Tomorrow marks the 41st episode taping of the Library Training Podcast, T is for Training which is sponsored by the ALA Learning blog.

Detailed notes about the podcast are visible here: Gearing Up for Tomorrow’s T is for Training

You can listen to past episodes of the podcast by clicking on the widget on the top right side of this page.

Thanks for listening!

If you follow ALA Learning, you’ve probably realized by now that I’m an e-learning addict. In my last post, Fighting for Attention, I shared some insight into how to add digital pizzazz to your e-learning efforts. Today I want to invite you to come and play inside my digital sandbox, and check out three intriguing tools I’ve been tinkering with to help with transferring knowledge from the classroom back to the work environment.
 

Twitter Gaming
I was a huge fan of Terminator and Terminator II: Judgment Day. Needless to say that was I stoked to learn that Sony would release another Terminator flick after the apocalyptic letdown that was Terminator III. Before the launch of Terminator Salvation, Sony cooked up Resistance 2018, an elaborate game using Twitter, in which members of the human resistance army were using Twitter to decode messages from Skynet. Players earned points by decoding the messages. As players earned points, they rose up the leader boards on the Resistance 2018 website and achieved higher rank in the army.

I’ve been experimenting with the setup of how to make a Terminator-esque Twitter game for my library. A spiel of this sort can be used as a follow up exercise for any class where you need to do a knowledge check. For example, I’ve created a basic reference e-learning module, and the “homework” portion of the class is a massive set of reference questions. While I believe in the value of having folks new to libraries demonstrate an understanding of reference resources, I heard seen in my evaluation surveys that new hires really dislike the chore answering the questions. For my next batch of new hires, I plan to use a Twitter game like Resistance 2018 in which I invite the new hires to use their Twitter accounts to answer reference questions sent by me. As in Resistance 2018, the person who answers a question the quickest with the correct answering (citing their source along the way) will receive the most points. I’ll set up a leader board on a private Sharepoint blog so the newbies can compete for bragging rights.
 

ExitReality
For years companies have valiantly attempted to transform casual web-browsing into an interactive 3D experience. Platforms like GoGoFrog and 3dxplorer can give you an overall feel for the web in three dimensions. Both sites have potential, but by and large, the result is a clunky 3D browser that subtracts – not add – value to your web surfing experience. ExitReality is one of those tools that I find absolutely useless when used as a method for web surfing; however, ExitReality serves as an outstanding three dimensional meeting platform.

ExitReality is a small plugin that, once downloaded onto a computer, turns any webpage into a 3D space based on a theme of your choosing. Turn a webpage into an apartment, dojo, movie theater, etc. The list goes on. Users can select from more than 100 available avatars and then begin chatting immediately – either with text or through VoIP, thanks to the dynamo that is Flash 10. Rooms vary in size, but most are large enough to comfortably handle a small group of 5-7 participants with plenty of space to move around.

Since the plugin automatically renders websites, you will find that pages that have many links on them are somewhat difficult to use in 3D. As a work around, I recommend designing your own simple webpage using Microsoft Word. Include a few links to material that supplement what was taught in class and then publish your site online using a free web hosting site, like X10 Hosting.

Consider using ExitReality as a live, real-time discussion forum for your learners to meet after class and discuss concepts or ask additional questions of instructors. The added layer of interactivity is nice, and the core functionality of multi-user chat with VoIP is well worth this 4.5mb download.

A 3D intro video to one of my e-learning classes shown on the big screen in Exit Reality.

What online tools are you using to maximize training transfer?

Libraries across the country are being impacted by the economy. Staff are being laid off. Doors are being locked as libraries close or reduce hours. As we face this new reality, how does this impact our roles as trainers/teachers/learners? What can we do to not only support our organizations but secure training’s place within our organizations? Here are ten ideas for you to consider.

