my first video blog
(download)
my very first video blog using a pleomax webcam and a headset microphone. Shot in AMcap and checked and exported in Window Live Movie Maker
quartz's personal productivity posterous
a collection of thoughts, tips and flotsam to help manage life work and stuff
25 Jan
2012
25 Jan
2012
my first podcast (but it is only a test)
(download)
Hopefully this blog entry includes an audio file of my first ever podcast test. Created using Audacity.
20 Sep
2011
Using Evernote For Research
Well you saw yesterday that I use Evernote as a place where web clips can reside until I use them as a reference for writing.
How does it help when I am researching a subject?
I see research as collecting all of the pieces of the jigsaw without knowing how big it is or what the final picture is. It doesn't matter at this stage as all I want is enough pieces to feel that I could build a decent jigsaw. If at a later stage I think something is missing I can look for a specific piece but until that happens I am happy to free associate and look wherever the muse takes me.
I always start with a new note and dump into it everything in my mind that could be of use for that subject. For example at the moment I need to write a piece on "Men In Foster Care". So I will start with some abstract ideas which i can then use as google search terms.
- Men
- Foster Care
- Issues
- Safety Aspects
- Who is the Primary Carer
- Combining Foster Care with Work
- Self Employed carers
- Working From Home
- Pressures on Men
- Specific Courses For Men
- Anecdotes
- Quotes
- Are There Any Statistics on Carers In UK M/F Breakdown
I assign this note a tag (name within evernote that can be used as a search term or collective term for a group of notes.
I think this one will be a concatenated name so I am using: meninfostering
Now I can google the search terms above and clip anything that is relevant giving it the meninfostering tag.
When I am finished with that process I can go through the notes I have clipped and grab snippets of information that I want to use and paste them into the original note (the one with all the terms above).
Then I review the content I have collected in that one note and see if there is anything missing that I might still want to look up. If I have books on the subject, I will scan relevant pages at this point.
Research done, for the moment, I can put the jigsaw together in my mind and express it on paper in a storyboard.
19 Sep
2011
Preparing To Teach
My process for preparing to teach uses different tools such as Evernote, the internet, powerpoint and word and it goes something like this:-
1. Research the subject using evernote clipper to clip web pages, any graphics I have found and use my Epson printer/scanner to scan paper pages.(this is set to automatically forward any scanned items into Evernote.
2. Tag all of these items in Evernote so that I can find them again
3. Read everything I have collated and start writing notes for myself in a new Evernote note.
4. Collect any videos that I want to include into a directory named the same as the Evernote tag above.
5. Take an A4 paper pad and do a mindmap of my current thoughts on that subject - scan it into Evernote.
(have you detected a theme here?)
6. Using another A4 sheet or maybe two or three, start to create a storyboard of how the themes of the subject can develop into a linear story.
7. Now look at it from a non linear point of view - generally by now I have one solid storyline for the subject and a number of extra bits that could be introduced if needed.
8. Scan all of that (yes into Evernote) so that I don't miss the paper if I lose it.
9. Right now I am ready to start writing a running order/script in Word.
10. I then markup on that script where I will want visuals (this is were the powerpoint comes in)
11. Then start on the powerpoint.
12. Continue to develop the script and the powerpoint in parallel and keep referring to the source material (all neatly collated in Evernote under one tag) and my mindmap and my storybord.
13. When done, leave it for a couple of days before editing it with a fresh viewpoint.
14. Now develop a handout for attendees to take away. It will inevitably include some standout images from the powerpoint with some points to remember from the script and some chunks (properly cited) of your source material.
15. Now print all you need and practice it OUT LOUD
16. Adjust.
17. Practice.
18. Do loop of Activities 16 and 17 until it ALL works then.
19. STOP and don't mess with it,it is finished.
In a future blog I will go through my preparation for delivering it on the day.
19 Sep
2011
Non Linear Presentations
Powerpoint presentations are linear by nature. That is you start at Slide 1 and work your way to the last slide - say slide 40 for a big presentation.
If your slides are numbered, your audience may try to work out the number of slides from your average slide useage per 10mins. You as presenter will also think at some point "phew, x slides done, y to go!"
