You are here: Home / 2010 / Archives for July 2010

OverDrive’s Training Month

July 15, 2010 By

This is for those of you in libraries that offer OverDrive digital media for checkout to your patrons.  Here at MPOW, I am offering people the ability to come to the main System office to watch the Webinars together in a conference room on a large screen TV.  This is helpful for those who don’t have a dedicated computer they can use to join the Webinars.  It will also generate some useful discussion before and after the Webinars.  These will also count towards continuing education credit hours for anyone who attends.  I attended these last year and found them to be very good.  This is just another way to make less work for a single trainer and to utilize e-learning.

OverDrive’s Training Month.
September 2010.

Free online courses for library staff, beginner to advanced

Register now!
TM 2010 header

OverDrive’s Training Month is an educational and fun program to increase staff knowledge and help maximize circulation of your OverDrive ‘Virtual Branch’.

Registration is now open. To guarantee the best selection of available dates and times, sign up now.

Sessions will be offered online throughout September with open enrollment for individuals and groups. Contests and prizes are included.

NEW for 2010: In response to participant feedback, audio for Training Month sessions will be provided via speakers/headphones on your computer.  A phone connection is NOT required.

The curriculum includes courses covering each aspect of your OverDrive service:

  1. Collection Checklist
    With OverDrive’s collection checklist, you’ll be quickly up to speed with online ordering.  Best of all, you’ll learn how to attract users to your Virtual Branch website by creating an exciting and easy to maintain collection.
  2. Browse, Check Out, and Download!
    Join us as we demonstrate how to browse, check out, and download titles from a library’s Virtual Branch website.  At the end of this course, staff should feel comfortable answering basic questions about your OverDrive service.
  3. Patron Assistance
    We’ll help take your understanding of your OverDrive service to the next level so you can share your knowledge through support and training. We’ll review frequently asked questions, support tips, and online help resources.
  4. Community Outreach
    In this session, we’ll share creative, easy, and cost-effective ideas for introducing new patrons to your OverDrive service.  We’ll also feature prize winners from this year’s ‘Outreach Program’ contest.
  5. Real-Time Reports
    We’ll showcase reports which best track circulation, new patrons, site traffic, and popular titles. Your team can then evaluate how your Virtual Branch is doing, and chart a path to future success.
  6. Mobile Update
    In this session, you will be introduced to new mobile access options for users.  Devices highlighted include iPhone®, BlackBerry®, Android™, and more. We’ll also preview upcoming mobile features.

More than 7,500 librarians participated in Training Month 2009 and four libraries were the lucky winners of OverDrive’s Training Month award packages. Don’t miss out in 2010!

Stephanie Zimmerman

Stephanie Zimmerman is the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania), a federated system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile, which serves 490,562 residents. She designs and implements technology and development training and consulting to the member libraries. This includes training on Innovative’s Millennium Integrated Library System, Microsoft Office Applications, emerging technologies (i.e. social media) and various other areas. Her goal is to remove the fear of technology and help others to realize the amazing possibilities it provides. Teaching others to do things for themselves and see their excitement when they break through their barriers is her greatest reward. Stephanie has been a software trainer for 15 years. Her past employment involved training on federal and county government applications. She also worked for a private industry marketing company where she traveled across the country showing manufacturers and retailers in the consumer packaged goods industry how to use geodemographic targeting software. Always wanting to help others, Stephanie graduated from Millersville University (in Pennsylvania) cum laude with a BA in Social Work. She was also a student in the Computer Information Systems program at Harrisburg Area Community College. She is a member of ASTD (American Society of Training and Development). She is also a regular contributor to the T is for Training podcast which focuses on training in libraries. She was a trainer for WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach project and has done training for Commonwealth Libraries. She is grateful to have landed in the world of libraries. When she began her current job in January of 2004, there were no other library trainers in her immediate area. She turned to the social web to begin networking with other library trainers across the world and immediately realized her passion for social networking and social media. All of her continuing education has been done through these networks and she can’t help but push others to discover the immense opportunities available through online collaboration. Stephanie lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her family which includes husband, Bill (a self-employed stay-at-home-dad) and two children (ages 2 and 4 months). When she’s not being Mommy, or working, you’ll most likely find her singing. Stephanie can be reached at szimmerman[at]lancasterlibraries.org.

