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Register now for Trends in Library Training and Learning

June 2, 2011 By

Conference SpeakersRegistration is now open for Trends in Library Training and Learning: Developing Staff Skills for the 21st Century. WebJunction will be hosting this free online conference in partnership with the Learning Roundtable on August 10-11, 2011.

This event is packed with incredible presenters, including keynote speakers Jay Turner from Georgia Public Library Service, and Char Booth from the Claremont Colleges. The full schedule with session descriptions and presenter bios is now available.

Register now for this great event! You may also be interested in coordinating a viewing party at your library to engage staff, generate discussion and help to make this event locally relevant.

Follow the conversation about the conference on Twitter with the hashtag #learntrends!

Mary Beth Faccioli

Mary Beth Faccioli, MLIS is the Instructional Design and Technology Senior Consultant at the Colorado State Library.

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Filed Under: Feature, Free Stuff, LearnRT News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Spring CLO Symposium: Virtual Edition

April 18, 2011 By

CLO Virtual Symposium 2011 LogoI’m always a fan of free stuff (and learning from the big guys in enterprise training) so I thought I’d share that Chief Learning Officer magazine is offering an online version of their Spring Symposium on April 26th & 27th, 2011. Titled Learning Evolution: Alignment, Agility and Adaptability, there are several levels of registration, the free version includes all of these events:

  • ALL Workshops in Salon One, with a few titles below:
    • The Great Divide: Adapting and Aligning L&D Initiatives to Meet Worker Skill Realities
    • Learning at the Speed of Need
    • Adaptive Learning Design Principles and Best Practices
    • Accelerate Learning and Drive Behavior Through Social Networks and Informal Learning
    • Virtual Learning Environments: Trends & Insights
    • Creating an Adaptive and Innovative Learning Environment
    • Using Measurement to Improve Outcomes
    • Great Webinars: Crossing the Chasm from Classroom Training to High-Performance Virtual Delivery
  • Welcome Address from president and editor in chief, Norm Kamikow
  • Opening Keynote from Bill Jensen and Josh Klein, authors of Hacking Work: Breaking Stupid Rules for Smart Results
  • Access to the Expo Hall
  • Networking Lounge
  • Resource Center

Let me know if you’re attending, we can hit the backchannels together too!

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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Filed Under: E-Learning, Feature, Free Stuff, Synchronous Learning Tagged With: , , , , , ,

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.

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

Staff Development on a Budget

November 2, 2010 By

Here in Georgia Public Librarians are required to have and renew our license each year and this requires we submit a number of continuing education credits. For my post on staff development I thought I’d share some of the free, no travel required, ways we get our continuing education credits.

WebJunction - Every month WebJunction hosts free online webinars on a wide variety of topics from Dealing with Difficult Patrons to Digital Preservation. Sessions are taught by WebJuction staff or other library community members including our own Maurice Coleman. You can see upcoming webinars on the events calendar or subscribe to the RSS feed. An added bonus all sessions are archived for free (no password needed!) with a recording of the sessions and all relevant links for review later or in case you missed one.

InfoPeople – Another great resource for regular online webinars. InfoPeople provide free online webinars on a variet of topics.  You can register for upcoming events and browse their archives without a password. The archives are a treasure trove of resources and all their handouts are Creative Commons licensed.

ADA Online – A great resources for information related to libraries and the American’s with Disabilities Act.  ADA Online offers the Accessible Technology On-line Webinar series for free.

SirsiDynix Institute – Sirsi occasionally offers free online presentations with an online archive of past presentations for easy access.

OCLC & Library Journal Symposiums – sometimes there is a fee associated with these sometimes they are free.  The next one The Ethics of Innovation: Navigating Privacy, Policy and Service Issues is free.

Your Local State Library Organization – in my case GPLS and GLA team up once a month to offer free online Webinars, chances your state organization does too.  Remember many webinars don’t restrict attendees so you might be able to sign up for webinars offered by other states.

