Month: April 2010

Why I bought a Sony Reader ebook reader today.

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Doug Belshaw

Introduction
I learned today that the best gadget purchases are those that solve a problem. Whilst it’s wonderful to have the latest and greatest (I’ll be getting a free iPad via my attendance at the Handheld Learning Conference later this year) it’s very satisfying when something plugs a gap.

The Problem
Briefly stated:

I’ve got lots (probably hundreds) of journal articles to read for my Ed.D. thesis.
I use a computer screen for my work much more than I used to, meaning on-screen PDFs is problematic.
I get the train (c.30 minutes each way) and then walk to work. I don’t want to have to carry around anything heavy.

The Solution
Today I bought (or should I say my parents, who are extremely supportive of my studies, bought me) a Sony Reader PRS-600. It’s the one with the touch screen for highlighting and annotation. It’s got an e-ink screen meaning it appears like a physical book instead of a flickering screen.

What I’ve tried previously:

Printing out articles (cumbersome, expensive and not environmentally-friendly)
Dropbox iPhone app (doesn’t ‘reflow’ PDFs meaning horizontal scrolling which isn’t very user-friendly)
GoodReader iPhone app (iPhone screen too small for annotation)

I considered an Amazon Kindle, but after seeing and handling the Sony Reader at the JISC Conference earlier this week, I was sold on it. JISC had funded a project where the Sony Readers were used by previously technophobic academic staff to mark student essays. They loved them and if they’re good enough for that purpose, it’s good enough for me!

It’s still (very) early days. I’ll let you know how I get on! 🙂

Wednesday Wisdom #15: Credulity

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Doug Belshaw

It’s easy to take things at face value. Instead, step back and consider things. Think, “Is this likely to happen?” and “Have I any evidence that this is or will be the case?”. :-p

You can purchase an inexpensive copy of The Art of Worldly Wisdom book from Amazon or read it online for free via Google Books. The whole set of Wednesday Wisdom images can be found in my Creative Commons-licensed Flickr set.

JISC Conference 2010

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Doug Belshaw

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As I said to a couple of people, I found the JISC Conference to be a very ‘conferencey’ conference. That’s not as tautological or, indeed, as bad as it sounds.

Yes, some of the presenters need to learn how to use slides. Yes, the stairs at the venue got a bit annoying after a while. And yes, Some of the sessions *were* massively over-capacity.

But it worked. People were enthused by the keynote from Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor of the Open University. People networked and ‘caught up’. People asked questions.

My recommendations for #jisc11:

Embrace Twitter – display it on the screen at least during Q&A sessions (otherwise it’s dominated by opinionated, influential, middle aged men)
Spend longer on the procedural design stuff. Getting to and from rooms and venues was a bit ‘clunky’.
Advertise the smaller sessions during the breaks more heavily. The ‘pods’ were a great idea. Oh, and provide technical support when things go down for those presenting inside them!

Overall, I enjoyed my first JISC Conference. I’ve learned mire about what the different parts of JISC do, the high esteem in which the service is held, and got a flavour of the projects it’s currently involved in. 🙂