I tend to use slides to support my teaching in "short day" courses. A short day for me is when the lesson time starts at 10am and finishes at 3pm with time out for a lunch break and a coffee break. So I end up with around 4 hrs teaching time for one subject.
I break down that subject into topics, a recent one broke neatly into 6 topics plus introduction and summary. I then Use the "Rule of Three"
or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three_%28writing%29 for explanations of the concept and the use of the Rule of Three, in order to split each 'topic' up and then build a script and powerpoint slides to support my points.
But unless the whole idea is linear (1 through 40), I like to let the students choose the most important topics as the topics apply to their life and then I tackle them in that order and allow for more time for those topics that are perceived as being needed most.
This makes it non-linear as I can group slides under topics and use hotlinks within powerpoint to skip between topic headers. Microsoft have produced an unsupported add on called pptPlex http://www.officelabs.com/projects/pptPlex/Pages/default.aspx to do this and I am invesitgating using Prezi http://prezi.com/ but that depends on a live internet link which I do not always have.
I give the students a topic list and they can vote for the ones they want to spend most time on and have most interest in.
This can backfire as sometimes they will not let you move away from a topic, but it does seem to prevent a lack of engagement as they sit through topics they already have an understanding of or cannot apply to their own life. By the way I teach adults who are practical people in their own field and have varied experience and interests but need underpinning knowledge and/or the time to reflect on an aspect of their work to question their practice and absorb new ideas.
I have NO prior knowledge of who is attending or their experience level or knowledge level. So during my first half hour I gently explore my audience for clues about how fast and how deep to go and adjust my delivery accordingly.
More about the preparation for one of these teaching days tomorrow.
18 Sep
2011
Why I Am Not (yet) Using Google Plus
Here are the reasons..
1. I cannot figure out how to make it work for me
2. It doesn't appear to do anything much more than Facebook and Twitter
3. I cannot find people, organisations or communities that I want to contribute to or otherwise participate in
4. umm.. thats it
This may change but at the moment it is a solution looking for a problem whilst providong a whole new set of usability and management problems. So not my cup of coffee at this time.
15 Sep
2011
Music Sources On My PC
I use both iTunes, Amazon and Spotify (free) on my desktop.
They complement each other as in Spotify I can check out artists and music that I have heard of but never heard or want to explore back catalogue material.
I read "The Word", "Mojo" and sometimes "Uncut" magazines each month and they introduce me to new artists or to revisit old artists and specific older albums that either passed me by the first time or wouldn't have appealed to a younger me.
I have never bought from Spotify, and I do just use a small part of my free allowance on there (you are allowed 10hrs a month - I probably use 1 hr a month). Occasionally I will check out an artist via YouTube as well but that would tend to be for live performances or a trip down memory lane to a Top Of The Pops performance from the 70's or 80's.
I do buy from iTunes and Amazon MP3 download though and it tends to be whole albums (old fashioned terminology) and not individual tracks/songs.
When working at the PC I tend to have a constant run of tracks on "itunesDJ" which is a sort of rolling playlist that I add to when I get inspiration, then forget what I have added and usually I am pleasantly surprised when a track rolls around and is played. /quartz
14 Sep
2011
Making Powerpoint Presentations
Amongst other activities, I make powerpoint presentations to accompany my teaching and, increasingly, for other people who need visuals to go with their subject.
We have all sat through bad powerpoint presentations and I try my best not to fall into the usual traps:-
1. Too much information on a slide
2. Too many slides
3. Not enough visuals
4. Saying what is on the slide (hopefully before the audience has read it and lost interest)
What I do now incorporates the following 'rules'
1. One idea per slide
2. Supporting facts should be headlines on screen with any background information and sources only on the handouts.
3. Talk about the idea and try to tell a story or present a benefit or use case to the audience - this means not reading out the slide
4. Incorporate relevant visuals / not necessarily EVERY slide but you can do a lot with just a single word in a carefully chosen font and size.
5. Make your handouts valuable documents but only give them out at the end to avoid the impatient listener reading them through at once and ignoring you.
