Tag Archives: project

What’s next?

Posted on by acrystelle
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So what does one do after finishing a university semester?

Get a wriggle on the next big project, of course!

I don’t stop. Well, not completely. :) But I wouldn’t have it any other way and I’m really excited. I’ve just spent a few hours of my Sunday arvo working on tasks related to my role on the organising committee for next year’s 6th New Librarians’ Symposium. I am co-chairing the ‘Experience’ portfolio. What does this entail, you ask?

Not only is the ‘Experience’ portfolio a lot of fun to organise and deliver, but the main mission of this portfolio is to ensure the delegates arrive in Brisbane okay, have an awesome time while they’re here and help maximise the experience of being at this super cool event. The New Librarians’ Symposium is an event aimed at those new to the information profession, providing a helping hand in the early career years by facilitating networking and delivering an action-packed program aimed to equip these new information professionals with the inspiration and tools they need to succeed.

I believe this event will be one to inspire exploration of ideas and vision through collaboration, laughter and forward, ‘big picture’ thinking. I hope for fresh views about key issues from newbies and a willingness to push boundaries and stimulate ways of doing things differently.

No doubt a lot of my time will be dedicated to this event over the next 6 to 8 months. It’s an important event for me to be a part of and I’m looking forward to seeing it take shape. A project plan for the ‘Experience’ portfolio is underway and meetings with the sub-committee have commenced. Check out more information about the event and the organising committee by visiting the website and look out for news updates!

Setting the Scene – 2012 Planning Part 1

Posted on by acrystelle
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Ah, new year resolutions. A new year, a fresh start. Goals seem to be flying about all over the place, and not without every tip under the sun about how to keep them. Well, I believe there is no point in having resolutions and goals without accompanying those with a plan to achieve them.

I achieved a lot last year, but at an expense to my well-being. It was a fabulous year for me professionally, but I didn’t set myself some boundaries. Without boundaries I tend to have no sense of when enough is enough; I didn’t consistently recognise limitations to my time and energy and I didn’t set any goals for the year. Funny that. I didn’t set any goals, yet I’ve accomplished more than what I remotely thought to be possible. I just went all out, hard, with no real defined direction. I took up every opportunity that came my way. Of course, my projects and writing this blog had purpose, but I did not deliberately say to myself, “Hey, let’s aim to present at a conference this year”. Basically I saw opportunities then did whatever I could manage to seize them.

This year will be much the same, but strategically and aligned with plans, focus, direction and goals. Seizing opportunities as they are created or presented is a great trait to have, but I believe I need to reign that tendency in a little, so to not jeopardise the efforts I plan to invest in other parts of my life which I also consider important and are very dear to me.

My lessons learnt from last year has inspired me to do some planning for next year, sorry, this year. Even before the new year began, I had my first planning session. I started tweeting my planning sessions, where a request arose that I blog about my process. This introductory post, as well as in a few posts to follow, I will detail what I have done to develop to a big picture view, down to a week-to-week system of keeping projects (and new habits) on track. Plus, I’m thinking it’s a good idea to document my planning process for reference at a later date.

Now, to return to the topic of new year resolutions and goals, here are some of my thoughts. Where goals arise, a balance needs to be struck between the efforts planned to be invested into those goals and the rest of life itself. There can be more time dedicated to writing, for example, but which part of life is going to be sacrificed in order to achieve related goals?

I’ve come to understand that I can’t achieve a goal without taking time away from another part of my life. This is where determining a (very) few focus areas, I’ve found to be important. These areas are what I’ll place above all else, when push comes to shove. I need to know what my priorities are, regardless of the goals I wish to achieve.

The purpose of my planning is to define focus areas for myself, determine when my projects are and identify any times I could pursue things I’d like to.

I define or use the term ‘project’ loosely in this context, to mean any series of tasks toward a completion of something. Projects could be completing a unit in my Masters course, organising an ALIA NewGrads event, research I’d like to do and even planning my travels.

My planning aims to: -

  • Look at what I can realistically achieve
  • Prompt strategic thinking
  • Break down goals by identifying building blocks (stepping stone projects and achievements)
  • Apply lessons learnt from last year.

NLS5 Presentation – Slides Available!

Posted on by acrystelle
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A little research project undertaken in the first half of this year, looking into a new information professional’s (my) experiences in developing a personal learning network, turned into a well-received presentation, from which I’m very appreciative of the positive feedback and encouragement.
Some background on the research project and details of the purpose and focus for the presentation can be read from a previous post – Preparing the Mindset.

So before I delve into my NLS5 reflections, I just thought I’d share my presentation slides.

Connecting to the LIS Online Community: Developing a PLN

NLS5 – Preparing the Mindset

Posted on by acrystelle
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What started out as a fragmented idea, fueled by curiosity and encouraged by a certain lecturer, has now evolved into a research project and paper, the presentation to be made at the New Librarians’ Symposium, held in Perth next weekend.

Here, with this post, I’m reflecting on the inception of this project, trying to articulate my thoughts and clarify the purpose of my presentation. So don’t mind me. :)

When the call for papers for NLS5 was announced last year, as quickly as ideas emerged, I had initially dismissed the opportunity. I didn’t think my ideas would be good enough for a serious discussion with somebody, let alone presenting them.