Filed Under: E-Learning, Free Stuff, Professional Development, Resources for Trainers, Webinars Tagged With: , , ,

Welcome to the Machin(ima)

July 13, 2010 By

Yesterday I posted a video on ALA Connect of my library’s second annual Virtual Staff Day that generated a bit of interest.  Our own Peter Bromberg and a few other folks asked that I share how I created it.  Providing the play-by-play of how it was developed is a bit too much for one blog post.  You’ll need to attend future Learning Round Table events at ALA for more in-depth tricks like that.  However, let’s look at the basics of the cinematography technique – machinima — I used for Virtual Staff Day and some resources you can play with to get started in your foray into 3D storytelling.

GCPL Virtual Staff Day 2010 from jay turner on Vimeo.

Machinima is a style of film-making where a narrative is presented using 3D characters and environments culled from video games or virtual worlds.  Machinima is recorded directly from a video source (most commonly, your computer or game console) and additional editing is done to include music, sound, and special effects to enrich the story.   Getting started with machinima is simple.  All you need, aside from a computer with a good video card, is a gaming platform, screen capture software, and music and sound effects software.  The great part about it is that most of these items are available for free.  Let’s look at what you’ll need.

Platform

Like a real movie, machinima relies on the acting prowess of its thespians – in this case, the avatars.  Therefore, you should carefully consider what acting skills your avatars will need and then choose a virtual world/gaming platform where the 3D characters have the appropriate animations.  If you play the Sims or War Craft, as you can see in these eclectic videos, you already have a bevy of avatars with myriad poses.

If, however, you have the time to create your own film set, complete with custom avatars, background, lighting effects, and camera angles, you should definitely check out iClone 4.  This commercial software will set you back $150, although the free edition provides you ample tools to make your own machinima movie.

Use Exit Reality, a browser plug in that renders the Web in 3D, if you’re looking to create simple machinima with a singular background, a steady camera angle, and avatars with limited movement.  Simply launch ER from your browser, choose a webpage, select a 3D backdrop, and have a couple avatars visit a website together.  You can record simple footage of, say, the two avatars walking around a building constructed from your library’s website and talking about all the cool services that your organization provides online.  Here’s a quick machinima vid I created of a woman strolling into a library to get a new card.

Screen Capture

You’ll need to record your machinima after you’ve scripted your scene.  I recommend using the commercially available Camtasia, which has a free trial, for capturing crisp video in a variety of formats.  If cost is a concern, go with Hypercam, which also has the ability to capture video directly from your computer’s video card.  Video recorded with this free software will be slightly grainy and watermarked, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Music and Sound

Need some ambient music and sound effects to bring your machinima to life?  Hop over to ccMixter.org for Creative Commons licensed music or their sister site, FreeSound.org for a wealth of sound effects.  The more adventurous amongst us might want to give Myna, a free music maker akin to Fruity Loops, a try.  I’ve had this tool in my digital sandbox for a while now, but only recently used it to make a few music loops that I’ll use in an e-learning course and game I’m creating.  Beware: it’s addictive!

Trainers are always looking for innovative ways for engaging their audiences.  Machinima allows us to craft compelling presentations and stories without needing arrogant actors or blockbuster budgets.  I invite you all to try out these resources for creating machinima and then come back and share your masterpieces with the rest of us.

Jay Turner

Jay Turner, Training Manager at Gwinnett County Public Library in Georgia, is responsible for all aspects of learning and development for a staff of 300+ employees. He considers himself a lifelong student, and delights in sharing his passion for learning with anyone willing to listen (much to their chagrin!) He is a library lifer, who began working in libraries as a teen and has worn almost every conceivable public services hat since. Jay’s diversity of experience helps him develop and deliver solutions that are creative, practical, and effective. He is a self-proclaimed information and tech junkie, who gets his fix by playing in his “digital sandbox” with new tools and neat ideas to make learning more accessible, more flexible, and more fun across any medium. He can be reached at jayturner[at]comcast.net.

