 Hello and welcome. I'm Brenda Haug and I'll be facilitating today's webinar which is about mobile technology training, taking technology training out of the library and into the community, focusing on a cool project called Tech All A Cart. Before we do that, I want to cover a little bit of housekeeping. We're using ReadyTalk and you can use the chat to ask questions, share links, share ideas at any point. So keep using the chat. I see lots of you have already typed messages in there. Also you can put tech issues in there if you have them. We have Sarah and Shab both on the line in chat who are helping with tech issues too. So just let us know if you're having any trouble. If you do happen to lose your Internet connection, like most things, it's just kind of a reboot process. Go back into the email that you received from us and just follow the link back into the room again and that usually should take care of it. If you're using your phone for audio instead of voice over IP, same thing. If for some reason the call gets dropped, just redial the number and usually that works. This session is being recorded and later today we'll send out a link to the recording and we'll send out the slides from the presentation and then any links that are shared today, any websites, we'll be gathering those and we have already a list of the ones that we know we'll be talking about. And so you'll receive a follow-up email today that has all of that information. For those of you on Twitter, the hashtag is TechSoup. So with that, let's go ahead and get started with our content for today. Again, this is a session on mobile technology training and featuring the Tech All-A-Cart program from Puder River Library District in Fort Collins, Colorado. I'm Brenda Haug and I'll be facilitating today's discussion. And Irene Romsa is here. She's our special guest. Again, I mentioned Shab and Sarah are in chat and they can help with questions. And again, feel free to ask your questions at any point. You can see on the agenda, I'm going to quickly talk about TechSoup, TechSoup for Libraries, the Edge Benchmarks. This is part of an Edge Benchmarks webinar series. And then most of the time will be Tech All-A-Cart. And Irene will give us an overview of that project and then we'll have lots of time for questions and answers. Put your questions and answers in the chat at any point. We'll be tracking those and then we'll have them ready for Irene when we get to that part of the session. Okay, we'll tell you a little bit about TechSoup. TechSoup is a nonprofit focused on providing other nonprofits and libraries with technology that empowers them to fulfill their missions and serve their communities. And qualified nonprofits and libraries can request and receive Tech products donated by TechSoup partners like Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, and Symantec. TechSoup for Libraries is a special part of TechSoup that is focused on the needs of libraries. So the content there is really specifically targeted at the needs of libraries. This webinar today is one of a series of webinars exploring the Edge Initiative Benchmarks. And the Edge Initiative, these are benchmarks that are being developed by a coalition of organizations including TechSoup and also Web Junction, the Public Library Association, several state libraries, and also lots of input from the library community. And the benchmarks will help libraries determine where they stand in terms of public access to technology. There are 13 benchmarks. And today's is focused on number 8, today's webinar. And number 8 is about building relationships to maximize access to technology. And the specific indicator we're going to be talking about that's part of that benchmark is the library engages in technology outreach by maintaining mobile training equipment for library-sponsored technology training in partner facilities. So that is what Irene Ramsa from the Puder River Library District in Fort Collins, Colorado where she manages the outreach department. Irene is here to talk to us about that today. And as I said, first of all she will give us an overview of the project and then we'll have time for questions and answers too. And feel free to put those in the chat at any point. So Irene, are you there? Here I am. Hello everybody. Well, I will turn it over to you. Welcome. Glad to have you here. Thank you, Brenda. So my intent today is to take about 10 or 15 minutes going through an overview of what Tecla Cards is. That way we will allow the most time possible for your questions and answers. And we might have to go back to one of the slides depending if I go too quickly over one of them and there are some questions still out there. So the product or the service we want to highlight today is this new program we are calling Tecla Cards. And with me I brought today of course my star bilingual instructor Alba Williams so she will be available for your questions as well at that time. And let me go here. So who are we? We are, as Brenda was saying, located in Colorado. We grew from a city library, a Fort Collins library into a district in 2006. And now we are faced with the challenge of serving a larger population, a larger square mileage. And we are anchored by three libraries and the three libraries are located in the city. And I wanted to play around with this and try to gauge who we have out there. And my first question for the group would be, do you currently offer computer literacy? And I have two yes options there, yes in English only, yes in English and other languages. Sometimes if you are not consistent or there is no regularity and then no. And for us computer literacy is, we have to find a common definition and for us it's allowing people to understand those computers and how to use them. So let's jump into that question screen. And how about I will take this to give people a few minutes to tally up. You can see there that people are voting. So Irene, do you want me to go ahead and skip to results? Yes, let's see what we