Diploma 2013 – IT Skills 1 - Task 2

There were a few Australian Universities or TAFE colleges listed on iTunes-u, so finding five (5) was relatively easy. However some institutions had lots on offer but I could not open them. I chose the following because they had items which I could access fairly easily:

La Trobe University

Australian National University

Deakin University

Queensland University of Technology

University of Melbourne

La Trobe University

A link to “Australian History” at La Trobe was listed on the iTunes-u home page, so that was an obvious choice. On offer were 31 podcasts on various aspects of Australian history and I chose a 19 minute talk about “Melbourne Archaeology”.

The talk was focused on well-known areas of archaeological interest in the CBD and touching on the availability of sites as well as the cost in both time and money, and was both interesting and enjoyable.

Australian National University

From this University I listened to the first 10 minutes of an hour long podcast entitled “Open Access & the Future of Scholarly Communication: Dissemination, Prestige & Impact”, which is one of three lectures available under the “Education” banner.

I chose this lecture because open access is a hot topic at the moment and was surprised to see that the lecture was recorded in 2009. So obviously the topic has been around in universities for a while but only recently being discussed in public (radio, blogs, etc.).

Deakin University

I wandered around Deakin’s offerings before choosing a recording of a radio interview called “Facebook and the use of Social Media in classrooms”. The topic was well covered in the eight (8) minutes and the lecturer was articulate and emphasised the collaborative nature of social media.

Short, sweet and useful as an argument for using Facebook and other Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

Queensland University of Technology

This university has the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies which has both podcasts and transcripts of its podcasts on iTunes-u.  I listened to the first part of “ACPNS56 Givers and Regulators: Two sides of the fundraising coin”.

The two parts of the topic were slightly disconnected because we looked at Australian giving and Irish regulations. In total there were 61 podcasts which usually have two speakers, two parts to them and are definitely for the more serious student of philanthropy.

University of Melbourne

As a HSC student I used to attend Saturday morning public lectures at University of Melbourne, so this was an obvious choice. I had trouble accessing some lectures but eventually found one called “Integrated Design – a Holistic Approach and a Business Model” under the Dean’s Lectures banner.

This lecture looked at engineering advances which have made it possible for architects to design building structures not previously thought possible.  Quite interesting lecture on how architects work with various stakeholders.

Ratings

Institution	Overall Rating	Comments
La Trobe University	4.5 / 5	The link made it quick and easy to find a subject of interest on offer. There are many courses on offer including a lot about literature.
Australian National University	4 / 5	I found the topic fairly quickly and other disciplines offer more podcasts.
Deakin University	4 / 5	I had to do a bit of searching to find a topic of interest, but that says more about me! Lots on offer.
Queensland University of Technology	4.5 / 5	I particularly liked the transcripts on offer for all of the ACPNS podcasts. Only two faculties but a large amount of material on offer.
University of Melbourne	3.5 / 5	I was unable to open some of the lecture under other tabs when I first tried. Items in offer are mainly public lectures 3 – 5 years old.

Diploma 2013 – IT Skills 1 - Task 1

I chose five learning sites from Michele’s list, including one which I had accessed in the past – TedED. I used simple search terms or just clicked on subject indexes to find my choice of learning video.

http://teachertube.com/videos

This was easy to find and a simple search for French offered me several topics and I chose French Verbs. There was nothing to show which age group or class group the videos were aimed at – a case of hit or miss? Once you open the video, you can see the channel (e.g.: high school) and how long and other info.

The video I chose was “French Verb ending in review” which was useful with the teacher giving the rules in English and French, then students demonstrated uses of I, you and we with the appropriate ending. In just over 3 ½ minutes I was reminded of both the written form and shown how to use them. Very instructional.

Overall: 3.5 out of 5.

http://www.cosmolearning.com

The site was easy to find and offered a list of subjects on the home page – so I immediately went to the two (2) on offer under French. Disappointing that only two were on offer and guess what – both no longer exist!!

So try again with another subject – Architecture – and found a video on “Australian Landscape Architecture” which offered an overview of landscape and urban renewal projects in Australia. Obviously made to promote landscape architecture as a career, it had very good production values and highlighted a number of large scale projects. I enjoyed watching it.

Overall: 3 out of 5.

http://ed.ted.com/

I’ve listened to some talks on ted.com in the past and so I was looking forward to see what I might find on TedED.  Nothing on my chosen subject – French – but on the Subjects page there was an animation called “Why is there a “b” in doubt?”.

