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Learning 2010: The Continuing Power of Collaboration

December 31, 2010 By

Looking back at what we learned this year produces some interesting conclusions—not the least of which is that it wasn’t so much a year of trying to create something entirely new, but, rather, a time to step back long enough to survey what surrounded us and learn more effectively how to use the collaborative resources we’ve been given: wikis. Shared document tools including Google Docs and Dropbox that are helping us incorporate cloud computing into our training-teaching-learning efforts. Web-conferencing tools ranging from WebEx, Dimdim, and TalkShoe to Google Talk and Skype for the delivery of just-in-time learning. And LinkedIn discussion groups and Twitter as a way of seeking and exchanging information that contributed to more effective learning for everyone involved rather than as a way to simply tell others where we were sitting and drinking coffee or waiting for a bus to arrive.

What remains at the heart of this learning process is the power of collaboration face to face as well as online, and what made 2010 so fruitful for so many of us was the way we managed to work together in a variety of often overlapping settings to the benefit of learners and our learning colleagues. If you haven’t yet hopped on the train, let’s take a ride together to see how these tools and how collaboration have been serving us and may well end up serving us even more effectively in the months and years to come.

The ALA Learning Round Table provides a natural starting point. In addition to providing an ongoing collaborative forum for face-to-face exchanges at American Library Association conferences to promote and support effective learning opportunities for members and prospective members, it has been developing a wiki where trainers can post as well as seek resources developed by their colleagues. The Round Table’s monthly online meetings further advance its mission of helping trainer-teacher-learners collaborate to produce resources and results that we would otherwise not enjoy. And ALA Learning—the blog where this piece is being posted—not only provides us impetus to collaborate through sharing articles but also contributes to the larger goal of drawing together trainers who are working within or working side by side with libraries rather than leaving all those one-person training offices and libraries without formal training programs in a frustrated state of isolation.

Another productive community of learners where collaboration is the order of the day is Maurice Coleman’s biweekly online T is for Training discussions. Interested regulars—the “usual suspects”—and guests frequently interact during these online hour-long free-ranging conversations via Talkshoe on a variety of topics of interest and importance to those involved in workplace learning and performance, and those discussions helped open doors this year to routes of exploration such as the possibility of helping promote the development of libraries as social learning centers. They also led to additional collaborations including the webinar Maurice and I designed and delivered in October 2010 to more than 400 participants for WebJunction—another great collaborative forum for trainer-teacher-learners in libraries. All of these tools and resources are easy to access and/or use, and they are well worth considering for workplace learning and performance programs.

The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) remains yet another gathering place at the local, regional, and national levels face to face as well as online for many of us. Opportunities for productive collaborations abound at many levels: through membership on Chapter boards and collaboration at national conferences, through learning opportunities provided via webinars, through postings on LinkedIn discussion groups, and through groups including the National Advisors for Chapters which meet face to face and use a variety of online tools and posted online documents to do business throughout the year.

My own familiarity and comfort with collaboration via wikis took a quantum leap this fall when I was accepted onto the New Media Consortium’s 2011 Horizon Report Advisory Board; all 40 of us from countries all over the world did all our work asynchronously, online, via the wiki which leads to completion of the report; among the pleasant surprises, given the small number of people involved in this worldwide project, was the discovery that ALA Learning colleague Lauren Pressley was part of the group.

If anyone remains unsold on the powerful benefits provided by collaboration and the use of the social networking tools we’ve been exploring, Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner’s new release, The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media, may prove to be the tipping point. As James Surowiecki notes in The Wisdom of Crowds, those who engage in collaborations are often the most prolific and successful at what they do (pp. 162-163). And that, of course, remains a lesson well worth absorbing anytime—not solely in the year just ending.
N.B.: Those interested in exploring the theme of collaboration through a variety of tools and other resources will find plenty of options in “Community and Collaboration in an Onsite-Online World: An Annotated Bibliography.”

Paul Signorelli

Paul Signorelli is a writer, trainer, presenter, and consultant based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He works with clients to successfully facilitate the introduction of new technology into organizations; prepares and presents webinars and other online and onsite learning opportunities for a variety of clients; is actively involved in ALA and ASTD; continues to prepare articles for "American Libraries," the eLearning Guild's "Learning Solutions Magazine," and other publications; and co-wrote "Workplace Learning & Leadership" with Lori Reed for ALA editions. Paul can be reached at paul@paulsignorelli.com.

