Collaboration in the cloud

Hurrah! Thing 13 and nearly caught up at last.

This Thing is looking at ways of working in collaboration on documents using Google Documents and Dropbox.

When I looked at my Google Docs account there were already some documents in there which I had downloaded from other people. Who knew? I experimentally edited one of these and I didn't at first realise that I was editing an actual document that someone had made available for all to read - oops. Think I managed not to do anything too drastic though and hopefully restored it to it's previous format using the option to view revisions. I then created a document using the Family Finance template and shared it with some family members.

I then had a look at Skydrive. This is a Microsoft product which appears to do the same as Google Docs. I had to set up yet another Windows Live account as I can't remember the details of any previous ones. I created and uploaded some documents to this and shared them. The controls on Skydrive allow you to set who can view a document and also who can edit.

I could see little real difference between Skydrive and Google Docs except the storage limit is higher on Skydrive -  25GB as opposed to 1024 MB.

I can see some possibilities for using either of these for collaborative working. Things like writing multi-site guides would be easier using these, although a much more likely use is moving things between home and work. I need to try accessing both services at work to see if this works smoothly.

With both services I'm concerned about version control and the possibility of idiots like me making accidental changes to documents.

Because of NHS rules about data security I don't think there's much point in trying to use Dropbox. There's no way of downloading an app to a work computer and I can't see any possibility of adding a shared folder in Outlook.

I have had a look at PBworks - one of the other cpd23er has written about using a Wiki for booking training - I think I can see a way of doing this and will investigate further.

Community or Clique?

In this post I am going to attempt to answer the questions posted by Claire Sewell on the 23 Things For Professional Development Blog Thing 12

Are there any other advantages to social networking in the context of professional development than those already outlined above?

I think the article covers the main advantages. Some things which occur to me as kind of subsidiary advantages are that social networks allow even shy people to network and that even solo workers can make contacts.

Can you think of any disadvantages?

Social networks are an incredible time sink. If I were working I’m not sure I would have been able to participate as fully.

They also emphasise a kind of digital divide. In many workplaces (I’m thinking local authority and NHS here) lots of these tools are just blocked. Whatever the very compelling arguments for them not being blocked the fact remains that for the worker bee librarian on the ground they are not accessible. You can access them in your own time but this is not quite the same as being able to reach out for professional contact at the point of need. I have the impression that less blocking takes place in HE and commercial libraries which may or may not be better resourced. I think it's not a funding issue so much as an openness and access one.

Photo of Worker Bee on Thistle Courtesy Of IrishViews.com

By the way, you can get Worker Bee Librarian T-shirts

here

Fantastic.

Has CPD23 helped you to make contact with others that you would not have had contact with normally?

Yes, to an extent. I’m still a bit cautious about cyberly approaching people I don't know, but I've been doing more commenting on people's blogs than I would have done before.

Did you already use social media for your career development before starting CPD23? Will you keep using it after the programme has finished?

No, I didn’t use social networks except for my minimal profile on LinkedIn. I’m certainly going to retain and use my Twitter account (although see above about workplace blocking)

In your opinion does social networking really help to foster a sense of community?

I’m not sure about this. I think it may foster a lot of small communities which from the outside can look a bit clique-y. Once you’ve engaged, that cliquishness disappears. Of course, anyone reading this blog will know I’m not the most social person in the world. However, I have added a few more people to my Twitter list this week so that’s a start!

Mentors and Mentoring

I've never had a mentor - this seems rather sad now I spell it out. Not sure why. Either I've worked in a succession of organisations which did not have a mentoring culture or I'm such a prickly character no one felt able to offer any advice. Or both. I think it's something I've missed and as mentioned in my post on my career path I think I would have benefited tremendously in my early career from someone taking an interest in my progression. It seems unlikely that I will find one now - but you never know.

Conversely, I've tried really hard to offer informal mentoring where I think it's needed. I am a trained CILIP mentor and have  formally mentored 3 candidates. I think I have been responsible for inspiring at least one person to take up a course in librarianship. I see this as something I owe to the profession, which by and large has been a good one for me.

Because being a mentor encourages open discussion of professional issues it can probably be as valuable as having a mentor. Your mentee can bring a fresh outlook on problems and can help you clarify your own position. A win all round.

My brilliant career (rather long)

For Thing 10 we are asked to blog about our career so far, how we got here and where we are going. I'm afraid mine is rather long, because I am old!

The blog title is a quotation from a book title by the way http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brilliant-Career-Virago-Modern-Classics/dp/0860681939/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313497456&sr=8-1

I always wanted to work with books. My earliest ambition was to be a poet, but this was not a terribly practical way to earn a living. I did however take an undergraduate course in Librarianship at Brighton Polytechnic (as was). This course ran alongside the Library Association 2 year course for a couple of years until the profession became entirely graduate. I'm not sure at this distance of time what was in the course to distinguish it from the LA Diploma. I was accepted onto the course with no library experience and I suspect as a result of this I found it extremely dry and hard going. The course did not offer an honours option, which bugged me for quite a long time, as people tended to assume I'd failed the honours bit. 

