 Hello everyone and welcome. This is Brenda Haug, and I'll be one of the facilitators for today's session, Better Together, Tech Trainers Sharing Expertise, where we're getting people who are doing tech training in libraries in one form or another, and talking about resources and ideas and ways to share them with one another. Before we get started I'll cover a little bit of housekeeping, including how to use ReadyTalk, this tool that we're using today. All lines are muted, so the way that we interact with one another is using the chat. And I know a lot of you have found that already and have been sharing where you're at and what the weather is like, and that is great. We're expecting lots of interaction today, lots of sharing of resources and asking questions and sharing ideas. So go ahead and use the chat at any time. If you have a couple of troubleshooting things, if you lose your Internet connection and the screen freezes or you get not kicked out or something happens, the best way to troubleshoot that is just to go back into your email and the link that you received to today's session, just follow that and come into the session again. I know a lot of you are connecting with us using just voiceover IP, so audio coming through your speakers or headphones on your computer. If you are on the phone and you lose that phone connection, again same thing, just redial the phone number and that will almost always take care of things. Today's session is being recorded and we'll have a link to the recording available on the TechSoup website. And we have previous webinars there too. Today's webinar is a part of a series of webinars that are based on the Edge benchmarks. And I'll talk a little bit more about those. One important note on this slide is that you'll receive a link. So later today you'll get an email and you'll get a link to the recording of today's session. You'll get a copy of the PowerPoint. I actually sent out an email an hour before we started that had a reminder about the session and it also included the PowerPoint slide. So for any reason it would be easier for you to follow along that way. Just know that you have those slides and then we'll send those again. And then another important thing that we'll include in that message later that we send later is links. So we're going to talk about a lot of resources today. Don't feel like you need to be writing down all of the web addresses because we'll be sending you a follow-up message that has all of those in it. And if you're on Twitter the hashtag for today is just TechSoup. Okay, well I think that's it for housekeeping. So again today we're here better together Tech Trainers sharing expertise and just an opportunity for Tech Trainers to talk about some of the resources that are useful, ways to connect with one another, and then just ways to learn and think more about training. Joining me today in presenting is Stephanie Girding. Stephanie I'll let you introduce yourself. Hi, thank you Brenda. Yes, I'm Stephanie and I'm joining from Seattle, Washington where I work as an independent library consultant. And I do a lot of training around sort of trainer topics and digital literacy and grants and advocacy. And I'm really glad to be able to present with Brenda. We've been doing training together for a long time. I think the first time probably over 12 years ago or so. Stephanie actually wrote a book, The Accidental Technology Trainer. So this is definitely a topic she has thought a lot about. And then we also have Sarah Washburn with us and she is in the chat and she's been greeting a lot of you. And so feel free to again use that chat throughout the session to just share ideas, share comments, share resources, share questions. And the questions that you ask will be paying attention to those and we'll answer them throughout the session. And then we have a time at the end when we'll answer the ones we haven't gotten to throughout the session. So feel free to ask them at any time. We'll look forward to those. So today what we're going to cover, talk about TechSoup and TechSoup for Libraries and those edge benchmarks that I mentioned. And then the content for today is really Tech Trainer Sharing Expertise. How do we do that? With lots of time for questions and answers from all of you. So TechSoup, I'm guessing that some of you are familiar with TechSoup already and some of you may not be. TechSoup is a nonprofit and one of the ways that people are often familiar with it is because it's the technology donation program. With partnerships with Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, and Symantec, it's a way for nonprofits and libraries to get some really great deals on technology. So we'll include that in the resources that we send out after. We'll include a link to TechSoup. And then there is TechSoup for Libraries which is a portion of TechSoup that is really specifically focused on libraries and technology being used in libraries. And we'll send out a link that takes you right to that section of TechSoup too. And I mentioned that today's webinar is part of a series of webinars that we've been doing around the edge benchmarks. The edge initiative is a coalition. It includes a bunch of leading library and government organizations including TechSoup and Web Junction and the Public Library Association and some state libraries and more. And they're all working together and getting lots of feedback and input from the library community to develop benchmarks that can help libraries really take a look at their public technology services. And this webinar that we're in today, the Benchmark States Library Support Continuous Improvements in Public Access Technology by Sharing Expertise and Best Practices with Others Locally, Regionally, and Nationally. So today is all about thinking about sharing resources with one another. So with that I think we're ready to dive into our content for today. And Stephanie, I'll turn it over to you for a minute. Right, so we have a little bit of a scene today for our webinar. And this really came about thinking about the book Stone Soup. So some of you might be familiar with it, but basically it's a story that took place in post-war Eastern Europe when there was a great famine. And people were sort of hoarding whatever food that they could find and hiding it from friends and neighbors. And one day a soldier came into a