Saturday 30 September 2017

Thing 6: Reflective Practice

What’s reflective practice about?


Welcome to your first reflective practice Thing. The purpose of these reflective practices is to enhance your learning and application of skills through critical thinking and self-reflection.

Your blog entry for Thing 6 will be used as evidence of your learning in order to apply for your first digital badge ‘Visual Communicator’, so it's worth spending some time on it.

Reflective Practice can be defined as the capacity to reflect on actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning (Schön, 1983). 

We chose to use a reflective practice blog as an assessment tool as it matches the format used in the original 23 Things. Blogging as an activity is reflective in nature and is an ideal method of self-directed learning. 

Earning your Open Digital Badge


We have mentioned digital badges a lot on Rudaí 23 and have a great FAQ section on them available here if you’re still a bit hazy on the whole subject. Next week we will post a dedicated entry on how to apply for your digital badge and guide you through the steps involved. Don’t worry, it’s a really easy process and gaining your badge is an excellent reward.

What we need:


To be eligible to apply for a digital badge, the quality of your reflective post will be assessed.

Firstly:
  • We are looking to see if all aspects of the tasks in Things 3-5 are completed and you show good understanding of the topics. 

Secondly:
  • We want to see that you demonstrate an ability to appraise the tools based on your experience in using them;
  • Give evidence of their practical application;
  • Give your thoughts and opinions on using them including your problems or successes, likes or dislikes, you don’t have to agree with us, but detail why;
  • Detail any changes you would make next time round.


Reflective writing is something that takes a bit of practice, there are many articles and books written on the topic. Here we hope to give you an overview, along with some guidance and examples to get you started. So don’t panic yet!

How to write reflectively


It’s best to just dive in the deep end here and give you an example of a reflective practice model that is widely used and basically provides a ‘how to’ guide to reflective writing. In this post we recommend using the Gibbs Reflective Cycle:




Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.

Things 13, 18 and 22 will provide you with alternative styles and theories on reflective writing, but ultimately your reflective posts for all four Things will be off the same standard necessary for gaining your badge. But remember, they are still deeply personal to you.

Let’s take it in small steps:


Step 1 Description


To help you with the structure of your post, you can begin by describing what you are asked to do. Things 3-5 all outline a task for you to complete. You don’t have to go into too much depth here, it’s sufficient to mention the tasks you choose to compete for each of the Things, as options are available. You can also link back to your blog entries for Things 3-5 if you completed any.

Step 2 Feelings


To start the reflection process we need to consider our feelings. Was it a negative or positive situation? Did it work and how did I feel about that? What was the end result? For example:



Steps 3-4 Evaluation & Analysis


We now must go further and analyse the impact and outcome of the task. Can you apply any learning theory to the situation? Did you have all the skills necessary to complete the task or was it a steep learning curve? If you had previous knowledge of other applications would this have helped? Did you get any help? Would help have made the task easier? What did you learn and what changes would you make if faced with the task in the future?

For example:



Steps 5-6 Conclusion and Action Plan


Finally, for the deepest level of reflection, you must assess what you would do if you had to repeat this task or something similar, what progress you have made and how your views and opinions of the task have changed. It is the deepest level of reflection. Ask yourself, what did I learn? In what way has it assisted my learning? Could I have applied this task to a situation in the past? Where could I use this knowledge in the future?

For example:



Wrapping up


Hopefully these examples illustrate the difference between superficial reflection and deeper reflection. Atkins and Murphy (1994) state that the skills to write reflectively comprise: self-awareness, description, critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation. As educated information professionals, we have these skills; it is just a matter of learning how to apply them effectively.




Your task for Thing 6 is:


Write a deeply reflective practice post concerning your experience with Things 3-5. We understand that it may take too much time to apply Gibbs cycle to each of the Things, so it is sufficient to give us examples of all the tasks you have completed, and choose one or two of the tasks to deeply reflect on for each of the steps in the cycle. Gaining the skill to reflect deeply on your actions leads to further understanding (Smyth, 1992) and reflection is the core of blogging, so we are delighted to accompany you on this process.

We will open application for your first digital badge, Visual Communicator, at the end of October. There is no deadline to get your application in, it will remain open for the extent of the course.

Best of luck and if you have any questions at all; use the comment feature below, email us at westernlibraries@gmail.com, contact your moderator or shout out to us on Twitter @rudai23 #Rudai23.






Thing 6 was written by Stephanie Ronan

References:

Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994). Reflective Practice. Nursing Standard 8(39) 49-56.

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford.

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.

Smyth, W. J. (1992). Teachers’ work and the politics of reflection. American Educational Research Journal, 29(2), 267-300.





Thing 5: Video Presentations

Presentations are a useful method for the communication of information and ideas to team members, colleagues or your library users. The traditional method of presenting information using slides and delivering your ideas in front of a group is familiar to us all. In Thing 5 we are not going teach you how to deliver a fantastic oral presentation. Instead, we will introduce you to two tools that are a little bit different; one tool is for screencasting and the other one is for creating animated videos.  Both of these can provide new opportunities to reach your audience through online channels, outside of library opening hours and engage your audience even when you are not present in the library.


How to create a good presentation

Two core elements of a good presentation apply no matter what the purpose of your presentation is.

Your Audience

 

Know your audience. Who are you presenting to? What are their interests? From a library perspective, is the presentation for general library patrons, incoming students or staff or management?

Your Story


Before you even look at what type of technology you are going to use, write your story.  Do not be tempted to start with your presentation visuals and work backwards.  A story must have a beginning, a middle and an end and good continuity in your presentation will mean more success in conveying your message.
This is particularly important with the type of presentation we are looking at today; video presentations are of a passive nature and you will not be there to fill in any gaps or answer questions afterwards.