I KNOW I missed something, where do you get your professional development?

Bobbi Newman

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

9 Reflections on Co-presenting

April 27, 2010 By

I recently had the pleasure of co-presenting a full day preconference with my wife Suzanne. (The workshop, entitled, “What’s Your Style? 9 Paths to Personal and Professional Development” was based on the Enneagram personality System)  I’ve co-presented with others many times over the past 15 years and strongly believe that, for a number of reasons, co-presenting can be very beneficial and raise the overall quality of the workshop and the experience of the participants.

For starters, if you are co-developing a workshop as well as co-presenting it (which is common), the quality and organization of the material greatly benefits from a joint perspective. With two brains reviewing the content, errors are reduced and points are clarified.  Likewise, the logical sequencing of the content will also be improved.  We all know (probably from some amount of bitter experience) that what is crystal clear and logical to us as presenters, is not always so clear to those we present to.  The benefits of co-developing a workshop are magnified when presenters have different styles, and if you have a choice I encourage you to find someone most unlike yourself to present with.  Be warned that presenting with someone very different can create friction.  But you can choose to reframe that friction by reminding yourself often that the differences which cause friction are the same differences which will improve the quality of your presentation.

Based on my very recent experience in co-preparing and co-presenting with someone who had a VERY different style than me, here are nine reflections on co-preparing and co-presenting a full day workshop.

On Preparing

  1. Play to your strengths: Inevitably, you and your co-presenter will have different strengths. If you don’t know each other well and/or haven’t presented together before, spend some time discussing what each of you does best, and then make an initial plan to divide the duties and tasks based on your strengths.

  2. Set benchmarks.  Assess progress. Reset benchmarks. Working with someone else will generally take more time than working alone.  Also, it’s not uncommon for two people to have very different senses about when certain things need to be done.  For example, I can be cool as a cucumber even when I haven’t finished writing a talk a day before it’s going to be given.  My wife is stressed when she doesn’t have a talk written and practiced two weeks prior.  Setting benchmarks for progress and frequently checking in on progress is a useful way to keep everyone’s stress level down, while moving forward on deliverables at an even pace.

  3. Work separately and together. Schedule Business Meetings. I found great value in coming together with my co-presenter to set goals and deliverables, moving apart to work separately, and then coming back together to review, refine, and integrate each other’s work.  Setting regular business meetings, on a calendar, with an agenda of what you would like to accomplish, goes a long way towards creating a high quality, well-sequenced presentation in a way that is manageable, and not overwhelming.

  4. Have a Full Dress Rehearsal. No matter how good your lesson plan is, you WILL find problems and areas for improvement during a full dress rehearsal.  Better to find them during rehearsal then during the actual presentation.  ‘Nuff said.

  5. Mind your version control and coordinate backups. My wife and I used a shared dropbox folder to share all materials.  She could see and revise what I was working on and vice-versa.  On the off-chance that dropbox disappeared overnight, I also had our home computer backing up to an external hard-drive.   When all documents and powerpoints were finalized, I put one complete set of everything on three laptops (two were mine, one was my wife’s) and also put a complete set on two flash drives, one for me and one for her.  When we made the inevitable last minute changes, I made sure to update in dropbox and refresh all backup copies accordingly.  Being the least detail-oriented person in the world, I’m also the one to overcompensate the most when necessary!

On Presenting

  1. Set Ground rules with each other. It is possible that you and your co-presenter have different ideas about what is appropriate behavior when one is presenting and the other isn’t.  One of the biggest areas of possible conflict involves whether or not it is ok to interject, correct, or otherwise interrupt your partner while they are presenting.  One of the great values of co-presenting is that your partner is well-positioned to read the facial expressions and body language of participants and is likely to be more cued in to times when participants are confused, and in need of clarification.  For that reason, I encourage everyone that co-presents to open themselves to the interjections of their presenting partners, and allow for a free back-and-forth regardless of who has the floor.  Additionally it is good for each presenter to….