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What Did They Learn?

December 21, 2010 By

As the end of the year draws near, many librarians are taking pause to reflect on their professional and personal growth in 2010. However, this year, I’m more focused on what my patrons, high school students, learned through the library program at Creekview High and how their learnings reflect my own growth and insights while providing future directions for professional inquiry. Whatever your training/teaching/learning library environment, ask yourself these three sets of essential questions:

1.  What did they (your patrons or those you serve) learn through your library program and the conversations for learning you facilitated?  What do you hope they will learn in 2011?
2.  How do we know what they learned?  What tools did you use for assessment?  Did the patrons engage in metacognition and self-reflection on what they learned?
3.  How are you privileging and honoring what they learned?   Where are their stories of learning shared in your physical and virtual library spaces?

We use tools like Google Forms, video, blogging at WordPress, PollEverywhere, information dashboards created with Netvibes, multigenre elements, wikis, Google Docs, and digital portfolios as formative and summative assessment tools.  We share stories of learning through our library YouTube Channel, our student work SlideShare account, our library blog, class Wikispaces pages that we facilitated for teachers and students, and our mulitmedia monthly reports hosted at LibGuides to showcase student work and to share videos of students telling their stories of learning; in our physical space, students’ work was shared throughout the library through assorted displays and “walls” of hanging student work to showcase their learning artifacts.  I found that by focusing on what my students are learning, I learn from their insights—what is working and not working with my teaching methods, emerging patterns of gaps in understanding, student strengths, and new topics for exploration.

I have also discovered that by paying more attention to what students are learning, I have a clearer insight into how I’m applying the ideas and principles I’m reading about in journals, blogs, Tweets, and books as well as concepts I’m dwelling in more deeply like participatory librarianship-learning and transliteracy, In 2011, student work, learning artifacts, and stories of learning will take a more prominent place not only in our monthly multimedia reports but also in each research guide I create in collaboration with teachers and students (more coming soon on these ideas).

So what are some of the key learnings of Creekview High School students in 2010?  Here is a sampler:

  • How to effectively use social media tools, such as blogs, wikis, and social bookmarking to reflect, share, and collaboratively construct knowledge.
  • How to use cloud computing and social media tools to organize information resources, to collaborate with classmates, and to share their learning process within and outside of our school community.
  • How to create their own subject guides or “research pathfinders.”
  • How to represent key learnings through traditional texts and new media.
  • How to more thoughtfully and purposefully evaluate traditional and emerging authoritative information sources
  • How to use writing as a tool for reflection and metacognition through individual learning blogs.
  • How to demonstrate digital citizenship through the ethical use of information and through the use of tools like Creative Commons licensed media.
  • How to engage in inquiry based learning as a community of learners.
  • How to use ereaders and ebooks to support a love for reading
  • How to discover an expert on a topic, evaluate that person’s credentials, and conduct a professional interview with that expert.
  • How to create visually interesting presentations that are content rich and how to deliver those insights effectively to their peers.

What does this picture of learning look like in terms of the AASL Standards for 21st Century Learners?

  • 1.1.2: Use prior and background knowledge as a context for new learning
  • 1.1.4: Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions
  • 1.1.6: Read, view, and listen for information in any format in order to make inferences and gather meaning
  • 1.1.8: Demonstrate mastery of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.
  • 1.1.9: Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding
  • 2.1.1: Continue an inquiry based research process by applying critical thinking skills to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge.
  • 2.1.2: Organize information so that it is useful
  • 2.1.4: Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information
  • 2.1.5: Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems
  • 2.1.6: Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings
  • 3.1.1: Conclude an inquiry-based research process by sharing new understandings and reflecting on the learning
  • 3.1.2: Participate and collaborate as a member of a social and intellectual network of learners
  • 3.1.5: Connect learning to community issues
  • 3.1.6: Use information and technology ethically and responsibly
  • 4..1.2: Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading
  • 4.1.3: Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and genres.
  • 4.1.6: Organize personal knowledge in a way that can be called upon easily.
  • 4.1.7: Use social networks and network tools to gather and share information.
  • 4.1.8: Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning.

This year, we helped our students create a learning environment larger than just our library; several students reflected, “…my learning environment is the world.”  Students learned ways of connecting and transacting with information through many modes and points of access as well as strategies for organizing those resources and creating content.  Students learned that the library is a place where questions and risk-taking are valued and that their contributions to conversations for learning are respected and valued.