This was a great choice – 3 ½ minutes about the history of the word and its links to other words told using bright, simple graphics and clear explanations. It would appeal to both adults and children.

Overall: 4 out of 5.

http://www.academicearth.org/

This site is obviously for the serious student. On this site you can attend a whole series of lectures on a given subject, not just a five or ten minute take on the subject.  So using the Subject tab, I made my way to languages and again no French. So this time I chose a course in Old English from Oxford.

There was no obvious start button, but I just clicked on the image and was redirected to YouTube. I watched the first ten minutes of the 43 minute introductory lecture. The sound was a bit patchy and I would have liked a better view of the slides on the wall behind the lecturer, but I can see the attraction of attending lectures like this.

Overall: 3.5 out of 5.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/

Did I want the magazine, the TV station, the Australian website? – spoiled for choice and very slow to open when I found the right one. A search under “language” net mostly information about NG magazine releases in various countries – so not helpful.

I thought what was on offer under the Video tab was a bit superficial and lots of it very short . I eventually chose an interview about the threat to manuscripts in Mali and archeological sites in Syria, and I also looked at a couple of “critter-cam” clips.

I think this website is less about education and more about self-promotion, but kids would probably love some of the animal clips as they are short and some are fun.

Overall: 3 out of 5.

Ratings

Learning Site	Easy to Find	Easy to Use	Topic well Covered	Overall Rating	Ranking
Teacher Tube	3 / 5	4 / 5	4 / 5	3.5 / 5	3
CosmoLearning	3 / 5	3 / 5	3 / 5	3 / 5	4
TedED	4 / 5	4 / 5	5 / 5	4 / 5	1
Academic Earth	4 / 5	3 / 5	4 / 5	3.5 / 5	2
National Geographic	3 / 5	2 / 5	4 / 5	3 / 5	5

Are Libraries Too Noisy?

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/31/bring_back_shushing_librarians/ (viewed 5 Feb 2013)

A recent survey in the US found that 76% of survey participants consider quiet spaces to be a very important element in any public library. And they want these quiet spaces nearly as much as they want free access to computer and internet resources.

According to the survey, having access to a quiet space is valued more than programs for kids, job search resources or special events. People on lower incomes who often live in or attend school in crowded conditions value the provision of a quiet space at their local library. Older people often prefer a quiet space where they can concentrate better and have fewer distractions.

Unfortunately, the main barrier in providing a quiet place is lack of space. Libraries need to balance the space needed for their collections and their (free) computers with the need for a quiet room or a separate meeting room. Newer libraries can incorporate these various spaces into their design but older libraries would often need considerable renovation causing major disruption to their services.

The other barrier is of course, the changing face of libraries over the last 10 years or so. As one survey participant who works in a library says “we bustle, we rock, we engage”.  Libraries are no longer just places for quiet study – these days they have become “the social hub of the community”, offering a diverse range of programs to their increasingly multi-cultural patrons.

Personally, I think we are just having an attack of nostalgia. We are starting to get fed up with all the “noise” around us (the roar of traffic, the beep of machines) and we are looking at how we can quieten things down.  Once upon a time things were simpler – we look back at the old days and want to turn back the clock.

Libraries used to be quieter, more studious places – we could do that again. Sure, I can just see today’s librarians shushing their patrons and presiding over a quiet, dignified library. That might just work until Story Time for toddlers, Homework Club for school kids, the next Author Talk for Mum and Dad, or the myriad of other activities held in the library. See that is what we have forgotten here – libraries are for all of the community. But if the community really wants a peaceful place within its local library then I am sure the library will oblige – eventually.

Macro Trend – Insourcing

http://www.futuristspeaker.com/2012/12/four-unexpected-macro-trends-for-2013-and-beyond/ (viewed 23 Jan 2013)

Oh how I hope that futurist Thomas Frey is correct with his prediction about this macro trend for 2013! Having seen the results of outsourcing in a previous job, I know that it produces a disconnection with what is happening within the business. Managers don’t use the same levels of oversight when dealing with outsourcing partners.

Administration and accounting functions which were once subject to strict key performance indicators from employees have been handed over to outsourcing partners with little supervision of results. As a consequence, managers are often not as aware of potential problems or opportunities.

But, if Thomas Frey is correct, businesses will return to using their own employees for many key functions which have previously been outsourced. Good news for potential employees and better news for the firms who will have employees with a vested interest in doing their best for the business.