6. I allow for lots of interaction with my audience and will do anything (even humour) to avoid a "shutup and listen to me" style lecture.
7. Use as many slides as is appropriate for the ideas and total time and amount of anticipated interaction. My rule of thumb is no more than 3 slides per 10 minutes. (plus a title page slide and an end 'thank you/this was...' slide - so a 10 minute presentation would be 5 slides, 3 of which contain the "headlines" of your message)
8. Have a script - then you won't get lost and dry up after a question has been asked or an attendee has tried to hijack your subject or an equipment failure or you find that your audience has just covered part of your topic in a previous session with another presenter/teacher - all of these have happened to me and a script is a lifesaver.
These have proven to work for me but some of this infuriates other presenters that I have created for as they see a slide with one carefully chosen inspirational word or a short thought provoking statement and say "what do I say here?" so I put the aim - and some relevant/supporting statements in the notes that go with that slide but I always stress TALK about it do not READ it out as written, it is not a speech and the words used must come from YOU so you believe them.
Finally I never under estimate the need for rehearsal. I will go through a 4 hour lesson in chunks maybe 4 times in the week before a brand new piece. Even an old piece that I have delivered a number of times needs at least two full run throughs before delivery.
I have developed this little sentence and try to keep this in mind when I develop presentations, talk and present:
I am there to ENGAGE and INSPIRE in order to INFORM, this may result in LEARNING.
/quartz
13 Sep
2011
My Writing Process
I have noticed that my process has changed and thought it worth writing down the process and sharing it by posting here. It has changed because of the nature of the work I am doing and how I do not always have access to a PC all day and I get distracted - - - where was I ? Oh yes and I work on multiple projects which have a tendency to have changeable priorities and so become stop/start in nature.
I have finally admitted to myself that I do not write at the computer. I type and I edit at the computer but the core idea for a piece of writing whether it is an email, a blog, a report, a lesson plan, a presentation or a piece of fiction is better (stronger) if I do a first pass on paper with a pen.
Sentences do not often come to me fully formed. In a blog of this size I may have two sentences that I know are right as I think them. Far more common is a phrase or an idea that I want to develop into a sentence or paragraph. For me, the most important part is to capture all of these ideas and be able to develop them in real time without the constraints of thinking about structure, sentence formation and spelling. The paper allows this space without getting wrapped up in the order of elements of the final piece. I find I often totally restructure a piece once it is all typed up.
The process is now ....
1 initial idea - paper/pen
2 some phrases - paper/pen
3 overall structure - paper/pen
4 type it up - evernote
5 add any research material - evernote
6 tweak/amend/edit/add - evernote
7 paste into medium for formatting - email/word/powerpoint
8 format for publication
9 final edit - in final medium
10 publish/send/print
It sounds like a lot of work but at each point the medium/method is the most appropriate to the type of activity needed and it forces me to think about words,. structure before formatting and it keeps me from being distracted by the internet or email. If I find I need to do some research to help the writing I think about exactly what I need and make notes on that rather than heading straight to a google screen with a half formed thought.
My paper of choice is a moleskine exercise book but I also use cheap A4 lined pads. My pen is always a Uniball Jetstream and my favourite places are either the bench in the garden or a coffee shop.
This approach alongside others like the snowflake method (more on that another time) has paid dividends recently as I have completed (and passed) my PGCE (education qualification for teaching adult learners) and numerous brochures, reports powerpoint presentations and the start of two novels. I am more confident in my writing and achieve more words in a shorter timescale with LESS waste (defined as chunks of work that become redundant and are scrapped).
It has worked for me. Why don't you try it and let me know how it works for you or comment here on your method - I would love to learn how it differs as there is always room for improvement./quartz
18 Aug
2011
Android Economics
So I have actually had a comment for one of my blogs (thanks Andrew - my blog mentor) and it was about the new phone I have, the Orange San Fransisco [ZTE Blade] pictured above.
I haven't got much disposable income at the moment so I wanted to keep things low cost but I have been keen on getting an Android phone for a while so when this deal came up it was too good to miss.