have. The person who just talked, I don't know if they are going to. Who is Bobby? Bobby is one of the people at the webinar. Yeah, Irene. Yeah, so it looks like lots of people offering computer literacy, quite a few in other languages besides English too, and some doing it sometimes and some who aren't yet. So let's take a look at Irene's slide. Okay, so I see then that the majority right now is offering classes in English. And for us here at Puder Libraries we are offering in English and in Spanish at the time because of the demographics of our population. And here we go now onto, I hear some feedback. Are you all hearing some feedback? Okay, so for us we are teaching in English and in Spanish. And when we became a district, which is what I was telling you before, we created also the outreach department. We had a couple of staff members, me included, who would individually do outreach out there, but there was no department or no formal programming budget for us. But in 2011 our department was created. So we are very, very new to the game. And we were created with the mission of delivering off-site library services to the underserved. We pulled staff from other areas. And in total we have three full-time staff members in the outreach department. So relatively it's a very, very small department for a staff of 190 people. At this time for our district we are the smallest unit, I think. And we divide our efforts, resources, staff time in the following areas. Our major focus is in early literacy. And then right behind it is digital literacy. And of course we also have the homebound delivery services under our responsibility, all the volunteer management piece, and community engagement, which is something that we are looking to grow. What was the situation that brought us to this discussion, this thinking of the creation of Tecalacart? We found ourselves when the department was created that we were tasked with being the library representative outside of the library buildings. And we had more areas to cover as a district, but no new libraries were going to be built. We are a library that does not have a bookmobile. And talking about computer classes now, we started to see what was going on there. We referred a lot to ALA and their statement on the transformation of libraries. And they talk about how libraries in the future will be a key player in digital literacy. They think that that's the niche where libraries are going to be and remain relevant in the future as we face all these challenges and the questioning of the role of libraries. So we took that, we grabbed that, and that's why we took the banner of digital literacy as one of the main tenants for the work of outreach. And we saw in that area that some participants in our classes were feeling left behind in the large group environment. And we also saw that for our Spanish computer classes, we were suffering of low participation and low retention in comparison to the English-only classes. And because our task was to serve those who were underserved, our initial reaction was to look into those people who were not benefiting of the programs and services that were being delivered inside of the libraries. And we also found as we talked to people that our locations and the scheduled classes did not work for everybody. We were hearing that over and over again, especially when we were trying to find the poorest of the poor asking them, why are you not coming to our classes? We are offering these classes in Spanish. We would get that a lot. They have two jobs, then they come home and they have kids to feed and they have a husband to take care of. So life was just coming in the way of them acquiring that knowledge that they were aware they needed and wanted. Okay, now who are the underserved? We use that word a lot here in outreach. And for us, our adaptation of the definition is that the underserved are those who cannot access library services. It could be because of their distance from one of the three libraries or because of language barriers, or they have limited mobility and cannot come into our building. So we are looking to serve them and amongst them we find a homebound. We find students who cannot get a ride to the library on their own. We find immigrants. We find all the outlying communities that we serve and that are taxpayers. We find the seniors. We find those who are of low income. Now a question back to you. I see that more participants have joined. And to continue asking the question, I'm not assuming that all of you are libraries. So the question would be, do you do that role of outreach? Do you look into delivering services outside of your physical building? And if you do, who does that? Is it a task for any of your staff members? Or nobody does that? Or you have an assigned department or staff member to do that? Or a combination of all of the above? And I see you voting already. Okay, this is actually comforting to see your responses. And we see that leading, we have a combination of the above with a little bit of whoever wants to do it. Any library staff person can go ahead and go out and start engaging people for the delivery of services outside of your buildings. Okay, is that enough time, Brenda? Sure, I think so. Okay, so some combination of the above and now I reveal to you my answer. For us, it is the same. As I was explaining, we are a very new department. We've been around for barely a year. And we have staff in our district who will be celebrating 20 years of service this coming month. So you can see how we are a somewhat old institution with this new challenge of what is this outreach department supposed to be doing for us. So we have still a combination of outreach staff who will be going out there, but we also have some staff like the teen librarians going out and engaging the teens in the middle school. And I think that for us, we still have a lot to figure out. We are in that road right now. And the key I consider is to balance the concept of wanting that embedded