Posts tagged trainer
5 Tips for Trainers to Prevent TechFail
Feb 4th
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.
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8 Easy Ways to Get Connected With ALA Learning
Feb 1st
I hope you enjoyed getting to know the ALA Learning authors these past few weeks. Tomorrow we return to our regularly scheduled posts bringing you the best training and learning news, information, best practices, and thoughtful discussion.
Today I’d like to share some additional ways for you to get connected with ALA Learning, the official blog of the Learning Round Table of the American Library Association.
- Comment and join the discussion on our posts.
- Become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ALALearning
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- Become a Learning Round Table Member–Only $20 on top of your ALA Membership: http://alalearning.org/join/
- Plan to join us for one of our events at PLA, ALA Annual, or ALA Midwinter.
As always feel free to comment and contribute to the discussion. If you have a topic to suggest for a post drop me (or any of the authors) a line at webmaster@alalearning.org.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Stephanie Zimmerman’s Turn…
Jan 21st
I will use the ORIGINAL 27 questions proposed for the T is for Training gang. Here goes (answers in bold)…
1) Your One Sentence Bio
A surrendering to something greater than myself mother and wife who likes to sing and is a training coordinator for a public library system.
2) Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name?
Yes. I always warn the library-types I train that I am NOT a creative-type; I’m more of a math/science-type, and I don’t come up with very original stuff; hence, the name of this blog…
3) What is your professional background?
I have a BA in Social Work with a minor in Spanish and I almost finished a tech degree in Computer Information Systems. See question 21 for more details.
4) What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes?
Strictly staff/volunteers. Millennium ILS, Microsoft Office, Social Media, and anything else staff/volunteers need to use a computer for in our libraries.
5) What training do you think is most important to libraries right now
How to do advocacy well – something I know nothing about but can see is desperately needed.
6) Where do you get your training?
I LOVE webinars, especially the free variety as that works well with my current budget.
7) How do you keep up?
If only I could! I do my best through RSS (just made the switch from Bloglines to Google Reader last week and LOVE it), tweets, Facebook, Friendfeed, podcasts, video, flickr, etc.
(that’s supposed to be an 8, but the coding keeps putting a cool face with shades here, whatever!) What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing right now?
Funding, funding, oh, and funding!
9) What are biggest challenges for trainers?
For underfunded and understaffed libraries to see the value of time/cost needed for training.
10) What exciting things are you doing training wise?
Currently working on being able to offer some e-learning Microsoft tutorials through CustomGuide.
11) What do you wish were you doing?
Wish I were home with my 2 beautiful girls. For a more work-related answer, I wish I could be training the public; the patrons, on all things technology with a focus on social media.
12) What would you do with a badger?
Stand at least twenty feet away from it. Wait, make that thirty feet.
13) What’s your favorite food?
Teff, an amazing Ethiopian grain. I gave up all forms of sugar, wheat and flour over 9 years ago and have discovered so many amazing foods.
14) If you were stranded on an island, what one thing would you want to have with you?
My family.
15) Do you know what happens when a grasshopper kicks all the seeds out of a pickle?
It’s left with a seedless pickle.
16) Post it notes or the back of your hand?
Post it notes – everywhere…
17) Windows or Mac?
Windows, but wish I weren’t.
18) Talk about one training moment you’d like to forget?
I had a training while working in private industry where we were shoved in a room big enough to hold a small round table and I had to train the president, vp and 2 other high ranking people (usually the hardest types to train as they usually have other people do everything for them) for 2 straight days; agony!
19) What’s your take on handshakes?
They are a necessary evil.
20) Global warming: yes or no
I’m afraid the answer is… yes.
21) How did you get into this line of work?
Feel free to read the twisted tale here.
22) What is the best part of your job?
Watching someones eyes grow big and hear them let out an “oooh” or an “ahhh” when they learn how to do something really cool or something that will save them TONS of time on a computer.
23) Why should someone else follow in your shoes?
I have to agree with Peter here and suggest people find their own pair of shoes.
24) Sushi or hamburger?
Neither thank you. Refer to question 13.
25) LSW or ALA?
LSW, it’s hip, it’s what I can afford, and it allows me to wear a cape when I’m in the mood.
26) What one person in the world do you want to have lunch with and why?
Mary, the mother of God, to ask her how she survived motherhood and how to cultivate unconditional love and acceptance.
27) What cell phone do you have and why?