Only when the story is written is it time to look at the software.

Screencasting


Screencasting is the method of creating instructional videos on how to complete a task on a computer screen. Software such as Screencast-O-Matic allows you to record a video of your computer screen, while you click on areas on the screen. The viewer will see your screen, and your cursor or mouse pointer move about, as you complete the task. You can record audio at the same time, explaining what you are doing, for further clarification, or add subtitles if you do not want to use audio.

Using Screencast-O-Matic

Using this software is very straightforward. You do not need to download anything, although there is an option to download the recorder if you wish to use it while offline.
Simply go to the Screencast-O-Matic website, create an account if you wish to keep numerous recordings, and click on the "Start Recording" button. This might prompt you to download the latest version of the software, but you can simply use the "Old Recorder v1.0" option......this will give you the exact same end result as the newer version, but it is a web-based app, rather than something you have to download to use.

Creating your first Screencast



To give you a quick preview of what the process looks like, take a couple of minutes to watch this video.


If you are unable to watch the video, follow these basic steps:

Go to the Screencast-O-Matic website
Click on blue button marked start recording
Click on the green button marked launch recorder
A grey box will appear on the lower left of your screen with a red button marked Rec. You can now chose options such as what microphone to use, if any, and the size of your recording.
Now set up your screen to make your recording. Are you recording how to access a service on your library website? If so might want to go to your library home page before you begin your recording. Or perhaps you want to demonstrate typing the web address into the search bar, so maybe you should begin at a search page or your browser homepage.
Click on the red button to begin recording.
Take your time to play around with how it works, and do not worry if you make a mistake: no one will see anything until you are happy to share your work.

Below is a screen shot of my computer screen with the Scree-cast-o-matic software open and ready to record. In this instance I am set up to record a video on how to use Powtoon. I could use it to demonstrate any activity on my computer such as how to open a Word document, or search a library database. 
  • The black and white line marks the area of the screen that will appear in the recording. Click and drag this to change its size. 
  • You can chose to show both your computer screen and a shot of yourself using the webcam.
  • The pen icon beside the record button allows you to draw shapes while you record.


Some tips when Screencasting

  • Make sure all your other tabs are closed if you are recording on an internet browser.
  • Delete your cookies; if you are recording yourself typing an address into the address bar or a search term you do not want previous searches coming up as suggestions.
  • Turn off any notifications and close your email account so that nothing pops up on your screen during the recording.
  • Do not use keyboard shortcuts. You might be accustomed to hitting the return key to complete an action or using the tab key to move around the screen instead of clicking on the screen. Remember, the viewer can't see you doing this so you must use your mouse to click on the screen as much as possible to show exactly what you are doing. 
  •  

Sharing your Screencast


When you have made your recording, you will have to decide what to do with it: the options are to either download it as an MP4 file, upload it to the Screencast-O-Matic hosting site, or send it directly to YouTube.
    If you download it as an MP4 you can then upload and share your recording on other sites, play it on a computer in your library or use it as part of an instructional class or tutorial.

    You can also upload it directly from Screencast-O-Matic to your YouTube channel, if you have a Gmail address. When you upload it to YouTube you will be given the option to give your recording a title, add tags and make it public or private. Keeping it private can be useful if you plan to add subtitles to your recording in YouTube afterwards. This is explained further on in this blog post.


    Powtoon

    Powtoon can best be described as a video version of PowerPoint. It comes with a range of icons, graphics and templates. You construct your presentation in the same way that you put together a PowerPoint presentation – slide by slide. The difference is, all your elements on the screen can move, jump, slide in and out, and get bigger or smaller.
    Powtoon can be a bit intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it you will find yourself immersed in transitions, timings and speech-bubbles for hours.

    To access Powtoon go to the Powtoon website and sign up for a free account. There are some limitations to the templates and graphics that you can use with a free account but there are still plenty to choose from.

    When you log into Powtoon for the first time you will be greeted with an invitation to view an introductory video tutorial. It is worth taking a  look at this tutorial if you can, to help familiarise yourself with how Powtoon works.

    Powtoon can be a bit tricky to get the hang of but if you have worked with PowerPoint, or a similar slide-show package you will find many of the functions are the same.

    You can chose to create a Powtoon from scratch or customise one of the Powtoon templates.  Once you begin a new Powtoon the screen will show four distinct areas:


    The lef-hand side of the screen.


    The Left-hand area of the Screen 

    • Shows the slides in order of appearance. 
    • Click on the plus symbol to add a slide.
    • Click on the arrow in-between slides to change the transition. 
    • Rest the mouse over a slide to see three white dots
    • Click on these white dots to create duplicate slides or clone objects - a real time-saver. 

    View of the slide as you edit it.

    The middle area of the screen

    • Shows the slide you're currently working on.
    • Click on the cog wheel in the top left to format the background of the slide
    • Across the top are options to add a grid to help with object placement, change the dimensions and zoom in and out 
    • Click on an object on the slide to edit it, change the size, colour or orientation or remove it.  

    The right-hand side of the screen 

    • Contains all the objects you might want to add to your slide.
    • Some objects are only available in the Pro version..
    • You can upload your own images or videos here under 'media'. 
    • To add an object to your slide click on it from the options - it will appear on the slide at whatever moment the pointer is set at on your timeline. You can change this later - see below.

    The timeline with options for the object entry methods.