librarian out there being relevant to the community, but also with the desire of being intentional, strategic, and intensive in our outreach. So how to balance those two is something that is an ongoing conversation for our district. Now let's jump into the concept. The concept basically was to grab that classroom and make it fit into a piece of luggage. So Taylor computer classes through a small mobile computer lab which would be flexible, which would give us that rapid response that we wanted, that responsiveness, that the community so much desires, especially in our target population. How did we do it? What steps did we follow? First, we did the ask slash sell. That is, I had in my mind something of what I wanted for this program. But then I had to force myself to not tell people what they need, but actually ask people what they need. And not to promise anything until I heard from them. So the ask is an important part of the actual implementation in my mind. You are asking and at the same time you are selling. And it also helps to calm the critics. We did get many questions like, so you intend to take all this expensive equipment into the poorest of neighborhoods and in the middle of the night. Well, that was a valid question, but let's not kill the idea yet. It was still being presented as an idea. I still had to hear from many people. I asked fellow librarians. We went and asked the community, those people who would register into one class and not attend the second one would come and ask, why are you not coming? We did find out that computer classes were valuable to them. They understood the need. They could see it around them. They could see that they cannot even apply to McDonald's without doing it on the computer. So they were aware of the need, but life was coming in the way. They had very valid reasons. Our library had already tried to resolve some of these by offering childcare in some of the Spanish computer classes. But this was proving to be a little bit difficult to sustain to hire a second person during the classes to just take care of the children. So that answer of the people actually helped us. I interviewed several families at their home. I didn't make them come into the library. I actually visited them. And it wasn't one of those visits that I saw that the children actually went into their bedroom and played and did their homework. And I was able to chat with the mother for almost an hour, uninterrupted. And I think that really was revealing to me. I was able to have a meaningful conversation. The children were still at home. They were safe. And that's when the idea started taking shape by thinking I could have been teaching a class in this last hour without interruptions and having the full participation of the family. So that started shaping the program. I didn't have a full answer in my hand when I started out with the questions. We also asked vendors. I went to our current cell phone vendor, which is Verizon. Started talking with them, starting to see their coverage. I looked at other competitors. And I identified that Verizon was the one that had the best coverage in our area. And by having a conversation with them, they were also interested and gave us a unit, a loaner unit. And they let me take it out to the field for two weeks. And I drove all around our district just testing reception, Wi-Fi reception. So that helped a lot to give a little bit more security into the program. I had to go and ask, slash sell with our potential funders, and see if this was an idea they would be willing to back up with their money and their support. And I also talked to other agencies, mostly the university. We are a university town, so I tend to go there a lot just to brainstorm. And I kind of throw through the idea of their way to see what they thought. And in all of this, the aim or the foundation was to provide a service that would give us portability, flexibility, but at the same time it would be safe and sustainable. So the next step after asking and talking around town with everybody was to go into, here goes my next one, lining up with resources. Once we decided, yes, this is something we do want to pursue, we had to start lining up the resources. We are recipients of a BTOP grant. So I had already had a preliminary yes from them on the purchase of the equipment because I had had some savings on the original purchase of equipment and talking to them about the why of this new program. They were willing to support this new pilot. Talking to the friends of the library who is the agency that helps us a lot with the funding of our programs. Management team had to be behind it. Of course, the IT department, which I needed for procurement and for the prepping of those computers to have them go out. And something that I don't want to oversee is having the right instructor. For me, this was the deal breaker. We needed someone who would be a good community worker because I can teach how to teach computer classes to many people, but how to go out and be in the field was the key element. So we did have that. So that also gave me the comfort that we could go ahead with this project. What was I looking for in the instructor? Someone who was bilingual to reach that target population. Someone who was friendly because she was going to be going into the home. So it's someone that the family will be willing to open the doors of their intimate home to on a regular basis and pretty much welcome to their family. So friendliness was crucial, extremely flexible, and very competent. And flexibility is actually not a strong enough term. I was going to be asking this person to live out of a luggage, a piece of luggage, and her own vehicle go into the mobile home parks and use her evenings, use her weekends to teach others. It's something that I must say no one or our instructor wasn't comfortable with at the beginning, but with time it's proven to be very, very rewarding. So it wasn't a little bit challenging, but it was fun, it was something as a manager