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E-readers: step into your patron’s shoes

February 21, 2011 By

My best preparation for helping others adapt to this new technology has been to own and operate my own e-reader. I will hereby truly confess that I was not instantly savvy and suave with the gadget of my choice. No, I definitely had a learning curve to climb. Even if you had no moments of confusion or missteps, put yourself in the shoes of your patrons. Imagine helping your not-so-computer-slick grandmother who doesn’t care about keeping up with the tech-savvy Joneses but just wants to read on a device that will allow her to adjust the font size to her liking.

The following are some of the assumptions I bumped up against while getting acquainted with my e-reader. Your patrons may be coming to the library to be disabused of similar assumptions.

1. I know how my device works.
Gadgets don’t come with detailed instruction manuals these days. No, I don’t believe it is the responsibility of library staff to be a walking instruction manual to educate patrons in the use of their devices; just be prepared for some level of ignorance about the features and functionality.

My shoes: I bought my e-reader at a big box electronic equipment store. After waiting 10 minutes for someone “knowledgeable” about e-readers to show up, I was not told anything more than the information I had arrived with and did not even have the opportunity to operate a test device. I learned later while reading reviews of my model that it has a stylus (so sleekly embedded that it was invisible to me) and the capability of writing and drawing note pages—cool!

2. Checking out an e-book from the library is as easy and familiar as checking out any other item.
It is super-easy to purchase a book from the brand’s online store with a wifi-enabled device. Simply locate the object of reading desire, supply your payment info, click purchase and the e-book pops onto the home screen rarin’ to be read. The commercial entities are good at creating a user-friendly process. This sets up a consumer expectation that the process will be equally seamless for a library download. Not so much.

My shoes: As I navigated to the special “digital books” section on my library website (not the regular catalog), I did diligently read the fine print, the list of compatible devices and the instructions for installing the special software to my computer (not my e-reader) that would allow me to download a book many steps later. I managed to download the desired book but then became confused about how to transfer it to my e-reader. I called tech support and received immediate assistance—yay!

3. I won’t have to wait on a hold list for the electronic version of a popular book.
Wrong.  Don’t be surprised if you are confronted by disappointed patrons. With the surge in popularity of e-readers, the waiting lists will only lengthen.

My shoes: If I had stopped to think about licensing restrictions on electronic content, I would have realized that, of course, there would be limited distribution of digital copies. But in spite of my insider library knowledge, I was caught by surprise to find that a book I wanted had 3 copies available and 8 people ahead of me. I’ve been waiting over two weeks so far …

Enough assumptions for now. I’ll close with a success story for my library: Seattle Public Library. This is actually my husband’s story. He was attempting to download his first library e-book and ran into a similar problem to the one I had encountered. Only it was 2:00 in the morning. He called the tech support number listed on the SPL “digital books” page. Someone answered the call! My husband was so pleased with the immediate help he received that he asked how he could donate to the library. The tech support person helped him navigate to the online donation form and the library was subsequently $50 better off.

Moral of the story: if your library is proud of its e-book tech support, why not place a “Donate Now!” button right next to the “help” button?

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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Filed Under: Cool Tools, Learning Styles, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Technology Skills Library Staff Should Have

January 21, 2011 By

I was recently asked to draw up a list of technology skills that I thought members a library staff should possess.  I wrote my list in very broad strokes, before making it really specific to different tasks or specifying certain items only for certain positions.  I thought I would share this “rough list” with the rest of the library world in case it would help you too.  I advise getting more specific if you’re having staff self-assess on what skills they have, or actually provide trainings in these areas.  But this is a good starting point.

So what did I miss?  What would you take out?  Leave comments and let’s develop this list together!

Terminology

  • Technology terms glossary

Hardware

  • Parts of your desktop computer
  • Parts of a laptop computer
  • Using printers
  • Using photocopiers
  • Using telephones
  • Using fax machines
  • Using self-checks
  • Using projectors
  • Using digital still cameras
  • Using digital video cameras
  • Using digital microphones
  • Using sorting systems

Software

  • Operating system
  • Effective management of files and folders systems
  • Word Processing software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Presentation software
  • Multimedia players and plug-ins
  • Web browsers
  • E-mail and calendar software (Outlook or whatever)
  • ILS (back-end staff-side stuff)
  • Computer and/or room reservation software
  • Online reference software
  • Photo editing software
  • Video editing software
  • Audio editing software

Security and Privacy

  • Policies regarding security on public computers
  • Policies regarding security on staff computers
  • Policies regarding user data collection and privacy