village and started asking questions. And people kind of said, you know, there's no food here, just keep moving on. And he said, well, I have everything I need. And actually I was going to make soup that I was going to share with all of you. And so he pulled out a big iron cauldron and he filled it up with water and built a fire. And then with great ceremony he pulled out of a velvet bag, a big sort of ordinary looking stone and dropped it in. And people started kind of gathering around and he said, this soup is going to be really great, but it's even better with cabbage. And so somebody volunteered some cabbage. And then little by little everybody was sort of adding to it. And so then ended up being a wonderful soup that was shared with the whole community. So definitely a great moral about how when we worked together with everybody contributing what we can, there's really a greater good that's achieved. And this book always reminds me sort of of TechSoup because of how it was founded. And it was founded in 87 by Daniel Ben Horan. And this was kind of his thinking too that nonprofits could really be helped by technology, but they didn't really have all the resources and that he knew of tech people who did have time and expertise that they wanted to donate. So his goal was really trying to bring everybody together and share and find out what would happen. And I think along with this webinar it's sort of the same thinking that there's that saying none of us is as smart as all of us. So I think we can do the same thing as library technology trainers is really sharing what we know and sharing our resources together to come up with our own sort of stone soup. So we're going to be carrying this thing forward as we talk today. And Brenda, you can go ahead and introduce our topic. Okay. Well first of all we wanted to, again, we're hoping that people will share a lot today. And so we wanted to ask you a couple of questions just to find out what you're interested in and kind of your experience with training too. So here's a question for you. Some things that we plan on covering today, sources for training materials, tips on delivering training, and then ways to connect with other people who are doing training. If you had to pick one of those three that you were most interested in, which one would you pick? I'll give you a couple of minutes to weigh in on that. And again, we're planning to cover all of them, but this will help us know how much time to spend on each of those different sections. So if you had to pick one, which one would you, which one is most important or most interesting to you? Okay, give it just maybe five more seconds. One, two, three, four, five, and then I'll show the results. So it looks like a lot of you are interested in sources for training materials and we have a lot of those. And a lot of you are looking for just tips on delivering training and we have a lot on that. And then we've got a few ways to connect with other trainers that we'll talk about too. So that's a good match to what we had planned. Thanks for doing that. We've got one more poll. And this one is asking what percentage of your time is spent on training? And some of you, this may be an easy question because you spend a lot of it or a little bit, but just guesstimate, how much of your time right now is spent on training, both planning the training and then actually delivering training? Yeah, and I think this is a really interesting question because I know in libraries and nonprofits we're all wearing a lot of different hats. And you can think about that. You might not primarily just be working on training. Yes, and I think formal and informal. So when people are just asking a question, you're helping them at a computer. That's training too. So just, okay, well let's take a look at this one. So we do have some people who are training is really a lot of what their job is. And then a lot of people wear the really significant percentage of what you do in your job. So that's good to know. Again we hope for lots of interaction and we're going to share a lot of our favorite resources as Stephanie said, we've been doing tech training for a long time. So we'll share a lot of our favorite resources, but I am constantly getting introduced to new things that I didn't know existed or finding out about things that are happening in another part of the country that I wasn't aware of and that are really great. So I hope there will be lots of sharing. And again use the chat throughout the session to do that. Okay, so our topics today, we're going to talk about all three of those things. Finding good training material, info on how to be a trainer, and then connecting with other people who are interested in training too. And the first one we'll talk about is where can you find good training materials? And we're going to include both patron training and staff training. Good resources that we're aware of that can be really useful if you're working on these things. Yeah, so starting with our stone soup, starting with our empty bowl and our stone, let's start adding to that. And I think that the great thing as far as resources and finding good training materials is that just in the last even couple of years I've really noticed that there's so much more that's available online that you can find. And I can just remember even five years ago that there just wasn't this kind of sharing going on. So I really do feel like there's a lot of great resources. So just like it seems like it's a lot easier to get good fresh vegetables that we can add to our soup, the same sort of thing applies with finding training resources as well. So let's get started sharing some of those. The first one we'll talk about is Web Junction, which as Stephanie and I were brainstorming the resources we would talk about, this one's, and of course, this is a biggie. I think we maybe even have some people on from Web Junction on the session today, but Web Junction has been around since 2003 and it just has all sorts of resources for creating and delivering training both for staff, so staff training and patron training. And there's information on instructional design, information on training strategies. There are examples of training so you can find lesson plans, you can find handouts. They do lots of webinars too, and some of them are related to training and technology. So I see