This little research project inspired the start of ‘Flight Path’, and the beginning of an increased presence in the online LIS community. My research looked at the adoption and development of a new information professional’s, my own, personal learning network. I have attempted to capture what it’s like to establish connections and build relationships with others in the community by sharing my thoughts and experiences here, conversing in the Twitter-sphere, and measuring elements of PLN participation and building with quantitative data. The focus was not so much on the tools I used, but how I used them – the strategies and lessons – demonstrating the immersion into the online community “in action”. It’s all very well to set up tools – Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, a blog, etc – but to support PLN growth and the approach to continual professional development, the way the tools are used ultimately determines PLN effectiveness.

Outcomes of my research is by no means complete, nor was it a perfect methodology. What I believe I’ve achieved (and wish to contribute and share) is the establishment of a benchmark for measuring effective and engaging personal learning networks, identification of strategies for PLN adoption and possibly an enhanced understanding of the concept by learning about and applying network theory and connectivism.

The purpose of my presentation is to reflect and share my experiences of PLN development. The aim is to inspire, guide and encourage other new information professionals who may be uncertain about starting out in the online LIS community. I admitted long ago that the mere thought of using technologies and tools was very daunting and difficult to comprehend. There is no doubt in my mind others feel the same way. What I’ll be trying to achieve with my presentation is to put these thoughts at ease, assure there’s plenty of people to assist (and are very happy to!), and show that successful immersion into the online LIS community and the establishment of a personal learning network can happen with small steps.

So the end is near, a chapter comes to a close for this piece of research. Following NLS5, I think I’ll sit down to consider what the next steps will be. What aspect of the PLN concept can I clarify or expand on next?

If interested in some background reading, here’s some key posts I’ve written on PLNs.

10 Must Reads for PLNs
Principles of Connectivism and the PLN
Personal Learning Networks and Environments – Same thing?
PLN Adoption: Which stage are you at?
Focusing on Network Theory

One, giant leap…

Posted on by acrystelle
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One. Massive. Semester.

Taking a step back from it all now, this last semester was indeed challenging. I’ve tried new things. I’ve learnt A LOT. Yes, it has been one, giant leap for my LIS career.

While only enrolled in one subject (focusing on web content), I also conducted a small research project of my own and produced my first conference paper, to be presented at the New Librarians’ Symposium (NLS5), held in Perth later this year. Not to mention my full-time paid work, organising events for ALIA New Graduates group and writing an article for the association’s ‘InCite’ magazine. Phew!

How did I deal with it? Well, to be honest I just kept truckin’ through it. Yes, deadlines were tough, and yes, I did run out of ‘steam’ towards the end. But I really do believe I kept a fair amount of focus on tasks throughout the entire time. Again, how? You ask. I planned well and was systematic. Simple. Implementation of the ‘Getting Things Done’ methodology assisted with making me stop and think about the next actions required for both my subject and research project. I input these into my task manager app on my phone (which also syncs to my Mac). A weekly review of tasks ahead enabled me to manage my (huge) workload, re-schedule and juggle tasks around as needed. I used project folders (or document wallets), organised on a rack, to hold all my notes, readings, etc pertaining to each. Flexible hours at work were a bonus. Even with my systematic approach, I ran into hiccups and mistakes.

I’d never started or written a blog before.

I’d never written a conference paper before.

I’d never written an article for ALIA’s InCite before.

I’d little background knowledge prior to commencing my Masters subject.

I’d never formally gathered data before for a REAL project/ conference paper.

That’s a few ‘firsts’.

Notice that these ‘firsts’ are primarily focused on writing? Ah ha! Written communication was a skill I identified as needing improvement at the beginning of the year. I’ve taken up every reasonable opportunity to write. As a professional (and perhaps academic in-the-making), I need to write well.

Guaranteed, I make life hard on myself. But if it wasn’t hard, everybody would be doing it! If I want to learn about something, information architecture for example, I’ll go learn as much as possible. That’s just how I am. I’m also privileged to have academic staff (on hand) to make me feel comfortable to discover things for myself. ;)

The most significant ‘take aways’ from what I’ve learnt this semester are: -

  • content management and systems
  • information architecture
  • web content governance
  • developing skills in HTML
  • connectivism and personal learning networks
  • conference writing process

Learning about content management systems and information architecture have coincided with projects I’ve instigated at work in the technical library. This has worked out really well as I believe I’m now informed with the basic, necessary knowledge to proceed.

Looking to next semester, I’ll again be enrolled in one subject which will compliment my newly found interest in information architecture, and presenting my paper on Personal Learning Networks at NLS5. I feel I need a bit of a break, a breather.

Between now and then, I intend to catch up on and finish readings for CCK11, read up about conducting research, and reassess skills development and create a plan for the next six months.

There’s not much I would change about my approach to my workload. I guess the one thing I would like to improve is my attention to detail, and deciding on a method and sticking to it. From something as simple as recording and tracking research articles I’ve read, to reviewing my task list.

The ‘keys’ I’ve learnt these last few months are: -

  1. Know your (productivity) limits.
  2. Be systematic and proactive.
  3. Identify next actions – look at the tasks/steps required, don’t view the whole project as a single task.
  4. Look forward, not backwards – focus on what you can do, not dwell on how you may have screwed up.

One, giant leap. Yes, indeed.

I’ve been challenged.

I’ve struggled.

I’ve learnt.

I’ve achieved.