    The bottom of your screen 

    • Shows the time-line of the slide you're currently working on. 
    • Each object on your slide will appear on this time-line
    • Click on the small icon that represents an object on the timeline.
    • The colour of the timeline will change to blue for the duration that object remains on the slide.
    • A darker blue line either side of this blue timeline marks the moment the object enters the slide and leaves the slide.
    • Click and drag this dark-blue line to determine when the object appears and leaves the slide.
    • Click on the white four-way arrow beside the object icon on the time-line to chose the method by which your object enters the slide - try the hand for a bit of fun. 
    • Click and drag the dark blue pointer on the top of the timeline to slide it up and down, showing you what your slide will look like at that moment.
    • Click on the bright blue play button to play the slide from that moment. 
    • Click on the smaller grey play button to the left of this to play the slide from the beginning.
    • Click on the + and  - symbol to the right of the timeline to add or remove seconds at  whatever moment the pointer is positioned.  
    • If you have more than one object appearing on the slide at the same time and you want to edit it on the timeline click on the object itself on the slide first.

    Those are the basics of Powtoon to get you started. In order for you to really get the hang of it, I would recommend you first look at some of the templates and how they are constructed and play around with it as much as possible.


    Sharing your Powtoon



    As with Screencast-O-Matic, you have the option to upload your Powtoon to a YouTube channel. You can also share it on other social media sites by publishing it on the Powtoon website. You can then copy a link to share it, share it directly to twitter or Facebook, or copy some code to embed your Powtoon directly into your blog.  You will need the pro version if you want to download your Powtoon as an MP4 but you can download it as a PowerPoint presentation for free.

    Take a look at this Powtoon created by Taylor Library, at the University of Aberdeen. Powtoon videos will only work on devices that support Adobe Flash, which is a drawback to sharing your videos. If you're having trouble viewing the embedded video click here.


     
    This is about as simple as a Powtoon gets but it is still very effective. 
    • The text is clear and the slides are well paced so that viewers have plenty of time to read the information. 
    • They have added external links to the 'Read More' and 'View Online' buttons which brings viewers to more information. 
    • They've added their own images such as a map of the campus, a photo of the library building and a photo of the staff, with the staff names. 
    • I especially like the fact that the author of the powtoon points themselves out in the staff photo. Transparency in social media is always the best approach.

    Overall this Powtoon is an excellent example of how to create something simple but very effective. It's personal and reflects the personality of the staff in the library; it conveys the message clearly; the slides are well timed so that you have enough time to absorb the information before it moves to the next slide and the external links allow you to access more information.

    Your tasks for Thing 5 are: 



    Option 1 : Take a look at Screencast-O-Matic. Try recording a few minutes of a screen cast explaining how to complete a simple function on a website or software.

    Option 2 : Create a free account on Powtoon and try putting together a couple of slides, either from scratch or using a template.

    Feeling adventurous? Try uploading your video presentation to your YouTube channel or embed it into your blog.

    To embed an object into your blog post: 

    • Click on the 'share'  area for the object you want to embed. 
    • Look for the option 'embed' - sometimes it's on a second tab.
    • Copy the code that appears under the embed option. 
    • Open up a new blog post. When writing a blog post you can alternate between writing your blog post in regular text or HTML code usually by clicking on a tab at the top left or right of the blog post you're writing. 
    • Click on HTML and paste the embed code here. 
    • Click back to the regular text view of your blog post to see the embedded object.



    If you want to know how to add subtitles to your YouTube video watch this instructional tutorial:





    Thing 5 was written collaboratively by Niamh O'Donovan and Wayne Gibbons.

    Saturday 23 September 2017

    Thing 4: Communicating Visually



    Good social media content is all about telling a story and the best stories are told using a combination of imagery and text that elicits some kind of emotion, be it a topical humorous meme or a touching photo montage of a rescued puppy.

    However, with news feeds that are saturated with videos, memes and giphs, the playing field has become very competitive. In order to get your library patrons to pause, even for a second to view your content, you need something unique and professional looking.

    You might be thinking 'who has the time to spend putting these stories together'? You are already doing five million other things that the multi-tasking information professional ends up doing.

    In Thing 4 we’re going to look at a few mobile apps that might help. These apps are focused on creating visual content for the purpose of sharing on social media. You can have a bit of fun with these apps, while also creating something that might just stop someone in their scrolling tracks to wonder ‘how did they do that?' You will need a mobile phone to access these two apps. If you don't have one yourself maybe you can enlist the help of a colleague or student and share the fun.

    "Check out our new Mobile Library Service"


    Photofunia


    Simple steps on how to use PhotoFunia

    PhotoFunia describes itself as “Fun, fantastic with a little pinch of outrageous...” If you are looking for an image to add a little humour to your newsfeed then PhotoFunia might be the app for you.


    PhotoFunia has a bank of images that are regularly updated. The images range from photos of people into which you can insert your own or someone else's face to images into which you can put text or logos of your choice.







    A fun way to welcome incoming students for the new academic year.

    Not all the images in photo funia might be to your taste but there are a few gems, and used in right context can look very convincing.
    PhotoFunia is useful if you want to create a catchy poster for your library, or if you want to have a bit of fun online with your advertising. Here are some examples that we put together using the PhotoFunia app and a bit of imagination.



    A new library programme perhaps?

    Once you've created an image you can share it directly to a social media feed or download it for later use.


    Quik


    Quik is a free video editing app created by the makers of Go Pro, available to download from both the Google Playstore and Apple Store. Quik allows you to effortlessly make slick professional videos that you can share to your social media channels or download for later use. 


    Click on the numbered images below to enlarge. These will bring you through the steps on how to use Quik. These examples are taken from a video I created to promote workshops held in our library and were created using an android phone. The steps may vary on an apple device. 

    Steps 1 - 4: Getting started with Quik

    Editing with Quik


    Once you've selected which photos to use and chosen your theme, tap on the pen icon as each image appears to bring up editing options such as adding text, altering the focus, adding more images or removing images.
    Editing your photos. Tap on the pen icon as
    the video is playing to edit each photo.