Filed Under: Cool Tools, Free Stuff Tagged With:

ALA 2010 – Building with Competencies

July 7, 2010 By

Sandra Smith, Denver Public Library and Betha Gutsche, WebJunction
ALA Annual Conference, June 26, 2010

A blog post based on my notes from this presentation

By Heidi Nagel, Kent District Library (MI) Training Manager, AKA She who hath not blogged before

Charmed by my new sandals, I ventured toward this session from the Convention Center with a perky step.  Soon I stumbled on heat-rippled sidewalks through carcinogenic bus flatulence with frizzy hair and the gruesome realization that my new sandals were made of saw grass.  Fortunately, I arrived at the Grand Hyatt (4 blocks away) in time for a life-saving cup of iced green tea which I immediately applied to the few pulse points for which modesty allows.  But that’s another blog post about creating an environment conducive to learning.

Competencies

Sandra and Betha tag teamed this session, providing learners with an understanding of what competencies are and how their use benefits both individual employees and libraries.  The duo profiled six case studies, demonstrating libraries’ successful utilization of competencies in learning programs.  Here is the link to their extensive and informative presentation, http://www.webjunction.org/conferences/-/articles/content/99973597.

According to Betha, competencies are the “skills, knowledge & behaviors necessary for the performance of a job or a specific task.”  I italicize behaviors because competencies are often referred to as “KSAs,” or Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (or Attitudes).  I like the use of behaviors because the way someone acts is observable, measurable, and therefore, trainable.  Behavior also conjures up what we all want our employees to do, regardless of how they feel.  (However, for onomatopoeic reasons, I don’t advocate using the acronym SKBs.)

Sandra discussed micro and macro applications of competencies.  At the micro level, competencies help individual employees understand what is expected of them.  Competency-based job descriptions and learning plans provide answers to basic questions employees ask; what am I supposed to do and how am I supposed to do it?  On the macro level, competencies help organizations achieve goals.  By ensuring staff’s consistent application of organizational competencies, a library is accountable to stakeholders and the community, gains credibility with customers, implements building blocks for a learning organization, and demonstrates commitment to staff as an asset.

Subjective summaries of three of the case studies

Pierce County Library System (WA) generated core skills and qualities for all library employees.  I appreciate their approach of asking “What does this look like at work?”  What are library staff doing (again with the behavior) when they demonstrate the competency “embracing change and learning”?  They are actively seeking opportunities, staying current in their field, and being open to new ideas.  What they aren’t doing is assuming things are good enough, rejecting suggestions, or ignoring available learning opportunities.

Karen Burns, Southwest Iowa Library Service Area Administrator, created a nifty self-directed technology wiki for staff to assess and improve their core technology competencies.  I’m intrigued by this Karen Burns quote, “I want my staff to be the technology wizards our public thinks we are.”  I’m mentally chewing on this.  Some librarians believe they must know everything that patrons will ask about technology or gadgets and get frustrated when they don’t.  (And who do they hold responsible for that?)  Other librarians view technology issues like reference questions, they don’t immediately know the answer, but have some ideas about where to find information to help the patron.  (BTW – I’d love to hear from other library trainers on this dichotomy!)

Arapahoe Library District (CO) used competencies to overhaul their system-wide training goals.  Having just completed the same process, I second their reasoning: 

  • Needed clarity for performance expectations of staff,
  • Provide a framework for redesigning and expanding a system-wide training curriculum,
  • Needed clarity around supervisor expectations of training content, and
  • System-wide focus on enhancing training program effectiveness.

To this, I would add “Ensure staff possesses the skills required to meet the service goals of the library.”  KDL’s new strategic plan includes new public service priorities, meaning staff needs new skills/competencies to provide those services and meet the strategic objectives of the library.