  2. Have complete copies and understanding of each other’s script and materials. Having complete copies of each other’s scripts (and/or outlines, and/or key points) can greatly increase the quality of the presentation for two reasons:  1) It ensures that no highly relevant points are forgotten or glossed over (if they are, your co-presenter can either alert you or interject.) and 2) It frees each presenter up from having to memorize or read excessively directly from notes.  It frees us up to make more eye contact, speak more naturally and conversationally, and connect more deeply with the audience, because we know we have a safety net of sorts; our co-presenter won’t let anything important get missed.

  3. Leave specific timing off of the participant agenda and modify timing/content on the fly. I suppose this could go under “Preparing” too…  I highly recommend having a few versions of how the actual presentation can play out–a few different agendas that you share with your co-presenter but not with participants.  Additionally, it is good to have additional modules (activities) and content that you don’t necessarily plan to use, but could slot in depending on timing (if you’re running short) or the interest of the participants.  When my wife and I recently co-presented, we noted on our private agenda where certain portions could be expanded or moved, and where other modules that we had “in the can” could be inserted.  Throughout the day we adjusted our presentation.  The participant agenda was worded broadly, and only noted beginning, ending, and lunch times, which allowed us to keep to their agenda while making significant adjustments to ours along the way.

  4. Restrain yourselves from talking too much.  My growth as a presenter over the past few years has been to present less, and facilitate more.  When I present, especially when I present on a topic that I’m passionate and knowledgeable about, I want to cram 20 hours of material into 8 hours of workshop.   A few years ago Dr. Marie Radford shared some invaluable feedback with me after I guest lectured for her.  In a nutshell, she said, “Less is more.”  She advised me to cut, cut, cut the material, and spend more time talking with the students and less time talking at them.  She suggested I give them the concepts and then invite them to reflect and discuss, and in that way the learning would be grounded in their own experience.   So I pass along Marie’s helpful advice, as it becomes doubly tempting with two presenters to, well, present!  Be extra mindful to structure your presentation in such a way as to present the key concepts, and then allow the participants to speak, question, reflect, challenge, and discuss — even if that means you don’t cover everything.  (That’s what handouts are for!  And websites.)

I firmly believe that a co-presented workshop — especially a full-day workshop — has the potential to be better organized, more complete and nuanced, and more engaging than a workshop presented solo.  Yes, it’s likely going to be more work for you (if you’re counting the hours and minutes of prep time), but it is also an opportunity for you to learn from someone with a different style, a different knowledge base, and a different viewpoint.  Ultimately, preparing and presenting a workshop with another person can be an engaging and rewarding experience for all involved, and I encourage everyone to give it a try!

Peter Bromberg

Filed Under: Presentation Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

How Free and Open Source Software Can Help

April 22, 2010 By

ALA’s Library Instruction Round Table issued a call for presenters this month to participate in their conference program, “Capitalizing on Technology: A Teaching Technology Fair” during the 2010 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. June 24-29.

Here is their Program Description:

Using technology in teaching is an ever changing process and keeping aware of new technologies can be daunting. Come discover how using free or open source software can enhance instruction. Presenters will discuss and demonstrate using various technologies in their instruction. Attendees will then be able to talk with librarians who use free or open source technology. Even if you just want to learn more about how free or open source software is being used, this session will help you capitalize on technology.

First of all, if you’re going to the conference and attend this program, please share with us what you learn.  I will not be there and can’t wait to see what comes out of this program.

Next, this made me think of all of the free and open source software I use to actually do my job and would like to share my list with all of you.  The easiest way to do this is to go through the sequence of what I open when I get to work in the morning and then other applications I use throughout a typical day.

