The Continuing Education Committee of ACRL, in conjunction with other library related organizations,
will be listing, from time to time, interesting ideas, effective strategies, or other materials that may
become available and of interest to CE Committee page readers.

December 9th, 2004
NERCOMP held a User Services SIG workshop called "Maximizing Your Resources to Develop
Effective Training Strategies" Many of those in attendance work at colleges and universities and
work in libraries, academic technology, or IT. The Technology Training Roundtable workshop
produced a series of discussions on issues facing the changes in the educational environment and
strategies for coping with those problems and issues. NERCOMP has given the ACRL/NEC CE
Committee permission to make those roundtable training strategies available here. Special thanks
to NERCOMP for sharing training and learning strategies with ACRL/NEC.

WORKSHOP Issues and Tips for Solutions

#1 Staff training

Issues:
  • Establishing credibility
  • Time/scheduling
  • Cooperation of supervisors
  • Finding time to use online tools
  • Web development/adding content
  • No shows (incentives?)
  • In-house vs. outside trainers ($$$)
  • Give them wings

    Tips:

  • Short well targeted classes
  • Catch new employees
  • Surveying to assess training needs
  • Harnessing student power
  • Briefing sessions on “hot topics”
  • Mandatory training
  • Lunch and learn
  • Targeted department training
  • Blackboard with Element K topics (very effective)
  • Team with HR – offer certifications/defray the costs

#2 Student training

Issues:
  • Staffing (lack of)
  • Multiple systems and access info – multiple login credentials
  • Competency assessments
  • Learning disabilities

    Tips:
  • Content tutoring center (professional and student tutors – create tutorial for basic skills review)
  • Academic department/IT collaboration – help design the training based on academic expectations

#3 Faculty training

Issues:
  • Way to busy/no time
  • Support from upper administration
  • Timing of training sessions
  • Don’t need training

    Tips:
  • Serve food
  • Training kiosks (visible areas for support/instruction)
  • Buddy system for new faculty
  • Sit in on classes – see what they are doing
  • Packaging/presenting basic skills
  • Faculty teaching other faculty
  • Offer one-on-one meetings
  • Training just prior to the start of semester (3 days)
  • Offer a variety of sessions/workshops
  • Students helping faculty

#4 Delivering training with online tools

Issues:
  • Getting the faculty to use the online tools
  • Intellectual property rights
  • Development time
  • Trainer professional development

    Tips:
  • Good for introducing software
  • Start surveying faculty prior to start
  • Pinpoint training – short sessions
  • Share materials internal/external to the college
  • Keeping videos to 5 minutes or less
  • Robo demo (Innovator), Visual Communicator, Camtasia, MS Producer,
  • Flash format (stream)

#5 Tools for administering training programs

Issues:
  • How to develop systems?
  • Find out who your users are? (Voluntary)
  • Develop partnerships (HR)

    Tips:
  • Use the data as a marketing tool
  • Use student power to develop software systems
  • Collaborate with other departments (new employee process)
  • Provost partnerships for faculty

#6 Library Help Desk training integration

Issues:
  • Communication between library/IT
  • Time shifts for coverage (nights/weekends)
  • Expectations/insecurity about technology (perception)
  • Not much in common
  • Library as planners/IT as doers

    Tips:
  • Joint programs, sharing, collaborations (tech fairs)
  • Web discussion groups – ask a question (works over nights/weekends)
  • Cross training library/IT staff
  • Student training at help desk
  • IT documentation available to library staff (wireless)
  • Improve access to info on web site
  • Self-help library/IT web sites
  • Joint sessions keeping your computer healthy
  • Train a library key user
  • Tips and tricks sessions

#7 Training the Trainers

Issues:
  • Student trainers
  • Time to train
  • How to train technical trainers
  • People skills

    Tips:
  • Look for people with good communication skills
  • Practice with peers
  • Evaluations
  • Follow-up sessions
  • Video taping performance (feedback)

#3 Focus groups, surveys, getting inforamtion

Issues:
  • Focus -Takes time/arranging schedules
  • Surveys - Getting your users to fill them out
  • Network – not allowed out to meetings

    Tips:
  • Get input right from the design phase forward (rewards)
  • Guide your training
  • Easy to use tools
  • Keep the sessions limited
  • Face 2 face discussions

End of NERCOMP Workshop Notes

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