We have made it to the final week of class! Hard to believe we are here - time sure does fly!
Webinars
Last week we hosted our own webinars and attended several hosted by our fellow students. I was pretty impressed by my classmates' efforts and I think everyone did a good job both preparing and presenting content, as well as dealing with the technology-related problems we all seemed to encounter in one way or another. While planning our group's webinar, I noticed that attempting to learn the Elluminate system and anticipate or troubleshoot technology problems added a level of stress not typically present in traditional presentations. While I am still not a big fan of webinars, either as a host or participant, I think they are definitely better than nothing for reaching an audience from a distance.
Week 13 Reading - This week, as we wrap up the course, our reading focuses on the development and implementation of continuing professional development, particularly through motivated learning activities.
- "The C's of Our Sea Change: Plans for Training Staff, from Core Competencies to Learning 2.0" - Helene Blowers and Lori Reed
This article is somewhat of a case study outlining the way one library developed a technology training program for its staff through a combination of "core competency" training sessions and a self-directed "Learning 2.0" program. Through core competency training, you can focus resources on making sure staff at various levels have a basic level of technology skills they need in their daily jobs. Using something like the "23 things" modules in the "Learning 2.0" program allows individual employees to build on those basic competencies by adding knowledge about discrete tools they may previously have been too busy or nervous to learn, or simply did not know existed. Also it has the advantage of being online itself, allowing staff to participate at a distance from the training facilitator. A program like this also acknowledges that everyone will have some need for training, but individuals can each have different needs or interests.
- "Planning an Online Professional Development Module" - Kristin Fontichiaro
- "When Teachers Drive Their Learning" - Joseph Semadeni
- Overall Comments/Reflection
As librarians, we can expect to be both facilitators and participants of professional training programs, and understanding additional methods to make them successful is extremely valuable.