7 of My Favorite Professional Development Websites

by Sean O’Brien, former Head Editor, INALJ Colorado
previously published 8/6/13

7 of My Favorite Professional Development Websites

seano1Summer is here, and that means we’ve probably all got a little bit of extra free time.  You could spend that time outside, but why would you want to do that?  It’s hot out there, and there are bugs.  Enormous, angry bugs.

Okay, fine, I suppose getting out and seeing some light that didn’t come from an incandescent bulb isn’t the worst thing in the world.  Still, I’d like to share some of my favorite free professional development and educational websites that I like to browse when I find myself indoors.  Well, indoors and not wasting my time on Reddit, anyway.

I should note that I’m not going to mention INALJ, simply because I assume you already know about it.

#7. Prezi (www.prezi.com)
Tired of the same old boring PowerPoint presentations?  Well, so is everyone else.  Prezi gives you a much greater toolkit than PowerPoint, allowing you to add a little more pizazz to your presentation.  I know, presentations as a rule aren’t the most exciting thing in the world, but chances are good that over the lifetime of your career, you’re going to have to make at least one more.  Do your audience a favor and spice it up a little.

#6. WordPress (www.wordpress.org)
WordPress is a free website creation/blogging platform that allows you to… create websites and blogs.  Cough.  Seriously though, it’s a clean, easy-to-use web publishing tool that allows you to set up your own website, blog, or portfolio.  It doesn’t require any knowledge of HTML or CSS, but you have the option to dig into to the code if you really want to.  INALJ runs off WordPress, so there you have it.  I’d show you mine but, ah… it’s not finished yet.

#5. r/libraries (http://www.reddit.com/r/Libraries)
Ha-ha!  Just kidding, I’m going to talk about Reddit after all.  For those unfamiliar with Reddit, suffice it to say that it is a news and content site driven by user submitted material, links, and posts.  The library community, or subreddit, isn’t terribly large, but is still a good place for discussion on library current issues, technologies, and job hunting.  Be forewarned if you’re new to the site, however; wandering the other subreddits is not always for the faint of heart.

#4. TED Talks (www.ted.com)
Okay, while not strictly related to librarianship or professional development, the TED talks are still something you want to check out.  This site is a collection of talks from the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference made freely available online.  These talks are interesting, engaging, and professionally made. They cover any topic you can think of, and a number you probably can’t.  The other day I watched a talk over why we should build skyscrapers out of wood, so there you go.  If you’re looking for an engaging new topic to fuel your imagination or give you something to sound smart in front of your friends, TED is where you need to go.

#3. Zotero (www.zotero.org)
Zotero!  Zotero, Zotero, Zotero.  Zotero is a free online tool that helps you keep track of all of your citations.  Available as a web plugin, Zotero lets you save any article or website you find online, and allows you to easily create citations within your writing.  You can save your citations from anywhere, sync it to the cloud, and share it with colleagues.  I have to say, this product has been a huge timesaver over the course of my graduate program.  And as an aside, the word “Zotero” has now lost all meaning to me.  Great.

#2. LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)
I know the phrase “social networking” gets thrown around a lot, to the point where it joins “Zotero” in my personal junkyard of victims to semantic saturation.  That being said, social networking, when used properly, can be an extremely useful tool.  LinkedIn is my personal professional networking tool of choice, as you can make contacts, join groups, and participate in discussions.  The profile is filled out like a resume, and can give out information more useful to employers than your favorite food or band.  Be careful about how much information you give out, though, or you may find yourself getting more spam than usual.

#1. Codecademy (www.codecademy.com)
I think I may have mentioned Codecademy in a previous post, but I’m bringing it up again.  If you’re rusty on HTML and CSS, or you don’t know what those are in the first place, give Codecademy a visit.  It offers free online tutorials in all levels of website building, and presents them in a way that is fun and non-intimidating.  Plus, it gives you actual projects to work on after you’re finished with the courses, so you can add one more thing to your portfolio.

There you go!  These are just a small offering of the wealth of fantastic free web resources available, and should give you something to do if you’re stuck inside and tired of looking at pictures of cats.  Which I, for one, am not and never will be.