This blog post is modified from a workshop, which included a presentation, co-delivered by me and Andrew Preater from the University of West London, at the ARLG Conference, 4 June 2019 at the Darlington campus of Teesside University. This post covers the second half of our workshop and I would highly recommend reading 'Getting smart'... Continue Reading →
Confronting fears with UX. My chapter from the #uxlibs 2018 yearbook.
It seems apt that UXLibsV has just ended and it has finally spurred me on to share my chapter that I wrote after last year's conference. The piece below is presented exactly how it is in the 2018 Yearbook and was my perception of things at the time of writing, although my opinions haven't changed... Continue Reading →
No, really: EdTech will not save us and we need to stop thinking it will.
This post is inspired by this post by Kerry Pinny and from discussions I've had with many a friend of mine working in EdTech circles over the last few years. It's also something I was reflecting on after attending a couple of EdTech events over the last few months. I found myself coming away from these... Continue Reading →
12 months
This post has been kicking around in my head for a few weeks now, but it's taken me a while to get into the head-space of actually sitting down and writing it. Looking back over where I was six months ago, I feel like another eternity has passed, and yet it has also flown by. I've... Continue Reading →
Through the window…
I've been reflecting recently on the Digital Perceptions tool, devised by Lawrie Phipps and Donna Lanclos, with coding by Zac Gribble. It is based on the Johari window and is a tool to aid reflection on your digital practice by asking people who you know quite well to pick five or six words that describe... Continue Reading →
Trust me, I’m a librarian.
I've been reflecting recently on my role as a 'librarian' or 'information professional' or whatever you want to call it. I was fortunate enough to attend UX Libs in Sheffield earlier this month and also attended a CILIP Leaders Network event at Newcastle City Library this week, where I listened to some presentations that really... Continue Reading →
The importance of weak ties
Firstly, I'm not referring to weak ties as in #TiedayFriday, practiced by two of my favourite weak ties: Lawrie Phipps and Marcus Elliott. Their tie game is very strong indeed. What I'm actually referring to is the idea that the connections we have with our acquaintances or professional contacts, which are 'weaker' than the connections... Continue Reading →
6 months
This week I am celebrating my 6 month anniversary at my new job. A wise librarian once said to me that it takes around 6 months to get your head around the culture of a place and decide whether you want to stay somewhere. I'm inclined to agree with this, and I've certainly had this... Continue Reading →
Privilege and Professional Development
I'm horrified to discover that I haven't blogged in nearly a year! So here's my annual promise to 'blog more often' and all that jazz. Or to at least blog a few more times in 2018. I'm five months into my new role as the head of the library and learning technology at a small... Continue Reading →
Learning to fail
I often feel out of my comfort zone, working in ed tech. Sometimes there is the expectation that you know how to work every piece of software ever made or can pluck suggestions on what tools are out there off the top of your head at a moment’s notice. There can also be the expectations... Continue Reading →
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