After graduating I found a library assistant post at Middlesex Polytechnic (as was). In retrospect I was extremely fortunate but at the time I thought I should have gone straight into a professional post and was probably not a good employee. After this I did find my way into a variety of professional posts mainly in HE and Chartered in 1981. At that point you didn't need to present any evidence except getting your experience signed off by a senior colleague. I have an ambivalent attitude to this - it was easy but I think even after 4 years experience I was probably not a really mature professional and maybe having to do something like the current Chartership would have helped me.

At some point in the late 1980s I started to feel that my skills were getting out of date and topped up my qualifications with an MA from City University in Librarianship and Arts Administration. They don't offer that course anymore but I found it a fantastically enriching experience. The Librarianship bits brought my IT skills up to date and the Arts Administration bits on topics like "Audiences through the ages" and "Popular Arts" were completely new and fascinating. My dissertation was less so, but I did manage to battle through and submit.

That pass degree in Librarianship continued to niggle though so in the 1990s I decided to study something I was really interested in and started a part-time BA in English Literature at my local University. In spite of producing twins while studying I completed this in 7 years with a 2.1. I  also took a 2 year break in employment while the twins were young.

When the children started school I went back into employment in the HE sector, doing a variety of maternity cover and temp jobs until getting something permanent. I moved from being a business studies subject specialist to working at Imperial College in the post grad. biology/environmental sciences library. This enabled me to more easily try something different and obtain a post in a Healthcare Library at Wexham Park Hospital which would probably not have happened without the Imperial College experience.

While working at Wexham I was able to undertake the PTLLS and CTLLS teaching qualifications. Annoyingly, I never managed to convince my tutor that librarians undertake what they call a full teaching role so was not able to take the DTLLS which includes much of the more interesting educational theory. Then in May 2011 I was made redundant. This was a huge blow, and made me really take stock of my skills and think about marketing myself at which I am not good.

I am now shortly to start a post in another healthcare Library. I am very grateful to have a job but it does feel as if I'm starting on the bottom rung again. I am not sure where my career can go after this. Realistically, I am around 10 years from retirement, so who's going to promote me or give me a challenging post? Perhaps my role now is to encourage younger professionals and get involved in outside work stuff? 

Getting organised - not particularly.

I'm covering Things 8 & 9 in this post - both personal organisation tools and both left me a bit so what?

Google calendar

Yes, it's a calendar. I'm used to using an Outlook calendar at work and I can't see a way of sharing or uploading an Outlook calendar to Google which would be a really useful facility. I combine the Outlook calendar with a paper diary and provided I remember to "synch" them both it all works ok.

I see some libraries are using Google Calendar to share opening hours with users, which seems handy, but I'm not sure it's any better or easier than keeping your web page updated. Having said that, the widget on the cpd23 blog which lists all the past and forthcoming topics, plus meetups and links to the full calendar, looks very smart, and is useful. Once I'm back in work I can really imagine using this for listing training courses for example. It does have the huge advantage that nothing needs to be installed on the pc.

Perhaps I'm just not exciting enough in my private life to need a calendar The more I think about this though, the more I think maybe there would be uses if only... I could workout how to get my pink phone to connect to the web... I could be bothered to type in appointments on the tiny onscreen keyboard...I had a really exciting social life.

I signed up for this but I just cannot see what I'd be likely to use it for. I see some bloggers getting very excitied about the possibilitites but...

I'm clearly missing something, but perhaps I just don't have the problems which Evernote was set up to solve. In addition, I'm still not clear whether you need to download something - this is of course an impossibility for NHS people.

In the cpd23 blog comments some asks about using Mendeley - I can certainly see a use for reference management software and this is coming up later on.

Catching up

Managed to blog 3 times this week - still not caught up, but it's interesting to see that there's a mixture of those behind and those keeping up.

Let’s get professional!

Thing 7 calls for us to look at our involvement with professional organisations.

 I have been a member of CILIP since I was a student and it was the Library Association. I’ve belonged to a variety of special interest groups, including Cofhe and UCLRG when I was working  in the HE sector and most recently HLG.  I also belong  to UKeIG . I subscribed when it was a separate group and added it to my choice of groups when it became a CILIP special interest group. I’m also a long-time member of the Career Development Group.

This is my chance to remind anyone who was around in the late '70s of the short-lived Women in Libraries group. I attended one of their conferences as which Dale Spender confessed to borrowing books from the BL to photocopy, as this was not allowed in the library.

On a local level I’m an occasional attender at the CILIP in the Thames Valley  group meetings and a more regular attender at the various local Health Library Groups, which are more informal.

I’ve attended a very large number of courses and conferences run by these groups. Usually funded by my employer, sometimes by myself, and once by a bursary. I have not however had any formal experience of being on a committee or contributing to the work done by the groups and I’m wondering why not?

