Marks out of ten…

Hurrah!  I have my first assignment grade.  It’s good – I got an A! 

The feedback was very detailed, so even with that, I can see where to improve.  I know there were some areas I would have improved about it, so that’s good.  I’ve found it surprisingly difficult, having had a ten year break between my undergraduate degree and this one, to judge whether my work was at the right level.  I am happy that it is at an appropriate level, and feel justified in the amount of work I put in.

Looking ahead, I am reasonably confident about the databases assignment, as the subject matter is something I can work with (it was the kind of thing I’d been considering if I’d had to choose my own topic).  The knowledge organization topic will be harder, as it’s much more abstract, and unlike last time I made a classification scheme, it must be more technically correct.  It also involves more essay and less technical skill than the databases module.  The other intimidating thing about these modules is that there are more books to read, as opposed to journal articles.  I like articles – you can pick and mix, focussing on areas you are interested in, and skimming over less exciting areas.  But I feel duty-bound to read books from cover to cover, and as both courses are recommending books, I’ll have some real sleep-inducers coming my way.

Now for a short break

Well, all three assignments are finished and submitted, now it is the nailbiting gap where I have to wait and see whether they are up to scratch.  At least I can’t be accused of skimping on background reading – the most recent essay had nearly 4 pages of references/further reading!

The next semester doesn’t start until February, so I have a few short weeks in which to read *drum roll* fiction!   However, I will also be genning up on databases for one of my semester 2 modules, as I am very out of practice with them.  I say out of practice, but really, that is the whole problem I have with them – I never have anything to practice them on, which means I never get good enough to know when to use them (unlike Excel… <3).  Let’s hope my brain can cope and it’s not too disastrously technical…

You can just feel the shoehorned acronym lurking in the background…

I have noticed that, particularly in the area of e-resources, there are a huge number of (as my colleague described them) “shoehorned acronyms”.  Sometimes, these are actually useful and reflect their purpose (e.g. COUNTER – Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources).  Sometimes they are just baffling.

I was reading an article today about grey literature, which described various definitions of the word grey, and included the magical aspect (as in Gandalf the Grey).  Which made me think, how soon will it be before there is a standard or a working group called GandALF (Grey and Alternative Literature Formats)?

The perils of inter-library loans

I’ve noticed that inter-library loans are a hazard to proper workload management.  The book I borrowed was not renewable and put me behind a couple of weeks ago.  Now I have some journal loans which are due next week, but aren’t really core material, just a bit more background on a topic I wasn’t really familiar with (grey literature).  The feeling of obligation I get from inter-library loans means that I am pressed to read the articles, even when maybe they aren’t as relevant as I’d originally thought.  Still, it all adds to my understanding, I just need to crack on with the pre-submission reading.

Next semester I will need to be more choosy about what further reading I undertake, because there is no point in making mistakes this semester if I don’t learn from them.  I think it will be easier when I know what level of further reading is expected from assignment feedback.  I think this is something I should have done better when I did my undergraduate degree, as I remember putting in maybe three or four references for most essays… oh dear!

Managing workload

Well, I am getting near two of the three deadlines (three weeks to go).  On the group project, I am slightly behind, but will catch up without difficulty tonight. 

The Subject Bibliography is more problematic.  I have been picking away at it for some time, but I have a lot of work to do in finishing gathering references.  I also need to do some work on sources.  I’m finding it quite difficult to fit in evening study while Fritha isn’t sleeping so quickly, and although it doesn’t seem like I have much time to study in the evenings, that can reduce my study time by four to five hours a week.  I do have some study days booked, but I’d rather use them for writing up than doing the legwork.  I think my next task is to formally tabulate my search terms – it should help with checking I’ve covered everything.

I am also wondering if I am doing too much further reading.  I seem to have a folder full of articles to read, and every time I think I have broken the back of the reading, the pile grows again.  I think it’s a definite disadvantage being really interested in the subject you are studying! ;o)

What happened to October?

Well, I haven’t posted in a while – October is a busy month at work, so finding a few minutes for anything has been a challenge.

I completed the first part of my group assignment, and got a mark I was fairly happy with, but there is still room for improvement.  The group has been a bit quiet this week, as one member is moving house, but I think it will pick up again next week.

The bibliography is ticking on nicely, although I must remember to make more notes, as I am finding mountains of articles etc. but the Search Report is a bigger hit in terms of marks (and harder, I would think – I am pretty confident about the actual content of my bibliography, and good presentation isn’t too difficult). 

This week’s topic in the other module is Systems approach to projects, and is covering Soft Systems Methodology, which is something I looked at briefly a few years ago, but it’s good to revisit it in more detail.  I have to analyse an information service using four of the modules from the course – I think this one is going to be in the list (I am definite on using Impact, almost certain on Learning Organization and will probably use Systems approach to projects.  The fourth topic I am not sure on: I’m definitely not going to use Information Governance (as it’s less relevant to the particular system I want to analyse), but the People or Service Quality topics could well be relevant.  I think I’m going to have to read ahead a little to make my choice so I can start work on the project.

Assignments

So, I now have my assignment for one of my Modules.  I am to construct a Subject Bibliography of 60 references.

Whilst it seemed a little overwhelming at first, I now have a better topic idea and re-reading the first topic information, I think I have a better idea of the approach needed.

They have set up a discussion forum for people to discuss topics, but it is chaos!  I have posted in it, but all in one place means that it’s really hard to see where new posts are.  Still, it’s the first week, so I imagine people (like me) are really keen at the moment – maybe it will all quieten down once the initial buzz has worn off.

My plan, such as it is, is to do a bibliography about Electronic Resources Management for Academic Librarians.  It’s something I do, so I should have a reasonable grasp on the target audience.  The risk is, of course, making it too “me” oriented and not broad enough.

Woohoo! Here I Go!

So, my first module has just been released, and I am disproportionately excited! I now know (vaguely) what I will be doing, and can at least get on with some reading. However, the book I need to read is an e-book. I’m not against an e-book, but I need a break from the screen, and print books are the way forward in that regard. So, back to Inter-Library Loans methinks.

It was fortunate I had moodle training today, I now understand the system a lot better than I did before, having created learning objects for myself.

Time Management

So, at work yesterday, I attended a Time Management course.  It was very practical (although the mind map of my life was somewhat scary!) and I have already felt the benefits of some small changes to my To Do list.

One technique which looked useful for planning my studies was the “bottom up” estimating method.  This means breaking the task (in this case, probably each module) into smaller chunks until each task is small enough to estimate.  Then add up each segment and that will give the total time needed for the whole task.  I think I will try this with the first modules and see what happens.

Why?

Well, I thought I would try using a blog to track my progress through my MSc in Information Management at Robert Gordon University.  I chose the name, as one of the recommended pre-course reads (Feather, J., 2008.  The Information Society.  5th Ed.  London: Facet Publishing.) was talking about the history of information.  I had never realised that “codex” was simply the term for the modern form of book involving folded paper.  I’ve only ever heard the term in relation to occult tomes (too much roleplaying for this lass!), and when I realised that the plural (codices) separated into the somewhat surreal Cod Ices, I felt compelled to use the name.

So, I am a Chartered Librarian (I bravely followed the ACLIP route) and I am just embarking on a Masters degree.  I’ve been working in libraries for ten years (give or take a week) and get very excited about all things library.  I chose the RGU course because of its focus on digital information, and I can’t wait to get started.