that I wouldn't ask someone to do something I myself wouldn't be willing to do. So I kind of had tested that and I thought, hey, this is something that is doable. So I felt a little bit comfortable with asking somebody else to jump into the boat with me. Now you've heard me mention Btop. How many of you know what Btop is? Let's run that little poll again, Brenda. Perfect. I suspect that most of you heard about this webinar through Btop then. Okay, perfect. We have Btop recipients, people who have heard about Btop or public computer centers is another term being used out there. And some people have no clue why I've been using Btop and what that is. So let's get us all up to speed quickly. All right, to advance, so I can meet my goal of 50 minutes talking and then questions and answers. Well, we are a Btop recipient and it's a federal program. And for our state, the state of Colorado, we were fortunate enough to have the state library really lead in this and start contacting libraries in our state to join them, or for us to join rather, in a joint program and grant seeking process, which we were able to attain with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So this was crucial for our program. We considered Tecalacart to be a baby of the Btop grant. Now going quickly into the startup costs, here you see a listing of what our mobile lab is. It's basically six laptops with windows, office, and a projector, a screen. Very important, a hotspot. It's a Verizon one that reaches most of our district. And then luggage and outlet strips. I love advertising, so we included a promotional flag because it's important for us that wherever we are, people know we are the library and that we're there for them. So when we're out of the building, this becomes a little bit challenging. So that was there. We also have some promotional stickers all over our equipment and some teaching supplies. So for us, this was the basic budget of what we started working with. It was around $4,000. And to that, we add some ongoing expenses, which I would say are very, very low for the amount of population we're able to reach. And you have it right there in front of you. It's minimal. Here we have Alba again. This picture is from last Friday. After I took her to the BTOP conference in Colorado Springs, she got into her car when we returned to Fort Collins and went into a mobile home park late at night. You can see there it's night. And the equipment is right there in the back of her trunk and she's pulling it out. And I bet it's some family member from the participants taking the picture of her. So thank you, Alba, for being such a trooper. And then launch. We are still talking about the steps of how we did all this. And launching is very important because I am a business administrator and I love planning. But I've tried to control myself through the years and not spending too much time in planning to the point that I won't take the jump or that leap of faith. So I try not to think too much about it. Once I was confident that it was well-received and people were behind it, then just launch. Things won't be perfect, but you just have to take that jump. So we launched. We started small, which was part of the keys of success. If something were to go wrong, it was small enough that we could control the damage, per se. So we started small, one, two families, or two groups. And these were groups that were known to us, the participants, the first participants, they were referrals or people who just heard of it through word of mouth. So if something went wrong, they were aware that we were just trying our best to deliver improved and increased services. So they were going to be kind to us. And they were. And we started off by screening. Visiting the homes, I did the first home visit before sending Alba out on her second home visit to make sure that the house presented the conditions. We are looking for at least a table, a dining table where we can set up five computers around that table for it to have enough electrical outlets for it to be clean enough to have that table assigned to only learning during that time for the children to be at a level where they can entertain themselves through their homework or play on their own and for the family to be receptive and for the environment to be safe. So we were able to find that out through this first visit. The first visit is not called a screening, but rather we call it this a meeting where we will discuss what is it that this group wants. What are they looking for? What do they need? How many classes will that require? What's more or less the level at which each participant is at? And we take down the names of who will be the participants for that class. And then we sign a contract. You have a little image there, but it's also one of the attachments to this webinar. The contract in English and in Spanish that we signed with the families where they are committing to present all the conditions for us to come in and give the class. So we are both committing to something when we sign that contract. We are constantly in this launching stage looking for opportunities to grow and serve. So it started as something where we would go into the house to provide that training, but from that day when we started in February it has become so much more. We are going to after-school classrooms or groups. We've gone to evacuation centers. We've gone to parks. So we are constantly keeping our eyes open to find and identify those opportunities to serve. We do assessing and tracking, and of course reporting and sharing is very important. And I cannot say enough about the Colorado Initiative, the Colorado Public Computer Centers. They have been such an ally and an inspiration in this effort. They, through this joint grant, have arranged with library research services for a survey to be filled out by participants every time we finish a class. And that just provides me so many statistics. It allows me to sort by place or location. That means TecalaCard is