Kathleen from Web Junction is on and she has said hi to everyone. So if you haven't heard of Web Junction and you are a trainer or you're involved with training, this is a biggie. This is the first one to go check out because there's just so much good stuff that has been shared there. Yeah, and they also have great forums too that you can use to ask questions. So if there's something that you can't find, that can be a good place to ask and have other people answer you that maybe have a resource available even if it's not on there yet. Okay, and definitely share in the chat as we go along if you've used any of these resources and share how you've used them because sometimes maybe you're using them in a way that we don't know about, and we're happy to pass that all on to you as well. This is another resource you can share in the chat if you've used it, but it was developed by Microsoft and it's all free, and there's all kinds of information available. You do have to log on to join it, and I know at TechSoup we did a webinar with Microsoft when they were launching this series, but it's really nice because it's all designed for adult learners, and they do have different series that are available. So one hour getting started, workshop, and they do gear things really towards nonprofits and libraries which is really nice as well. And you can see that there's longer versions that are also available like three hour series, and you do get the PowerPoints that you can customize, handouts, even flyers for advertising, the workshops as well that are all customizable. So it's sort of a nice go-to resource that you can sort of make your own as well. So some of the resources we're going to talk about are resources that are great for you as a trainer to go and get ideas or to use a handout or something. And then some of them are ones that would be good ones to point patrons to as well. So if someone wanted to do some self-directed learning or there was a topic they were interested in that you weren't able to provide training on, so we'll kind of try to differentiate those things as we go. Info people, someone mentioned that in the chat, Info people. This has been one of my favorites for a long time. In California, and I think originally served libraries in California, but its reach has really gotten a lot bigger than that. And we're going to talk about a few different state specific resources, but the nice thing is that everyone is sharing these things. So even if you're not in that state, you can still take advantage of that. So Info people does lots of webinars and they do courses and they podcast and things like that. The thing that I love as a trainer, and Stephanie might have input on this too, but the thing I love is looking at how Info, you can look at their past training and you can go in and for those past trainings you can see the PowerPoint slides, you can see any handouts that are used. Their stuff is really high quality. And I've worked with Info people before and I know the process that you go through before your course actually goes live, and it's lots of back and forth with an instructional designer. And so I think that's why their stuff is such high quality. So just from a trainer perspective, I think it's a great place to go and look at those training materials from previous sessions because it's just such high quality stuff. Stephanie Yeah, I completely agree. And it is nice to even just see an agenda for a workshop that you're thinking about training and seeing what the thought process of another trainer is on what topics they felt were important to include. So the next one is actually a federal government website, DigitalLiteracy.gov. So definitely share in the chat on this one too if you've used it before. So this is kind of a newer initiative, but it has all kinds of tutorials and resources for digital literacy trainers. And they do have sort of different topics. You can sort of browse as an educator, or you can browse as a learner, which is nice as well. And they do have English and Spanish versions. But they cover all kinds of topics. So they have the basics, but then they go into workforce and job skills and child online protection topics and evaluating information online, all of those sort of things. And definitely a big wealth of materials available there that you can use. Stephanie Okay, another one that I'll mention is the work that's happening in Colorado. And it was BTAP funded, so federal stimulus money, and I think they also received some Gates funding too. But just lots and lots of good stuff has been coming out of Colorado. I'm not sure if we have anyone on the connected from Colorado, but lots and lots of good stuff coming out of their tech training resources. Again, they've got lesson plans and handouts. And on topics that you're really interested in doing like helping job seekers, or just really bare bones basics introduction to a computer for someone who's seeing a mouse for the first time, or using a mouse for the first time, that kind of thing. So a good range of topics. Okay, so we do have Geneva who's connecting from Netherlands, Colorado. Great. And Colorado is one state, and they've been doing so much. And I think Stephanie is going to talk a little bit later about another one of their resources. But I had a hard time picking which states to include, and I'm going to include links to others in our follow-up message. For example, Broadband, Rhode Island is another great project with a really nice website, and same thing, just good handouts and materials. New York, the state library in New York has also been connected with the project. Same thing, really great material. So there's just a wealth of resources out there, and people are making it a priority to put those things on the web and to share them to make them available. So it's a good time to be involved with training in libraries. At least the amount of resources that are available to all of us is great. Certainly, 10 years ago, I feel like when I was looking for this kind of thing, it was much harder to find. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I think it's just been amazing, the investment that some of the BTOP grants, the resources that have been produced, and all the states that have been partnering, and it's great to see that in a lot of states, too, there's great partnerships developing between libraries and nonprofits, too, to create some of these materials. So moving from government resources, this is a nonprofit resource. That's kind of different. It's called the Beehive, and you see their tagline there is Make It Easy. But they're really sort of fun, but they were really geared initially towards low income people. So they have specific topics about how to manage money and health resources and job education, those sort of things. But lots of free online training, they do have a whole section around digital basics and at the beginning, an intermediate and advanced level, which is really nice. And it's just a real step-by-step format. And they have games and videos that you can watch, but you can also download PowerPoint presentations that you can use as well. And they do have all of these available in Spanish as well, which is really nice. Okay, this is when we said we would talk about both public training and staff training. And this is from the Idaho Commission for Libraries. And they always just do great CE, great continuing education things. So they have a bunch of courses that they have available for staff training, including collection development, some tech services things, like just intro-level cataloging, some public services, so reference and ethics and public services. And then they've also been doing some on youth services. They have some special youth services courses. And again, these are just shared on their website, and I'll include the link and the resources that we follow up with. But more and more, I'm seeing good content like this that's freely available to, content that's useful to people who are doing staff training also. The next few resources that we're going to share are more along the lines of tutorials that you can share with patrons so that they can even work on their own. And it's been interesting to see lately how libraries and some technology centers have been using this sort of self-paced learning. So one of the things that I really like is when I see libraries that sort of have an open lab environment, so where they have a list of all these resources and people can come in and pick and choose what they want to go through on their own, but that there's still a trainer there that can help them get started, help them if they have questions. I think that that's a really nice idea to let adult learners sort of work on what they need to work on, but still have that support there as well. So this one, inpix.net, is one that was shared by another library with me. And so this all came out of a U.S. Department of Education grant to really help people with learning disabilities. So it's all the tutorials are based on pictures and not words and very step by step. And most of their topics are around Microsoft Office so they've even got advanced topics like Excel and Access and also all of the open office. And there's also some web coding, so HTML skills and those sort of things, but nice to have a good tutorial source that is really based on a platform that helps people with learning disabilities. Okay, and this is another one. Goodwill Community Foundation has this site with just 750 different lessons. And this actually is not just on computers but includes math and reading too. And so the question that Pablo posed was, which of these would you recommend for patrons? And as Stephanie said, that last one. But this one too, this is really good. And I think this is the kind of thing that I can see linking to from your library website. So if something comes up and you're helping someone and you just don't have the time to get in depth with the training that you can provide on the fly, this would be a place to point them to learn about email. It's very up to date too. So Windows 8, the operating system that just came out, there's already a tutorial on here for Windows 8. And it has topics like Internet Safety, things like that too. So this is a really good one. And the question was asked, what would you recommend for referring patrons to? And this is one that I would for sure put on that list. And it looks like others are commenting in the chat that this is one they like too. So it's one I use quite often, Yuri says, love the short basic videos. Yeah, absolutely. And you can see there's a link there for Spanish lessons too, lessons that are available in Spanish. That's kind of a good question that we should pose to all of you participating today of all of these resources and maybe even others that we won't include today. Which do you link to on your library website or other ways that you share resources with patrons? Why don't you share that in the chat? I just know what those top ones are. I think that would be an interesting list to be able to share with everyone. Because I think some topics are going to be really specific to your library, like getting to your catalog or navigating your website or something like that. But a lot of things don't need to be specific to your library. So this has 750 different lessons, 750 different topics. So I think that's the kind of thing that can really increase the number of topics that you can help people with. Yeah, definitely. TechSoup for Library we always say, don't reinvent the wheel if you don't need to. And I think that's something that I see happening a lot is sort of so many libraries that are creating from scratch some of these topics that are already out there. So I see people are sharing in the chat and again more people talking about this one but I see some that I haven't tried like the BBC's WebWise series. So this is great. Keep sharing those things in the chat. And again that message that we send out later today will include not only the links that Stephanie and I are covering but also the ones that you share with us. Yeah, and we'll probably do a blog post too because I'm thinking we might have too many but they won't all fit in one email. Good, thank you everyone. So this next one is sort of just a fun one that I couldn't resist throwing in there. TeachParentsTech.org which you can use as they say to send your parents a tech support care package. And it was designed by Google. But it's really funny when you look at the website the first question it says you can fill out a little form to really send your parents or maybe even your grandparents an email. And you sort of fill in the blank and it says I'm really and you picked