Public Computing

  • Familiarity with software
  • Familiarity with hardware
  • Familiarity with wired and wireless networks
  • Familiarity with computer and network use policies

Ergonomics

  • Proper ergonomic computer set-up
  • How to avoid repetitive stress injuries
  • How to avoid eye strain with computers

Library web presence

  • URLs for library’s website and catalog
  • Using the library’s website
  • Using the library’s web catalog
  • Best practices for searching the catalog and website
  • Familiarity with library’s or library vendors’ mobile apps or sites
  • Familiarity with eBooks collections
  • Familiarity with databases
  • Familiarity with virtual reference and tutoring services
  • Familiarity with accessibility requirements and procedures
  • Writing for the web best practices
  • How to post content (text, links, images) to the library’s website
  • How to post content to the library’s intranet
  • Best practices for social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
  • How to post photos to Flickr
  • How to post video or audio files (to whatever sites you’re using)

Troubleshooting

  • Assisting in-house users effectively on our equipment or theirs
  • Assisting remote users effectively on their equipment

Personal Skills

  • Continuous learning
  • Change management
  • Planning and evaluating new information technology systems
  • Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new web services
  • One-on-one training best practices

Sarah Houghton-Jan

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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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5 Library Sources for Quick Computer Training

September 25, 2010 By

It’s hard to find good online technology tutorials, especially those for quick and basic computer skills. Harder still to find some that meet our high expectations as information professionals. So why not turn to the library world itself?

Below is a collection of my top 5 favorite sites for these quick computer training materials. These could be webinars, class handouts, tutorials, screencasts, you name it. What’s important is the content. It’s content I’m comfortable pointing a customer or a fellow staff member to if some core computer fundamental skills need improving. Weirdly, two institutions get two mentions apiece — but that’s because what they have is awesome.  Browse through what they have, and you might be surprised to find there’s something there for you too!

  1. Infopeople Archived Webinars (all past Infopeople webinars, often with PPTs or other handouts linked too; on topics other than technology too)
  2. Infopeople Training Materials from Past Workshops (from 8 hour live classes and 4 week online classes each class includes numerous how-tos, readings, bibliographies, exercises, tutorials, cheat sheets, and more; on topics other than technology too)
  3. Akron Summit County Public Library Computer Training Class Handouts (great list, copious detail)
  4. Akron Summit County Public Library Computer Training Tutorials List (equally good list but the materials are in tutorial format)
  5. Milwaukee Public Library Computer Class Curriculum (an extremely detailed list of basic and more intermediate computer skills, with printable handouts on how to do just about everything customers ask you how to do)

Sarah Houghton-Jan

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

10 Smart Phone Apps to Help You Be a Better Trainer

February 16, 2010 By

Many of us carry smart phones with us wherever we go.  Whether you have an iPhone, an Android phone, or a Blackberry, you likely have access to thousands of applications that can make your life easier.  As a new Droid owner, I found a number of apps that I thought could help me as a trainer in my face-to-face classes.

Below is a list of apps that can help you while you are training or teaching, making you seem super-smart, tech-savvy, and creative.  I mention specific apps for the Droid and iPhone, but similar applications exist for most smart phones.  The specific names are just my recommendations — but every phone, every app list, and every person is different.   See what you can find in each category that works for you!  All are free, unless otherwise marked.  So load up your phone, and get ready to impress your next class!

