Thing 6: Reflective Practive

So far, I am really enjoying spending the time engaging with each Thing and I am certainly learning as I go along. When I signed up for the course, I thought ‘I will know most about what they are telling me’, as I assumed I had a pretty good grasp of online apps and how to use them effectively. However, I could not have been more wrong. Yes, I believe my experience to date helps me to understand how things works a little quicker but I am also bowled over by the amount I didn’t know. Note to self, do not ‘assume my knowledge’, I should always have capacity to learn more.

So, beginning with Thing 3, I assumed I will fly through this as I already know a lot and aren’t they all the same? How wrong I was. In my blog post for Thing 3 I note how I was familiar with the other image bank option, Flickr and I decided to challenge myself with Pixabay. I am very glad I did. I found it different to other banks but very easy to use. Easy to find an image, easy to find a ‘legal’ image, easy to download and upload the content. The only issue, but maybe this is an internet issue in general, is the sheer volume of choice available. I could literally have spent hours musing over the right image.

Thing 4 was related to the same topic, that of images. Now, I know there are a lot of apps out there where I can tweak a stock photo, but it is really useful when one is handed to you. Phootofunia is just an excellent, simple tool. I do not consider myself that creative, so this app did the creativity for me. I have already added the app to all our library mobile devices and fully intend on using it to promote various things around the library. I think it will be a great success as I notice that any quirky or fun images we post on our social media pages tend to attract the most responses and interactions. Thank you Photofunia for making life a little easier for the less creatively minded.

Finally, I think working on Thing 5 was my favourite. I always wondered how people make those desktop instructional videos and never imagined it was as easy as using something like Screencasst-O-Matic. I had great fun but some frustration at getting the hang of it. The preparation in having everything ready to before recording is key. The tips given by the Rudai 23 team were essential (do not use keyboard shortcuts; turn off any notifications and close your email account etc). After I restarted the recording a few times, I got the hang of it and now I have all sorts of plans to make mini videos for new staff members. Some of the software programmes in the library, like our library management system, are actually quite complicated when I think about all the steps I have to do to perform a simple task. I realised this as I was making a mock instructional video of importing OCLC records to our LMS. Using a video presentation like this, might actually save hours of face to face training of new staff. It could also be used as a refresher tool to support initial face to face training. Anyway, it has won me over and I will be promoting it as much as I can in the future.  

I really like how this course is structured approaching each aspect piece by piece. I also really like how there is no real time limit on conducting the work. I have completed a degree and MSc via online education and was plagued by deadlines for so long that this course is a very welcome appealing mode of online learning. I am looking forward to where we go next.