Some of this is due to the logistics around working and raising children – especially library work with its often irregular hours. Still, I’m thinking that now it may be time for me to contribute something back to the profession. I feel a reluctance to do this, something around not wanting to push myself forward?

I have done some work as a mentor, which may be better suited to my personality than being involved in a committee. I do find networking very difficult, more so as I get older although that's not supposed to happen.

Catching Up

OK, so I'm still really behind with my 23 things. I'm determined to catch up though, so I'm going to aim to blog 3 times this week. Probably today, Thursday and Friday. I've committed myself - now I have to do it!

I was already a (fairly half-hearted) user of social networks before signing up for 23Things. I had a Facebook account which was largely unused as well as a LinkedIn account, also not much used.   Partly as a result of being unemployed and having more time to think about and act on this stuff and partly as a result of signing up for CPD23 I’ve improved my LinkedIn profile and joined some more groups. I’m going to try to keep this current as it does provide a way to present a professional profile.

 I don’t think I’m ever going to be a real Facebook fan but I’m not really sure why. It certainly seems more of a social space than a business space and I suspect I’m just not that comfortable with the idea of having hundreds of friends.

Facebook is also blocked from most NHS computers which makes it difficult to use as a professional tool in that context. LinkedIn is accessible as far as I know.

I have registered for Google+, but again not sure I will make use of it. If Facebook is social, LinkedIn professional, what space does that leave for Google?

The networks I use tend to be the more specifically targeted ones. Professionally for example, as a CILIP mentor I have a profile on CILIP communities and I belong to the Librarians as Teachers network. Both of these actual sites have useful information as well as allowing networking which may be what makes them more worthwhile to me. Privately I belong to Ravelry and an Archers messageboard.

I fear I may be coming across as a cross between a Luddite and a Hermit. While not actually true this may contain a grain of truth.  I quite like being anonymous but I accept that this is not a good tactic if I want to become more professionally visible which is going to be increasingly important in the job market.

Everything in the garden's rosy.

I've been offered a job !!!

Public domain image from Clker.com

I won't say more until all the paperwork is finalised but - it looks very promising.

I'm fortunate not to be the main breadwinner in the household at the moment, so able to take a less than full-time post at less than the salary I was getting. Even so, after all the knockbacks and starting to really feel I might have to take a job outside the LIS sector as a stopgap I'm completely delighted!

Interesting to reflect on why this one worked out for me. I am 100% confident I can do the job - it's all the less challenging parts of my old one. The interview probably reflected that confidence. In addition I knew one or two of the questions I was likely to be asked from having been interviewed for a different job in the same organisation a while ago so was well prepared for those.

The excel test turned out to be relatively straightforward - as a result of not panicking I think.

So, if there's anybody out there reading this blog who is still looking for work - take some encouragement. There is something out there for you.

I'm baaaacck!!

I  hear that title in a kind of Jack Nicholson "Heeeeeere's Johnny" type voice.


I've got really behind with my Things. This is because:

• I've been on holiday to Yorkshire where yet again I failed to see puffins but had a lovely time otherwise
• I really had to concentrate on writing up my Umbrella experiences for HLG rather than writing in here
• I've been fretting about this week's interview and worrying that the jobs seem to dry up (even more) in the summer.

I'm aware that there's a catch-up week coming up so I'm going to give each topic proper attention rather than rushing to keep up. I will probably need to write here at least twice a week for the next couple of weeks.


First I wanted to return to Thing 5- Reflective Practice because I don't think I really did this topic justice in my previous post.
Having worked in the Health Service and studied alongside full-time practicing teachers I am aware that other professions also place a great deal of emphasis on reflective practice. To achieve my CTLLS I had to keep a reflective diary of my teaching practice.  The model I adopted was taken from Tripp's 1993 book.


I have found this site http://www.prodait.org/approaches/cia/ gives a useful summary of the critical incident analysis in action with examples drawn from teaching.


I found keeping the diary quite difficult. This, I think, was because the reflection requires quite a high degree of self disclosure which does not come naturally to me. Although the tutor emphasised that the incidents did not have to be negative these tended to be the ones from which I felt most learning would take place. Or possibly the ones I remembered best.


I not had come across the ideas of Reflection on Action and Reflection in Action before and these seem useful ways of looking at the kind of moment to moment responses to how well a task is going and the longer-term consideration of how a task went and could it be planned better in order to go more smoothly next time.


Looking around at other cpd23 people's blog posts on reflective practice it is interesting to seee how many have already undertaken reflective practice as part of a teaching qualification. My impression is that there are fewer people already consciously using reflective practice in other parts of their work.


 Lynn Meehan blogging in Librarycow's Library Reflections makes a very good point in her post Mirror mirror on the wall that incorporating reflective practice will help with the struggle to demonstrate our value to our employers. I hope to be able to take this back into the workplace with me at some point. It could also be a useful tool in considering success or lack of it in finding employment.


Tripp D (1993) Critical Incidents in Teaching: Developing Professional Judgement, London: Routledge