 has seen me looking at mapping and mashups. I looked at the examples of mashups provided and of course have seen them when looking at interactive maps. I found an interactive map of flights in and out of the Netherlands and today when following my AFL team, live action tracking players across the oval. I started considering the application for our library and I would really like to pursue the possibility of our current print maps (of different site libraries) being online with the capability of mousing over and having pop up views of the actual site and position in the library, with maybe a few words of explanation.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Article sites
Week 12 sees me investigate buzzle.com and I am amazed at the variety of information and opinions. I checked out some of the links to particular topics listed on the 21 lunges site and immediately found the Study Tips and Techniques helpful for the Uni course I am undertaking. I read about Strange cat behavior, checked out a few jokes and looked at some more serious news. They are all short articles of varied authenticity. I found it interesting, though.
Social videos and entertainment
In week 11, I spent too much time on YouTube
(this is one of my favourites) and TeacherTube. The latter will be helpful for my daughter ho has started her teaching course. I have saved GodTube for Sunday! (Actually I did check it out and it’s url is now http://www.tangle.com )
I signed up to Squidoo (by this time I have signed up to more things than I think I can keep track of, doing this program) and started to look through the craft pages for ideas for Girls Brigade. Again, more time is needed.
I must say though, that whilst I had been feeling overwhelmed with all the new Web2.0 tools, I am equally excited by the expanding possibilities that I never knew were waiting for me. Thanks Daniel, and all the team behind the 21 lunges program for what you have created, to bridge that gap for me and others. I am hooked!
(this is one of my favourites) and TeacherTube. The latter will be helpful for my daughter ho has started her teaching course. I have saved GodTube for Sunday! (Actually I did check it out and it’s url is now http://www.tangle.com )
I signed up to Squidoo (by this time I have signed up to more things than I think I can keep track of, doing this program) and started to look through the craft pages for ideas for Girls Brigade. Again, more time is needed.
I must say though, that whilst I had been feeling overwhelmed with all the new Web2.0 tools, I am equally excited by the expanding possibilities that I never knew were waiting for me. Thanks Daniel, and all the team behind the 21 lunges program for what you have created, to bridge that gap for me and others. I am hooked!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Blog guides and catchers
During Week 10, I became immersed in searches on Technorati but found it OK when searching basic terms such as libraries (99,511 results) but frustrating when I was looking for more obscure things. Like Gary, I also looked up an author and then I diverted onto a Jane Austen fan blog. I have subscribed, but time is my enemy. I think I will find Technorati more useful after I reflect on exactly what is the best investment of my time.
Social bookmarking and tagging
I explored the intricacies of social bookmarking and tagging during Week 9 of the 21 lunges program and could immediately see uses for it, personally and professionally. I opened a del.cio.us account, but as usual, ran into password problems when I came back to it. I may have mentioned before, that I enthusiastically sign up to many and varied sites and then get bogged down with simple things like passwords. But I persevered and tried again and now I have some urls bookmarked. See http://delicious.com/robynsreflections I am going to ask Daniel to guide me through creating a tagcloud, when we have time. It’s not a priority at the moment – writing that paper is!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Digging It
Doing the reading for Week 8, I found that as with many other sites, Digg can consume enormous amounts of time and effort. A competitive streak as well as something genuinely interesting to say is essential.
I investigated the Digg website and was immediately immersed in articles on Baby Boomers, Michael Jackson and skin cancer (the latter two not linked).
I could sort by category, by most recent and by most popular. The more I discover in Web 2.0, the more time I want to spend exploring, contributing and enjoying.
I investigated the Digg website and was immediately immersed in articles on Baby Boomers, Michael Jackson and skin cancer (the latter two not linked).
I could sort by category, by most recent and by most popular. The more I discover in Web 2.0, the more time I want to spend exploring, contributing and enjoying.