What did your patrons learn in 2010, and how is this shaping your professional learning goals and endeavors for 2011?

Buffy Hamilton

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Favorite New (to me) Tool of 2010 – JING!

December 20, 2010 By

You can quickly place someone in their proper position on the technology continuum from Neanderthal to Cutting Edge when they reveal their favorite new discovery, so if everyone out there had already discovered Jing (or a similar screenshot/screencast application) by 2008, feel free to put me between ape and Jed Clampett and move on. If you’ve never used it, though, you might want to read this.

This free application does two things, both infinitely useful to a trainer:

First, it takes pictures of your computer screen (or any portion of your screen), and lets you add the most basic of annotations (colored arrows, highlighting, boxes, words). Here’s an example:

Second, it records up to five minutes of the activity on a computer screen (or any part of the screen), with narration — every mouse movement, every button click, every text entry.

I do not claim that it’s better than some of the other similar applications out there (Full Shot, Skitch, Snagit, Screenr, Camtasia, etc.). Certainly, it’s not superior to some you have to pay for, but for the price, it’s terrific.

Why I Love Jing

  1. It’s free.
  2. It’s quick. I actually love that you can’t edit the screencasts or add annotations, because what would otherwise take me two hours of editing, polishing, and improving can be done and out the door in 15 minutes. I’ve started posting some of these tutorials on our staff website and they’re labeled “Quick & Dirty Tech Tutorials” to alert staff not to expect professional polish. 
  3. It’s simple. No training needed. Completely intuitive. You can record your first webcast within 15 minutes of download. There’s not much to learn and what there is can easily be picked up by clicking around the simple menus. (One tip to pass along for screencasting: Make ample use of the PAUSE button whenever you need to adjust the orientation of the page in the window or skip over crap that learners don’t need to see.)
  4. It facilitates SHOWING instead of TELLING. We all know most people learn better if they can see something rather than just being told about it. So, if someone is confused about how to navigate the new online timesheet system (for example), it’s almost as quick to insert into an e-mail captures of the pertinent screens and add arrows (then write, “On this screen, click here”; “Input your employee ID # here”; etc.); OR, I have just done a screencast of the whole thing, sent it to the person, and then posted it for anyone else who has that problem. It’s that easy.

 

How I Use It

  1.  Training Manuals, Quick Reference Guides. Makes it supremely easy to add screen shots to static instructional guides.
  2. Daily Explaining. As I mentioned above, I use it in e-mails responding to questions about how to do stuff on the computer; I’ve sent screenshots to ITD to show them the funky error message I was getting. Maybe one day I’ll be able to view colleague’s screens instantaneously and walk them through the steps, but until then …
  3. Quick & Dirty Tutorials.  Suitable for any computer function you can demonstrate in under five minutes. I’ve done them on how to create a Doodle Poll, how to use the Format Painter in MS Word, and how to share Outlook Distribution Lists . I haven’t used this for anything that is posted to a public site, because those need a little more polish (At ALA Annual this year, an instructor said he used this type of tool for CHAT REFERENCE. Someone asks a question; librarian makes a quick video demo while the patron waits; sends the link. Haven’t tried that idea, but it seemed to work for him.)

 

Lori asked for favorite things we learned in 2010, so there’s mine. If you weren’t familiar with it, give it a try. If it’s old news, just call me Jed.

Disclaimer: I received no compensation of any kind from TechSmith for this post.

Richard Mott

For five years, I was the Training Manager at Jacksonville (FL) Public Library. Beginning in April, 2011, I became JPL's "Manager for Strategic Initiatives," but I will always be fascinated by the endless complexities of trying to maximize relevant learning. Though I spent my childhood playing in the snow in a suburb of Detroit, for most of my adult life I have been a Floridian. That's how I came to be a diehard Detroit Tiger AND Florida Gator fan.

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Five Things I Learned in 2010

December 16, 2010 By

Inspired by other posts throughout the biblioblogosphere, I thought some of our authors could share what they’ve learned in 2010.