After I turn my computer on and log in, I open our Spark Instant Messaging client.  This is used internally in the IT Department (of which I am a member).  Throughout the day, we communicate to each other using this open source IM client.  We let each other know where we are or where we are going or when we are back (no clunky in/out board for us!).  We ask questions of the group for clarification, or we can just chat individually with someone.  We send important links, and a myriad of other communications throughout the day.  The techs can even jump in with questions when they are out in a library troubleshooting or installing new equipment/software.  This has cut down on departmental emails and has strengthened our teamwork approach.

Next I open Outlook, which we all know is NOT free.  After that, I launch my Firefox Browser.  This is my browser of choice, and I have it customized with many

Greasemonkey scripts (allows for customization of the way a Web page displays using small bits of JaveScript) and other Add-Ons; all of which are free.  Here’s a screen shot of a few of them…

Meebo is a Web based IM that lets me log into my IM networks from any computer with a browser and internet connection.  So my Google Talk, AOL IM, Messenger and a host of other IM/Chat clients can be accessed all at once in a single buddylist from anywhere.  Because I use the meebo firefox extension, this loads automatically when I launch my browser.  I have also placed the meebo me widget on all of my blogs and on other sites I’ve used for workshops as well as within our Intranet so that anyone can reach me anytime instantaneously when they need assistance.  Another great way to avoid email.

The first site I open in my browser is Basecamp.  (Actually, using the Morning Coffee Add-On, these sites open automatically into separate tabs when I click the icon on my browser).  This is the open source project management software my department uses.  We started with a free version, and now we do use a paid version.  I love this.  It keeps me on task for all of my projects and trainings.  The templates are the best.  If I teach a class on a rotating basis, I can just pull in a template of each task and step I need to do to prepare for, conduct and follow up for a class.  When working on projects with others, I can clearly see the scope of the project, what my tasks are and when they need to be completed, and everyone else’s tasks.  Again, this has added better communication and teamwork within our department.

Gmail, is what I open next.  What can I say except that I absolutely could not live without it.  The labels, filters, and ability to add in so many other features makes this the email client of choice for me.  Many times, I have contemplated forwarding my work emails into Gmail for better organization, but I have not taken that leap to date.  Instead, what I have done, is signed up using my Gmail account for all of the listserves, Google groups, Yahoo groups and others.  This way I can filter all of those out into labels (think folders on steroids) to read when I have time.  Also, if I want to use a vacation message in my professional Outlook email, all of those groups will not have to read that because I did not sign up for them using my Outlook account.  Truly, there is nothing more annoying than seeing someone’s vacation message all over the place…

SurveyMonkey is my next stop.  It is great for creating surveys, but it can do a lot more than that!  We do not have a Web programmer at MPOW.  I needed a free and easy way to handle registrations for my training classes.  The ideal would be an online form that would feed into a database.  I was tired of people just sending me an email to sign up for a class and then placing that information into a spreadsheet.  So, a few years ago, I began using SurveyMonkey in a creative way.  We do have the paid version here, which allows me to use logic and export results directly into Excel.  Staff click a link on our Intranet to register for training.  It takes them to a survey I created that contains almost 30 pages with logic built in.  They only see on average about 5 of those pages as they register.  Each class option leads them down a different logical path of pages.  Each class has pre-requisites and I didn’t want to have to keep checking with people when I used to use email to see if they had the skills necessary for a class.  They would fail to include that information in their email even when asked.  The registration survey forces them on a logical path for each separate class.  So, to take Microsoft Word Level 2, it asks them if they have Basic Windows skills or have already taken the Basic Windows class.  If they aren’t sure, it links them to another survey where I have built a Basic Windows Pre-Test.  After that, it asks them if they have Word Level 1 skills or have already taken that class.  Again, they are linked to a pre-test if they aren’t sure.  This has made registrations a snap now and I rarely have to follow-up with anyone.  Feel free to take a look at this and test it out if you like here (Don’t worry, I created a copy of my true registration, so you can fill in whatever you like and it won’t get mixed up with the real data).

