Sjoblom, Liisa

English

OJS at Oregondigital.org (Oregon State University / University of Oregon)

OLA Quarterly Volume 14 Number 2 President's Conference Issue (Summer 2008) July 2014 Embracing Technology: The Deschutes Public Library's Learning 2.0 Plan Liisa Sjoblom Deschutes Public Library Recommended Citation Sjoblom, L. (2014). Embracing Technology: The Deschutes Public Library's Learning 2.0 Plan. OLA Quarterly, 14(2), 2-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1197 © 2014 by the author(s). OLA Quarterly is an official publication of the Oregon Library Association | ISSN 1093-7374  2Embracing Technology:The Deschutes Public Library’s Learning 2.0 ProgramAt the Central Oregon Regional Library Conference in October of 2006, keynote speaker Michele Jeske of the Denver Public Library briefl y mentioned this great self-paced technol-ogy training program at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) called Learning 2.0. Intrigued, Human Resources Manager Marian Thom-as investigated the possibility of doing something similar at the Deschutes Public Library. Our own Learning 2.0 project was born—Embracing Technology.When taking on any new training pro-gram, one should ask “why?” We targeted two very important goals: giving staff the opportunity to explore new online technol-ogies for possible library application; and further developing a district-wide learning culture. Our introductory outline states the following:We need to be lifelong learners because our communities change so rapidly and we need to not only be knowledgeable, but also we need to be proactive in edu-cating, inspiring, and encouraging life-long learning in others. E.T.—Embracing Technology—is one of the key ways we can be connected, be a catalyst for learn-ing, and provide links to the wide world of possibilities.The goal is to excite staff about the pos-sibilities of new and emerging technologies and to encourage on-going exploration into the ever-changing world of new communi-cation tools.Marian Thomas quickly formed a team to plan and execute the program. In addition to Marian, team members include Teen Services Librarian April Witteveen, eServices Manager Wylie Ackerman, and Adult Services Librarian Liisa Sjoblom. We thoroughly reviewed PLCMC’s Learning 2.0 site (http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com) and planned for a pilot project with the Redmond Library. This mid-sized by Liisa SjoblomAdult Services Librarian,Deschutes Public Librarybranch offered a mix of management, librarians, and library assistants who are motivated to experiment with new library programs. We contacted PLCMC for permission to use their program and linked heavily to their site via our intranet.The nine-week pilot began in Janu-ary 2007 with a target completion date of March 12. One of the main challenges was to get staff excited about the project. We felt that it was important to get people on-board quickly and to complete all of the exercises. We created a 30-minute in-per-son kick-off session covering the history of Web 2.0, some key terms, and information about support. At the end of the presenta-tion we distributed a bookmark with key terms and a time line for completion, plus a short, fun quiz (Figure 1) pitting E.T., the movie against E.T.—Embracing Technol-ogy—the learning experience.E.T., the Movie 1. What was E.T.? 2. What was the name of E.T.’s friend? 3. What materials did E.T. use to make his phone? 4. What was E.T.’s favorite candy? 5. Who was E.T.’s face modeled after? 6. E.T.’s voice was performed by what movie star?E.T. at DPLS 1. What is a blog? 2. What is a podcast? 3. What does an alert do and how do you create one? 4. How do you access your library account thru the OPAC? 5. How do you fi nd out about current public programs? 6. Where do you go to download an audiobook? Figure 1Embracing Technology quiz 3V o l  1 4  N o  2  •  S U M M E R  2 0 0 8Everyone received a paper copy of the quiz wrapped in a tube around a pen—their very own “youtube.” Completed quizzes were sent to Marian who issued the fi rst incentive, a treat bag of chocolate, small alien toys, and a poem by Carl Sandburg (for those who do not know, E.T.’s face was partially modeled after Carl Sandburg). The responses to the quiz gave us an idea about who would be participating. The other key tools used to monitor progress were the per-sonal blogs that staff created using Blogger (http://www.blogger.com). Weekly remind-ers were sent to staff to keep them on track and encourage continued participation. Throughout their exploration staff com-mented on their progress and experiences, both good and bad. The last blog message provided a chance to comment on the expe-rience and provided an indication that they were fi nished. The fi nal incentive of a $10 movie gift card was sent to participants who completed all exercises.At the end of the pilot six of 19 Red-mond staff completed the program and provided feedback through a short survey. Results of that survey are listed in Figure 2. 