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Cultures of Curiosity

November 29, 2010 By

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peter Bromberg

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Never Leave Home Without It

October 5, 2010 By

I’m sure this has happened to you before, and if it has not, it’s only a matter of time before it does. Imagine: you’ve spent the past several weeks preparing a presentation for another organization. You’ve been in contact with their A/V person and they’ve assured you that all your equipment needs will be handled. They promise you a projector, speakers, Internet access – the works. You arrive on the morning of your presentation and find that someone on their end has dropped the ball. Sure, the projector is there, but where’s the VGA cable? Where are your speakers? And where the hell is your Internet access?!

Setting up a room for training or a presentation can be a harrowing experience, even for people who do this regularly. There are tons of details to cover and the logistics are exponentially more complicated to manage when working with a speaker from outside of your organization. In either case, you, as the presenter, must be prepared to overcome the unexpected challenge with aplomb. I learned very early on to bring more than a laptop to my presentation. After all, it’s not a day of training until something goes wrong. Here are the top five accessories, in no particular order that I believe every trainer should never leave home without:

1. An assortment of computer cables: I recommend carrying at minimum a VGA cable, Ethernet cable, a male-male audio cable, and an extension cord with multiple outlets. All of these items are inexpensive and it would be terrible to have your presentation ruined because you’re missing a $10 cable.

2. USB Drive: Always save your presentation locally to your hard drive and then separately to a removable USB drive. Hard drive failures can happen at the most inopportune times. By having your presentation on a removable medium, you can borrow someone else’s laptop in a pinch. I also encourage people not to rely on the Internet to show multimedia files during a presentation, and instead have those files saved on the USB drive.

3. Tetherable Cell Phone: Wireless Internet can be a fickle friend, so have a backup buddy just in case wireless decides to abandon you on presentation day. Many smart phones can be tethered to a computer and used as a modem, hence allowing your computer to use the phone’s data plan for accessing the Net. For instance, I can connect my Nokia N95 directly to my computer with a USB cable and use it as a wired modem, or I can activate the app JoikuSpot and use my phone as a wireless hotspot. Tethering definitely works for providing Internet access in a bind, but beware data usage fees.

4. Wireless mouse and keyboard: Sometimes you head into a presentation with no idea of how the room will be configured. Rearranging chairs and tables to your liking is relatively easy; however, the projector — and subsequently where you can place your laptop — is often fixed to one spot in the room. Work around this problem by carrying a decent wireless mouse and keyboard. I’m a fan of the (slightly archaic by tech standards) Microsoft 6000 wireless mouse and keyboard set, which can be bought in many places online for less than $40. The keyboard is sturdy and slim and both it and the mouse have a range of about 30 feet. You can use the mouse as a cordless presenter if you don’t already own a decent one.

5. Golf Pencils and Post-It Notes: Low-tech, but a must-have all the same. Golf pencils and stickies are good tools for collecting class input if you’re in a room without flipcharts or a whiteboard. Simply ask a question, have your audience write their responses on a sticky note, and then have them put the stickies on a wall.

I keep other sundry items tucked away in the pockets of my computer bag or in the trunk of my car, but the above list are items that I always have. What are some trainers’ first aid items you would never leave home without?

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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Five Tips for Getting the Word Out

August 17, 2010 By

It seems like just yesterday that school and academic librarians were wrapping up and reflecting on the academic year. Today, schools and colleges are gearing up for the fall semester. With the start of a new year comes a need to get out there and meet the new teachers and faculty members to share the services you can offer, as well as teach a whole new batch of students.

And as tempting as it is to try and get your entire message out there, it’s sometimes easy to give so much information that the audience has a hard time remembering what exactly it was that you were saying. So here are a few tips for maximizing your message:

1. Know your audiencehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/larskflem/113453239

    Knowing your audience means you’re more likely to tell them something that they’ll want to know. Are you talking to freshmen in high school who have never done a research paper before? Perhaps you want to introduce them to a library that’s there to support research needs. Are you teaching college freshmen who have never seen an academic library before? New faculty who completed graduate school at another institution? In each of these cases you’ll want to clarify the roles of your specific library. Likewise, if you’re doing a refresher for returning students or faculty, it makes more sense to focus on new services they might not be aware of and existing services that haven’t traditionally been well marketed.

    2. Give them something to dohttp://www.flickr.com/photos/40645538@N00/3387387075

    The academic year kicks off with lots of listening for many people. There are orientation sessions, committee meetings, classes, and countless hours of the day are spent listening to others talk. When you know your audience has been on the receiving end of a lot of informational sessions, it’s nice to give them something to do. If you have access to clickers, even that small level of activity engages the audience and can even be used as a platform for discussion. If you don’t have clickers,  you can replicate the interaction with colored sheets of paper or having people stand up or sit down based on their answers. I’ve had great luck using worksheets to guide student note taking. Even the act of reading the worksheet to know what we’ll cover, waiting for the pieces of information to fill in the blanks, and participating in small group activities to complete the worksheet has meant library instruction sessions having a higher level of engagement.

    3. Give them somethinghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/29231115@N00/556409822

    Even if you pay attention to the characteristics and information needs of your audience, and even if you use good active learning techniques in your presentation, your information can still be lost. When flooded with a lot of new concepts, information, and facts it’s hard to keep everything straight. Giving out your business card or a handout means your audience will have a way to get back in touch with you. Later, when they’re going through all the things they’ve accumulated in these early days of the academic year, seeing the handout or card will trigger their memory to remind them that someone from the library came to tell them something. And sometimes that trigger is enough to get them back through the door (or into the email inbox).