    Adding some extra touches


    The three icons across the bottom of the screen allow to you edit the theme, change or remove the music and edit the duration of the photos, add filters and change the format of the video. The third icon at the bottom of the screen has a few extra editing features. Swipe right, to the last feature in this list, called 'outro on/off'. This allows you to get rid of the quik watermark; a feature I always appreciate in a free app.


    Once you've finished creating you can share it
    straight away or download for later use.

    Finishing up



    Quik will allow you to share you video to most social media platforms direct from the app. You can also download your video to upload to other sites that are not on the list within the app, or play on a screen in your library for example.




    Not a fan of Quik? 



    Try Ripl. Like Quik, it's a free video app that allows you to creatively stitch together images with words and music to create a catchy video.




    Advantages to Ripl



    • It's possibly a bit more user-friendly than Quik.
    • It has a few more choices of music and LOTs more choices for fonts.
    • It allows you to add a hyperlink to your video.




    Disadvantages to Ripl


    • You can't get rid of the Ripl watermark.
    • The transitions aren't as nice as Quik.
    • The text remains on all the photos for the duration of the video, you can't add different text to each image.
    • Remember that hyperlink? - it's a ripl customised link rather than your own web address. The link still brings you to your desired destination (your library website for example) but it changes the URL to contain the word Ripl; people will be less inclined to click on a link they don't recognise or has no association with your library website.


    Your task for Thing 4 is:


    Download one of the apps mentioned in this blog post and create something visual. Play around with the settings. Share your image to a social media platform of your choice, using the #rudai23 and #thing4 hashtags, or upload them to your blog.

    Remember, you will be asked to write a reflective blog-post on your experiences of this Thing so it might be worth taking a few notes as you work through the task.

    Please comment on this blog post to let us know how you get on, or email us if you have further questions.

    Thing 4 was written collaboratively by Michelle Breen and Niamh O'Donovan

    Thursday 21 September 2017

    30 of the Best Library Blogs You Should be Reading

    Now that you're all set up with your shiny new blog, it's time for you to explore the world of library bloggers. We will be encouraging you later on in the course to take a look at the blogs of the other Rudai23 pariticpants. For now we want to share with you some of the amazing library blogs that will hopefully inspire you, like they do us.

    Following blogs

    When you've logged into the platform you've chosen to create your own blog, you will also have the option to follow others who use the same platform. In Blogger, it's called your Reading List. You will find it at the bottom of your list of settings, when you're logged into the editing mode of blogger.

    To add a blog in Blogger


    1. Click on Reading List.
    2. Click on the pen icon on the top right corner.
    3. Click on 'Add' and enter the URL of the blog you want to follow.


    Alternatively when you visit a blog, you can click follow on the blog homepage and it will automatically be added to your list.
    Blogger doesn't suggest blogs for you to follow, or have  a search facility; you must find them yourself on the web first.

    To add a blog in Wordpress


    1. Log into your wordpress account.
    2. On the top right you will see a tab called 'reader'.
    3. Here you can search for topics, look at wordpress recommended sites or search for specific blogs that you want to follow.

    Using a blog reader

    Our favourite method for following blogs however is to use an RSS feeder. An RSS feeder is a tool that will scan any websites of your choice for new content and deliver that content to one location for you to read at your leisure.

    RSS feeders are useful when you have a number of websites that you regularly like to visit to read new content. It can be time consuming to have to periodically check these websites for new content, RSS feeds cut out this work for you.All you have to do is set up an account with an RSS feed service of your choice, bookmark the websites that you want to follow through that RSS feed service and then every time you log-in you will find all the content there waiting for you.

    Feedly



    We recommend Feedly as a reliable, free RSS feeder. We use it ourselves to keep track of all the Rudai 23 participant's blogs. You can sign up for free using your email address. When you log into feedly, search for our blog using our web address www.rudai23.blogspot.com and click on follow. Everytime you log into Feedly any new content that we publish will be waiting for you.

    Feedly not only lets you read the content but also share it to various social media sites, curate your own boards or save content for later. Feedly also has some really interesting features if you're prepared to pay for the pro version that makes it a very powerful collaboration tool for work.

    30 of the Best Library Blogs You Should be Reading

    To get you started on reading some of the best Library blogs and blogging Librarians out there we have created an OPML file of 30 library blogs for you to follow which you can access here.


    Importing blogs into your blog reader

    1. Download this file and save it onto your computer. 
    2. Log into your feeder of choice and find the settings/options area
    3. Look for the option to Export /Import OPML and click import. 
    4. Upload our OPML file which you just downloaded to your feeder. 
    5. Every time you log into your blog reader any new content from these blogs will be there waiting for you. 

    Happy Reading!

     

    Saturday 16 September 2017

    Thing 3: Image Banks

    Welcome to Thing 3 of Rudaí23: 23 Things for Information Skills


    This is the first Thing from our Visual Communicator section of the course. You can chose to complete one of two options within this section to be eligible to apply for the Visual Communicator Badge. Option 1 and 2 both include Thing 3.

    In this thing we will introduce you to some reliable sources for free images online. You can then use the sources we mention when completing the tasks that we assign in the other Things throughout the course and in particular the Visual Communicator modules.

    Visual images help us to absorb information quicker and more effectively. It is no surprise then that communicating through online media and social websites has  become more and more visual in the last few years. Giphs, emoji, vlogging, and storytelling apps like Instagram and Snapchat are the current communication tools of choice for online communication.