1. What was the most valuable part of the learning experience?  • Trying out something new – 2  • Getting up to speed on new technology – 5  • Sharing your thoughts on a blog – 0  • Being creative – 1  • Other – 0 2. What were the barriers for you in completing the program?  • Time – 7  • Lack of interest – 0  • Objectives were not clear – 0  • Too much to wade through – 1  • Not enough computers – 0  • Other – 0 3. What did you think of the kick-off in the beginning?  • Not needed – 0  • Didn’t need the E.T. exercise – 0  • Informative and fun; keep as is – 8  • Keep informative part only – 0  • Other – 0 4. What is helpful to have weekly reminders?  • Yes – 7  • No – 1 5. What do you recommend be modifi ed before it is rolled out to other staff?  • Shorter narrative to read – 2  • Provide fewer options – 2  • Provide estimated length of time for each    segment – 3  • Have options for learning, including read only   for knowledge and practice exercises for those   who want/need a deeper experience and more   enhanced knowledge – 3  • Other – 0 6. General comments – a chance to provide some open feedback.  • Numerous comments provided.Figure 2Pilot survey questions with responses. 4O R E G O N  L I B R A R Y  A S S O C I A T I O NEveryone found value in the introduc-tory kick-off and they all liked trying out the new technology. The major drawback was time. Twenty-two activities, one less than PLCMC, were still too many. Before rolling it out to the rest of the staff the team needed to shorten the lesson plans and really make the learning experience relevant to the Deschutes Public Library.The team reviewed the 22 exercises and managed to pare it down to a lean 14 exercises over nine weeks. We also took each of the exercises and wrote them for our own Web site. We were concerned that PLCMC would take down or alter their site as they updated their program. At this time none of our exercises link directly to the PLCMC site. We also moved the sequence of exercises around to logically fi t what we wanted to emphasize. Figure 3 lists the current topics covered by Embrac-ing Technology.Week 1 Item 1: Learning 2.0/Library 2.0—What’s This All About? Item 2: Lifelong Learners—Are You One?Week 2 Item 3: Create a Blog and Record Your Thoughts Item 4: Online Social NetworkingWeek 3 Item 5: Exploring the DPL IntranetWeek 4 Item 6: Make Life “Really Simple” with RSS and a NewsreaderWeek 5 Item 7: Explore New Reads with NoveList Item 8: DPL Audiobooks – Expand Your Options! Item 9: The DPL Catalog – Your Friend and AllyWeek 6 Item 10: Learn About Tagging and Discover Del.icio.usWeek 7 Item 11: What are Wikis? And Why Are They Important to Libraries?Week 8 Item 12: Photosharing with FlickrWeek 9 Item 13: Audio/Visual 2.0—Podcasts at DPL Item 14: Audio/Visual 2.0—YouTube Video HostingFigure 3Embracing Technology – 14 Items 5We also realized early on that we needed to create a shorter version for part-time staff, primarily working in Circula-tion. They do not have the same amount of time to devote to the exercises and also use shared computers, e-mail and related com-munication tasks. The short version, called Jump Start (Figure 4, right), runs for fi ve weeks and involves eight different exercises. Instead of a creating a blog where progress is monitored, they complete a short quiz at the end of the fi ve weeks.Everyone in the Deschutes Public Library system was invited to participate between June and September of 2007 with staggered completion by department or branch through November. The Learning 2.0 Team provided orientations and followed up with support and encouragement through the weekly reminders (Figure 5, right).Blogs were monitored for progress and we often took time to comment on postings to encourage the social nature of the entire experience. As people fi nished, movie gift cards were sent to staff.Results were and continue to be posi-tive. Participation was voluntary for the initial run in 2007, but strongly encour-aged, especially for staff providing reference service. Half of the staff participated to some extent and one third completed all of the exercises. Blog commentary showed some areas such as YouTube and fl ickr were more enjoyable than others. The RSS feeds exercise was the least-liked activity. Some blogs were quite creative and everyone indicated that they really liked the chance to explore. Many wished they had more time and those who did the short version wanted to do the longer version.Week 1 Item 1: Learning 2.0/Library 2.0—What’s This All About?  