1. Alignment. Align training with strategic priorities. If ever there was a time to tighten the training belt it is now. Do you know what your library’s strategic priorities are? If not, ask. Make sure that all of your training supports those outcomes and priorities for your library.
2. Attitude. Set a good example. Employees often look at trainers as role models for the organization. Doom and gloom do not do anyone a bit of good. Lead by example. Look for the silver lining that exists and embrace this time as an opportunity for growth and change. Be flexible and willing to do things that may fall outside of your normal realm.
3. Network and Collaboration. Look for ways to collaborate with other trainers. There are trainers across the country who are ready and willing to share and trade training materials. If you need a handout on the fly try posting to an email list. Or you might decide to create a more formal training exchange with a sister library.
4. Webinars. ALA Learning will soon be announcing a new resource for sharing training and learning opportunities. Many of these events are free. Better yet many are online and require no travel. Publicize these events to your staff.
5. Outcomes. Think in terms of outcomes rather than trainings. What outcome or result are you looking for? What problem are you trying to address? Once you’ve determined your outcome then you can determine if training is the best way to reach that outcome (in many cases it’s not). Don’t invest time and resources in training that’s not needed.
6. Free. Look for free authoring tools. Do a search for “free elearning tools” and you will find lots of great articles. Like this one and this one from our own Jay Turner. With her budget cut to nearly 70% Sue-Minton Colvin, training and development coordinator for Lexington Public Library turned to e-learning. Not already having an established platform, Colvin created an entire training intranet using Shutterfly. Yes, you read that right, Shutterfly. I never even realized you could create a Web site using Shutterfly! Talk about using your resources!
7. Social Learning. On her Web site Ageless Learner, Marcia Conner says that, “Informal learning accounts for more than 75% of learning that takes place in organizations today.” Embrace the power of Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, Facebook, and Twitter to facilitate informal learning. Host a discussion. Host a chat. The sky is the limit and we are only on the verge of utilizing these tools fully in learning and staff development.
8. Visibility. Be visible in your organization. When you work primarily behind the scenes, it’s easy to stay holed up in your office. Get out and talk to staff. Find out what’s going on. Let them know what’s going on with training. Listen with empathy and remember tip #2.
9. Better With Less. Instead of focusing on how we are doing more with less, focus on the opportunity to do better with less. As I said in tip #1, this blip in the radar gives us a chance to focus on the basics, rethink our training strategies, and truly show an impact on the organizations we serve. Staff training in the library is very different from public training. We are here primarily to improve the performance of staff within libraries so that they can better serve our customers.
10. Don’t stop. No matter how tight the budget is, it’s a huge mistake for any organization to stop training completely. As the economy ebbs and flows it is crucial that libraries and our staff learn to go with that flow. Only through continuous learning can we keep our workforce’s skills up to date and prepare our employees for the changes that will no doubt take place in organizations.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas about training in tough times. Please comment on this post to continue the discussion!

Lori Reed, managing editor of ALA Learning, is the learning & development coordinator (and mayor ) for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. She also blogs at http://lorireed.com.

As Paul pointed out, train the trainer programs are really useful but are not necessarily offered all that often. Since one of my most recent projects was one of these programs, I thought I’d kick off my posts on this blog with a discussion on that project.

The program? We called it Teaching Teaching. (I described it in detail on my blog the other day.) Instead of going into the specifics of planning and content, I’ll use this space to talk a little bit about the drive behind the program, what made it successful, and how we knew it had done its job.

DEFINING “TEACHING TEACHING”

Teaching Teaching was a program that I worked on with a colleague, Roz Tedford, to support teaching at our library. We’re a mid-sized academic library that teaches traditional library instruction, technology workshops, credit bearing classes, and workshops for faculty.

This program took the form of a one-credit “course.” The program took place over two semesters (and will likely be revived in future semesters as well). In each, we treated it like a one-credit course, without the assignments and testing. The goal was to make a very low barrier for participation… the only thing people had to do was save an hour in the morning to show up.

For the first semester, Roz and I led classes. We’d model good instructional practices, and stick to around 20 minutes of lecture and discussion followed by an active learning exercise. We’d try to vary the exercises so that after the class was completed, people had a toolkit of potential activities to use when teaching.

The second semester followed a different model. By the time we had the second semester course, we changed the model. I wanted people to realize that they didn’t need an “expert” at the front of the classroom telling them what to think about and that every teacher is a potential resource. I started the semester with a facilitated discussion about what people wanted to learn, and set up the semester’s schedule around that. Then, each week, I sat with everyone else in the classroom and facilitated discussion.

WHY IT TOOK OFF

People were asking for a program like this. Teaching Teaching wasn’t something that I decided everyone needed to do. It wasn’t something the administration felt the library needed, either. Teaching Teaching evolved from several discussions I had with different librarians in the building and was based on their needs and interests.

People had a drive to do more with their teaching. People were already good teachers. Some had been teaching for a very long time. But people were interested in learning more about the principles behind what they were doing, understanding the research that supported some of the techniques they were interested in trying, and improving the good teaching already taking place.

This course was an opportunity for instructors with no obligations. I firmly believe that Teaching Teaching went over well because it was presented as an opportunity that people could choose to participate in, with no expectations for preparation or outside work. Finding one hour for something you’re motivated to do is much easier than finding an hour plus extra work time. And since people chose to participate on their own, there was no resistance to the program.