  1. Music player – I find that students always love it when I have music playing before the class starts, as well as during the breaks.  I recommend installing the Pandora app, which is available for most phones.  It’s amazingly easy to use, and lets you play music on the phone while you are doing other things. You can choose one of the other many music players, like iMusic, some of which come with quick downloads of legal or semi-legal MP3 tracks as well.  Incidentally, there are many small portable speakers to plug into your phone if the internal speaker won’t do the trick.  This would be particularly helpful when your classroom has no wi-fi, so there’s no way to access streaming music.  I usually do a search for something calming, like “Meditation” and have Pandora create a nice soothing music station around that term. 
  2. Stopwatch or Timer – It’s easy to lose track of time when training, and so many of us don’t wear watches any more…instead relying on our phones. Many apps offer fairly deluxe stopwatches or multi-phase timers that can help you pace yourself and make sure you don’t run out of time.  Some timers even have really nice self-selected alarms, including flashing lights and/or non-obnoxious noises.  I like just plain Timer. 
  3. Chimes – It’s a good idea to have some kind of nice sound to indicate to students that you’re ready to re-start the class after a break or group exercise.  Nice, soft sounds can get people’s attentions just as much as the loud teacher-yell: “We’re ready to start back up now!”  I’m now a fan of White Noise Lite, which offers a number of nice nature-y sounds like windchimes, rain, etc., along with simple visuals for each.  Just start the sound, hold up your phone, and watch the learners reassemble.
  4. Tether – Tech is unreliable, and I can remember a half dozen classes where I expected an internet connection and there wasn’t any.  Now with unlimited data plans on phones and tethering applications, you can connect your laptop to your phone, and use the phone’s connection to access the web.  Granted, it’s slower than a typical wired or wireless connection, but if you need to use live demos in your class it’s a lifesaver.  That being said, you should always bring back analog (read: print) back-ups for your class materials.  As to what app to use, there are a lot out there.  I’m using Android-Wifi-Tether.
  5. Presenter Pro – Presenter Pro costs money ($1.99), but is worth every penny.  This program is for presenters, teachers, and trainers.  The program provides presentation tips, including video and audio examples of great presentation ideas.  The program can review your specific presentations and give tips geared toward your needs. Nice!  It’s like having a training coach in your pocket.
  6. Quote Dictionary – Use one of the many quote-filled apps meant to give you something to think about, or to give you something smart to say to your class!  I recommend 501 Inspirational Quotes, as most of these are applicable in a classroom environment.  Provide a quote at the start of class, throw out a few more throughout to sound really smart, and your students will classify you as a bookish fountain of knowledge…just what you wanted!
  7. Voice Recorder – My favorite voice recorder is simply named Voice Recorder.  You can use it to record quick notes to yourself about things to bring up later in class, or even tasks you need to do once class is over.  You can also use it to record the whole class – as long as your SD card has enough capacity, you can record your class and then save it as an audio file that you can review later to review your class’s successes or places you could have done better.
  8. Yoga Program – Sitting at a desk or computer all day is really tiring on the shoulders, back, and arms.  Use a free yoga program like Yoga Trainer to walk you through a few simple exercises to get your body back in shape.  This is a great thing to do with the whole class during stretch breaks.  Every time I’ve done this, students have thanked me profusely and even said they learned a new exercise for their desks!
  9. Presentation Remote App – Apps like i-Clickr ($9.99) or Logitech Touch Mouse (free) turns your phone into a presentation remote, letting you click through your presentation slides using your phone screen.  Again, one less gadget for you to carry with you when you travel to train.
  10. Documents Program – Make sure you have a documents program on your phone that will read Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files (or their equivalents).  The app that many iPhone users seem to like the best, Documents to Go, costs $11.99, the most expensive app I’ve seen so far.  But the ability to sync up your documents from computer to phone is super nice, and for on-the-go presenters, it’s a huge benefit.  I’m using QuickOffice, which is free and works just fine for reading documents that I’ve manually transferred to the phone. Never again worry about transferring files over to your flash drive—just plug your phone into the presentation computer and you’re good to go.  One less device to carry!

So many other programs are out there that help too – time and expense trackers to keep track of what you need to bill to your clients, mobile blogging apps so you can post to the class blog/website on the fly, Twitter clients to help you create live classroom conversations, cameras and Flickr uploading tools so you can share class photos, mobile Skype to help you bring in a guest speaker for free through your phone, restaurant finding apps to help your students find good nearby dining for your lunch break, and even spy-cams (Sec-u-ret spy cam) to use the camera to auto-photograph you while you’re teaching.  Look around with an eye for your life as a trainer and you’re bound to find many more ways to make yourself look like the super-awesome trainer you are!

Sarah Houghton-Jan

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What would Seinfeld do?

February 9, 2010 By

I love the image of the fantasy eager student in Cathy Moore’s Dump the Drone. This learning nerd looks blissfully at his computer screen and exclaims, “I love to sit at my computer and read read read!”

If only training were that easy. Whether it’s online or on-ground, for most training sessions, the audience is a little lower down on the engagement scale. They may be skeptical that the session will be of any benefit to them; or they may feel obligated but not motivated to be there. I’ve been cogitating on just that kind of situation, fretting about an upcoming presentation. I want to prepare myself and my audience in advance to set the stage for success. I wondered what would Seinfeld do? Or what would any comedian with years of experience in front of tough audiences do? So, I googled for lessons from the world of comedy. Whether or not these comedians are memorable, their advice is:

1. Where’s the passion?

If passion is contagious, the converse—a passionless presentation—is deadly. If you’re not jazzed about delivering your material, how can you expect your audience to be? Simon Dunn says, if you’re dying on stage, “you’ve only got yourself to blame.” Vince Martin tells wannabe comics that you need to bring the energy to the audience yourself, “to give away as much energy as you can.”