For the past two years I have been saving a fortune by going from a monthly plan which was theoretically £25 per month, but actually came to between £30 an £40 some months, which equated to around £360 per yr..... to a Pay-As-You-Go with Orange so I kept my number and old phone (Nokia E90) and turned out to be £10 to £15 per month or annually £140 'ish.
My wifes phone had developed the flakiness that you can only get by dunking it briefly into a bowl of cereal and so talked to Orange about an upgrade that she was due.... she got a Blackberry and then asked if she could add me to her contract and they suggested we pick a phone !!! I said San Fransisco and they said no problem, they normally sell that phone for £90 as Pay-As-You-Go but with a payment plan of £10 per month (£120 per yr) it will be FREE ! (this includes 30 anytime minutes, unlimited anytime texts and 100mb internet per month) Woooo Hoooo.
The downside is
a) Its an old version of Android - 2.1
b) 100mb probably isn't enough per month
c) its an obscure phone so finding a case in a bricks/mortar shop is difficult,
d) some Android apps don't work on this phone.
The upside is
a) It works beautifully
b) cheap to run
c) feels like a quality product (up to HTC standards)
d) all the apps I want so far work with it
Highlights....
The Kindle app allows me to read Kindle books - it really is readable on the excellent screen. (Haven't paid for a book yet, Amazon have lots for FREE)
The Evernote android app is really good and can be set to update over WiFi only if needed so avoiding using my precious 100mb/month
Nozbe have made a public beta of their app and I am trying that out.
The Gmail and Yahoo mail apps are very good indeed.
There are lots of FREE pdf file readers around (various qualities) and I transfer my stuff and research papers onto the phone - I am never short of something to read.
I can play a selection of music to myself when not at my desk - this seems to help creativity and well being <g>
The Camera is excellent (only 3.2mp but that is better than my first digital camera - a huge Sony bought in New York about 11 yrs ago) as long as you do not need flash - it hasn't got one.
I have about 30 Apps and have not yet had to pay for any, they were all FREE though some are supported by ads which doesn't annoy me at all.
My typical curve on a new gadget/tech product is to begin to see all its shortcomings after a honeymoon period of only a week or so... with this one it just seems to get better day by day.
Check it out as its sure to be replaced soon by something more expensive but only marginally better.
/quartz
17 Aug
2011
New Phone
Had this for about a month now. Its an Android 2.1 phone, a ZTE Blade badged as an Orange San Fransisco.
So far I have got it setup for yahoo mail, gmail, facebook, twitter and the Amazon Kindle for Android application.
I also have a great number of free apps from the Android Market.
It seems well built, holds a charge quite well, connects to the PC using USB so I can transfer documents, pdf files and MP3 music files.
oh yes....and its a good phone as well.
16 Aug
2011
blog restart -17th August 2011
So I have neglected blogging since April....its now August. I know why. Stuff happens.
The blog isn't as important as other stuff and it gets left. Simple really and try as I might I couldn't change any of that for a while. However, now it is important to me again. So here goes.....
I want to talk about what I am doing at the moment....as this changes quite frequently and puts context around the blog and the subjects I choose.
Right now I am spending work time on preparing resources and lessons for others. I am not actively teaching at the moment, partly as the demand always falls off in the Summer and partly because I am recovering (nicely thank you) from a double knee operation on both torn cartilage. After six months of walking badly and pain I had the operation (my first ever) a month ago today and its been great. I do physiotherapy exercises and some yoga type stuff every day and they are getting stronger.
There is another reason I am not teaching at the moment and it goes back to my last Further Education (F.E.) post earlier this year. As a new employee I was on a probation period in which certain people were meant to look after aspects of my employment, they didn't. In the same time I found myself temporarily and then by default permanently covering lessons that I did not have qualification or experience to teach. I pointed all of this out at various times and just before my probationary period was up, I was suspended.