The Multitasking Generation
I read this brief article as part of my homework for Week 7 and the snapshot of this family could almost be holding up a mirror to my own. I have 3 adult children who are all studying and whilst one of them is studying Computer Science (Games Technology) and claims a legitimate use of the computer for this purpose, the other 2 use the computer and other communication devices simultaneously and efficiently. I do marvel at them! I find their attention span is different from other generations, whilst they all read a lot for leisure and study, it is itermitttently and rotationally. I find myself contacting them from outside the home via text or Facebook, they always have several applications open on the computer and communicate both locally and internationally. Often they are ahead of the news services with information and breaking stories and have wide and varied contacts online, without having ever met those contacts. I never underestimate their ability to juggle many sources, which means that when I am assisting students of a similar ages with reference queries, I am tuned into their method of working.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Social Networking
After investigating MySpace and Facebook in Week 6, I signed up for Facebook. I was unsure at first about using my RMIT e-mail, so I used my gmail account and then ran into password problems that took quite a bit of to and froing. I nearly gave up! But with help, I started again, this time using my rmit e-mail and so I now have 2 Facebook accounts - is that against the rules? I also discovered the fun of chatting online, which could be distracting at work! I have uploaded my photo and found some friends. I haven't used it a lot so far, since I can see how much time and energy it can take, but once I have finished the formal part of the 21 lunges program, I plan on spending more time on it. There are lots of friends out there!
Holidays are great, but back to work soon
I have returned south of the border, but am still on holidays for one final week. It is definitely cooler, so I have foregone the swims at the beach and the walks while the air is still balmy at sunset. Instead, I have logged on and am tackling my homework for the 21 lunges program. I decided to go back over what I had already done (as I have stretched it out so long) and make sure I had completed all the tasks in order. I had for a while been carried away with practising all the things that were new to me, so ably demonstrated by Daniel, that I realised I hadn't actually commented on them on my blog as I am supposed to.
So, here goes.
Way back in Week 4 (yes, I did complete it earlier this year), I discovered the inner working of podcasts. I think they are great and have seen how useful they already are for the library. There are 21 currently available to listen to, and I think we could add more!. There is a new one for Brunswick Library, how about one for Bundooora? We have some specialised collections eg Childrens, that could rate a special spiel.
I do refer new students to these podcasts, also the vodcasts we have available. They are a great resource. There are only 3 vodcasts at present, I think there should be more and I would be happy to help produce them.
But before I go on...................Just an addtional comment about my progress through the lunges. Daniel had warned me that since the program was no longer actively maintained, a number of the links no longer worked. I found this to be true, but he was one step ahead of me, checking, fixing where possible and suggesting alternatives for others. So thanks for that!
I might add that I had a lot of frustrations throughout the program. A lot of it was definitely self-imposed, as I wanted to read absolutely everything on each topic and found the amount of time involved almost overwhelming and too hard to fit into work time. It spilt over into limited time at home (due to study and community commitments) and stretched the program out almost never endingly. Also, I kept getting side tracked, following up interesting side topics and straying away from the original content. Fascinating, but not productive for finishing the program. I also embraced the new experiences so thoroughly I got distracted - for example by Facebook. But most frustratingly, I had a lot of problems with logins and keeping track of the multitude of applications I got involved in. Sometimes, it all seemed too hard, but Daniel would steer me back on track and I would find it would find perserverance rewarding. Finally, as referred to earlier, time was the most precious commodity that I had trouble managing. Daniel and I discussed this and we endeavoured to schedule regular times to review my progress and for one to one mentoring. It was evident that without this (and I am aware that my motivation wavered), I would not be headed towards the finish line.
Of course, our decision to 'pitch' for a conference paper has focussed me more on the task. I will have finished the program before I return from holidays and then we will concentrate on writing the paper. Some of the thoughts I have just put down may be included!
Moving onto Week 5, I delved into the delight of wikis. I had used one before for a collaborative ATN project, so it wasn't completely new. I have edited a page and it all came back to me easily.
I am just having a short break away from the computer as we have a new member of the family wanting attention. We adopted a cat called Felix yesterday.
Back soon.
So, here goes.
Way back in Week 4 (yes, I did complete it earlier this year), I discovered the inner working of podcasts. I think they are great and have seen how useful they already are for the library. There are 21 currently available to listen to, and I think we could add more!. There is a new one for Brunswick Library, how about one for Bundooora? We have some specialised collections eg Childrens, that could rate a special spiel.
I do refer new students to these podcasts, also the vodcasts we have available. They are a great resource. There are only 3 vodcasts at present, I think there should be more and I would be happy to help produce them.
