e-learning librarian’s toolbox

From the Townsville Bulletin on Tuesday:

Nogood form

WHAT is it with the impossibly difficult forms which have to be filled out by apprentices and/or their parents claiming reimbursement for TAFE study courses? Surely these forms can be made simpler. I don’t know how apprentices living in remote indigenous communities go about claiming their entitlements. It’s as though TAFE is deliberately trying to to intimidate people into not claiming what is their due.

Ouch!

Librarians with the Ontario public service are breaking stereotypes and embracing social media to deliver information within their departments and beyond. Librarians at the Legislative Assembly and the Fire Marshall’s Office are using RSS feeds and Twitter to stay relevant.

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=54695

This looks like a useful document. According to the blurb, it is “an introduction for librarians new to Web 2.0 and Social Media, and who are interested in using publicly accessible social media tools to serve Young Adults in any types of libraries: public, school, special or academic”.

http://www.ifla.org/en/publications/web-20-and-library-services-for-young-adults

I like what this article from Federal Computer Week says about how librarians will not only embrace Web 3.0, but we will be on the leading edge.

Here is a mashable.com article which provides a list of what Universities are using Web 2.0 tools for.

I guess University students in the US are different to TAFE students in Australia. We’ve tried to get students to communicate with us using Facebook, MySpace, IM and SMS. So far they have only responded to SMS communication – although admittedly we weren’t able to promote the other services much.

I wonder if other academic libraries in Australia have had much success.

Reading an interesting article on using Facebook and Twitter at work to improve your productivity.

http://www.cio.com/article/print/488418

Simon Brown, a TAFE QLD Stonemasonry teacher, is doing some interesting things with spycam glasses.

Check out
http://cafechat.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/recording-pov-video-in-the-training-workshop-3/

Been a bit lax lately, but here are a couple of titbits worth looking at:

Don’t Worry, Be Scrappy: Good, Cheap Tech for Schools, Cloud Computing and More

It’s the perfect time to try cheap new technologies

Professional associations stand up for librarians: Tracey Caldwell looks at how the professional associations are embracing upskilling, specialisation, networking and Web 2.0 to help the beleaguered librarian

Anyone seen this site? Students can review courses and schools/universities.

http://www.hotcourses.com.au/australia/home.html

http://www.hotcourses.com.au/australia/university/bremer-institute-of-tafe-australia/115254/uni.html