Over the next month I could see how this was playing out - a game of attack the whistle-blower and discredit them to avoid criticism of departmental practices. So we parted company and I felt very aggrieved for a few months. That period is over but the feeling remains as we hear about whistle-blowers in care homes, the N.H.S. and media businesses - how do we deal with people who just want to point out that a situation is not being played by the rules or is illegal or immoral or unethical? Currently it seems the whistle-blower suffers from loss of income, stress, a blight on their career and a feeling that not only was justice not done, but their actions backfired onto those that try to help.
I may well return to this subject but I have a big list of blog subjects at the moment.
thanks for reading. see you here soon.
/quartz
21 Apr
2011
Linux Experiences Blog
Over the past three weeks I have been playing with using the Linux Operating System.
I have used Linux on and off for the past year on an Asus EeePC The 701 Model in White - see picture above.
This one has a 900MHz Celeron M processor, 512MB or RAM and 4GB of solid state memory.
It has a customised version of Xandros Linux on board and although usable, the software is very out of date and the update manager complains about dependencies and versions all the time. I cannot get some bits to work properly and so I decided to try some newer variants of Linux and bought a number of magazines to get genned up on what is good and what might work.
Here is a list of all of the OS Distros I have tried...with various degrees of success.
- Ubuntu10.10 netbook remix - Good but on occasion apps will just refuse to run
- LUbuntu - OK - bit slow
- Xubuntu - OK - need to try again with new found experience on Puppy/Joli/Ubuntu
- Puppy - Excellent - out of the box but difficult to install new apps - or maybe its me
- JoliOS1.2 - Excellent - all works really well -more in future blog
- Ubuntu 11.04 alpha 2 - Loaded / Ran / Didn't really work - hardware too low spec for it
First, they ALL worked. Which was good news but the alpha of the not quite released Ubuntu Natty 11.04 is not really for this machine, hopefully they will either lighten the requirements or make a fork distro for netbooks.
Will talk more about Puppy and Joli in a future blog.
/quartz
21 Apr
2011
Checklists Are Great
This is a wonderful book. Very quick and easy to read and full of examples of not only HOW checklists can help your life, but WHY they will help.Atul's examples range from industries like Construction and Aviation to his main concern - Medicine - specifically surgery.He shows how using lists to remind oneself of processes and steps is not a WEAKNESS but contributes to a greater strength than can be imagined. He has proof that it aids bringing group of people into a team of people and he does all of this in a very readable style. Get this book. If you are a compulsive listmaker (like me) it will help justify why you do what you do, if you hate lists it may show you why others find them useful and how you too can benefit from them./quartz
4 Feb
2011
Topics For Future Blogs Here
Day 7 of โThe Challengeโ (The Last Day)
Back on Day 2 of this challenge I did mention that I have been keeping a list of possible Blog topics for when I get this posterous blog restarted. The surprising thing was that I had to delete around five ideas as they are totally out of date โ in only 7 months.
- ยท How we get inspired
- ยท Living Without the Windows Mobile Phone In My Pocket
- ยท Recent changes to Evernote
- ยท Using my Dashboard/Daybook System
- ยท Convergence
- ยท Using USB software and data daily
- ยท Cloud versus Local computing
- ยท Checklists Are Great
- ยท Interactive Whiteboard Use
- ยท On The Subject of e-mail
Those topics are all on subject for the blog, but this challenge has made me consider other topics which I could write about โ not all blog entries need to be about the stated blog subject. My entries in this last week have included such diverse topics as BTCC, Architecture in Bloomsbury and People Power. I havenโt said anything earth shattering but on the other hand as a reader you may have a better idea of who I am and as a writer I have had the opportunity to communicate outside of my area. Long may this continue โ I hope I write about other things every now and then.
May I take this opportunity to thank two people:- Andrew Emmett for setting up this challenge and @dadwhowrites (that is his twitter name) who mentioned the challenge in his twitter timeline....without which I wouldnโt have heard about it.
Its been a blast... watch out for more blogs here...but less frequently than one per day.
/quartz
3 Feb
2011
I have never blogged like this before
So for DAY 6 of the Blog Challenge I have to blog on a topic I have never blogged on here before. So after due deliberation I have decided to talk about people power. At this time Egypt and Tunisia are in a state of unrest, here in England we have had protests about changes to student grants. In France they have had protests about retirement age and in Greece their have been protests about cuts and economic problems. We are seeing an increase in people power fuelled by unexplained or ill judged government decisions.