shocked, impressed, worried, or jazzed that you've been using your computer these days. And then you select what you want to link to and then it will automatically send them an email that just has a really easy video that they can watch to do things like adjusting the time on their computer or changing their wallpaper or making text bigger so they can see it or how to do a screenshot, just really basic skills. And I thought that was kind of a fun way to go about it as well. Okay, this next one many of you are probably familiar with this slideshare.net and it's not really a training resource specifically but it's something that I think is really useful as a trainer. And I think it definitely fits with today's topic of sharing expertise that if you give a presentation on something somewhere that if you put it up on slideshare and make it available that way then that's really sharing expertise. And a way that I use slideshare is just sometimes it's just a place where people can share PowerPoints if you haven't looked at it before PDFs and videos too I guess. But what I do is when I'm presenting on a topic or even sometimes just trying to write a blog post or understand a topic, sometimes I will go into slideshare and do a search and just see the presentations that people have uploaded there. And it's just often very useful to see how someone else has approached a topic. And also I think it's just a great reminder to share the things that you create. And you never know. I know I put things up there and sometimes it surprises me how many views something has received. So my philosophy is always just why not that I put it up there and if it's useful to someone that's great. I don't know Stephanie, if you have anything that you want to share about slideshare or if you use it differently? Yeah, definitely. I like it a lot as well. And it now has sort of a social component too that people can favorite it and you can see who of your friends have liked a presentation or that kind of thing. I know recently I was doing some research to do a presentation that was basically advocacy for libraries. And so I wanted to kind of see what other people had done. I know one of the presentations I looked at was one that I could tell Brenda you had looked at. I was like well if Brenda thought it was important then it would be good. And another thing slideshare I have it doing now is I have people marked so whenever they upload something I receive an email so I can just go glance at their presentation and I feel like it's a good way to keep up on things. Keep up on what's happening. Okay, and this next one, Community Technology Network is a really great resource and this is actually sort of a TechSoup spinoff. It originally started as a program through TechSoup and they now recently got a BTOP grant as well and they have a lot of resources online and they really work to sort of unite organizations and volunteers and they are trying to really transform lives through digital literacy. So they have a whole sort of repository of lesson plans and handouts, videos, tutorials, all kinds of things. And it has a nice search on there too so you can limit it to if you just want to search for tutorials or just for lesson plans. You can do that as well. So I think that's a really nice resource to go and look and all of the lesson plans and things seem to be really high quality as well. So that's kind of nice. Pablo is sort of anticipating what we have in here. He's asking the perfect questions at the perfect time but he just mentioned in the chat, useful to remember the beginner, intermediate, and advanced, those different breakdowns in this resource is actually broken down in that way. That Microsoft digital literacy, some of you may be familiar with this but just some of the materials that are available from Microsoft in lots of languages and they are broken down from basic and standard and then some advanced courses too. So I think that's one of the things I like about this one is that it does include the advanced topics. I think you can find pretty good resources on some of the beginner topics in numerous places but this is one of the places that freely makes available some advanced level topics which I know some libraries get into or you could even point people to this too. This would be one of those resources that I think you could point people to. So they are asking you questions about Excel or about some other topic like that that this would be a place to point them for that. Yeah, I think this can also be really helpful. Sometimes it happens that you are teaching a class and it's a basic class but there are people in it that are definitely looking towards more advanced questions. So even at that point being able to say to them it sounds like you are ready to move on to something else and letting them just choose if they at that point want to go through something on their own then they could do more of an advanced tutorial or something that they are working on on their own. Trying to deal with those different skill levels that sometimes we aren't aware ahead of time what we are going to encounter. So the next few resources I kind of think about it as if we are making our soup adding a little bit of spice. So one of the things that I think is great when you are doing technology training is if you can make things really active, interactive but also give people a choice. So sometimes just giving them the choice of like what video that they might watch or even what video you might watch together as a class if you are doing that. Or even again posting these on your website and letting people go through them on their own. But there are so many video lessons that are out there these days. And this is a website that I keep hearing about from other trainers but I have to admit I haven't used it a lot. So in the chat definitely share if you have used GroVo before. They have got over 3,000 video lessons and it covers over 100 different topics. And these are free materials. I know that I used to be able to go and just sort of browse through it but now it looks like you do need to register to be able to look through everything. But I know one librarian I talked to said that she really liked sort of their mix of what they include in their lessons. So I think they are pretty interactive like there is pop-up glossaries and that sort of thing. So in the