A Motorola E815 I got over 5 years ago because it still works, I only use it for telephone calls, and I’m too broke to afford a data plan.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...20 Questions for Just That Guy
Jan 20th
1. Your One Sentence Bio
Just that guy.
2. Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name?
Yes, but only on ALA Learning. I have much respect and admiration for the other authors here who run their own blogs or who are writing books. I think I must have a case of permanent writer’s block or something. I’ve been going by the online moniker Lawless Librarian for a while now. I believe in the rules – I just believe more strongly that they do not apply to me. Don’t tell my boss I said that!
3. What is your professional background?
I’m a library lifer. I started shelving books at the tender age of 15, and 15 years later, here I am. I’ve worn almost every conceivable public services hat, and I try to bring that diversity of knowledge to my current role as Training Manager.
4. What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes?
I do staff training in a blended learning environment. I’m the Inspector Gadget of library learning. It’s rare that I’ll find a concept, tool, or trick that I don’t want to apply to training. I subject my willing (and unwilling) guinea pigs to radioactive live and virtual ILT and neuron-nuking self-paced training. Training topics run the gamut: we have a new hire onboarding program where the Training Team and I will teach the fundamental skills necessary to work in the library. We also offer a ton of continuing education — roughly 80% online and 20% face-to-face – that covers topics of interest like customer service, readers’ advisory, and communication skills..
5. What training do you think is most important to libraries right now?
I think the most important training libraries need right now would be along the lines of helping staff members help customers who need help helping themselves. Try saying that three times fast.
6. Where do you get your training?
I steal it from little kids and old ladies. You might be next, so watch out. Seriously, I’m constantly online looking for supplemental learning assets. I’ve found great content from places like the Ken Blanchard Companies, SirsiDynix Institute, Webjunction, InfoPeople, and Training Zone. I often get inspiration and ideas from notable trainers like Elliot Masie and Bob Pike.
7. How do you keep up?
Rather poorly.
8. What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing right now?
((Usage)^2 +(Funding)^-1) = NOT good
9. What are biggest challenges for trainers?
Budget. Learner engagement. Getting folks to realize that some performance issues are not training issues.
10. What exciting things are you doing training wise?
I’m currently working on my library’s second annual virtual staff day. Another exciting project I’m currently working on is teaching the basics of my library’s circulation guidelines using characters from the Street Fighter games. Hadoken!
11. What do you wish were you doing?
Running my own pizza shop in the mountains of Appalachia.
12. What would you do with a badger?
Give it dredlocks and parade it around town as my long-lost twin.
13. What’s your favorite food?
I’m not picky. You could give me bread and water every day and I’d be fine with it.
14. What’s your take on handshakes?
They’re a little gross, if ask me. Germs, germs, germs!
15. How did you get into this line of work?
A great mentor and happenstance.
16. What is the best part of your job?
I’ll echo what others have said here: it feels great to know that the things I do, no matter how big or small, can help staff members serve our community. How awesome is that?!
17. Why should someone else follow in your shoes?
Like shaking hands, following in someone else’s shoes is a little gross. Seriously, who knows where those feet have been? Buy your own pair.
18. Sushi or hamburger?
How about a sushi-burger, or some cow carcass-sushi?
19. LSW or ALA?
If by LSW you mean Lego Star Wars, then I’m with LSW.
20. What one person in the world do you want to have lunch with and why?
Axl Rose so I can learn how to do the snake dance. Yes, I’m still stuck in the 80s.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Paul Signorelli’s “Getting To Know Me” Post
Jan 19th
1. Your One Sentence Bio
I was born; have been deeply immersed in writing, training-teaching-learning, and working with libraries and nonprofit organizations for many years; am honored to sometimes be mistaken for ALA Learning colleague Peter Bromberg when the two of us are lucky enough to be on Maurice Coleman’s T is for Training podcasts at the same; and plan to die someday—which, I believe, covers all bases.
2. Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name?
You’ll find me blogging here at ALA Learning and at Building Creative Bridges. I came up with the name because “Librarian In Black,” “Library Trainer,” and “(almost) Bald Trainer” were already taken by writers better than I’ll ever be, and Building Creative Bridges seemed like a good way to describe what I hoped to accomplish through the blog and everything else I’m doing.