How to surface your enthusiasm? Back in December, Peter Bromberg (who’s a bit of a comic himself)  blogged about Kevin Eikenberry’s post on Unlocking the Passion Paradox. Read it and then go look for your passion. “Passion is something we want, but we don’t always know how or where to find it.”

2. You talkin’ to me?

When asked by Larry King what makes a comedian really good, Seinfeld replied that it was a comedian who cared about his audience. Comedians will often sit at the back of a club before their act just so they can watch people enter and note their dress, demeanor, and demographic. The more you understand about your audience, the better prepared you are to play to their diversity, arouse their attention and respond to their tough questions. But Seinfeld didn’t say “understand,” he said “care” about the audience.

Trainers often have an advantage over stand-up comics in that they know ahead of time who is registered for the event; you can do your audience analysis before the moment when you’re standing in the spotlights. You can look for their commonalities, their differences, anticipate potential questions and formulate answers. But take it a step further and try to imagine their frame of mind when arriving at the training. What might they be expecting, what might disappoint, how will they have the opportunity to interact and make the material their own?

3. What’s the matter?

John Cleese says, “If you get too neurotic about making mistakes, you’re unlikely to make anything.” Anticipating a tough audience or a difficult training can be stifling. The fear of not connecting, not achieving learning objectives, and basically “bombing” makes it hard to prepare for a presentation. You need to let go of some control. Be prepared to be flexible in response to your audience and to change gears when it’s clear that something’s not working. Vinnie Favorito is known for extemporizing with his audiences. He’s also been known, when meeting with tepid response and weak laughs, to stop his routine and ask “Guys, what’s the matter? What’s going on?” It’s more important to admit that there’s a disconnect and enlist the audience to help fix it than it is to stick to a script.

Well, that’s three good pointers to calm my trepidation and help me prepare. There’s a whole other set of lessons on how to pull off the live performance. That will require a lot more study and practice.

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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5 Tips for Trainers to Prevent TechFail

February 4, 2010 By

Rewind to Monday, February 1, 2010. It’s 11:45 am at the Harford Public Administration offices.

It’s a typical Monday morning: catching up on email, social media, mailboxes moving slowly toward zero. I prepare to jot down some notes for this post on the ALA Learning Blog.  I open my trusty laptop and start banging away at some ideas about marketing your trainings and marketing yourself.

I take a break and find some video blogging resources on the web and >>>WHAMMO<<< surreptitious website redirection to an unknown Web site, leads to an extremely large popup ad that says:

YOU HAVE BEEN INFECTED…DOWNLOAD OUR PRODUCT NOW.

The background on the screen becomes an ugly green/yellow color and says:

YOU ARE INFECTED SAVE YOURSELF!

Well it said something like that making me think a zombie had entered the interwebs. I clicked the X to close the program, which of course installed the bleeping thing. I tried the faithful CTRL + ALT + DEL keys and discovered I lost Task Manager.

To sum it up, it’s a Monday morning and I lost my computer.

Yeah. Good times. The upshot is that my laptop has now been nuked. Wiped out. Toast.

But I am such a twenty-year plus veteran tech head, of course I saved my data on our network. Right? Well, no not quite everything. So that stuff is toast. I lost two projects in various stages of brilliance.

Did I mention that my brand new HTC Hero (an Android based smartphone), with 50+ apps and set up to my specs also decided to take a holiday to bricktown? Yeah, great day Monday was, so as we stand today (Thursday) the Hero had to get fully wiped–as did the laptop. But, I got an upgrade to Windows 7 so I have that working for me! Yeah me.

So, what does this have to do with training you ask?

There are so many aspects to creating and delivering training and presentations that inform and transform that sometimes we forget some essential training tech tricks that save our sanity. I like to think my bad day of tech inspired this list so that you may not have a day like my “Techfail” Monday.

Training Tech Tip One: If you need it, back it up.

Backing up your important data should be as automatic as the sun rising. You will always be thankful for backed up copies of your presentations, research, writing and photographs when your computer goes belly up–which it will when you least want it to do so. Make sure you do this on a regular basis. If you are a mobile trainer, you may want to back your stuff up in the cloud (as in applications and/or data that live on the web) and on a handy portable hard drive.

Now ask yourself: Do you have your vital training materials backed up? If so, could you reach them if you needed them while you are out of the office?

Training Tech Tip Two: Don’t cry over spilled anything.

