Thing 23-The end or just the beginning?

Wow!  What a whistle stop tour of things to make our life easier, more collaborative, more interesting and ultimately to ensure we make more of an impact in our work.  I've thoroughly enjoyed taking part and thank everyone who has contributed.  I've been challenged to find more training and networking opportunites and to make use of new tools such as evernote and slideshare.  I've also been inspired to share some of these tools with my colleagues and have already done so with Jing which has been very well received.
On my development plan is the need to disseminate the tools and messages I have learnt about to my colleagues particularly with the team of Library staff I manage.  I also want to try and use more tools on a regular basis, particularly on our VLE where staff and students will see them and hopefully be inspired to use them too!
Finally, I intend to keep on blogging and checking in with the blogs of others as I have really enjoyed hearing about the experiences of other participants and would like to 'keep in touch', albeit virtually!

Thing 22-Volunteering

During my teacher training I completed a number of teaching practices and learnt far more in those weeks than I did in the hours of lectures I attended.  After all, you can't beat getting real, hands on experience.  Here at college there is a real emphasis of 'leadership at all levels' and part and parcel of this is gaining experience through taking ownership of something new in order to develop and acquire skills.  From experience some staff and students really throw themselves into this and get fully involved.  They understand that in order to progress in their career they need to gain further experiences and skills, otherwise they will be limited to the roles they can realistically apply for.  Other staff are more reticent to taking on new challenges and roles.  These staff may be happy in their job role and have no desire to progress so why would they volunteer to do extra?  For others being given additional time or money to compensate for time spent on a project is an issue.  These staff often don't appreciate that completing volunteering roles will enhance their own professional development and pay dividends in the future.  I suppose it comes down to the individual and how much passion and drive they have to progress in a career.

Thing 21-Promoting yourself

I found this timely and interesting reading.  Whilst I'm not applying for a new job or compiling my CV, I have recently completed the performance management reviews with my staff.  I can confirm that it is certainly difficult for many people to boast about (or in some cases even identify) their strengths, skills and USPs.  As a reflective exercise I found it beneficial to answer the questions in Part 1-almost like a back to basics exercise.  I thought this 'thing' was well written and informative and when the time comes to job search I'm sure it will be very useful.

Thing 20-Library routes

I've just spent an enjoyable half hour browsing through the career routes of other library staff and it's been a revelation.  It's interesting to see how many fell into being a librarian or came to the career from a completely different job.  It was also reassuring to hear how many people are in the same situation as myself i.e. not a trained librarian but working in a library environment!

Thing 17- Prezi and slideshare

I have used slideshare often in the past and agree that by watching visual demonstrations you can learn much more than reading guides.  I haven't actually uploaded any presentations of my own though so this could be a professional development target for myself!
I have however prepared and used prezi and think it's a brilliant alternative to powerpoint.  This is largely due to the non-linear nature of the presentation-the audience doesn't know what is next and they are more likely to continue listening.  I've had a few layout issues and haven't been able to use Prezi on an iPad but other than that I think it's a really useful tool (and it's free!).

Thing 19-Another breather!

Things I have started using:
Evernote
Twitter (for work purposes!)
Google calendar
Mendeley

I have also been extolling the virtues of Jing, Dropbox, Google Docs and Evernote to others who have not used them yet as I feel these tools will have the most impact on the staff and students here.

Perhaps the most beneficial 'by-product' of the 23 things is the networking opportunities that have come about.  I've really enjoyed reading the blogs of other participants (and 'borrowing' some of their ideas along the way too!).

Thing 18-Jing

I'll be honest from the start and say that I don't make much use of podcasting at all!  However, I love Jing!  It is so simple to use but so effective at the same time.  We find it difficult to get round all the students in college to demonstrate e-resources, infotrac, library catalogue etc but with this we can make a recording, send it to staff and students and hey presto they can play it at their convenience.  It's especially useful for those questions you get asked again and again and links well to our VLE page.  I've seen the Maths department make especially good use of it when working with equations etc.