    Snappy soundbites with an eye-catching photo get more attention on Twitter. Nothing looks worse than an article shared on Facebook that has no image attached to it. If you want your message to reach a wide audience, you must include an image.

    In Thing 3 we will direct you to some reliable, legal and free resources for finding the correct image for your story.

    Finding a good image


    When we begin to search online for an image,  our first stop is more often than not Google images. While this will most definitely bring you plenty of results, unless you ask it to, Google will not restrict your search to copyright free images.

    To do this, after you’ve conducted your image search click on tools. A new toolbar will appear below the search bar. Click on usage rights and a list of options will appear based on the Creative Commons attributes. You can then restrict your search to images that have been labelled reuse.

    Conducting an image search using the usage filters in Google

    Finding the right image


    This method is not the most effective way of finding a useful image however. Instead there are a number of websites that are dedicated to providing downloadable copyright free images. Where possible we always recommend that you still attribute the image source.

    In Thing 3 we will feature two online libraries packed with excellent free images that you can use, even commercially, for no cost at all, Flickr and Pixabay. At the end of this post are links to other free image sites that you can explore in your own time .

    Creative Commons 


    Before we begin discussing image banks it is important to know a little bit about copyright and how it applies to images you wish to use from the internet.  Working in the information world, we all need to be aware of our legal responsibilities. The terms “Intellectual property”, “Copyright”, “Creative Commons” and“DRM” are terms that we need to understand in order to:

    • educate our clients about their rights and responsibilities regarding materials they access and/or borrow
    • share our own works in a manner which supports free and open movement of information
    • comply with any contractual or organisational obligations we may have

    Creative Commons and Copyright 

     

    From a library point of view, copyright and copyright restrictions impact everything we do; the content we make available (for example, journal and e-book licensing restrictions), Inter-Library Loans, (restrictions on sending PDFs), photocopying, use of our public access computers and the content we make and share to educate our patrons and ourselves. “Fair use” or “fair dealing” provisions that allowed for the use of copyrighted material for educational purposes or personal research have historically been of some value.

    As copyright restrictions became more onerous, educators, librarians, technologists, legal scholars and others came together in 2001 to establish Creative Commons, a non-profit organisation, set up with the intention of facilitating sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. Creative Commons have created licences which enable a content creator to allow others to use their work in a number of defined ways including permitting them to alter, or build on, an original work to create something new without requiring explicit consent. There are a number of different licence types, each of these licences allows a different level of permission from the original content creator. It is important to note that Creative Commons licences do not eliminate copyright. They build on it, enabling a “some rights reserved” approach rather than the traditional “all rights reserved” which copyright applied. You can read the full details of each licence on the Creative Commons website.

     

     A summary of Creative Commons licensing types:

     

    Attribution. This licence requires that the content creator is credited for their work, so if you use a photo in your blog, include the creator’s name and any link to their personal website or the website where their content is hosted. You should also specify if you have adapted the content in any way. Creative Commons provides some examples of what a good attribution looks like.
    Attribution-ShareAlike requires that you attribute the author as above and that any content which you create is shared under the same licence so that others may subsequently use your work to generate their own new content.
    Attribution-NoDerivs requires attribution and prohibits you from distributing the material if you modify it in any way.
    Attribution-NonCommercial allows you to adapt and share the content as long as you attribute it and as long as you distribute it for non-commercial purposes.
    Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike allows you to adapt and share the content as long as it is for non-commercial purposes and you must licence any adaptation under the same terms as the original licence.
    Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs requires attribution of the creator, that the content may only be used for non-commercial purposes and that the content cannot be altered in any way. No cropping, no changing, no adding a logo or text or anything else.\

    The Creative Commons attributes icons.


    The Creative Commons movement has become so successful that “creative commons” has entered the English language as a way to refer to items licensed in this manner. Websites like Flickr and Opsound allow users to upload content with a Creative Commons licence so that others can then use this content to build new works. It is a useful search term to use when trying to source content for presentations or displays.

    When you create your own work, be that a photograph, a blogpost, a graphic, or an audio or visual recording, you should also consider whether or not you wish to licence it under a Creative Commons licence. Creative Commons has a handy decision tool to help you select the licence that is most appropriate for your needs.  It is important to note however, that if you create content on a device that belongs to your employer, or in your place of employment then the copyright for that content belongs to your employer.



    Pixabay

    Public Domain content is content that has either passed out of copyright, or where copyright entitlements have been forfeited. So, for example Project Gutenberg makes available the works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and others. Public Domain content can be used by anyone for any purpose. Some creators now choose to make their works Public Domain immediately, as a contribution to society.

    Pixabay is a website which makes public domain images available for use for free. All contents are released under Creative Commons CC0, which makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist - even for commercial purposes.

    When you search on Pixabay, the top row of results will be paid content from Shutterstock. these are featured on the site as advertising, to help with running costs of Pixabay. Ignore these and browse the images below it, which are all free. When you download images from Pixabay you are invited to contribute via PayPal, Bank transfer or Bitcoin but this is not compulsory, it just keeps the wheels greased for this great website.

    Pixabay has some useful search functions that allow you to limit your search by size, colour, image format and orientation. Just click on ‘All images’ beside the search box and a drop-down menu with options will appear.

    A visual of the options available when searching on Pixabay

    Flickr 

    Flickr is a photo-sharing website that allows users to upload and tag photos, browse others’ photos, and add comments and annotations. Flickr offers some images on a Creative Commons basis and it is to these collections you should look when trying to source an image you wish to reuse. Launched in 2004, Flickr provides the tools, but the value derives from the contributions of the user community—photos, comments, ratings, and organisation—and the connections that the site facilitates between individuals. Flickr also provides a range of privacy settings, giving users control over how their photos can be used. There are many photos on Flickr that are tagged as reusable and downloading these is quite easy. You will need to have access to a computer, as the mobile app is not capable of handling these functions.
    Flickr's Creative Commons homepage. 