Can you tell yet that I am trying to keep partisan politics out of the equation here?
Protesting needs to be organised to be effective and yet the current wave of protests do not seem to be organised by the traditional organisers of protests: pressure groups, unions, political parties, religious groups. Instead they appear to be ordinary people motivated by their own peers. How are they being mobilised to focus a protest in a particular place and time? Well it seems social networking using the internet has taken the place of the traditional groups (see list at the beginning of this paragraph). So much so that in Egypt last week, one of the first responses to people collecting together and occupying city squares was to โturn off the internetโ in the country. Only then did they stop some news organisations and some satellites. Of course this meant that the governments own lines of communication were reduced and am I the only one who has linked the alleged government sponsored militia provoking violence against protestors with the announcement that they โturned the internet back onโ? I suspect they needed the lines of communication themselves to organise their own counter protests and of course to infiltrate and gain knowledge of the โpeople protestsโ plans. Communication works two ways. I wonder how many other governments and police forces are looking at this and drawing up their own plans for defending their position and resisting protest. I also wonder whether they are considering the internet and how they can selectively manage it to their own ends. Please comment (its getting lonely up here in my ivory tower).
I am enjoying this 7 day challenge even though finding the time is difficult. It has ressurected my enthusiasm for THE BLOG and I hope I continue on after tomorrow (seven days ...already?) although not daily... but maybe more than weekly.
/quartz
2 Feb
2011
A Video I Find Inspiring
Day 5 of the Seven Day Blogging Challenge
This video, from You Tube, is 20 minutes long... the first 3 minutes is pretty dry but don't let that put you off.
It is an entertaining, thought provoking and inspiring 20 minutes filled with anecdotes, new thinking and a very natural presenting style. Sir Ken Robinson is from Liverpool, he has become the champion of creativity in teaching and in this video he talks about how we should value creativity in our education system and change our thinking.
I would love to read some comments from you about this clip.
Yes this blog is a bit short but it has been a long day ...and I still have marking and administration stuff to do before tomorrow...and another day of teaching.
So I will leave you in the hands of Sir Ken and his passion.
/quartz
1 Feb
2011
A photos I took this week (today)
Day 4 of “The Challenge”
I spend Tuesday mornings in the Bloomsbury area of London. An area devoted to Museums, Hospitals and the University of London. It used to be known for writers, artists and publishers - there are a few of those left. It is a very pleasant place to spend part of a day a week as I am here on a course at the Institute of Education (IoE) part of University of London.
The photos here were all taken this morning - 1st Feb 2011 and show some of the buildings in the area. The architecture is a diverse mix of the brand new (University College Hospital), the old georgian squares of townhouses (many now part of university or museum premises serving as administrative offices ) and the brutally modern like the Brunswick Centre (in photo 3 and 4) and the IoE building( concrete and glass in photo 2).
My favourite building in the area must be The Senate Building (see photo 1) a magnificent stone mini skyscraper plonked in the middle of all of these Georgian squares. Allegedly earmarked as the future government headquarters if WW2 had ended with a very different outcome. It is actually the library and offices of the University of London and is currently being refurbished.
P.S. Ok So I definitely got the wrong end of the stick with yesterdays challenge but I have left it uncorrected for four reasons:-
1) I liked having the instant nostalgia moment of looking back at the BTCC
2) My own posts are so few (and not yet popular) so how would I choose between them?
3) Its more challenging (and creative) to write outside of my usual subjects.
4) It is my blog / I am very tired / onwards and upwards / no one is perfect / don’t regret the recent past – learn and move on.
.....so there.
/quartz
31 Jan
2011
supplementary post
I may have read the challenge incorrectly. I think it means write a blog post on the same subject as one of Andrews most popular posts... It seems that others accepting the challenge have taken it as Write a blog post on the same subject as one of the most popular posts of your own blog. Words Harrrummph! Quite happy with my BTCC blog - so I will leave it published and move on to Day 4.
/quartz
