Thing 22 – Mobile things

I am rather a dinosaur as far as mobile technology is concerned.  My mobile phone is an old “clam shell” design that no one would want to steal (hopefully).  It can take photos but there is no capacity to search the internet, or I don’t think there is.  At the moment I prefer to keep it this way although I am beginning to consider a smart phone in the future.

My mobile technology is my iPad 2 which I have had for several years and would not be without.  I use it for note taking and taking photos at conferences and events as well as being the platform that I tend to use for reading my eBooks.  I tend to use Kindle but have Kobo and Bluefire reader as well.  I also tend to use the iPad for Facebook, Twitter  and checking my emails.

Another App that I have recently started using is the one for Easy jet.  It allows me to check in online and even gives me my boarding card, so that I don’t have to worry about printing it out.  However not all airports are set up for this and I have had them print out a card when I have gone to baggage drop.

I am not a great user of Apps and tend to go to sites via the browser but sometimes it is not possible to do it that way and you have to get an App for either the iPad or for the PC.  I suspect that my lack of concern about being connected 24/7 is something to do with my age.  Yes, it is good to have a phone for when you want it and also to be able to access information wherever you are, but I think that there is a real sense that the technology is overpowering us and that we need to get back to a stage where the human is in control.  Honestly, it does not matter if you are out of touch for a short while.  Anyway ‘rant over’, I think there is a time and place for mobile technology but as with everything else we need to use it sensibly.

Thing 6 – reflective practice

Wow I have just finished reading the linked article by the “Daring Librarian” and she is quite a role model.  I  think I have a very different style, but there were definitely some ideas and comments that I can definitely take on board.  I tend to talk about book reviews and events, but I could also think a bit more about what I feel I have learnt from a conference.  Of course the sensible thing is to ask what I want to achieve before I go off on one of these events – and then make sure that I don’t get totally overawed by the authors etc.

I also looked at several of the other blogs for this course and really found it interesting that some people love LinkedIn and Twitter, whilst others could not see any purpose for them.   I must admit that I enjoy using both, but I do so on my own terms.  Twitter in particular is great for learning about new books, events, activities and research and I tend to follow people and companies that are book, literacy and education based. LinkedIn has become a way of keeping track of my professional development and balances with my portfolio on the Cilip VLE, which I use for my re-validation.

What I do find with blogs is that they can be whatever you want.  I have two that I am using at the moment and they fulfill different purposes; the one related to this course is the one I am writing on at this moment, the other one is my children’s book review blog.  Some people are very articulate and also include a lot of pictures, links and additional information for the reader, whilst others have much shorter and more concise entries that just give you the basic details of the subject.  I suspect that these differences relate to how comfortable people are in using the technology and as this grows, so will the complexity of their blog.

Thing 5 – Online Networks

Well, we are now well in to this course and gradually getting to know the team supporting us.  Compared to the average MOOC this has a small number of students, about 100 I believe, but it means that we stand a chance of getting to know others in the group and luckily Some friends are also on this course.  The theme today is Online Networks and there is an emphasis on Facebook and Twitter groups.

I have been a member of both of these communities for several years but tend to keep Facebook as a personal network, whilst twitter is more about books, education etc.  Today I have set up a Facebook page linked to my blog and it is called Margaret’s reading shelf; this has also enabled me to add a few links on my blog page as well.  I have also joined several groups that I am interested in.

I have also looked at twitter and followed the Rudai23things account.  My own account is B5ExjUJCEAAeLVk@booklib61 and you can recognize me by the wonderful image of a unicorn as my avatar.  it was given to me as a present by the lovely and very talented Sarah McIntyre who is heading the great campaign “Pictures mean Business”

Going through this sequence of resources is really making me think about what I want to do with them.  As with so many things we tend to get a bit complacent, mainly because there is never enough time to do all the things we want to.  Aah well, we can but try!!