For me, this year has been about overcoming obstacles and adapting to change. What I’ve learned:

  1. We, humans, are meant to adapt. Thing big picture. We’ve adapted to global climate changes, changes from food gathering to agriculture. Change is hard. But you know what’s worse? Being obsolete. We have so many exciting things happening with e-books, e-learning, digital content, freedom of information–libraries are perfectly poised to embrace these technologies and become more than just a place to check out books.
  2. There is always a silver lining. Granted it may be hard to see the silver lining in the midst of the storm but just wait. Right before the rainbow appears you’ll see the glorious silver lining. I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted something, not gotten it, and then six months later realized how lucky I was to have not gotten what I wanted. Sometimes a better opportunity comes along or sometimes you realize what you wanted is not really what it appeared. Trust fate.
  3. Look for alternative solutions. If there is a program or initiative you feel passionate about and someone stomps on your idea, don’t give up. It could be as simple as reframing the idea or even changing the name of the program. Remember that it’s the end result that matters not how you get there.
  4. Focus on outcomes not tasks. Tasks are things that anyone can do. Outcomes directly support your organization’s mission and strategy. Outcomes should be where you focus your time and energy. Yes you still have to check your email and do mundane data entry but find ways to speed up, delegate, or eliminate time-vampires so you can spend the majority of your time on outcome related tasks
  5. Professionalism never goes out of style. As a trainer, learning facilitator, whatever you want to call it, we have the ability to influence others in our organizations. We generally interact with more staff than anyone else in the organization (except maybe IT). Use your power and influence to have a positive effect on the organization. Set the bar high. Don’t gossip or “roll around in the mud with staff” as one of my friends calls it. Don’t speculate on things that you don’t know about. Be honest. Be kind.

So readers, what have you learned this year? Feel free to comment or if you would like to submit a guest post please email me at webmaster@alalearning.org.

On behalf of the Learning Round Table, we wish all our readers a safe and happy holiday season!

Lori Reed

Lori Reed, Managing Editor of ALA Learning, has more than 15 years experience in training and is the Learning & Development Coordinator for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library where she oversees the learning & development of a diverse group of staff at twenty libraries. Lori’s passions are performance consulting, learning strategies, and e-learning. Lori is coauthor, with Paul Signorelli, of Workplace Learning and Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers. Lori also blogs at LoriReed.com and can be reached at lori[at]lorireed.com.

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ALA Learning Authors Nominated for Nine Edublog Awards

December 9, 2010 By

The ALA Learning authors have been nominated for a total of nine Edublog awards!

Best Group Blog

  • Learning Round Table
  • Bobbi Newman, Libraries and Transliteracy

Most Influential Blog Post of 2010

Best Individual Tweeter

  • Buffy Hamilton, @buffyjhamilton

Best New Blog

  • Bobbi Newman, Libraries and Transliteracy Blog

Best Resource Sharing Blog

  • Sarah Houghton-Jan, Librarian in Black

Best Librarian Blog

  • Buffy Hamilton, The Unquiet Library
  • Bobbi Newman, Librarian by Day

Best Educational Podcast

  • Maurice Coleman, T is for Training

Please support our authors and vote. Voting ends at 12 pm EST Tuesday, December 14, 2010. Only one vote allowed per IP address.

To read the full list of Edublog nominations, visit: http://edublogawards.com/

The Edublog Awards is a community based incentive started in 2005 in response to community concerns relating to how schools, districts and educational institutions were blocking access of learner and teacher blog sites for educational purposes. The purpose of the Edublog awards is promote and demonstrate the educational values of these social media.

Lori Reed

Lori Reed, Managing Editor of ALA Learning, has more than 15 years experience in training and is the Learning & Development Coordinator for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library where she oversees the learning & development of a diverse group of staff at twenty libraries. Lori’s passions are performance consulting, learning strategies, and e-learning. Lori is coauthor, with Paul Signorelli, of Workplace Learning and Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers. Lori also blogs at LoriReed.com and can be reached at lori[at]lorireed.com.

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What is the best way to assess staff skills?

December 8, 2010 By

Recently I got an email from a librarian from a library I’d consulted for in the past on technology training.  Her question was one I hear a lot, actually: “We need to create an assessment of our staff members’ skills in different areas.  What is the best way to get this information about them?”

My answer is really simple.  Ask them.

To back up a small step, you do have three primary choices when doing a staff assessment of any skills.

  1. A test: staff are given some kind of computer or human graded “objective test” of the skills, usually timed
  2. A peer walk-through: staff member has to perform each skill and a co-worker (sometimes the person’s supervisor, a trainer, or expert in those skills), marks whether they know how to do it or not
  3. A self-assessment: staff are given a list of skills and asked to report whether they know each one or not

If you want to make your staff really, really angry with you and waste a lot of time and money, by all means go with #1.  People don’t appreciate being tested and I promise you that the staff en masse is more likely to react negatively to any further training provided if you go that route.

