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Technology Competencies: Can Your Staff Do This Stuff?

Jun 26th, 2009
by pollyalida.
4 comments
A Clovis point, made via pressure flaking
Need to update your tech skills?  Image via Wikipedia

WebJunction has published a wonderful new document that details the basic skills that library staff should have – from management skills to tech skills to public service skills and everything in between. Of course,  I was particularly interested in the Core technology skills section.

I think most of us are doing great with the basics of using our computers, email, word processing and getting on the Internet. I remember the days when every trouble shooting call had to begin with “is it plugged in and turned on”!  When I’m teaching classes these days, participants rarely have basic skills issues any more. Indeed over the last year I’ve been adding more content to my classes because people aren’t getting bogged down with basic computer skills issues and are getting through the class content much faster. Yay for that!

Where I think many of us aren’t all doing so great is with the competencies in the Core Web Tools section. (more…)

Technology to the students!!

Jun 24th, 2009
by pollyalida.
3 comments

Originally uploaded by Extra Ketchup

I have lots of school library media specialists in the technology classes I teach. They are often the ones in the forefront of using technology in their school districts and come up with great ideas for how technology can support student learning and help teachers do their jobs better.  At the same time, they often tell me that many of the tools we explore are blocked or that students can’t have email, so therefore can’t even get accounts with so many of the tools.

When I was a gov docs librarian, our tagline was “documents to the people”. Well I think my new clarion call will be “technology to the students”!

In that vein, take a look at this great blog post Google Apps for Education overview by Kathy Schrock. She details how they arranged for school email accounts for all their students and teachers. How they use Google services to share documents, calendars and more. And she includes an excellent model for an email permission slip, explaining why students need email and acceptable use guidelines.

If you’re having challenges in your school district, maybe this model can help. Just keep at it! Demonstrating the value and need for access to technology. You’ll get their eventually.

Had successes in your district? Please share!!!!

David Lee King: CDLC Emerging Tech Program – May 7

Apr 28th, 2009
by pollyalida.
1 comment

digexpApril 30th is the deadline to sign up for this great program: The Future is Not Out of Reach: Change, Emerging Trends, 2.0, and Libraries.

The speaker is David Lee King, the Digital Branch & Services Manager at Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library in Topeka. He’s written and spoken at conferences about websites, digital experience, working with techies and other technology-library related topics. David is also the author of the recently published book, Designing the Digital Experience.

Library Journal says: “Librarians agree: David Lee King is your go-to guy for simplifying complex technology. King’s real focus, though, is not on the technology itself. “It is,‟ he says, “making sure our focus stays on the user rather than on the great features of new web sites or technology.‟”

The program will be held at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library on Thursday May 7th and is sponsored by CDLC, MVLS, SALS & UHLS.

Register now before it’s too late!

Hope to see you there!

CIL 2009

Apr 1st, 2009
by pollyalida.
No comments yet

I don’t think I’ll be able to summarize any more CIL sessions as I’m off for a bit of
extended travel. Let me just say it was a great conference. Lots of interesting sessions and even more terrific people. It was so good to catch up with old friends and to meet so many new people. Many of those people are part of the T is for Training podcast crowd. Maurice Coleman even managed to pull off a podcast recording while we were all there. What fun to sit around the table and chatter with people I’ve known only online and through the podcast.

And kudos to the conference organizers for having good wifi in all the meeting rooms this year. Granted there were some blips here and there, but mostly it was terrific and I really appreciated this.

And I have to share something that was said to me that really made me chuckle AND think. “but I thought you were about 27″. This was the first time this wonderful person had met me in real life and for whatever reasons, I must seem younger than my 53 years in my online presence, not that I’m trying to disguise myself in any way. But I liked what this reinforced about age really just being a state of mind. I’ve heard comments from colleagues about young people being tech savvy and older folks, well, not so much. I’ve also heard people grumble that our profession will only change as these old folks retire. I realize that these things are often just said flippantly and aren’t really meant. And I’ve certainly been guilty of age stereotyping myself, usually assuming someone younger has far more tech skills than they do have.

So, I’m going to try really hard to banish all of those age-based assumptions from my thinking from now on. And having just overheard a woman on a plane say “I’m too old to be on twitter”, I hope we can all help our customers let go of assumptions that may hold them back from learning. If my 89 year old mother can be an internet maven, then what’s to stop anyone! And in light of that, I still feel like a spring chicken.

“You people are just following a fad!”

Mar 9th, 2009
by pollyalida.
No comments yet

I recently encountered a librarian who was feeling overwhelmed by too much technology and feeling that people were telling him to jump on all the latest tech tools and implement them just because they’re “cool”. Not surprisingly, he wasn’t too interested in implementing anything new as a result.

For all those who feel that way, please take heart. No one wants you to implement something that won’t work for your library. No one wants you to do something new just because it’s cool. But do take a look at new ways of operating and new tools that can help you reach your customers in new ways. And reach new customers.

And take a minute to watch this great animation by Michael Edson.  Do you hear yourself or your colleagues in this?

webtech

You people are just following a fad!

  • perhaps true, but follow it intelligently
  • recognize the world has changed
  • don’t forget about the mission
  • need transitional models

Found via: Infotoday Blog – Michael Edson will be a speaker at CIL 2009.

Technology, learning, global connections

Feb 3rd, 2009
by pollyalida.
No comments yet

Quote from the 2009 Horizon Report on Will Richardson’s weblogg-ed.

Information technologies are having a significant impact on how people work, play, gain information, and collaborate. Increasingly, those who use technology in ways that expand their global connections are more likely to advance, while those who do not will find themselves on the sidelines. With the growing availability of tools to connect learners and scholars all over the world — online collaborative workspaces, social networking tools, mobiles, voice-over-IP, and more — teaching and scholarship are transcending traditional borders more and more all the time.

Interesting discussion in the comments on weblogg-ed.

(Thanks to Linda for pointing me to this.)

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