not our only location where we provide computer classes outside of the library. We have established public computer centers at three fixed sites. One is a church and two are community-slash-daycare centers. So TecalaCard was a third solution we were trying to create. So it allows me to sort. It gives me demographics of female, male, ages, their level of knowledge, why they want this class. And it allows me this survey tool that Colorado Libraries has created with LRS to also look at the outcomes. So although I am not the person who's out there every week with the families or with the participants, in the comfort of my computer at home or at work, I can see how many participants were there and what they thought of the class and what benefits it's bringing to them. So from February to September, the program started in February. We've provided 53 classes. We've had 208 participants. And the average satisfaction is of 90%. And all this is data that I would not have had if LRS wouldn't have been working with State Library for that. These are the phases. This cannot be tracked by LRS, but we try to track it as well. As you can see, the environment is very, very small. And here I want to go back to the point of why I need it as an instructor, a good community worker. Not everybody feels comfortable working in a space where they have to clear the table. They have to work around dirty dishes and a very tight space. And it's not your typical library classroom environment. You have to be very flexible. And you have to fit in with the group. You have to just be one of them and be sharing at a colleague, at a neighbor type of model for teaching, a facilitator model. So that's some of our classrooms in the homes, mobile homes. Most of them are mobile homes. And what else can we do? As I was saying before, we've been able to go into festivals. We've been able to do remote library card sign-ups with the mobile lab. We have been able to visit after-school programs. One of the pictures you see there was a C++ programming class for teenagers. We had no idea what that meant, so we were able to find someone in the community who was willing to teach that class. And it was a very, very good class according to what the survey brought back. We can go into classrooms. We can go into businesses. You see a boardroom there. And that is the boardroom of the water district where they used our computers for one of their meetings. And most importantly, which has brought us a lot of good press and good feedback has been the response to emergencies with a high-park fire that happened here in Colorado. We were able to respond within 24 hours and be there at the evacuation center, helping all the evacuees connect with the Red Cross, being able to register and connecting with their families, which was so crucial so they could report that they were safe or where they were at. We were able to respond because the tool was there. It was flexible. It was safe. And it was portable, which allowed us, and we had already been training on this flexibility since February, so responding to this fire was just one other program for us and did not present that much of a challenge. So one last question before we jump into your questions is, I just want to gauge again, what do you think? Is this something that you have already been considering or something that you could apply in the next 6 to 18 months? Okay. I think that we have a crowd of people who are already thinking about it and just are in that perhaps ask-slash-sell stage where they're checking other libraries, other agencies to see what they're doing, what could be tweaked. Some are not sure. Some no answers. Okay, so we've got a tie between those who think they can do it in the next year and a half and those who are quite not sure yet. Perfect. Now let's jump into my answer. I have responded to that question as well. My answer is, I'm not sure. We have the first lab, but we're still in that stage of launching. And if you recall, we're still in that stage where this has been called a pilot program. So what's next? What we have next is we need to regroup, look at all the data, all the wonderful outcomes we've gathered in these months and assess what's the next step for us. We know that mobile learning is here. It's here to stay. The idea where it's going, which is now it's going to increase. And we know that this program fits just right with the trend of mobile learning. However, what's next for us is something that we are still discussing. We are very, very pleased with the results. We're very encouraged, and we are convinced that we are addressing issues of the digital divide by bringing computers directly into the home, directly into the Astroscope program, into that boardroom. And as I was preparing, I love this website, SIGMobile or mobile, however you want to pronounce it, where they talk about the tyranny of geography being done with by this mobile learning, by this revolution of wireless systems, of cellular systems, and mobile computing and communications. And I think we're right there. We don't know exactly where libraries are heading, for sure, or where mobile technology is heading. But this gives us, we have already one foot in there, and this gives us an advantage. So we're encouraged. We're going to go back into that stage of selling and of asking to try to make this a permanent program. We had about $3,000 of savings this year. I was saving that money in case I needed maintenance or replacement of equipment. I didn't know if all of a sudden, we were going to be hijacked and the equipment stolen. So we saved some money there. And now we are investing that money for a second lab. I have a little bit of limitations with instructors. I need to find the right profile for this to work. So that is a little bit of a limitation on my side. And we need to find a way if the district as a whole wants to absorb this program of how to bring this into our regular budget and planning system, and maturing from a pilot into a full, recognized, and