I’ll admit that #2 can certainly work and be accurate, but puts people in a position of feeling judged by someone they work with.  This can be awkward for both parties.  You can certainly make the argument that an employee should sometimes feel judged by a supervisor, but just as with the first option this can create opposition to any steps toward training or skill development that come after the assessment.

So we’re left with #3: the self-assessment.  Ask staff if they know how to do what you want them to do.  Give them three choices: yes, no, or maybe.  And for trainers’ purposes, a “maybe” counts the same as a “no” because it likely means the person still needs training.  Answering “maybe” is just a whole lot less threatening than answering “no” for some people.  And tell them up front that they’re not expected right now to have every single one of these skills, and that there are no penalties for their answers.  What matters is that we get an accurate baseline for the system so we can provide the right types and numbers of training for the right people to make sure that everyone has the chance to learn and improve the skills we use every day in our jobs.

I always like to tell people upfront as well that their results will be shared with their direct supervisors.  Supervisors should know where their employee’s skills are, but this can help them get a more concrete view.  Also, this supervisor layer adds a filter to catch the inevitable “exaggerators” — people who either hate training and the skills at hand and so lie to avoid it or people who are still afraid, no matter how much you reassure them, so they bluff that they know things they do not.  Supervisors will know if a person has just outright not been honest on the assessment — and they can act as intermediaries so that the trainer isn’t the one approaching the person saying “uhh, you don’t actually know this.”  Giving those few exaggerators a chance to re-take the assessment once called on their bluff is helpful to everyone involved.

All in all, the most important thing for a trainer is getting accurate data about who needs what training and to be left with a group of people willing to receive that training.  In my experience, the self-assessment is the only way to go.  But I realize my experiences are limited, and so I turn to you!  I’m curious to hear about other people’s experiences with assessment, and whether you’ve used a method I didn’t mention or one that I did and had success with it.  Start talking!

Sarah Houghton-Jan

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Learning Vicariously with Google Reader Play

December 1, 2010 By

Annewhite Fuller, HMCPL Heritage Room Manager, learns vicariously with Google Reader Play

Annewhite Fuller, HMCPL Heritage Room Manager, learns vicariously by watching Google Reader Play

Today several of our library staff are participating in WebJunction’s free (and fabulous) Serving the 21st Century Patron online conference. Those that choose to come into my office instead of viewing on their own computers are treated to a few perks. In addition to the several laptops available during webinars for staff, today’s event includes a personal login to the sessions so they may participate in chat. I also have the Twitter hashtag running in real-time on another laptop. Visitors are more than welcome to bring food, snacks or a favorite beverage into my little training room.

As you might expect from a visual learner, during the breaks or before sessions I usually project my Librarianship feeds in Google Reader Play, Inevitably, attendees say, “Oh, cool! what is that!?” I show them my feeds in the folders, then how to control the player with a wireless mouse. Because their interest is peaked with the slideshow of information, I almost always give them a quick lesson on how to use Google Reader and have several converts among our staff.

A few things about Reader Play:

  • Click the item’s title or the associated image to view the original site content.
  • Click the “read more” link to view the full feed content for that item, or click the eye icon in the bottom left to switch to always showing the full feed content.
  • Tired of manually navigating Reader Play? Click the TV icon to start a slideshow of items — simply sit back and enjoy.
  • Hide the thumbnails at the bottom by clicking the thumbnail icon in the bottom left.

I’d love to hear of other tools you might use to supplement your training events in comments!

Marianne Lenox

As the Staff Training & Volunteer Coordinator for the Huntsville - Madison County Public Library in Alabama, Marianne is responsible for planning, directing, maintaining and implementing a comprehensive staff training and volunteer program for her library. She consistently strives to provide learning opportunities, professional information and technical training to ensure both better library service and the professional development of the Library’s staff and volunteers.

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Training? Now more than ever!

November 30, 2010 By

As trainers, we don’t question the value of staff development, even—or especially—in tough times. This month’s ALALearning blog posts attest to that. But our managers, directors, and funding agencies may not be quite so firmly in step with our thinking. In fact, as budgets get cut to the bone, the training department may look like a “nice to have” that can be dispensed with until we return to a healthier economy. Here are two reasons why training is essential and three key efforts for moving it forward.

