Sarah Houghton-Jan, Lori Reed

Lori:

First time in history we have 4 generations of people in the workforce. Some people are always wired, some aren’t there yet.

another consideration – time & money. Need to figure out how best to use our money/time for training…

Showing a “Calculated Savings” slide – showing how much they spend in mileage reimbursements for travel time to and from training. Wow.

elearning solutions:

• asynchronous (blackboard, not all there at same time, learning 2.0 classes)
• synchronous training – all online at the same time (webjunction classes, webinars – opal, webex, go to meeting, adobe connect, dim dim, etc) – have to have bandwidth to support this type of training.
• blended – blending both together

Giving examples of blended learning: using physical and digital social spaces…

Best learning is informal learning

Don’t put the cart before the horse – there are some things you have to figure out first:

• Determine what the need is first – what do they need to learn/to improve their jobs, etc
• Then determine who the audience is

Talkshoe as a good tool for communication. WebJunction as another (their webinars).

Twitter is a great way to reinforce learning.

Tips to implement elearning:

• you need support from the top
• include IT in discussions early on
• trainer, train thyself
• don’t put speed over quality – if it fails, elearning will get a bad name.Make sure you’re doing it correct!
• have a plan – create goals
• be prepared to demonstrate ROI – might be costs!
• enlist the help of tech-savvy staff
• look for support from local businesses

Sarah:

Oops … missed a bit. Starting now…

Tech2Know Program Plan:

series of short web-based how-to guides, tutorials, etc. Sorta like a 23 Things program for competencies. One topic a week…

3 follow-up elements:

1. permanent online discussion forums for each topic

2. tech playground

3. an ask the techies week when the helpdesk would target lingering issues people have had about anything

Some core principles:

prizes – important! Library Genius 2.0 t-shirts from ACPL, find free or low-cost swag – USB drives that cost $4, etc.

Why invest in staff training? save money, strengthen skills, improve customer service, shows commitment to lifelong learning, increases staff retention, motivates staff to keep learning, increases efficiency

Benefits: really helps improve staff – their skills, their job descriptions, future training eneds, helps with performance evals, consistent customer service. That “come back next tuesday when Jill’s at the desk” statement? Not acceptable.

Project Planning: start with goals.

Planning questions:

what are your goals?

who manages the project?

Do you have or need to create a skills list?

Do you have a timeline in mind?

What are your resources (funding and staff)?

What training resources exist, and which ones need to be created?

Ensure staff buy-in:

• listen – if you ask, use their input
• keep everyone informed
• reassure staff they don’t have to know it all now
• managers MUST follow project plan
• hold a brainstorming session or party
• fun. rewards. food.

Admin buy-in:

• write a purpose statement
• determine measurable deliverables
• build training in to performance evals
• train admin/management first or separately

Creating a training program:

• decide on types and numbers of training
• start with the basic topics
• open training to all staff
• mandatory or voluntary?
• training budget based on staff needs
• set goals and rewards

Ongoing learning:

• Do a mix of scheduled and unscheduled learning…
• give staff 15 minutes a day to study/learn
• schedule 1 off-desk hour for self-study
• encourage conference/lecture attendance
• share online tutorials, etc

Tips: ask students to dream at the end – if you ruled the library, what would you change now, after learning this stuff? (came from Michael Stephens)