Think of this as the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy tip. Don’t panic. Stuff happens. Everyone has had something unexpected happen while training. The room you booked for training is being used for a storeroom or extra office space. You will show up and no one remembers that you were coming that day, and no one is available for training, and can you come back next Thursday. Thanks. Goodbye.

Perhaps you will double confirm and show up at the wrong time, floor, building, street, town or state because someone left the trainer out of the loop. Perhaps the room is uncontrollably too hot/cold/moldy/drafty/sunny for you (and your participants) to be comfortable during four–days of training. Perhaps you are doing an all-day training on “Using the Internet for Beginners” and there is NO internet access whatsoever because of a fire early that morning. Roll with it and adapt. Remix on the fly.

Now ask yourself: Have you had a bad start to a training day followed by the one of your best trainings ever? Were you able to transform your tragedy into a learning opportunity for not only your learners but for yourself?

Training Tech Tip Three: Be prepared for technology to fail.

Being prepared for technology failure will save your bacon and make you look like the training deity that you are. Make sure that you could get across most if not all of your learning objectives without anything that uses electricity or batteries. Just you and your tools (voice, handouts, facilitation skills, adaptability, experience, flipcharts) and some time should be all you need to do your presentation in a pinch.

A very easy way is prepare for tech fail is to think about doing computer training without a computer. What would you say? How would you demonstrate certain skills or point things out? Would you want to have screen shots to hand out as back up plan? Detailed instructions on basic tasks participants could do back at their computers without you standing over them?

Now ask yourself: How would you deal with a technology failure while training? Would you be able to get across your training objectives without technology?

Training Tech Tip Four: If you think you need it, bring it.

Over the years, I’ve created my own technology kit for off site trainings.

The BGIMD Basic Training Technology Survival Kit©:

Computer stuff:

  • One 50 Foot Network Cord
  • One 25 foot Rotating Head Extension Cord
  • One/Two Surge protectors
  • 24 port hub
  • Projector
  • Laptop
  • USB 8 in one kit
  • USB hub

I also may throw in a small webcam and speakers if needed.

Boy Scout Stuff:

  • Extra Batteries for Remote Keyboard/Mouse/Presentation Remote
  • Flash Drive with Materials (if I am working outside of my home library system)
  • Healthy Snack Food (a low blood sugar trainer is a mean trainer)
  • Markers, pens and sometimes writing pads
  • An extra shirt or two to adapt to the crowd

Ask yourself: Do you have your own “training kit”? What’s in it? What do you always seem to need but forget to carry to a training site?

Training Tech Tip Five: Back that cloud up!

The cloud (as in applications and/or data that live on the web) is a great tool to organize and back up your information. You can use tools in the cloud to create training curricula; share materials and resources; bookmarks and links; all accessible from any computer with an internet connection. You may be able to eliminate all of your handouts or point trainees to a site with all of your class information in one handy place.

Just remember to have a copy of whatever you put in the cloud somewhere in real life. If you use a wikispace to create your content and that wikispace gets attacked your data could be wiped out. A more likely scenario is that your favorite cloud resource is purchased/goes bankrupt and you no longer have access to the data you created. Would that throw a wrench into your plans? Sure it would.

Now ask yourself: Do you have up-to-date copies of all of your cloud materials? Are you ready if your cloud service goes offline?

I hope these five tips and the follow up questions help you become better trainers and help you avoid a technology disaster. Have you survived techfail in training? Share your stories and tips in the comments!

Maurice Coleman (ALA Learning Bio) is a Trainer for the Harford County (MD) Public Library, Speaker, Consultant and Organizer/Producer of T is for Training, the Library Training Podcast.  He blogs when the mood hits at
The Chronicles of the (almost) Bald Technology Trainer and tweets a few times a day.

Maurice Coleman

Maurice Coleman, has been Technical Trainer at Harford County (MD) Public Library in North Eastern Maryland for the last 7 years. He has 20 years of experience training all ages how to sensibly use technology, computer hardware and software. He has also trained on effective technology planning and deployment, social media skills, nonprofit organizational development and fundraising, community organizing and presentation skills. He has presented at numerous conferences on topics such as digital personal branding, technology implementation, presentation and training skills, community development and effectively using social media. He hosts the library training podcast T is for Training and writes for the American Library Association’s LearnRT blog ALALearning. For his work he was named a 2010 Library Journal Mover and Shaker and received the Citizens for Maryland Libraries Davis McCarn Technology Award. You can find him on twitter @baldgeekinmd

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