INSIGHT


‘‘ Professional Development


Tools to help with your workload


I


n this issue we are going to focus on using free technologies and tools to your advantage when studying, managing projects/ workloads/CPD or to assist you in teaching/creating and delivering presentations.


If you’re working on a project (individually or in a team) or need to plan or document an online event the following tools will assist you:


● Trello is an online tool for managing projects and tasks. It uses a system of boards, lists and cards to give you a visual overview of what is being worked on and by whom. It is really useful for group work; we’ve been using it for the last few years to manage our network (e.g. organising events and managing our social media content). https://trello.com


● Wakelet is a versatile tool that can be used, for instance; as a place to collate research, to promote events/collections, as a replacement for Storify. You can decide whether your “wakes” are private or public and a URL is generated which you can share with others. https://wakelet.com/


For presentations, the following tools can help you create an interactive, sleek presentation:


● Canva is a simple to use graphic design tool which allows you to make images and designs e.g. presentations/ posters, logos and social media banners. This is another tool that can be used in a team scenario as it allows you to share designs/images via a link or email. We recently used Canva to give our logo a make-over and were pretty pleased with the result. https://www.canva.com/


● Images are an important part of any presentation. StockSnap and Pixabay


40 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL


provide high quality images under a single, simple CC0 license that lets you do what you want, with no attribution required. https://stocksnap.io/ and https:// pixabay.com If you have your own photos that you’d like to edit Remove.bg allows you to remove the background easily and instantly https://www.remove.bg/ and VSCO (free version) allows you to edit and enhance your photos. https://vsco.co/


● Kahoot is a tool which allows you to improve audience participation in your presentations/teaching. It is a games- based platform which is used to reinforce the message/learning delivered in your session. You create a timed quiz (a series of multiple-choice questions) and are provided with a URL to use. Players answer the questions used on their own devices while the game is displayed on a shared screen. It is very popular with players; we used in our last event and it went down really well! https://kahoot.com/


If you’re struggling to focus, check out Forest, an ethical tool that can help you cut out distractions e.g. email, social media (those that you choose to block out). The concept is whenever you want to focus you plant a virtual tree, the tree will then grow in the time you’re using the app, the tree will die if you leave the app! The more you use the app the more trees you’ll grow. https://t.co/c7HDRpg7Dn If privacy and the internet usage is at the forefront of your mind, but you are unsure where to start, take a look at the Data detox. It is an eight-day guide that provides tips on reducing your data traces online. Committing half an hour a day allows you to explore and tidy up your digital life. It can be used personally or for training. The team can also supply printable copies in diff erent languages on request. https://datadetox.myshadow.org/en/home


Amy Finnegan is Information Specialist, NICE.


... it is important to mention that social media is a key resource for library and information professionals to continue their professional development.


Helen Monagle (@HelenMonagle) is an Electronic Resources Manager at The University of Salford.


Amy and Helen are co-founders of the New Library Professionals Network (Twitter @NLPN_ and blog at nlpn.wordpress.com)


Whilst we have not included any specifi c social media platforms in this piece, it is important to mention that social media is a key resource for library and information professionals to continue their professional development. For more information on this see our article on the topic: https://bit.ly/2UfJu34 IP


April-May 2019


Professional Development p40.indd 1


25/04/2019 14:54


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60