I check my account daily to see who has registered for classes or who has completed a Pre-Test that I need to process and send results.

The last site I open is our Intranet.  We use an open source wiki from MindTouch as our Intranet.  We do pay for support.  Before we moved to this a few years ago, we had one person who could post to our Intranet which was a static Web site he maintained using Dreamweaver.  Everything had to go through him and it sometimes took a few days before information was posted due to his workload.  Now, ANYONE can post to the Intranet with a few clicks.  The user interface is super easy to use.  Plus, there is the opportunity to build community with a comment box on every page.  We are currently working on a redesign to put some procedures into place and to make it easier to find stuff.  We pretty much just slapped it together in the beginning.  We may be doing things backwards, but at least people can get information out quickly and cut down on the tremendous amounts of email that used to fly around here.

Now for the random array of many other free and open source sites that help me in my work…

I love Doodle for helping me to coordinate dates for training classes or meetings.  This is a free, Web-based scheduling tool.  I used to schedule classes randomly and sometimes only get 1 or 2 students sign up.  I changed this model to one where you have to sign up to be put on a waiting list for a class.  Once I have 4 people signed up, I use Doodle to coordinate the best date for those 4 people.  Once that date is determined, I then broadcast the selected date to everyone and usually more people then register.  My training room accommodates 12 people.  This method has been very effective.  I’ve been doing this a little over 2 years now and I teach classes less often but pull in more people.  This wastes less of my time and students’ time and allows me to do more one-on-one trainings.  See how beneficial a free little Web ap can be?

Oh how I sing the praises of Jing!  I can use Jing to capture anything I see on my computer screen and share it instantly.  This can be as an image or a short movie.  As much as I wanted to be able to use Captivate years ago, I never had the time to really learn and use it effectively.  I even went to a 2-day course and didn’t get the hang of it.  That was before all of these free and easy screen casting and screen capture tools started popping up everywhere.  I began using Jing about 2 years ago and may have to get a pro license soon.  For now, everything I’ve done has been for free.  My first use was when we pushed out Outlook Exchange to all of the member libraries.  I created an entire library of how-to videos and posted them to our Intranet.  Then, I started just sending out little videos of how-tos when questions would come up.  I can literally throw on my headset, hit a button, have the video uploaded online and a link or embed code ready to go in 10 minutes.  It’s that simple.  Plus, they have great video tutorials in their help area to get started.  However, if you’re someone who likes to do a lot of editing, forget it.  This is about quick and one take.  For professional tutorials, guess I’m going to have to eventually learn one of the others…

You gotta love Dimdim‘s slogan… “Why meet when you can Dimdim?”  I’ve only used this a few times so far, but it’s free and pretty easy.  It lets anyone host and attend live meetings, demos and webinars using just a Web browser.  The free version only allows for a small meeting.  So far that’s all I’ve needed it for.  I’ve also used it to share a screen to show someone how to do something.  Looks like we’re going to be using GoToMeeting now as we just purchased an account.  Something new to learn but at least I can begin doing large scale webinars.

Have I mentioned that I’m a Google junkie?  Google is also my home page for any browser I use.  This past year I made the switch from Bloglines to Google reader as my RSS Feed Reader.  There really is no going back.  I love being able to put multiple labels on a feed and easily share items.  I’ll never be able to actually read everything I have in there, but somehow what’s really important floats to the top and I get the information I need.

Told you, Google junkie… I use Google calendar for many things.  We use it right here on ALA Learning to figure out who posts when.  I like to keep everyone informed about all of the great (and many of them free) library-related training opportunities that abound outside of our System.  I cull information from many feeds and listserves into one big Library-Related Training Opportunities Google Calendar.  It’s easy to just paste information into the calendar and insert a little HTML where needed.  I use a widget on our Intranet and the full calendar embed code at the bottom of my blog.