chat share if you have used this site before and what your experience has been with it I think that would be really great. I think video is more and more such a popular way for learning things. And I think we are learning more about how to create videos too so they are really short instead of long. Another one that I think is sort of like that is Common Craft. And this is one that just makes me happy. When I first found this as a trainer I just loved it because they so get it. So if you haven't looked at Common Craft before I will kind of explain what it does. It is just quick videos and it sort of steps back from here is the button you push on the computer. Here is how you get started with clicking here, clicking there. But instead conceptually what is this technology about? So what is a blog? What is a wiki? They have all sorts of topics but they really are great at just breaking things down and explaining things. And you can see that we have the Lee LeFever. I am not sure if I am saying that right Sarah. Stephanie may know but he just recently has published a book, The Art of Explanation. And I think I haven't had a chance to look at it yet but I am sure it is good stuff because the Common Craft genius is really doing that. Something that I think as trainers we always have to try to do is to step back and make sure people are getting the big picture of the conceptual understanding of something because there is a tendency for them to want to just get into the computer and start clicking and doing. And sometimes giving them that understanding or helping them with that is one of the biggest things we can do as trainers. So if you haven't looked at this before, you have a real treat in store for you. And if you have, it is always a favorite on my list. Definitely. Gene shared in chat, fun while learning. That is a great way to sum it up. Yep, and Pablo said it is good for sharing at the beginning of a training session. Absolutely. That conceptually getting what something is about, like the wiki one has been one of my favorites for a long time. Just explaining really what a wiki is and it does it with a camping trip analogy. So it is just fun but also really right I think on how people learn and how things make sense to people. Definitely that in plain English. We actually did a webinar with Lee a while ago where we were able to interview him and see how he does it. And it really is cutting out these pieces of paper and making these videos. So it is amazing but I think the best thing is really just how his brain works to be able to break things down and make it so easily explained and so quickly. So the next resource, CustomGuide.com, and I know this resource I've used it a lot for free customizable handouts. So they have all kinds of handouts and you can change them and make them your own. And now I've seen, I don't know when this happened but they really expanded a lot. So now they have over 7,000 tutorials available as well and that kind of thing. So again share in the chat if you've used CustomGuide before and how you've used it. But definitely I've used it as a great resource for those handouts. See we do have a question from Kevin about getting a common craft free license. And I know they do have information on their website and they do have a link for if you're a library how you can subscribe. Megan says they subscribe to CustomGuide for interactive tutorials for the staff. And you can view for free on their website the videos as well. And they are big supporters of libraries. So I know Sarah just posted the webinar archive but I know during that webinar Lee said that libraries were fine to use them but definitely if you want to subscribe to them as well that information is on their site. Okay and then of course we have some TechSoup resources to mention too. We have some TechSoup for Libraries blog posts that we're going to talk about in the next section but there are just some, again we talked about that through TechSoup there's this TechSoup software donation program where libraries and nonprofits can get access to resources at a really low cost. And a couple of them, Atomic Training and Easy Learning, those are great. Those have online learning on lots of different topics, lots of different courses. These I think would be really useful for staff training. So if you have staff who are wanting to learn about needing to get up to speed with a certain technology this would be I think a great resource for that. And Stephanie I'll let you talk about GoToMeeting and ReadyTalk too. Yeah definitely. So I saw a question in the chat earlier from someone who asked about why we use ReadyTalk and part of the reason is because they are a donor and so provide this resource to us. And as nonprofits and libraries you can also qualify to get donation webinar platform from them as well. And the ReadyTalk one is just $45 a year. So really affordable. GoToMeeting I think is $46 a year. They do have a limit on the amount of people that can join. I think it's 25 people. But the same great pricing structures with Atomic Training and Easy Learning I think Atomic Training is like $2 a month per person to access all of the training. So some really great resources there from the partners. So moving on to our next topic here, kind of bringing all of this together and thinking about how can you find information on how to be a trainer, how to increase those technology training skills that you have. And just as we're building that soup pot I was thinking that this is sort of like learning cooking skills as well. So trying to figure out how to best implement some of these resources, what you can do with them, and how you can increase your technology training skills yourself. We've got a couple of these that we're going to share but definitely share again in the chat for ways that you have learned how to do technology training or how you're staying on top of things. Okay, so one that I'll mention is Presentation Zen. This is Gar Reynolds. And I feel like so in addition to when you do tech training not only do you have to know the technology and know about learning and what sorts of questions people have and how to put together learning but there's also the whole putting together the presentation and doing public speaking and some of those skills too that I think we're working on all the time. And someone that I have found