WHAT MADE IT SUCCESSFUL

Classes contained useful information. People came to learn, so I made sure we were covering content that would be useful. I planned the curriculum for the first course, because I understood the issues people were interested in learning more about and I had the background to know how to structure the content. And the second course was even more student-driven, as the entire curriculum was based off the conversation from the first day of class. Since we were all using valuable time to participate, I wanted to be sure that every class had something for everyone.

Active learning was central to the design of the workshops. We knew people wanted to learn more about how to incorporate active learning techniques, and we knew it would help people learn the content more effectively. However, as most of the participants preferred learning in lecture-style settings, we were careful to construct exercises that would be non threatening, and would make good use of pair and group work. In the end, people enjoyed it and had new ideas about how to incorporate active learning into their own teaching.

The class became a community of learner/teachers. I heard over and over again that people got as much out of being part of the group as they did from the content of the courses. People said that having an hour a week to set aside for thinking about instruction helped them be more intentional and reflective of their work. Knowing that they’d have a session to share new ideas and ask questions every week meant they were able to adapt and change things more quickly. And, as we phased into the second semester, the transition to a learning community was truly illustrated as I shifted to a role where I tried to keep my mouth shut for much of the sessions.

HOW WE KNEW THE PROGRAM WAS A SUCCESS

People kept coming back. I originally had doubts about attendance for this program. An hour every week for two semesters meant people were devoting up to 30 hours of time to the program, or nearly a work week of the year. Everyone’s swamped (who isn’t these days), yet over half our teachers attended every session for the first class, and a smaller group of the same people attended every session of the second semester. Nothing says things are going well like repeat attendees!

People indicated they didn’t need a third semester. Towards the end of the second course, I started asking around about the need for another semester. I felt people had a pretty good grasp of the material, and wasn’t sure it was the best use of time at that point. And most people agreed. However, it was interesting that many asked we reserve the right to do something like this again, perhaps at a more advanced level, in future semesters.

Librarians started doing more instructional design. I noticed that librarians were doing more instructional design. Whether it was redesigning their credit course based on the Teaching Teaching information or working with faculty members to adapt their assignments based on library resources or technologies, more librarians were doing more instructional design work as part of their day-to-day jobs.

My role had changed. When I first became the Instructional Design Librarian I often worked with library staff to adapt their classes based on specific issues. By the end of the Teaching Teaching program I more often met with library staff to verify that they were on the right track and doing good work. My role as an instructional designer had shifted from a consultant role to a second set of eyes to double check the (good!!) work that had already been done.

So that’s the story of Teaching Teaching. Don’t worry, I didn’t teach myself out of a job. But as a train the trainer program, it was a successful one. With good planning, some work along the way, and constant feedback from participants, we were able to develop a program that supported the work of the library and is helping us better meet the needs of our users.

Have you done any train the trainer programs? What made them work for your community? How did you know they worked?

Image Credits:

pronouncing dictionary by Muffet
Shuttle Endeavour Blastoff by jurvetson
successful business woman on a laptop by Search Engine People Blog
New Years Eve 2006 by monkeyc.net

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 at Twitter, too.

LEARNING ROUND TABLE PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO, Feb. 25, 2010 – The Learning Round Table of the American Library Association unveiled a new logo on the Web site http://alalearning.org. The new logo contains a vibrant palette of colors including purple, blue, orange and green. The abstract design has many different meanings and the public is encouraged to comment on the ALA Learning site and describe what the design represents to them.

The logo was designed by Jennifer Palmer a graphic designer and illustrator based in northern California. Palmer, a former senior production designer for American Libraries Magazine and Booklist publications, said, “I designed the logo to convey a feeling of professionalism, diversity, quality, and forward thinking while embracing the fun and welcoming spirit of the Learning Round Table members and leadership.”

Learning Round Table president, Pat Carterette, said that, “The new logo marks the culmination of a project that has been in the works for over a year to rebrand the Learning Round Table.”

The Learning Round Table officially changed its name from the Continuing Library Education Network and Exchange Round Table last summer at the ALA annual conference in Chicago.

To learn more about logo designer Jennifer Palmer, visit http://wondergus.com.

The Learning Round Table of the American Library Association promotes quality continuing education for all library employees. The Learning Round Table helps members network with other continuing education providers, is a source for continuing education opportunities, and advocates for quality continuing education in libraries. For more information or to join the Learning Round Table visit http://alalearning.org.