The theme continues… Google docs helps me to collaborate with people here at MPOW and all over the globe.  This is another tool that we use here on ALA Learning to keep some sense of order to this team blog.  I also like to use the docs or spreadsheets when I’m sharing data gathered from questions I’ve raised in groups or listserves where people want to see the results of my query.  One usually cannot attach documents or pdfs to listserve posts, so giving a published Google doc link is helpful.  See an example here.

Remember I mentioned that we do not have a Web programmer?  Well Google Forms, which are a part of Google docs, are a wonderful way to create forms for placement on Web pages.  I use this on our Intranet as a way for people to report any continuing education/training they have received throughout the year.  Our supply request form was created by our Collection Development/Technical Services department and has again cut down an tons of emails.  You can also set up simple surveys using a form.

I haven’t had time yet to really learn how to do a podcast using Audacity, getting a good mic, mixer etc etc.  I occasionally fill in as host of the T is for Training show and have gotten very familiar with Talkshoe.  This is a service that lets anyone easily create, join, or listen to live interactive discussions, conversations, podcasts and audioblogs.  I think a great use of this would be if I recorded a weekly training tip that I could then share with everyone via my blog and the Intranet and of course iTunes.  Talkshoe does all of this quite easily.  If you want to know more about it, ask the pro, Maurice.

Honestly, I could keep going and going.  There’s Skype and Slideshare and Scribd There’s the Blogger and WordPress blogging platforms I use.  I won’t even get into the free social networking stuff (think twitter, facebook, flickr…)  These are much more familiar than the items I’ve discussed.

So tell me, what free and open source software do you use to make you more effective and efficient in your job?  Please comment and let us know.  I can’t wait to learn about new gems out there!

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: Cool Tools, Free Stuff, Resources for Trainers, Technology, The Training Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

On Sunshine, Smiles and Kittens

February 18, 2010 By

This post is not going to be about workplace violence, even though it’s recently been heavy on my mind. On February 17th,  an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at The University of Alabama in Huntsville opened fire in a staff meeting killing  three coworkers and injuring three more. Dr. Amy Bishop is now charged with those crimes. My library is in Huntsville, everyone who works here knows someone at UAH.

Nor is it going to be about conflict management, though I’ve got a fairly good presentation on that topic and can talk about it for hours.

While this post is about workplace etiquette, it’s not a broad guide. There are plenty of those available.  I’d like to step back even further and discuss one small thing we can do at work to reduce daily stress and create a better work environment for everyone.

I remember staying after school one day in elementary school to help a teacher pack up her room at year’s end. As I said goodbye, the teacher handed me an old poster with ragged corners. “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours” quoted the poster, complete with rays of sunshine on a kitten. She told me she wanted me to have it because she’d noticed how quick I was to smile at the other children, always cheerful and ready to help. She spoke of kindness and courtesy, manners and graciousness. It has a huge impact on me, I would even call it empowering.

In 2006 I attended a SirsiDynix Webinar with Pat Wagner called “Library Conflict Management for Consenting Adults Turning Enemies into Allies” in which she mentioned that libraries should have a “civility clause” for employees.  Soon after, I conducted a little experiment in the staff-only halls of the library. Moving through the building, I pulled up my the corners of my mouth and set a smile there. Every single person who passed said hello or wanted talk about something. The next day, I set a frown before I roamed the halls. A couple of people said I looked tired, one even asked what was wrong. It was as if the energy around me changed instead of just a few facial muscles, I was really struck with the results. Many times since I’ve heard someone make a nasty remark or slam a door in anger at work and wish we had a policy for Being Nice.

Call me Pollyanna, it’s been done before. I’m a firm believer in the power of positivity. When doing research on a class for managers on giving evaluations, I relied heavily on The Power of Positive Criticism by Hendrie Weisinger. He writes of emotional intelligence, being improvement-oriented and guarding self-esteem in those around you.  The book had a profound effect on the way I deal with people in every aspect of my life and I recommend it often to others.