inspirational I guess in this area is Gar Reynolds. So a couple of resources here just some tips for your slides and then also some tips on being organized and delivering a presentation and just information on how to do that. Some of that stuff that I think is just always useful to know and an area where we can always be improving. And things change too I think. Just the PowerPoint has been around and we've been using it for a long time but I bet if we looked at our old PowerPoints from 10 years ago and then looked at now we would be shocked. So I think that the way we use those things changes and what there's kind of trends I guess with how people use those tools. Yeah, and I know I've read his book and it definitely did change how I was doing my PowerPoints. These are both good blog posts that he's written that are really helpful, just easy to digest on his top 10 slide tips and just how to organize and prepare for training. And again we'll include all these in the resources that we send out after today's session. And we talked about Colorado State Libraries resources before but we wanted to include them here as well because they do have a whole how-to-train section as well where they've really broken it down on how to do technology training whether it's one-on-one or in a classroom and really how to go through all of those steps of planning and coordinating and thinking through your materials, all of the different topics that are really ones that are important to think about when you're learning how to do technology training. And of course Stephanie's book and then in addition to that bunch of web posts from the TechSoup blog, the TechSoup for Libraries blog, so we're going to include a link to those two, just different things on training skills. And then Stephanie, you've also been doing a course through PLA. Right, yeah, it's a month-long class and I've done it I think three times now and we're going to be offering it again in April. So really going through all of those different essential skills there. And another great resource that's on the TechSoup for Libraries blog is a series by Crystal that has been part of the EDGE initiative as well. And she's really going through eight different technology training models and I think we've gotten through maybe the first four of those. She just posted the one on using volunteer trainers I think. So those are really informative to really think through of all the different ways that you can offer technology training in the library, what's going to work best for you. And the really great thing about this is that she interviewed libraries and librarians and she showcases them in those blog posts. I mean it's almost beyond a blog post. It's really kind of a mini article that really goes into detail about how people are doing this in libraries successfully. So if you have questions or want to know how to get started, there's really some great examples there and she also makes sure that she focuses on small libraries and larger libraries. So there's examples from both types because it definitely does make a difference. So really a great series to check out there. Okay, so another thing we wanted to talk about is just ways to connect with other people who are interested in, who are involved in, who are doing training. And so kind of community of practice around training. So I think presenting at a conference or via a webinar, that's a great way to share your expertise. Potlucks are easier. So again, the Stone Soup example where we can share ideas, share resources. I first became aware of ALA's Learning Roundtable when I went to my first ALA Library conference I think maybe a dozen years ago and I saw they were called Clean at that time and they had a training showcase. And at that time I was in a library system and I was really one of the only people doing technology training. And so when I went to the training showcase at ALA's annual conference and saw all of these other trainers and the training showcase always shares examples of training that people have submitted and I just felt like I had found my tribe I think. So the Learning Roundtable, again you do have to be a member of ALA and a member of the Roundtable, but then you can contribute and go to sessions even if you're not a member. I guess you can go to sessions at the annual conference and follow the mailing list and things like that. And it's just a way to connect with people who are interested in both staff and patron training. And Brenda is about to be, I don't know if you know your title Brenda, but the President, I don't know what the title is of ALA's Learning Roundtable. So I think, is that mid-winter that you take that over? No, next at annual yet, then I become a head honcho. We're going to get her crowned. So this next resource is one that I'm pretty much in love with. This is a helpful group. And I love this group. The PLA class that I teach, the Monthlong Course, Accidental Technology Trainer, one of the things is that that course is always so amazing to me because we really build this great learning community and just through the forums, it's amazing for me to see the technology trainer sharing with each other. And they post problems that they have and solutions. But at the end we've always been like, how can we keep this going? What can we do? And I could never really think of what the answer was. But I think the answer is there now. Teresa Cahill, I don't know how you say her last name, maybe Auguste Nellie? She started this Facebook group over a year ago and I wasn't even aware of it until Brenda told me about it actually just a few months ago. But it is just amazing. And she does such a wonderful job of really facilitating it. So whenever people join, she says hello and asks people to share what they do with technology training in libraries. But we asked her about what made her creative. And she said, how else could I get advice on technology training from experts across the country often within seconds? And it really is true. People will post and say, I'm doing this topic. Have you done it before? And just immediately other technology trainers from libraries around the country immediately respond. So it's been wonderful to see those conversations. Yeah, people will say things like, I'm teaching a Pinterest class. Has anyone done that? Anything you would share with me? And then other people