Having retired from an accounting and administration job, I decided to retrain as a Library Technician. Unfortunately jobs are few and far between – I think I need to move out of the south-east and go to the northern suburbs where many more library jobs are being advertised. However, reading Thomas Frey’s blog gave me some hope that things may change in 2013. While I am studying for my Diploma this year, I hope to at least find a part-time job – to put to use all that I have learned about libraries and for my employer to benefit from my years of business experience.

Radical or just catching up?

http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/12/software/academic-consortium-makes-radical-shift-away-from-ils/ (viewed 21 Dec 2012)

Old habits die hard and when I saw this article I just felt that I needed to comment on it. I am late coming to library studies having spent over 20 years working in the business world; but one thing I know works is centralised offsite storage for computer programs and records.

The agreement between Ex Libris and the Orbis Cascade Alliance to shift resource management from individual locally-based systems to a shared cloud-based system takes the libraries in the consortium to the forefront of technology. Resource sharing is the obvious benefit, but opportunities for collaboration and enrichment of systems and technologies should not be ignored.

Business systems have long benefited from increased functionality in one area due to technical work undertaken in another area. When the same system is available to everyone, collaborative work between staff is facilitated and everyone benefits when the results are made available.

The new cloud-based LMS should offer these same opportunities and benefits to the consortium libraries where circulation and collection data is available to all. Technical collaboration between staff should be easier as their knowledge expands and opportunities to develop the functionality of the system will present themselves in the future.

While libraries are lagging behind business with this innovation, they will not take long to catch up as other consortia see the benefits of centralised resource sharing. The advantages of being able to share expertise, workflow and collection management will persuade other groups to move to the cloud and the next generation LMS platforms.  

Latest Read

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

I was excited to pick up this book from my local Library, as I had really enjoyed Wolf Hall a couple of years ago. Someone from work lent me their copy of Wolf Hall and I was so interested in Thomas Cromwell that I bought Robert Hutchinson’s biography, just so that I could learn more about him. Hilary Mantel’s imagined Cromwell seems a bit more human than the Cromwell described in the biography.

Bring up the Bodies did not disappoint. I was taken straight back to where we finished up last time and immediately drawn into the problem of how to give the King what he wants. I was taken straight back to the ambiguous nature of Cromwell’s place at court and his treatment at the hands of various courtiers.

One of the things that I loved about Wolf Hall was how Hilary Mantel gave depth and character to Thomas Cromwell, usually reviled as a villain. He seemed to be at war with himself for much of the book and even when he was remembering the past, there was some conflict between actuality and reminiscence.

The second instalment in Hilary Mantel’s imagined life of Thomas Cromwell is much more contained given that the events take place over a relatively short space of time. In Bring up the Bodies, we see less of Cromwell’s accumulation of wealth and property as he concentrates on the task at hand. The fraught relationship with Norfolk is still there, as is the friendship with Chapuys.

I look forward to the next story as Cromwell becomes more and more embroiled in the king’s business and as Hilary Mantel continues to imagine a much more rounded personality for him than the one usually portrayed.

Recent Reads

So now that I've finished blogging for my LIS course, I thought that I might use it to review some of  the books I have read recently. I like to watch "First Tuesday Book Club" and often make a note of books that the panelists have read or are reading. My first review is one of those books, while the second review is the latest from one of my favourite Aussie author.

HHhH by Laurent Binet
I have just finished reading this one after waiting nearly two months for my reservation at the local library to come through. Just as well the wait was worth it.
I really enjoyed the almost chatty style of the book. I liked seeing into the author's processes and I liked how the central story was never far away despite the various digressions and flights of fancy.
At no time did I feel that the author was going to disappoint me by going off on one of these tangents - that he would get side-tracked and tell a different story. He always pulled himself back to the main story of the assassination attempt.
I gave it 5 out of 5 on Good Reads.

Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood
I have just finished (this morning) the 19th adventure featuring Phryne Fisher and a romping good one it was. I love Phryne and all the characters who inhabit her world and enjoy all the twists and turns in the story - the adult equivalent of the Saturday matinee serial at the pictures.
I always appreciate the amount of research behind each book and the use of genuine Melbourne landmarks - extant or not. I hope Phryne has a very long career.
And thank goodness, reading the latest adventure has brushed away any lingering horror from having watched the TV series and seen Phryne and a much too good-looking Jack Robinson flirting!
Also rated 5 out of 5 on Good reads.