Too often we forget simple courtesy in the workplace. Don’t wait until you have to bring in a conflict resolution arbitrator or consult the attorneys on harassment law. It’s too late when you’re forced to hire grief counselors.

You have the power to give someone a smile today.  It’s free and it feels good. Who knows? You might just get one back in return.

Funeral services for Dr. Adriel Johnson, Dr. Gopi Podila and Dr. Maria Ragland Davis begin today.


Image credit: The Huntsville Times

Information about UAH’s Department of Biological Sciences Memorial Scholarship Fund may be found here.

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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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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Fighting for Attention: Engaging E-Learning Hacks

December 21, 2009 By

Designing e-learning is my creative passion. I get stoked at the prospect of authoring a course that is fun, engaging, and appealing to learners. As an erstwhile student and current professional, I’ve taken scores of self-paced e-learning courses over the years. I’m often astonished by how static and dull most of these presentations are. Granted, there are technical limitations (and in some cases, design standards) that dictate how much multimedia can be used in self-paced course modules. However, smart uses of multimedia in online courses can help capture attention, which is fundamental to facilitating the learning process. Below you’ll find some of my favorite hacks for adding pizzazz to online presentations. Be sure to adhere to the terms of service of each resource listed… and be a good librarian by respecting copyright.

Let’s Get Visual

If you are in need of fun photorealistic visuals, but you are not a Photoshop pro, check out 3dVia’s 3D Collage app. This neat Facebook application allows you to design hybrid 2D/3D images by using a photograph as a backdrop and importing 3D models into the scene. 3D Collage is fast, fun, and free. Simply upload your own 2D image into the program or snag one from Flickr, locate a 3D model from inside the app’s library, and then publish the output to your Facebook profile. Once the picture has been published, simply save a copy of it and paste it into your e-learning course. I’m currently working on a point-and-click adventure about customer experience, and I’ve used 3D Collage to develop all the in-game images.

Hit learners with a quick shot of fun and creativity by using any of these e-learning hacks.

Hit learners with a quick shot of fun and creativity by using any of these e-learning hacks.


Of course there are times when you may need to add video to your e-learning modules. Youtube is an excellent clearinghouse for finding video assets. Depending on your authoring tool, however, streaming videos can present a challenge. If you are using Adobe Captivate 4, there is an excellent Youtube widget that allows for streaming directly to your Captivate presentation. If you do not have Captivate 4, you can likely import the Youtube video as a Flash video file. To save Youtube video as FLV, simply go to KeepVid, enter the URL of the video you want snag, download the file, and then save it as an FLV. Voila! You should now be able to insert the Flash video into your presentation. This tip is useful for authoring tools like Articulate and the free online course builder, Udutu.

Another hack I commonly use is recording screencasts to demonstrate processes. Screencasts are digital recordings of computer screen output. You do not need anything expensive like the commercial version of Camtasia to record one. It’s possible to make a screencast directly from your browser by using Screencast-o-matic.com. Screencast-o-matic integrates with Youtube so that you have a place to host your screencasts for free, provided you have a Youtube account. After recording the screencast, simply upload it to YouTube from the Screencast-o-matic interface. You can link to the screencast, stream it during a course if you are using Captivate’s Youtube widget, or you can rip the FLV file using KeepVid.

It’s Not What You Say, but How You Say It

I prefer self-paced e-learning modules that have audio narration (with the option to mute in the event that the narrator is terrible!) When recording audio, course authors must be mindful of sound quality and audio level. A best practice that I recommend is to record the audio separately, using an editor like the freeware Audacity, and then optimize the audio before importing it into a course. This ensures that all slides have equal sound levels. You can also use Audacity for more creative purposes. Consider applying a voice filter to the narration of an objective slide for a change in pace. If you are using characters or agents in your e-learning, you can also apply filters to their voices for a bit of variety. Here are my three favorite custom filters for Audacity and directions for creating each.