    In order to use flickr you must set up an account. Once you have set up your account you can search for images, upload your own or create your own galleries of images.
    There are two ways to source creative commons licensed images on flickr.

    Method 1 : Search for an image using the search box; Click on Any License on the top-left corner of the results; a drop down menu will appear from which you can chose your preferred license.



    Method 2: Go to Flickr’s Creative Commons site. Chose which  Creative Commons license you wish to use and click on see more; you can browse images or search using the search box.


    Browsing Creative Commons images on Flickr.





    To download an image from Flickr:  

    • Find the photo you wish to use and click the downward-pointing arrow to see image size options. A short list of image sizes available for download will appear. To see an even longer list, click “View all sizes.” The higher the resolution, the larger the image.
    • If you do not see many higher resolutions, the image may just be small, or the owner of the image has chosen not to share all sizes.
    • Click an image size, and then click the Download link. The download link will say something like “Download the Large 1024 size of this photo,” though the actual text depends on the selected image size. Choose a location to save your image. 
    • Select a folder, then click “Save” to download the image.


    Here are some libraries that are on Flickr: 

    The British Library
    The National Library of Ireland
    New York Public Library

    Here are some suggestions of other uses for Flickr in your library: 


    • Upload photos of your library events and tag them with your library name to make them more discoverable 
    • Create a unique tag for your library and encourage your library patrons to use it when sharing photos of your library on flickr. 
    • Create a gallery of a special collection that you hold in your library. 


    Cant find the image you want? Get your camera phone out and make your own. 

     

     

    Your Task for Thing 3 is:

    Explore one of the image bank sites we mention in this Thing. Try downloading an image from one of them and uploading it to your blog, or upload an image to your flickr account, or create a gallery in your flickr account.

    Optional task: Write a blog post on your experience of  completing the above task. You will be asked to do this in order to apply for your visual communicator badge, so it might be useful to have a written account to refresh your memory.

    This blogpost is not legal advice and should be treated only as a signpost towards some pertinent pieces of legislation regarding copyright. Please check the copyright and intellectual property legislation for your own jurisdiction in order to fully inform yourself on this topic.

     

    Further Reading

    Take a look at our Evernote Notebook for more sources of free images and extra reading about Flickr and copyright. If you're not sure what Evernote is we will be covering it later on in the course. You don't need an evernote account to view this content.

    Thing 3 was written collaboratively by Michelle Breen,  Niamh O'Donovan and Caroline Rowan

    Tuesday 12 September 2017

    Thing 2: Write Your First Blog Post



    Your first task as part of your Rudai 23 journey is to create a Blog and write a blog post. Hopefully the post you craft will be just the first of many of such pieces on your very own librarian's blog.

    Last week’s post was a practical guide to setting up a blog of your very own. What follows here, to help you get started, is a simple introduction to blogging that will provide some encouragement, and show you, again hopefully, how ‘easy’ blogging actually can be and is.




    What is Blogging?


    So, for those of you new to blogging what is a blog? What is blogging?

    I always find etymology a good place to start learning about something and with this in mind the word Blog is a contraction of two words Web (as in world wide web) and Log (as in regular record of incidents.) So, in essence a Blog is like a web journal. It is a place, a public space to write and record your opinions, your reflections and thoughts on a particular subject. It is a space for you to spread your word to the world (wide web)




    Why Blog? 


    Why do people blog as individuals? (As opposed to blogging as institutional account which usually aims to promote an institution)

    A recent article from the New Review of Academic Librarianship offers some reasons why Librarians blog. A number are below (But first – Shameless, or should that be shameful, plug now - a preprint of the article Many voices: Building a biblioblogosphere in Ireland is available at UCC’s very own repository, CORA)
    • To share and communicate ideas, knowledge best practice with other librarians and the library profession in general
    • To connect and engage with other librarians
    • To advocate for the profession outside the profession
    • Another reason could be to practice writing in a safe collegial atmosphere. 
    • And finally – because it is actually enjoyable


    How to Blog 


    First step, actually set up your blog.

    Most people use Blogger or Wordpress – but you can also use Tumbler or Medium amongst others For more detailed information please read Thing 1 if you haven't already.

    Whichever one you use you use you shouldn’t be overly concerned with or worried about the template. Follow the KISS Principle

    Choose a template that allows your writing to shine. You want the content to be the important thing, not how it looks. You should be aiming for substance not style. Ultimately your readers will go that’s an interesting argument – not I like their choice of theme.

    Importantly - Give yourself time to write the blog. Take time out. When writing try to avoid distractions like your social media accounts. Distractions , well they distract, and make completing the post and making a coherent argument more difficult.

    Read other librarians blogs. See what works for them. See what you like and enjoy. And see if you can apply how they blog to your blog.


    What to write about and related…


    Write about what you know, things that you’ve done in your daily work and your opinions on these things. Reflect on the work and write down these reflections.

    If you read something interesting, write a blog post on it.

    If you read something you vehemently oppose and think is utter £&$%&* - write a post and argue with it. 

    Write a book review.

    It is your blog. You can write about whatever you want to write about.

    Don’t worry about length of blog post. And I know I might be going against the orthodoxy here which says keep posts to under a thousand word. My most read post on Libfocus was over 4,000 words. Likewise, the most read posts on Sir Henrys and Blackpool Sentinel were over 3,000 words. If the post is interesting enough and written coherently people will stick with irrespective of the word-count.

    Check your spelling and your grammar. Make this perfect. It just looks bad to have typos, spelling mistakes etc. And can take away from the pleasure for your reader.