Two reasons to sustain training

1. The pace of change doesn’t slow just because the economy does.photo by "underactive" on Flickr

New technologies continue to emerge and new demands arise from patrons in spite of the economic slowdown of the last two years. As the recession intensified and more jobs were lost, libraries got busier than ever. Many of those turning to the library need new or augmented services. They need to acquire or enhance technology literacy. They need help adapting to 21st century realities of the economy and society. Only a well-trained library staff will be able to meet the demands and affirm the viability of libraries into the future.

2. Training builds staff morale.

Budget cuts, staff cuts and hours reductions have had a demoralizing impact on the people remaining on the job. Although training takes time out of the schedule, the return on investment in terms of morale is well worth it. Training is future-oriented. It communicates to staff that they are valued and that the organization intends to thrive over the long-term. Conversely, putting training in cold storage says “we’re not sure we’re going to be around in five years.”

Three key efforts

1. Identify training priorities.

Training initiatives should already be aligned with the library’s mission and goals. But lean times warrant a closer scrutiny of the organization’s priorities. The Strategic Reality Check, developed by Joan Frye Williams and George Needham, asks the question “what are you spending time on that your customers will never notice?” Apply that question to your training programs. In a white paper addressed to non-profits, Maggie Leithead asks where the organization “hurts the most” and suggests the 80/20 rule: “pick the one or two areas (20%) that promise to have the greatest impact (80%) and focus your training on them.”

2. Learn how to train a wolf.photo by "an untrained eye" on Flickr

In How to Cook a Wolf, M.F.K. Fisher faced the culinary deprivations of World War II with a philosophy that embraced simplicity and economy without sacrificing quality. She celebrated cooking and eating well by means of resourcefulness, creativity and focus. “Since we must eat to live, we might as well do it with both grace and gusto.”
When the wolf is at the training door, get inspired to make innovative use of the tools available for low cost or free. (There are lots of good ideas in this blog.) Free is great but avoid the temptation of serving it up without intention. Effective training is more than sending out links to free webinars. What is chosen, how it is delivered to and experienced by the learner, and how it is followed through are all critical. Think about the whole environment created around online learning. Look for opportunities to embed social interactions between learners, through either in-person or virtual cohorts.

3. Communicate your value

Ideally, you’ve been communicating to your directors and stakeholders all along about the effective outcomes of staff development initiatives. Don’t stop now. If you haven’t, start now. It may be difficult to calculate a quantitative ROI so make sure to record any successes and evidence of increased productiveness, demonstration of new skill sets, or better customer service. It all tells a story of how essential training is to ensuring that the library can meet the community’s needs.

What are your justifications for continuing to train in tough times?

Betha Gutsche

Betha Gutsche has been a virtual librarian ever since receiving her MLIS from the University of Washington Information School. Immersed in the online community of WebJunction, she has cultivated community connections through forums, live online events, and writing stories about the library community. She has delved into e-learning design, curriculum development, needs assessment, and all things connected to social learning in the online world. Betha is the editor-in-chief of the Competency Index for the Library Field. She is now the manager of Project Compass, a program working with public libraries to augment their service to communities impacted by tough times. Underneath it all, Betha is an artist and loves to raise awareness of visual literacy and introduce people to the power of image.

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Cultures of Curiosity

November 29, 2010 By

This month ALALearning bloggers are focusing on how learning is done in our organizations.  Having started at the MPOW just a few short months ago I am still learning how learning happens– formally and informally — in the organization.

So rather than address the question narrowly, I’d like to look more broadly at the topic and suggest that the foundation for learning in any organization is having a culture of curiosity.  Whether you are promoting learning in your organization through self-paced online tutorials, face-to-face workshops and discussions, or sharing of annotated bookmarks, learning will not happen in any real or consistent way unless there is a strong shared value of curiosity.

Why do I assert this?  Because an attitude of curiosity is the only known antidote to the single biggest block to learning: the idea that we already have the answer (and it’s 1st cousin, “I don’t care about the answer”.)  Being in a state of curiosity means looking out at the world, collecting data, observing human behaviors and interactions, and asking “why?” and “what if?”  These questions are humbling.  They bring down our blocks and mitigate our filters and invite new data to enter our minds, and creatively find new ways to integrate and organize organizing data with a goal of understanding.
Curious kittenTHE VALUE OF A CULTURE OF CURIOSITY

One of the most powerful effects of cultivating a consciousness and culture of curiosity is that it greatly enhances communication and the quality of relationships.  Communication (and thus learning) is shut down when we assume we understand the motivations of others, and all too often we ascribe negative motivations to others without pausing to contemplate their perspective.