mature service of the Puder River Public Library District. So that was my quick presentation. I am very antsy to hear your questions. This is a copy of the agreement. We signed with the groups. And let's hear from you. Okay. Let me read you some of the questions we've been receiving. I'll just put that one up first while we're doing this. Okay. So I understand that you have Ava with you too. Is that right, Irene? And Ava is the instructor? Yes. Alba is our bilingual instructor, and she's right here next to you. Okay. Got it. Okay. Some questions about going into the home. Is it just one staff person who goes one at a time? Yes. In the beginning, in the first few classes, I did the screening, and once we were comfortable, then Alba is just one instructor. So far, I feel comfortable with this model because we've had referrals by agencies telling us, these people need this class because they're trying to access a healthcare service or something, and they don't have the knowledge. So they are referrals to us. And when we visit the home, we're able to gauge that level of safety that we feel. And my instructions to Alba have now been, if you feel the slightest doubt, it's a no. You are empowered to not go and serve a group if you feel uncomfortable. You want to add something, Alba? Yes. Hi, everybody. I just want to let you know that the first assessment that I do, I usually go into their houses, and I still not promise them that I will come to their houses. So we meet either in a community place. I get their phone number, their name. I set up a meeting time. I let know my supervisor about that. And then when I do go into their houses, it's not the first day that I start with a class. It's an assessment about how the house looked like, where am I going to be projecting, where can I put my screen, where can I put the projector. We talk about some rules. I see if the place is nice for me to be there doing a class, teaching a class. I encounter places where they do not have an elevator and they leave on the second or third floor. So that usually is a process of elimination. So I ask them if there is another community place where they will be able to go. And I try to be more flexible in finding time and places and do more and one-to-one to those specific people. And I know this is just the first question, but I wanted to add something more, because that was one big question that many people had. And I just wanted to add that for us as libraries, this is a very new concept, a librarian in the home. It raises just big questions and red flags, but I wanted to tell you that in that ask-slash-sell process or stage of the program, I went to other agencies who have been doing this for decades or centuries, health services, social work. They have been going into the homes, nurses on their own, females to do home visits. And they have reported that that has been the most effective way of connecting with families. So that was part of the asking. I went to those who are already doing this to get engaged if this was something we could do. How often would you say that you decide that after the screening you decide it's not the right environment or it doesn't feel safe or for whatever reason it's not going to work? What percentage of the time do you think that's happening? So far it hasn't happened. We've done all the classes except for once, and all that's going to share that one. The only time where I decided I wasn't going to go to that house was because I wasn't willing to take to the third floor on the stairs a full model lab. But we checked with the apartment building if we could use a rec center, so we used that place to top the class. That was the only time I actually say no to a home, but we still did it in their home environment place. And that's something also I want to add. I've told Alba that another option is always if there's a group and they are all organized and ready to receive a class, but they do not present the right environment, you can always schedule that class inside the library. Book one of the study rooms and have that class at their own time on the day they decide but at the library. So there's always options. Okay, great. Thank you. Let's take a look at the other questions we're getting. Some questions about the technology that you use, and people are very interested in the hotspot. Does that work well? Does that give you a strong enough signal for internet training? Yes, we are learning too. Remember, it's a pilot. The great thing about pilots is that we can make mistakes and correct and receive not much criticism. So at the beginning I thought I was going to go fancy and I went for one of those phones that at the same time will give you Wi-Fi or it's a hotspot, and it could feed up to five computers. After four months I realized I had made a mistake. That was not working. We did not need a phone. And I thought it would be good to have the instructor with a phone in case you needed to call or something. But that was not necessary. She has her own phone. So I went back to Verizon and we moved into a hotspot, a mobile hotspot only, not a phone. And we also discovered that they had improved the technology and now the unit that they gave us, it's only a hotspot and can feed up to 10 computers. It does it beautifully. And the coverage is great. That's something that you need to do. You need to go into the different websites and look at their coverage maps to see which one presents or looks the most promising. But then I really recommend request one of those loaner hotspots and drive throughout your district or your area. What I had is Pandora. I had Pandora on my iPad connected to the mobile. So whenever my music would stop, I knew that that was a spot that had problems. Okay, great. Did you consider tablets or would you consider tablets as you think about the future? Yes. Yes, okay. I would love tablets. It's incredible how technology is advancing. Back in February, I was not that convinced. Now that I see how technology is advancing