Thing 16-Advocacy

This post has really opened my eyes to the struggle that people have to raise the profile of libraries (and in some cases to keep the service running).  In my work place we are fortunate in that the library is very well used by students and book usage is rising year on year.  We are proactive as staff and get out into the academic departments when possible to promote our services and resources to as many people as we can.  I enjoyed reading Johanna's post, she obviously has so much passion for the role that libraries play in our society.  With all the recent budget cuts it's more important than ever that we stand up for our libraries and I'm thankful for all the people who do just that!

Thing 15-Seminars and conferences

I certainly haven't attended as many conferences I would like to and I sometimes feel like I am 'out of the loop' in hearing about conferences and other training. Online information always looks very interesting, but I've never had a chance to participate. I was lucky though, to take part in a lot of training and courses, which offered me the most important thing - opportunity for networking in maybe less formal and intimidating (I'm not great at small talk) atmosphere.
Like most people I don't particularly enjoy speaking to large groups so am happy to keep my presentations to groups of students and staff!

Thing 13-Google Docs and Dropbox

We use both of these tools within college and they are great!  The students are also encouraged to use them removing the issues of lost USB sticks and running out of space in email accounts!  Both tools are instinctive and easy to use and both staff and students seem to get to grips with them easily.  I especially like the format and accessibility of dropbox and the fact that you can save multiple formats of documents.

Thing 12-Social Media

Hmm-food for thought!  There is no denying that online communities are ever growing and that there are increasing opportunities for online collaborative working.  This is all great news but a part of me feels that this needs balancing with the good old fashioned human touch.  From my experience of working with students delivering something in person is preferable and more effective than sending a video link or putting it on facebook.  However, contacting people and asking for quick feedback (or help!) is much easier via social networking.  I suppose the answer is finding a good balance of the two!
On another note I've enjoyed adding some some contacts to twitter!

Thing 11-Mentoring

I'm really glad that this has been included as a 'thing' that will enhance and progress professional development.  Having a mentor has been a massive source of support and help for myself and helped build my confidence in the early days!  It also encourages an ethos of accountability which can be challenging but can also help you to identify and celebrate achievement.  In my place of work each new staff member is assigned a mentor for their first year and it usually works well and helps the new member of staff to settle in.  If you haven't got a mentor I would recommend asking someone who you find inspirational and focused-you will learn a lot from them!

Thing 10-Career routes

As already mentioned I'm not actually a trained librarian and so the career routes as described in Thing 10 don't directly apply to me.  However, I've found it informative and useful to find out just what is involved in gaining chartership and accreditation and I have a new found respect for my library manager who has achieved these qualifications.  Thanks for enlightening me!

Thing 9-Evernote

Another great find and once again thanks for sharing it with us!   I haven't had much time to do much more than dip my toe into the evernote water but it looks like it could solve some major organisational problems i.e. "Now where did I find that picture/journal/newspaper article etc online?".  I'm planning on spending time this afternoon investigating further and planning a training session for the rest of the staff.  I also want to check out the compatability with iPads.

Thing 8-Google calendar

Well give Google a round of applause!  I really like the feel and layout of Google calendar and I think it's a massively useful organisational tool.  Perhaps the most useful feature is that you can share it with others meaning that it is also great for collaboration.  Thanks for introducing it to us!

Thing 7-Networking and organisations

Since I started working in my current post I have been aware that this is a real issue for me and something I need to work on.  As I'm a manager rather than a qualified librarian I'm not a member of any professional organisations though after looking through the list on Thing 7 there are definitely some organisations that I should investigate and perhaps become a member of.  I have always enjoyed meeting other people who work within a learning resources environment and always find visiting other institutions useful and come away with lots of ideas to try for myself.  I would love to attend more training courses and meet ups but unfortunately time (and budget) often reduce the opportunities for this!