Curiosity creates space for that pause.  When we are in a place of deep and authentic curiosity about others, it is impossible to simultaneously be in a place of judgment, which is a closing of ourselves to other ways of seeing.  When we curiously ask why, we  open to the idea that others have a unique and valuable perspective that can expand our own data set and worldview.  Asking why leads to conversation and exploration, which in turn leads us to a deeper understanding of how others experience the world, their motivations, and their choices.  And this deeper understanding, in turn, helps to reinforce our own consciousness of curiosity, and thus our own personal culture of learning.

I am curious about what has worked for you.  How is learning promoted in your organization?   What tools, methods, tips, tricks have worked for you?   Drop your thoughts in the comment section!

Peter Bromberg

Filed Under: Professional Development Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) to host 2011 Virtual Convergence

November 28, 2010 By

From Jan. 18 through Jan. 21, the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) will be hosting the 2011 Virtual Convergence, a webinar series addressing a broad range of topics relevant to issues and work throughout the library profession. It’s an opportunity to take a few hours at the start of the year to focus on you and the knowledge that will help you improve your job performance, enhance your library’s service delivery or take your career in a whole new direction—all from the convenience of your computer at a very reasonable price.

Registration for a single session starts at $40 for ASCLA members, and members will save on each session when registering for two or more sessions.
More information about this exciting event is available at the ASCLA website: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/ascla/asclaevents/virtualconvergence/virtualconverg.cfm

REGISTER NOW by going to this link, scrolling down to “Virtual Convergence” and clicking “Register” at right:
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=olweb&Template=/Conference/ConferenceList.cfm&ConferenceTypeCode=X

A list of webinar titles below, but you can download a full schedule—titles, descriptions, dates and times—here:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/ascla/asclaevents/virtualconvergence/asclavcschedule_20101110.pdf

WEBINAR TITLES:
“Grant Writing 101”
“Presenting Topics to People who are Autistic, Deaf, Disabled, and Non-Disabled”
“Teaching Ophelia: Assisting At-Risk Teenagers”
“Why Reinvent the Wheel? Tools for Serving the Fast-growing Teen Population”
“Knowledge Management: Process and Tools for Convergence”
“Using Learning Objects to Enhance Distance Reference Services”
“The Disability Experience in a Post- 2.0 World: Implications for Libraries”
“Contract Librarianship: Concepts and Strategies”
“Accessibilty 101: Assure That Your Library Is Welcoming & Usable for Persons With Disabilities”
“A Copyright Policy Update on Access to Information for Persons with Print Disablities”
“Public Computer Conundrums: Policy and Program Choices That Improve Patron Outcomes”
“How to Build a Bridge: Connecting Different Types of Libraries”
“Starting a New Library for At-risk Young Adults in a Digitally Divided Community”
“Libraries and Information Access for Differently-able Patrons: What We Can Do to Ensure Equality”
“Extending Our Reach: Using Extension Programs to Promote Statewide Resources.”
“Attracting Latinos to the Library: It’s All About Relationships”
“Conducting Successful Virtual Meetings”
“Careers in Federal Libraries”
“How to Find a Federal Job”
“Managing Library Adult and Family Literacy Programs”
“Resume Writing and Interviewing Techniques”
“Saks Fifth Avenue Service on a Dollar General Budget”
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Learn more about ASCLA at www.ala.org/ascla.
Save money on these and other professional development events by becoming an ASCLA member now at www.ala.org/membership, or by calling 1-800-545-2433.
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Liz F. Markel, M.A.
Marketing Specialist
Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)
Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)

Lori Reed

Lori Reed, Managing Editor of ALA Learning, has more than 15 years experience in training and is the Learning & Development Coordinator for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library where she oversees the learning & development of a diverse group of staff at twenty libraries. Lori’s passions are performance consulting, learning strategies, and e-learning. Lori is coauthor, with Paul Signorelli, of Workplace Learning and Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers. Lori also blogs at LoriReed.com and can be reached at lori[at]lorireed.com.

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