    Encourage Feedback and engage with the feedback – if somebody comments, reply.

    Link your blog into your social media accounts and share your post across these platforms. Don’t be shy to promote your post – you have done the hard parts, actually writing it and putting it out there.

    Do try to post regularly. Posting regularly builds momentum and helps to keep your blog in the eyes of people.

    If you feel that keeping up your own blog takes too much time and effort why not consider contributing guest blogs to a blog, and thinking local here, like Libfocus or Slip Ireland


    Conclusion


    And to finish up – a bit of advice that I have to keep repeating to myself when I am finding it difficult to get a blog post or an article started, or more importantly finished. As a particular sports brand motto goes – Just do it. Every written piece in history has started with one word, get that word down, and keep going. Don’t worry about how it reads – you will have to redraft and redraft. NEVER publish a first draft – of anything. Just get writing, and rewriting etc.


    And enjoy it. It will be fun. But most importantly Just do it!


    Your task for this Thing is:


    Write a blog post on any topic of your choice and publish it on your blog. Please ensure to put 'Thing 2' in the title of your blog post to make it easily identifiable to our moderators later. 

    Further reading: 


    This article by Michael Stephens encapsulates a lot of the reasons why we think that sharing the work we do on social  media and through blogs is so important. He gives some useful advice about best practice when blogging  and is definitely worth reading for inspiration.  


    Today's post was written by Martin O'Connor. Martin is a member of the Collection Development & Management team at University College Cork Library. He has published and presented in the areas of library promotion & marketing, collaboration, social media, library exchanges and user engagement.

    He is a long time member of the Libfocus blogging team. He runs the Irish music blog, The Blackpool Sentinel. He is also part of the Shush: Sounds from UCC Library team and co-manages their blog. And finally, as far as blogging goes, he also managed the Sir Henrys 2014 blog an exhibition run by UCC Library in 2014

    Saturday 9 September 2017

    Rudaí23 2017 Registration Step 2

    Welcome to step 2 of the registration process for R23: 23 Things for Information Skills.


    By now you should have completed step one by subscribing to our blog. If not, click here:Subscribe to R23: 23 Things for Information Skills by Email

    You should also have read through and completed Thing 1 and set up your blog. Once you have that done you can complete step 2 of registration which is to click here and complete our registration form. 

    In the registration form please submit the address of the blog that you plan to use when writing the Reflective Practice posts during the course.

    Your blog URL is the address you type into the internet search bar to open your blog homepage. It should begin with the text https:// and end with name of whatever blog provider you used. For example https://randomlibrarystuff.blogspot.com



    It is essential that we have your correct details if you plan to apply for the Digital Open Badges in this course.

    Here is the link to our registration form in case you missed it. 


    Registration will remain open for the duration of the course. 

    If you plan to do one of the later sections of the course you don't have to register straight away. 

    Good luck with the course, and have fun!

    Thing 1: Setting up your blog


    "A blank screen, he's got a blank screen!"

    Welcome to Thing 1 of R23: 23 Things for Information Skills. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are essential reading in order to progress with the rest of this course. 

    One of the core elements of a 23 Things course is self-discovery and reflection. These are valuable learning methods and we know that you will get a lot more out of this course if you embrace them throughout. 

    We will have lots of opportunity in each module for you to discover and learn on your own. In order to be eligible to apply for a Digital Open Badge you must reflect on that learning and write a reflective blog post on your thoughts and learning experience. That is where the blog comes in. 

    Blogging can be a valuable tool for career progression as you record your CPD activities, share your experiences and connect with others online. We will talk more about the benefits of blogging in Thing 2. In this bog post we will show you how to set up your own blog. 

    A common starting point for us all in the world of blogging is a blank screen. And possibly a blank expression. Well, don't worry, we've all been there, and I'm going to walk you through the whole process of starting a blog from scratch. By the end of this post, you will have seen some "how-tos" on creating a blog, writing a post, following other bloggers, and most importantly, you'll have seen that it's pretty straightforward when you get stuck in.

    So, what is a blog anyway? It's many things to many people, but where the word comes from is a combination of the phrase "web log". Many users initially saw blogs as a way to keep an online journal (or log) of their lives. The uses have since expanded, and now there are many forms of blog, but they all involve a user writing a "post" and publishing it to an online tool. The user can choose to keep the blog private or leave it open for anyone to see. For those that go public, there is the option to gain followers/fans, and there are even cases of bloggers making a living out of their writing. The benefits of sharing your blog include opportunities for others to engage with your posts, to share ideas, and as a support network.


    What do you need to do to get started?

    Firstly you will need to decide on which blogging platform you wish to use. There are many out there, and each has pros and cons. What is common to all platforms is that you will need to create an account to use them. You can think of this in terms of when you were setting up an email address for yourself: you could choose from Google, Yahoo, Hotmail, Vodafone, etc. They all essentially do the same thing, but there are a few to choose from. Well, it's the same with blogging tools. I'll go through some of the options in the next section, to help you decide which one you want to use.


    Which blogging platform should you use?

    This will come down to personal choice, really, but to help you decide, I'm going to introduce you to a few options.


    The three platforms that I have tried out in the past are BloggerWordPress and  Tumblr.