within, like Stephanie said, within minutes are sharing with each other. And Geneva said in the chat that she's a voyeur on there. And I really am too. I only interact now with them. But I just love it. And again, it's that same thing. You feel like you've found your tribe, the people who are interested in thinking about the same stuff that you are, which within your own library or system you might be one of the only ones thinking about it or focus on it. And I think it's really great just to see what's going on in other libraries too and what they're thinking about and training on. Just one last thing that we'll share in this section is T is for training. And Maurice Coleman, I'm sure many of you maybe read his blog or have seen him present at conferences or have heard of him, but he's kind of the person behind T is for training. And this is podcasts that happen pretty regularly on training topics. And also you can call in to a show. And I think that that still happens monthly. I always plan to attend, but don't. But it's very informal, just different people talking about different things that they're doing with training. And one of my favorite ones recently was Janie Herman from the Princeton Public Library talked about the TED conference that they were doing at her library. So it's just that kind of thing. People will talk about what's going on, ask questions, you can lurk and listen if you want to, or you can share and interact too. So just another good one to check out. Great. Well I think that kind of concludes our roundup of all of these resources. So definitely share in the chat if you have others. But since I feel like we are all together here as a community now, it's really wonderful. And thank you all for sharing in the chat so much. We do have a couple of questions, I think Brenda that came in. Yeah, I see one about the Colorado State Library resources. And those are free, and anyone can access those. Those are just freely available on the website. They've got webinars and handouts and lesson plans, all sorts of things. And then I see also a question on asking for tips on teaching and users' library databases. Slides are very text heavy. Yeah, I think that databases can be a challenge. I do think that sometimes the most important thing with databases is just awareness that they even exist and what exists in them. And so getting people to use them, and then hopefully they are fairly intuitive once you are within them, especially if you are teaching a group that is already fairly computer savvy. Another thing I've really been seeing recently is that a lot of the vendors are really providing training materials too. And it is getting better. They are training materials that they must be getting a lot of requests, or they are just seeing the value in having really good training materials too. So their materials are getting better. And they are learning also that webinars or tutorials on something don't always have to be so lengthy that just brief tutorials can do the trick. Great. And Geneva shared that she feels like she is a bit of an island at her independent real library. We definitely know what that feels like. And that this has been really inspiring and energizing for her to rally and keep pushing to get a tech program in place for her library. So I think that is wonderful. And definitely, I think sometimes I talk to smaller libraries who say we are not doing technology training in our libraries. But I think that a lot of times you are, and you just don't even realize that you are because you are helping people and you are answering their questions even if it is just how do I send an email or how do I find a website. That is technology training too in my book as far as I am concerned. Definitely that is just one on one help that you are doing. But that definitely counts as technology training. You are helping your community learn how to use technology. Any other questions or anything anyone wants to share? Again, we have been tracking the chat and so we will include resources that you have shared. We will include those too in the follow-up message that you receive. And we thank you for that. Penny asks if there will be a survey and there will be, as soon as, I guess in two slides we will make that appear on your screen. So you will see the survey and you will have a chance to share not only feedback on this session, but also share ideas for other sessions we could do that would be useful. We plan to do some more webinars so knowing what would be useful would be great. Again, feel free to keep sharing in the chat now and we will keep capturing those resources. This is going to be a really good email. Again, this is a part of a series of webinars based on those edge benchmarks. And next month we are doing a Broadband Basics webinar. So if you are interested in that topic or feel like you have some gaps in your knowledge with Broadband, that would be a great one to attend or send it on to people you think could benefit from that. We will have Kieran Hickson who is actually, we mentioned the Colorado B-top resources. And Kieran has been one of the forces behind all of that. So he will be here and he will be helping us go through some Broadband Basics. Stephanie, we must mention the soup. Yes. I also wanted to mention I saw Deanna shared in the chat that this has given her lots of ideas on alternatives to the stand in front of the group and lecture model. That is definitely something Brenda and I are both proponents of trying to avoid. And I know one quote that I always like to share that I originally got from Brenda is that, you know, be a guide on the side and not a stage on the stage. And I think that definitely with some of these resources they can help you to do that as well. And so now hopefully we have our stone soup already. And we do actually on TechSoup have lots of soup recipes. So if you go to recipes.wiki.techsoup.org there are literally hundreds of them. So you can try out your own stone soup. Okay. Well I think we are reaching the top of the hour. We want to thank everyone for being with us today. There is an evaluation form and that will pop up on your screen and so that will give you a chance again to weigh in on how useful this session was but also what topics you would like to see us cover in future sessions. So thank you very much everyone and we will talk to you next time.