A new competency for Heidi

I also learned that one competency required for me to perform my job as Training Manager is “Successful navigation to beneficial learning event through unspeakably harsh terrain.”  To demonstrate mastery of this competency, what must I know?  What skill/s must I have?  How must I behave?  I must know how to check weather forecasts and dress appropriately.  I could acquire the skill of standing underneath office window air conditioners in order to capture the condensation and prevent dehydration.  And I must behave cool as a cucumber with charm and professional poise like Betha, swapping my accessories from foot-chewing sandals to whimsical barrettes like the delightful Sandra.

Heidi Nagel

Filed Under: LearnRT News, Professional Development, Resources for Trainers Tagged With: , , , , ,

ALA Conference 2010: Trainers Talking and Acting as Leaders

July 7, 2010 By

You can’t, as a few of us suggested during a presentation on trainers as leaders sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) Learning Round Table at the Association’s 2010 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. last week, be in that city without thinking about leadership. The monuments, the government buildings, the sense of history that surrounds you makes it an undeniable presence—something that permeates your entire being as deeply as the hot and humid weather which greeted us.

So it was natural that a few of us—Maurice Coleman, Technical Trainer for Harford County (MD) Public Library and host of the biweekly T is for Training podcasts; Sandra Smith, Learning and Development Manager at the Denver Public Library system; and Louise Whitaker, Training Coordinator from Oklahoma’s Pioneer Library System—chose leadership as the topic for a 90-minute conference session that was part formal presentation, part panel discussion, and lots of interaction with approximately 50 colleagues who joined us for that Sunday morning gathering.

Drawing from interviews Lori Reed and I have been doing with Maurice, Sandra, Louise, and several others for Workplace Learning and Leadership: A Handbook for Library and Nonprofit Trainers (to be published by ALA Editions in May 2011) to document the leadership roles that workplace learning and performance professionals are assuming in libraries and other organizations across the country, we began with the idea that leadership is positively explosive. When it is effective, it lights up skies. Draws people together. Creates collaborative opportunities and results which are not achieved in any other way.

Leadership, for most of us, doesn’t mean we have to be bombastic. It’s the day to day incremental efforts we make that lead to long-term and sustainable changes within our organizations. And that’s what our colleagues seem to appreciate most from us.

Lori and I, in our interviews and our own experiences, are not finding a one-size-fits-all model of leadership, nor is that what we expected.  Interviewing colleagues from the ALA Learning Roundtable and from other organizations throughout the United States, we are, instead, finding a group of very passionate, creative, and dedicated people doing what they believe is right. And even though Lori couldn’t be with us in Washington, D.C. last week, we were lucky to have a few of the people who have been guiding us so they could share a little of what we’ll be dealing with in the book.

Maurice, for example, discussed how the T is for Training podcasts draw colleagues from a geographical cross section of the country together every other week to discuss workplace learning and performance issues and solutions. Those live shows provide a first-rate forum for the exchange of ideas and have been instrumental in further developing a community of learners among those responsible for fostering organization-wide communities of learning.

Shifting gears a bit, Louise talked about how she revamped the entire way in which evaluations were conducted at Pioneer to determine whether the learning opportunities she was designing and offering to staff were actually producing results of benefit to the library, its staff, and its users.

During the final segment of our discussion, we moved to the heart of library trainers as leaders within their own organizations: Sandra provided examples of how she works from a position at the library management table to help shape and implement workplace learning and performance programs. By consistently working to be part of the decision-making process in terms of designing and offering learning opportunities for staff at Denver Public, she shapes as much as implements what her colleagues need and appreciate in a workplace learning and performance program.

Exchanges between presenters and audience members were as lively and creative as the topic we addressed; in briefly discussing ways to create something sustainable from our initial 90 minutes together rather than having that session be an isolated learning experience, one member of the Learning Round Table offered to collect business cards and set up an online discussion group for those who wanted to continue the conversation.

If that’s not creative leadership in action, I need to go out and do more interviews.