But before I go on...................Just an addtional comment about my progress through the lunges. Daniel had warned me that since the program was no longer actively maintained, a number of the links no longer worked. I found this to be true, but he was one step ahead of me, checking, fixing where possible and suggesting alternatives for others. So thanks for that!
I might add that I had a lot of frustrations throughout the program. A lot of it was definitely self-imposed, as I wanted to read absolutely everything on each topic and found the amount of time involved almost overwhelming and too hard to fit into work time. It spilt over into limited time at home (due to study and community commitments) and stretched the program out almost never endingly. Also, I kept getting side tracked, following up interesting side topics and straying away from the original content. Fascinating, but not productive for finishing the program. I also embraced the new experiences so thoroughly I got distracted - for example by Facebook. But most frustratingly, I had a lot of problems with logins and keeping track of the multitude of applications I got involved in. Sometimes, it all seemed too hard, but Daniel would steer me back on track and I would find it would find perserverance rewarding. Finally, as referred to earlier, time was the most precious commodity that I had trouble managing. Daniel and I discussed this and we endeavoured to schedule regular times to review my progress and for one to one mentoring. It was evident that without this (and I am aware that my motivation wavered), I would not be headed towards the finish line.
Of course, our decision to 'pitch' for a conference paper has focussed me more on the task. I will have finished the program before I return from holidays and then we will concentrate on writing the paper. Some of the thoughts I have just put down may be included!
Moving onto Week 5, I delved into the delight of wikis. I had used one before for a collaborative ATN project, so it wasn't completely new. I have edited a page and it all came back to me easily.
I am just having a short break away from the computer as we have a new member of the family wanting attention. We adopted a cat called Felix yesterday.
Back soon.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
On holidays
I am enjoying a very relaxing holiday with lots of walks along the beach and catching up with family and friends. I have been doing my homework for my Uni course and have completed all the course work for semester 1. I am now starting the reading for Semester 2 and am ahead of schedule, so now I am turning my attention back to completing the 21 lunges program - much to my mentor Daniel's relief I am sure. I have been practising various things and have just showed my husband how to setup a blog. Check out ramasramblings.blogspot.com
So for the remainder of this week, I am putting my head down and plan to power through the remainder of the program if possible, before leaving here and heading further north for another few weeks of rest and relaxation before returning south to cooler climes. Meantime 23 deg celsius suits me just fine, sitting on a balcony overloking the pool, tapping out these few words.
Until next time..............
So for the remainder of this week, I am putting my head down and plan to power through the remainder of the program if possible, before leaving here and heading further north for another few weeks of rest and relaxation before returning south to cooler climes. Meantime 23 deg celsius suits me just fine, sitting on a balcony overloking the pool, tapping out these few words.
Until next time..............
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Hanging in there
Daniel has been trying to keep me on track to finish the 21 lunges program. He has been encouraging me by arranging weekly meetings and taking the time to further explain content and review websites that will assist me in my learning journey.
Our good news is that we will be presenting together on the topic of Reverse Mentoring - the process of me learning about Web 2.0 under his tutelage and then putting it into practice - at a conference in Adelaide in September 2009
I still have a way to go to finish the program, but am already pretty sure of the content of my contribution. Procrastination will be mentioned I am sure!
Our good news is that we will be presenting together on the topic of Reverse Mentoring - the process of me learning about Web 2.0 under his tutelage and then putting it into practice - at a conference in Adelaide in September 2009
I still have a way to go to finish the program, but am already pretty sure of the content of my contribution. Procrastination will be mentioned I am sure!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Keeping on track
Although it's been a while since my last post - I have been busy! Semester has started and it has meant lots of introductory classes for new students. I have benefitted from Daniel's one on one instructions regarding RSS and news feeds, now I am immersed in the possibilities of Google Reader. So far I have subscribed to the Annoyed Librarian and News from RMIT University Library. I'm keeping it small, managable and selective.
Now it's onto the delights of Podcasts...........I can hardly wait!
Now it's onto the delights of Podcasts...........I can hardly wait!
Monday, January 12, 2009
After a busy semester since my last post (work secondment) and a daughter finishing her Year 12 (successfully), I am now back on track to complete my 21 Lunges with Daniel's encouragement and mentoring. I hope to gallop to the finish line, so that we can write a joint proposal in late January for a conference later this year in Adelaide. Let's take it one step at a time.
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