Robot Voice Filter:
1. Record voice
2. Highlight selection
3. Go to Effect, then scroll down to Delay
4. Change the Decay amount 10
5. Change the Delay time to .009
6. Change the Number of Echoes to 30, then click OK
7. Go back to Effect, and repeat Delay four times.
8. Play your edited track

Chipmunk filter:
1. Record voice
2. Highlight selection
3. Go to Effect, then select Change Pitch
4. Modify the Percent Change to 117.50
5. Play your edited track

Walkie-Talkie Filter:
1. Record voice
2. Highlight selection
3. Go to Effect, then FFT Filter
4. Click on purple line and drag it up to the top (12db)
5. Click 10000Hz
6. Click OK
7. Click Effect, then High Pass Filter
8. Change Cutoff Frequency to 2000, then click OK
9. Repeat this process 2 times
10. Play your edited track

Have fun using these hacks, but resist the urge of inserting too many. There is no substitute to sound instructional design.

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.

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Under the Influencer

November 20, 2009 By

Influencer--the bookI’ve read three books this year that have made me rethink approaches to teaching and presentation: Made to Stick, Brain Rules, and now Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. Influencer is about sources and strategies of influence that effect significant change in people and communities. Teaching is influencing. The application of the ideas in this book to leading and learning is potent.

Influencer is threaded with stories that reinforce the authors’ ideas. The most powerful story is that of the Delancey Street Foundation, a “self-help organization for substance abusers, ex-convicts, homeless and others who have hit bottom.” Their successes are all the more inspiring for the enormity of the challenges and intractable behaviors to be overcome. The challenge of training library staff and guiding them through change seems totally attainable by comparison.

You really need to read the book to get the full development of the processes. I’ll just highlight some key takeaways, with a few Delancey Street examples.

Outcome is good but behavior is vital

This was a light bulb revelation for me—that focusing on outcomes is not the best way to achieve them. Outcomes are certainly desirable but they’re not concrete enough. For someone who is trying to kick a drug habit, the outcome is to become drug-free. That’s a noble goal, but it so often succumbs to failure. A person needs a whole lot more than the target outcome to achieve success; he has to know exactly what to do. The individual must learn the day-to-day, minute-to-minute behaviors that need to change every step of the way between addicted and clean.

Strong influencers take the focus on behavior a step further and identify the vital behaviors that are pivotal to unlocking a flood of change. Changing just a few key behaviors can cause problems to “topple like a house of cards.”

At Delancey Street, “the hardest thing we do here is to get rid of the code of the street. It says: ‘Care only about yourself, and don’t rat on anyone.’ If you reverse those two behaviors, you can change everything else.”

When deviance is desirable

An effective method for identifying those vital behaviors is to look for “positive deviance.” Who is achieving success against the odds and what are they doing that differs from the norm? Once the unique behaviors are filtered out, test them to see if they can be replicated with other communities.

Get personal

“Personal experience is the mother of all cognitive map changers.” Great teachers and presenters can certainly be verbally persuasive, moving an audience to open their minds and think differently about a topic. But real learning involves some actual change in behavior, and that happens most readily from direct experience. At Delancey Street, any attempt at preaching values or making eloquent verbal appeals may be met with a reactive volley of profanity. Residents make progress by doing, by putting into practice new behaviors before they even understand the full intent of what they’re doing and what they’re supposed to be learning from their actions.

Eat the elephant one bite at a time

The phrase is becoming a cliché but I still love the image it conjures. When the challenge to change looks enormous, when the learning curve looks impossibly steep, just get out your fork and dig in one bite at a time. For Delancey Street residents, the bite of the elephant may be as small as learning to set a table—first get the fork in the right place, then the knife ….

You can sign up for a free account with the Influencer website and download the Influencer Worksheet to help plan your next training initiative. However, it probably won’t make enough sense until you’ve read the book. If every library trainer reads and implements Influencer ideas, will we be riding on the top of a tidal wave of positive change?

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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