and how some families are opting for tablets, maybe not the iPads, but those cheap $200 or even $99 Black Friday tablets, they are finding, especially those who are low income, that that is a viable solution for their families. I am very interested in that model, and we have heard of other libraries that are going to go that route with this mobile lab. So if I had the money, I would definitely have a second lab, and it would be tablets. Okay, also a question about the classes that you teach. I know the forms that you shared with us, and they were attached to the reminder email that went out today, and then I'll also attach them again. You have those in both English and Spanish, and you shared those with us on those list, different classes. But I'm curious, what's most popular? What classes are you teaching the most, Alba? Yes. First of all, some of them are computer comfort. Mostly of the people I go to their houses is the first time they are taught in a computer, is the first time they are seen in a computer in their own home, and they wanted to learn how to use. After that, they want to learn about Internet. They want to learn about how to search for different websites. And one of the most funny ones is, they want to learn how to use Craigslist. Because they can find stuff. They can sell. They can find jobs. They can find places to leave. So that is one of them, Internet 13. And for social media, they like Facebook and Skype. How about job searching? Is that things related to job searching or resume writing? Are you seeing that as a big topic or not really? Yes. One of the big topics is actually learning how to do resume in Microsoft Word, and then how to find websites where they can apply for a job. So it is usually Job 13, one of the most hot topics they wanted to do, but my problem I encounter is some of them do not speak English, so some of the jobs that they can apply are limited. Okay, thank you. And Irene, there was a question about the survey, and if there would be a way to share the questions that you asked with the survey with everyone. Do you think there is a way to do that? I'm sorry, can you repeat that question? Yeah, there was a question about the survey, and I pulled that up again, that survey that you have everyone complete after they take the classes. Is there a way to share that with people who are attending today share the questions that you asked? Yes, definitely. And I must say that I did not design that survey. It was designed by our Colorado State Library, but we love it, and it is available in English and Spanish. So I will just quickly email them and make sure that we can share it, and I will definitely add it and send it your way. Okay, great, thank you, and then I'll include it as part of the resources that we send out after today's session. Okay, what other questions do we have, or do people want to share some ideas for what you're thinking about doing too? Let's see, I see one question I missed on safety. Does all the call in when she is leaving? As you arrive and leave training sites, do you check in with anyone else? Not really, I don't usually check in with anybody else, other than my husband and my babysitter. But yeah, I think it would be nice if I can shoot a test message and say I'm here in this family. We actually keep track of where I am going every week, every hour, so we have a spreadsheet where I'm completing that before and after I go. So the hours are already set, and the contract is sent to my boss, so she knows the specific where I am, and of course it would be nice an idea to shoot a message saying I'm leaving, but yes, it will be something to consider, I guess. But I think we build so much as a relationship with the families and the people that were meeting that I feel really safe every time I go. Sometimes they even feed me. They always feed her. I've taught lots of classes within the library, and people are so appreciative. I'm sure for this level, I'm sure they're triply appreciative. That's great. You may know of other sorts of things like this happening in other libraries too. I read in all of us, I'll let you share. I see that we have Jean Whitehorse who's also participating today, and she's on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, in the New Mexico area. And they have something called Fast Forward New Mexico Program, and they provide computer training on the Navajo Reservation, and Jean's training is in the Navajo language, so we can include a link to that in the resources too. I've seen someone asked in the chat about jobs and whether that was a hot topic. I've seen some libraries. I think it was Gwinnett County in Georgia, and they have a bus-sized mobile lab with 13 computers, and theirs is focused on jobs. They have a job center, and they have three job coaches that go along with the lab. I know there's some things happening with that. Part of other libraries, the Houston Public Library has a mobile express, and that has 13 computers, or 13 desktops, and seven laptops. So lots of different interesting things happening. In Lexington, Kentucky, their mobile lab does all kinds of training throughout the community, and they received an award for work with Second Chance, which is a program for ex-offenders, kind of a rehabilitation program. State Library of Ohio has a mobile tech training center. It's a big 35-foot bus that goes all over the state, and people can request that too. So lots of interesting things happening. Have you heard of other things? Have you encountered anyone else in another library who's going into the home as you are? No, actually, what we heard was a lot of questioning, and people just wanting to make sure that we really, really wanted to do this. So from what I know, I checked with universities and tried to check all over the place from what we know we didn't know of any other library going into the homes. We had heard of people going into the business place, or into an after-school program, but not all the way into the home. So I don't know if