N.B. – For a different view of leadership on display at the 2010 ALA Annual conference, please see Paul’s Leaders Emerging article.

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.

Website - Twitter - More Posts

Filed Under: The Training Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Battledecks at ALA: Try this at your next Staff Day!

July 1, 2010 By

The Learning Round Table co-sponsored (along with ALA) a Battledecks competition at ALA, and (perhaps I’m understating this) a good time was had by all.  Below is the video to prove it!

Battledecks is a fun improv exercise that challenges contestants to deliver a presentation on the fly using an unknown slidedeck containing random (and often hilarious) slides.  The contestants are judged on their ability to create a coherent presentation that incorporates the slide content smoothly.  Laughs and getting through all of the slides on time are a plus.

If you think Battledecks looks like fun, consider a competition at your next Staff Development Day.  Between contestants, judges, and slidedeck makers, there’s lots of opportunity for involvement—and as you can see from the video below, the audience is pretty involved too!

Direct link to playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=26F1EA6AD67D14D2


A big thanks to Janie Hermann for coordinating the Battledecks event, and to all of our judges and slidemakers!  A special thanks to our good friend John LeMasney of 365sketches.org for designing and sharing (through Creative Commons license) a wonderful Battledecks logo!


Peter Bromberg

Filed Under: Presentation Tips, Social Learning Tagged With:

Google Moderator: Ask, Share, Respond, and Learn

July 1, 2010 By

Two years ago, friend and now newly minted school librarian Jim Randolph introduced me to Google Moderator, a terrific tool for crowdsourcing questions, comments, and ideas for a learning event.  Participants in a workshop, training session, keynote, or presentation can submit their questions or feedback before, during, and after the event via traditional text or with a YouTube video.  Participants can also vote on the questions or ideas they like best; consequently, the most popular questions move to the top of the moderation queue.  These responses and questions can also be easily shared via email, Twitter, or Facebook. You can set up your series to allow a participant to submit questions anonymously (although he/she still must be logged into his/her Google account) or to identify himself/herself.  If you are in a Google Apps for Education, Google Moderator is available for your use.  You can even incorporate Google Moderator into your own YouTube Channel!

How are organizations, businesses, and government institutions using Google Moderator to crowdsource issues and to invite participation?

So what might Google Moderator look like in a training or workshop environment?  Wesley Fyer used Google Moderator to encourage participants in “Digital Magic Tricks” workshop to vote on topics they wanted to explore in the session.
Last fall and then again this past January, I used Google Moderator as a “parking lot” for questions before, during, and after a virtual presentation to Dr. Lisa Tripp’s Florida State University 5313 students.  This was a great springboard for discussion during the presentation; I also liked that I could respond with a text response to questions as a follow-up even if the question was discussed during the virtual session.

I also like using Google Moderator as a “parking lot” not only for questions, but for people to share resources, ideas, and inspirations to inform our conversations and tap into the collective intelligence in the room.  This Google Moderator series I used to support a recent workshop encouraged crowdsourcing our conversations about tools for participatory learning, tools for networked learning and content creation, tools for transliteracy, and tools for transparency, advocacy, and leadership.  Again, the option of responding to questions within this forum or simply using the questions as a springboard for group discussion gives you flexibility in creating and continuing conversations about learning.

I think it is also exciting to consider how your library program can use Google Moderator for formal learning experiences or to invite conversations from library patrons. You could also use Google Moderator to tap into the wisdom of your library community on a particular topic just as Google has done with the Google Tip Jar. I am planning on creating a series to incorporate into my LibGuides home page as well as my library website home page this fall; in addition, I plan to incorporate Google Moderator to invite participation, questions, and knowledge building through my research pathfinders/subject guides.

Here are some helpful resources to help you get started and to explore the possibilities of Google Moderator:

You will also want to check out this seven and a half minute video that provides a simple yet helpful overview of Google Moderator features.

How might you use Google Moderator for your next training session, unconference, formal presentation, or in your library program?

Buffy Hamilton

Filed Under: Cool Tools, Free Stuff Tagged With: , , ,