Item 2: Lifelong Learners—Are You One?Week 2 Item 3: Online Social NetworkingWeek 3 Item 4: Exploring the DPL IntranetWeek 4 Item 5: The DPL Catalog—Your Friend and Ally Item 6: Explore New Reads with NoveListWeek 5 Item 7: Audio/Visual 2.0—Podcasts at DPL Item 8: Audio/Visual 2.0— YouTube Video Hosting: Figure 4Jump Start – 8 ItemsThe Learning 2.0 Committee hopes that the past few weeks have been educational, fun, and maybe a bit challenging. Your blogs are looking great, and we encourage you to continue describing your experiences with this project (along with any other random musings you might like to share) through Blogger.If you didn’t receive a Week 5 reminder (we’re still learning how to use some advanced features of Outlook!) and missed out on the exercises last week, please take a moment to go back to these easy lessons. Learn about some of the new (or new-ish) things that DPL has to offer our patrons. Have you tried out any of these services?Week 6 brings us to the concept of tagging and the Web 2.0 tool known as De.licio.us. Perhaps you’ve noticed a “Tag this” button on your web browser tool bar, or have heard the word De.licio.us bantered around in a context other than describing treats available in the breakroom...this is it! I personally adore this tool because it allows me to save as many web pages as I want without the fear of cluttering my Bookmarks folder. Go forth and tag, and don’t forget your local support liaisons if you run across any snafus!Figure 5Sample Weekly Reminder for Week 5V o l  1 4  N o  2  •  S U M M E R  2 0 0 8 6Embracing Technology has proved to be a worthwhile learning program for staff and it is now part of the general orientation for new staff. The initial E.T. quiz is no longer required, but it is shared during the kick-off sessions which are still given by team members. As staff fi nish, they also receive the movie gift card. Participation is generally initiated by the department manager. Cur-rent plans are to review the exercises each September and update as necessary.We found this to be a very worthwhile endeavor and can recommend it to any library looking to get staff involved in their own learning. Not only are staff learning about new and emerging technologies, the team learned much from the development process. From working with surveys, forms, and discussion forums on our intranet, to selecting Web links, to participating in the activities, we developed a model for future online training programs. We encourage others to embrace technology and develop similar programs in your library!Documents for the Deschutes Public Library’s Embracing Technology program are available online at http://www.nwcentral.org (search “embracing technology”).Strand An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean DebrisBonnie HendersonIn Strand, travel writer and amateur natural-ist Bonnie Henderson traces the stories of wrack washed up on the mile-long stretch of Oregon beach she has walked regularly for more than a decade. The burned hull of a long-abandoned fishing boat, a glass fishing float, and an athletic shoe are a few of the starting points for odysseys that reach across the globe, from Coos Bay, Oregon, to fishing villages on the coast of Hokkaido, Japan.Available October 2008. Paperback, $18.95.To order, call 800-426-3797 or visit oregonstate.edu/dept/press.Oregon Coastal Access GuideA Mile-by-Mile Guide to Scenic and Recreational Attrac-tions, 2nd EditionKenn OberrechtAN OSU PRESS/OREGON SEA GRANT CO-PUBLICATIONNow revised and updated, the Oregon Coastal Access Guide offers a north-to-south tour of Oregon’s Pacific edge, with extensive coverage of scenic U.S. Highway 101. It provides a convenient and reliable reference on where to go, how to get there, and what to expect. The Access Guideis essential for anyone exploring the nearly four hundred miles of coastline that lie between the Columbia River and the California border.Paperback, $22.95. To order, call 800-426-3797 or visit oregonstate.edu/dept/press, or marketplace.oregonstate.edu/seagrant.On the Lookout for Aquatic Invaders Identification Guide for the Pacific NorthwestNonnative species are altering freshwater and marine ecosystems in the Pacific North-west, and more species are introduced every year. This guide has been developed to help watershed councils and other community-based groups increase their understanding of aquatic invasive species and to initiate monitoring efforts for species of particular concern to their watersheds.Coil bound. $4.95 plus $3 s&h. ORESU-H-08-002. To order, call 541-737-4849,  or visit marketplace.oregonstate.edu/seagrant. .NEW THIS SEASON!O R E G O N  L I B R A R Y  A S S O C I A T I O N

Embracing Technology: The Deschutes Public Library's Learning 2.0 Plan

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Embracing Technology: The Deschutes Public Library's Learning 2.0 Plan

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OJS at Oregondigital.org (Oregon State University / University of Oregon)