this is a new model. We are still working on it. If you hear of someone who would love to chat with that person, I see a couple of questions. One asking, how long does the class last? In our contract, we tell them that the classes will last two hours. I have to make it worth the trip for Alba, so it's a two-hour minimum. And we can offer up to five classes of their choice and negotiate it with Alba. So it's five classes each one two hours. Another question there about the brand of my luggage or my case. I started off with the fancy hard case pieces of luggage, and it just lasted about three, four months, and then it gave in. So my second case was a Peloton. I think it was one of my explorations that didn't go that well, so I would recommend going with the professionals with the Peloton. I did not want to do Peloton because it was heavier than the others. It was bulkier, but it's going to last. It's going to last, and it's going to be worth the investment. A good question about how people can continue what they've learned after the classes. Do some families get Internet access in a computer at home? Do you find, or are you encouraging them to use library computers? What happens after they are done with the classes? Well, after they are done with the classes, some of them usually, they want to learn about Facebook. So we make a Facebook account called Tech of a Card where they can reach me anytime and just post a couple questions, and I am able to answer them in my spare time on my own time just as a hobby. Another thing is, we do have the public computer centers set up around the neighborhood, and we have our library. So I encourage them to come over to the library to try to use and ask questions. We always have somebody friendly to answer any questions at any of the libraries or sometimes even at the public centers. And they also, they can retake the classes with a different family or come over to another classes that are being offered at the library. It's not that we limit their service. It's an ongoing so they can come back to me anytime they can request again after a while and see, but they at least have to have two or three different persons that weren't in their initial class. And another thing that I usually encourage them is to go to different places, to try out and see which one fits the best for them. And with Black Friday coming up, some of the questions were, oh, look at this ad. Can I buy this? Can I buy this other one? But I always tell them, I can't tell them which one to buy. I tell them to go and try by their own time and see which one fits the best for them. What percentage of attendees are women? Probably like a 90% of them. And sometimes they have their small newborn coming over and being there by. Sometimes they bring their older daughter and they take turns about who is going to take care of the other small children that are around or help them with the homework. Yeah, usually I do have more women coming up than men. Do you issue library cards during the classes if needed or wanted? Yes, I actually have my own kit to sign up for a library. I actually, one of the classes, I forward them to hear about the library services and how they can learn different things through our database and how they can use our services from their own home. And that is where the tablets come up handy for them to learn and know about it because then they are able to use the library any time. And I also encourage them to look up for the program. And I give them homework so their homework is to look up at the library website and come up with something that they need to tell me for the next class so I know they are actually using a computer. Great. So this agreement that you shared with us already is one in English and one in Spanish. This list, I think it's six different classes, and then the other is also a line on that. Is this the complete list of the classes you offer? Is that right or different options? No, on the other we actually fit in what they wanted to learn. This is the basic or most popular that after we did a survey is what we come up with. But a lot of people want to learn about different things that are not listed in there. Okay, well we are reaching the end of our session. Again, we will be following up today with resources. So we will share the Puda Rivers website and then we have those sample forms from them. We've got a few different other examples of library mobile labs. So we will share those. And then some resources have been shared throughout the day. So we will share those too. And then Irene has graciously offered to let me include her email address, and is happy to take questions that way too if people have them. But I want to thank you both so much. This has been great. This has been really inspiring. This is from outside of the box thinking, and I'm glad to have learned about it myself and to be able to share it with other people too. So thank you so much, Irene, and thank you all but two for being here. You're welcome. You're welcome. Thank you for inviting us. Our next Edge webinar will be on December 4th, and that one will be on Tech Savvy Staff. How do you get your staff feeling comfortable with technology? And we'll have Penny Talbert and Stephanie Zimmerman from Pennsylvania joining us for that one. In the follow-up message today, I'll include a link to register for that one so that will make that easy. I'm going to take ReadyTalk, who sponsored today's session. And as we leave, you'll get a link to an evaluation form. And if you can use that to let us know how today's session was, your thoughts on it, and how we could make future sessions better too, or what topics you'd like to see us cover, anything that would be useful in that way, we'd love to hear that. So please take a minute and fill out the eVal form, and we hope to see you at another webinar soon. And thanks again to Irene and Alba. Thanks to Sarah and Shabtu for capturing the questions for us. That helped a lot. All right. Goodbye, everyone. Thank you.