    Blogger Pros:

    • Owned by Google, so if you have a Google or gmail account, you already have Blogger
    • Completely free
    • Easy to set up and use
    • Offers basic analytics

    Blogger Cons:

    • Hosted by Google, so if they ever shut it down, you could lose your blog
    • Some templates look a bit dated

    WordPress Pros:
    • Blogs can look very professional
    • Easy to set up and use
    • Free (but limited) version available 

    WordPress Cons:

    • Free version has the same risk as Blogger (if the host ever shuts the service down, you could lose your blog)
    •  You may find that you have to pay for the "nice" parts that come free with other providers


    Tumblr Pros:

    • Very well suited to blogging on a mobile device
    • Media-centric, although you can post just text
    • Clean and modern look

    Tumblr Cons:

    • Blogs tend to not look as professional as Blogger or Wordpress
    • Analytic tools are not as in-depth as Blogger or Wordpress
    Tumblr has become a well loved micro-blogging tool by librarians. Just search for the hashtag #tumblarians to get an array of librarian humor and real librarians sharing their workday lives.
    The best way to decide which one suits you is to have a look each of them online. I have also added a link in the "Want to know more?" section below, which goes into a bit more detail about each of the platforms.

    My thoughts on the three platforms.

    Unless you are willing to pay for hosting to set up your own WordPress site (which can look VERY professional, but costs money), then Blogger or Wordpress.com (the free version of WordPress) are your best options. Tumblr is fine, and arguably has the best mobile app (iOS andAndroid) of the three. However, it doesn't have the same administration tools as the other two. Blogger is a bit easier to use for a beginner but doesn't look as fancy as WordPress. If at a later stage you wish to transfer your blog into a self-hosted website using the full (paid) version of WordPress, then you can easily export your Blogger blog to WordPress. So, it is up to you to balance the pros and cons and decide which platform suits you best. Any of these three will work fine for Rudaí23.


    Which blogging platform do I use?

    Well, actually, I use all three! When I started blogging for my students, I decided to use Blogger, as I found it easier to get up and running on it compared to Wordpress (at the time, Tumblr was not as mature as it is now). A few years later I wanted to spruce up the look of the blog, so I tried moving it to WordPress. What I found was that the blog was no longer showing up in search engine results, so I switched back to Blogger. If I had been using WordPress from the start, I would not have had this problem.  I had created a "track record" and had gathered followers through my Blogger site and so it made sense to leave it there.

    Another BIG reason why I choose Blogger to begin with is that it is completely integrated with my Google account, so everything is really smooth: I can link my Google Calendar, Drive, Photos, Google Plus and YouTube stuff to my Blogger blogs very easily. They all work well together because they are all part of the one account. By the way, you may have noticed that the Rudaí23 blog is also created using Blogger!

    More recently, I have started using Wordpress.com for my personal web site. There is a blogging element to this site, but I use it more as a "landing page" for my web presence. This is an example of an advantage of Wordpress: it can be used to create websites, not just blogs.

    I also use Tumblr because I like how easily it works on my iPhone. It is very convenient for blogging on the go. I tend to view it as "Twitter Plus", in that I use it in a similar way to Twitter, but it does not have the limitation of just 140 characters. It is so easy to share media content (as well as text) using Tumblr, so it is a great option if you have something short and snappy to share. I have my Tumblr and Twitter accounts linked, so anything I create on Tumblr also gets published automatically on Twitter.

    Whatever platform you decide to use for your blog, that is absolutely fine.  When you have created your blog, its URL will be shared to other Rudaí23 users, and we will be able to work with you no matter what way you decide to go. However, for the purposes of sharing a tutorial with you, the next thing I am going to show you is how to get up and running with Blogger.


    Getting started with Blogger

    There are only a couple of simple steps involved in setting up a blog using Blogger.

    1. Blogger requires a Google Account. If you do not have a Google Account, you can watch the video below to see how to set one up. If you already have a Google Account, you can skip this step.







    2. Once you've logged into your Google account you can set up your blog.

    The video below shows you exactly how to do this. In this video, you will also see how to publish a post, which is the basis of "Thing 2"


      If you cannot watch these videos just follow these steps:


      1. Go to blogger.com 
      2. Click on 'create blog'
      3. You will then be asked to sign into your google account, or set up a google account if you do not have one already. 
      4. You will then be asked to choose a blog title and URL. These do not have to be the same. If you choose a long blog title, you might prefer a shorter URL. Take some time to think about your URL and blog title, you will be sharing this with your professional peers. 
      5. Your URL is the information that we need to complete registration. More on that later. 
      6. You will now be brought into your blog editing page. Here you will see a menu of options on the left, where you can chose the theme, layout, background and write your first post. 
      7. On the top left click on 'view blog' and a new tab will open showing you what your blog looks like on the web. 
      8. Every time you add an element to your blog, change the layout, or compose a post you can preview it before committing to it. 


      That's it! You're now up and running with your blog!

      If you chose to use Wordpress or Tumblr or a similar blog platform the set-up are broadly similar to blogger and relatively simple. Try it out and see how you get on.


      Your Tasks for Thing 1:

      If you've been looking at the links and working through them as you read this post, you may have already completed most of the first Thing! If not, all you have to do is:
      1. Choose a blogging platform
      2. Create your blog
      3. Complete our registration form, including the URL for your blog. 
      Click here to complete Step 2 of our registration process once you have your blog set up. 


      Writing your first post will be coming up in Thing 2.

        Want to know more?

        Blogging, and the finer detail of how to use your chosen blogging platform, is something that you will get better at with practice. One of the best ways to find out how your chosen platform works is simply to experiment with it. Have a look around at the settings. Play around with the themes. See if you can figure out how to add images to your posts.

        As a helping hand, I've put together a number of short video tutorials. You can look at these now, or you can come back to them later on when you want to explore some of the more advanced tools in Blogger. The videos can be found at the following links:

        For a more detailed comparison between the three blogging platforms outlined above, have a look at the following link. It is about a 10-15 minute read.

        Thing 1 is written by Wayne Gibbons, an Educator and Social Media enthusiast. 








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