    4. Be virtualhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/83542829@N00/4225307113

    Something good to put on that handout (or on your business card… think a sticker with extra information on the back of it) is a URL pointing to more information. If you have a lot for people to learn but you doubt they’ll remember it after they leave the room, giving them a place to find it later can be a good way to make sure they’ll have the information at a point of need. Creating subject guides about library services, in addition to subjects, can be a quick and easy way to put information out there where people can access it later. Make a quick web-based video introducing yourself, and you’ll help them put a face to a name. (And show them how friendly you are in the process!)

    5. What’s your number one goal for them to remember?http://www.flickr.com/photos/81096161@N00/2733969100

    Any my personal number-one-technique is to have one major point that I want the audience to remember. Most of the time it’s that they can always contact me for further information on the topic, whether that’s how to do women’s studies research, implement a new technology in their teaching, or think about the future of publishing. One of the first things I say in a session is that I’ll be going over a lot, so it’s okay if they forget. The one thing to focus on remembering is how to get in touch with me. When I introduce topics and can see that some people are struggling to keep it all straight in their heads, I say it again. Typically by the end of the session I’ve said it at least a dozen times. Sometimes I hear from people sometimes I don’t, but by the end of a session when I get them chanting “get in touch with you” when I ask “what should you do if you forget what I’m showing you?” I know they are remembering the one piece of information I’ve identified as most useful, and it’ll probably stick around in their heads for a while.

    Do you have any tips for getting the word out?

    Image Credits:

    Beautyproof by larskflem

    Free School Child’s Hands Choosing Colored Pencils by Pink Sherbet Photography

    A Wedding Present by lechampiondumonde.com

    Geocaching by William Hook

    Ghetomundial Youngfolk by d_runk

    Lauren Pressley is the Instructional Design Librarian at Wake Forest University. She also blogs at Lauren’s Library Blogs and spends a fair amount of time on Twitter, too.

Lauren Pressley

Lauren Pressley is the Instructional Design Librarian at Wake Forest University. In this role she works with librarians and faculty to improve the design of their teaching and to share information about integrating appropriate educational technology. She also works with emerging technologies. Lauren’s passion is helping people learn about the changing information landscape and think about what that means for them as consumers and producers of information. Recently Lauren published So You Want To Be a Librarian and Wikis for Libraries. She was an ALA Emerging Leader in 2008 and was a recognized as a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2009. She frequently writes and presents on education, instruction, technology, and the future of libraries. Lauren also blogs at ALA Learning, tweets as @laurenpressley, and can be reached at lauren@laurenpressley.com.

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

Join us today for T is for Training 42 at 2pm Eastern

March 26, 2010 By

Join us for our 42nd episode which will most likely include the following subjects: Keynote speeches: Giving and getting – What makes a good-great keynote speech? What tips do people have for giving a not good but great keynote?  What have you liked/not liked about keynotes?

Dealing with Instructional Burnout: How do you or do you deal with training burnout?

The Training Cornucopia: Save the libraries.org ; Plans for CIL’s: The Learning Track and the Live Taping and Movers and Shakers

The full post, including participating instructions is at http://wp.me/piQy4-ay

Hope to see you then.  If you cannot join us, catch all of the episodes in the handy sidebar on the right hand side of the ALA Learning Blog.

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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Filed Under: Cool Tools, Free Stuff, LearnRT News, Professional Development, Resources for Trainers, Social Learning, The Training Life 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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Applying Show Biz Techniques to Training

September 6, 2007 By

If you are looking for some different types of tricks and tips to liven up your training sessions, take a look at what Lenn Millbower offers. I first found out about him when I was looking for ways to use music at key times during training sessions. I found his book, Training With a Beat: The Teaching Power of Music to be very helpful.

Lenn also has a website, Offbeat Training and blog, Offbeat Online.

offbeat1.jpg.

You can sign up for his free monthly newsletter “dedicated to furthering Learnertainment® techniques.”

The newsletter articles focus on his eight Learnertainment® principles and their associated action steps.

The eight are:
• Emotion creates memory – Evoke Emotion
• Laughter produces positive energy – Harness Humor
• Visuals aid retention – Present with Props
• Suggestions guide outcomes – Make it Magical
• Auditory signals trump visuals – Mix in Music
• Multiple perspectives deepen meaning – Layer Learning
• The performance sends a message – Stage the Surroundings
• The performer sends a message – Perfect the Performance

Gail McGovern

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

Captivating your Online Audience

July 27, 2007 By

Thanks to Pete and Gail for inviting me to add my words of wisdom to this blog (whatever those words may be I’m not sure yet!)

At SOLINET, we are busily creating asynchronous classes using Adobe Captivate.  We used to use a product called Toolbook and unfortunately when the one person at SOLINET who knew how to use it and update it, left the company, we decided it wasn’t worth our time to re-learn it.  So for a couple of years we haven’t really had any asynch training.  It has been an interesting road to deciding on a product.  It took a long time to finally decide on Captivate – and most of it was a money issue.  I personally wanted something a lot more robust and complex but those cost a lot.  So we did a lot of testing internally and finally decided on Captivate.  There is a new version coming out (#3 to be exact) in August and I have high hopes for some of the quiz functionality.  I’m curious to see if anyone has any specific tips to share about creating content with Captivate.

Max Anderson

Filed Under: Asynchronous Learning Tagged With: , , ,