Well, it's been an interesting week to say the least. Two children sick, then a rather amazing bout of gastro myself, and trying to keep life functioning at the same time. The children are now back to about 110% which is lovely for them but a bit trying for me :)
But, a bright spot today when I hid myself in the office and worked through this week's Thing - subscribing to feeds.
I've subscribed to a few different feeds - a couple of professional ones, some individual's personal blogs, and my sister-in-law's travel and family blog (just back from Europe & Thailand lucky thing :)).
One that I've been particularly interested in subscribing to is called LifeHack - I've had a few posts forwarded to me in the past, and I've found them really quite useful. Different authors give their views on topics such as productivity, lifestyle, management, money, and technology. Their 'about page' states:
"The phrase describes any hacks, tips and tricks that get things done quickly by automating, increase productivity and organizing."
I figure anything that helps me in this area is worth spending a couple of minutes reading, especially when it comes 'to my doorstep'.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
I like to blog...
Up until now my blogging has been very basic - a family website (access restricted by password) which I use more to update interstate and overseas relatives about the goings on in our family - more specifically my kid's lives, and to save filling up their inboxes with stacks of photos.
It's going to be interesting with this blog to consider how 'outside' people might react to my musings, and to see if that impacts on my honesty and how I express myself :)
So far I think I'm going to let myself chat away and hope that no-one really feels all that excited about reading/judging - hey, we're all in the same boat. I do wonder sometimes how some bloggers that I've read on the net decide what to share - they seem so open and honest - sometimes to the point (it seems to me) where they open themselves up to a dangerous situation. Hmm little off the point now!
It's now Friday afternoon and I have completed week 1. Yeah!
It's going to be interesting with this blog to consider how 'outside' people might react to my musings, and to see if that impacts on my honesty and how I express myself :)
So far I think I'm going to let myself chat away and hope that no-one really feels all that excited about reading/judging - hey, we're all in the same boat. I do wonder sometimes how some bloggers that I've read on the net decide what to share - they seem so open and honest - sometimes to the point (it seems to me) where they open themselves up to a dangerous situation. Hmm little off the point now!
It's now Friday afternoon and I have completed week 1. Yeah!
23 Things - first musing!
I'm really looking forward to this program. After four years out of the library world (apart from trying to keep pace a little through personal reading and elists in between changing nappies & bandaging knees) I am really looking forward to having a chance to learn some of the key technologies that are coming forward and being used in our library world.
I've always enjoyed learning new things, but find the amount of 'things' out there at the moment a bit overwhelming. So to have had someone select some good examples of emerging technologies is making it all seem much more do-able.
From the video:
Which habit of lifelong learners is easiest and which is hardest for me?
Hardest would be habit 7 - teaching/mentoring others - partly because although I enjoy sharing information with others, I don't always feel best qualified to do so (it's such a big responsibility) and partly because at this point in time I don't work closely enough for long enough with other people who have less skills in this area than I do :)
Easiest - habit 2 - accept responsibility for my own learning. In my last 5 working years (ignoring the four year hiatus) I started 7 different jobs (lots of contract work in Darwin :)). These were generally in quite different workplaces with different systems, software and different political environments (including local government, state government, university and non-profit). I didn't always get a handover with previous staff but I found it a real challenge to learn as much as I could and to become as productive as possible in as short a time as possible. I suppose I just like learning new things :)
My goals for the 23 Things?
Generally, a greater understanding of some of the new and emerging technologies, how they can be used, and how they may/will impact on our service delivery now and in the future.
Specifically, I am interested in learning more about Twitter, del.icio.us, Flicker and Second Life - these are the things that I hear people talking about but I don't feel like I 'have a handle' on at all.
What I need in my learning toolkit to achieve these goals?
Thankfully, I know that many of these things are available already.
I've always enjoyed learning new things, but find the amount of 'things' out there at the moment a bit overwhelming. So to have had someone select some good examples of emerging technologies is making it all seem much more do-able.
From the video:
Which habit of lifelong learners is easiest and which is hardest for me?
Hardest would be habit 7 - teaching/mentoring others - partly because although I enjoy sharing information with others, I don't always feel best qualified to do so (it's such a big responsibility) and partly because at this point in time I don't work closely enough for long enough with other people who have less skills in this area than I do :)
Easiest - habit 2 - accept responsibility for my own learning. In my last 5 working years (ignoring the four year hiatus) I started 7 different jobs (lots of contract work in Darwin :)). These were generally in quite different workplaces with different systems, software and different political environments (including local government, state government, university and non-profit). I didn't always get a handover with previous staff but I found it a real challenge to learn as much as I could and to become as productive as possible in as short a time as possible. I suppose I just like learning new things :)
My goals for the 23 Things?
Generally, a greater understanding of some of the new and emerging technologies, how they can be used, and how they may/will impact on our service delivery now and in the future.
Specifically, I am interested in learning more about Twitter, del.icio.us, Flicker and Second Life - these are the things that I hear people talking about but I don't feel like I 'have a handle' on at all.
What I need in my learning toolkit to achieve these goals?
Thankfully, I know that many of these things are available already.
- Good net access (more of an issue at home potentially)
- Digital camera
- Headphones and microphone
- Time - an issue for everyone, but working 10 hours a week I expect to be doing some of this at home so that I can really explore and understand
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