3. What is your professional background?
As far as I can tell, I’ve worked for newspapers, magazines, a couple of schools in Japan, the Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the San Francisco Public Library system, and with a variety of other groups and organizations, but if you’ve heard differently, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
4. What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes?
My position as Director, Volunteer Services & Staff Training for the San Francisco Public Library system had me providing orientations, software introductions and updates, and other learning opportunities for staff and volunteers; current training-teaching-learning efforts include writing e-learning courses for Infopeople and LE@D (Lifelong Education @ Desktop)–http://www.leadonline.info/–and conducting workshops at professional conferences.
5. What training do you think is most important to libraries right now?
We need to be combining sessions on practical matters (software upgrades, customer service, leadership and collaboration skills, conflict resolution, health and safety issues) with inspirational/visionary/long-term matters (how to continue serving library members and guests on site and online, maintaining libraries as on-site and online community centers, becoming collaborators with members of the communities we serve rather than one-way providers of information and services).
6. Where do you get your training?
For training-learning, I try everything I can think of, including conversations with colleagues; on-site and online workshops and courses; blogs/RSS feeds; books; journals, magazines, and newspapers; webinars; conferences; speakers at ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) and ALA (American Library Association) meetings and conferences—and I’m sure that’s only about half the list.
7. How do you keep up?
Keep up?
8. What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing
right now?
One of the many large challenges is to recognize and respond to their increasingly huge role in being learning centers for their local and online communities while not abandoning any of the important and life-changing roles their members and guests still expect them to fulfill.
9. What are biggest challenges for trainers?
All too often, we have training-teaching-learning as part of our job rather than as the entire focus of our job, which leads to lots of half-finished projects, lots of stress for everyone, and less than optimum learning opportunities; focusing on our own continuing education and our primary roles as workplace learning and performance providers might be the best lesson-by-example that we can provide to colleagues whose workplace focus is equally divided to their own detriment and the detriment of those they serve.
10. What exciting things are you doing training wise?
Trying to be creative face-to-face and online in the way I respond to learners’ needs: delivering a synchronous online learning opportunity through live Google Chat, for example, was a fun distance-learning experiment with a University of Nevada, Las Vegas colleague and his class in October 2009.
11. What do you wish you were doing?
Writing; oh, wait, I am writing.
12. What would you do with a badger?
Teach it to use Google Chat so it could more effectively participate in synchronous online learning opportunities.
13. What’s your favorite food?
Pizza. Purchased somewhere in NY, NJ or the Philly area. If you’re not buying pizza in one of these geographic areas it’s not really pizza. Sorry, it’s not. (OK, an exception for Chicago deep-dish. As long as you qualify it.)
14. If you were stranded on an island, what one thing would you want
to have with you?
A confirmed flight back to the mainland.
15. Do you know what happens when a grasshopper kicks all the seeds
out of a pickle?
I live in San Francisco; can someone tell me what a grasshopper is?
16. Post it notes or the back of your hand?
No, thanks.
17. Windows or Mac?
OK, but definitely not on the first date.
18. Talk about one training moment you’d like to forget?
Can’t remember; must be an occupational hazzard since at least one other ALA Learning colleague has responded similarly.
19. What’s your take on handshakes?
A handshake is certainly a pleasant way to avoid open warfare in a learning environment.
20. Global warming: yes or no?
Best response I’ve seen is Jill Sobule’s “happy song about global warming”; who am I to argue?
21. How did you get into this line of work?
My supervisor at the time told me I had to take over the organization’s staff training program if I was going to keep my job; I found that to be tremendously motivating.
22. What is the best part of your job?
Being part of what ASTD refers to as the effort to “create a world that works better.”
23. Why should someone else follow in your shoes?
This question reminds me of a story from Martin Buber’s Tales of the Hasidism, which I will now paraphrase to the best of my recollection. The gist of it: Samuel, a very devout man who is struggling to be good in the eyes of the Lord, approaches the Rabbi and asks, “Rabbi, should I try to be more like Moses or more like Abraham?” The Rabbi replies, “Rather than trying to be more like Moses, or more like Abraham, the Lord would be pleased if you tried to be more like Samuel.” And that’s all I have to say about that.
24. Sushi or hamburger?
Depends on who is asking.
N.B.: Special thanks to Peter Bromberg for allowing me to insert, verbatim, his answers to questions #13 and #23 here. I figured if I couldn’t match his responses for cleverness, I might as well just outright steal them and see if I could further confuse colleagues about which of us is speaking (please see response to question #1, above).
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