My bad luck in commercial flights appears to be congenital, because one flight was cancelled and another delayed. Luckily, I’ll be able to make the whole conference this time (unlike IL2006). But I think this journey will be quite interesting for other reasons as well.
First, I’m going to be teaching Sunday School tomorrow. I’ll be staying in DC with my friend Sarah. The Sunday School class that she teaches (with her masterful M.Div. degree) is doing a series on world religions. When she first asked me if I’d be willing to teach about Paganism, I had that knee-jerk reaction:
“Are you guys learning how to convert Pagans?”
“C’mon Cliff, it’s me. Hello.”
“I know, I know, just checking…”
Given Sarah’s strongly liberal religious leanings (she and I agree on most metaphysical concepts), I know that I have nothing to fear. So I plan on going in and sharing some of the basics of Paganism, the major branches, and the few unifying themes of the Pagan religions (taken from a well-timed episode of the Deo’s Shadow podcast). From Sarah’s description, I have nothing to fear and lots to look forward to. I’ll promise not to hex them if they promise not to stone me.
After that I’ll be spending Monday – Wednesday at CIL2008! I’m looking forward to seeing some old friends, meeting some new friends for the first time, and meeting in person folks that I’ve been trading blog posts with for a while (here’s hoping I don’t go all geeky fanboy on that last group!). Thursday through Sunday will be time spent with Sarah, Jason and their St. Bernard dog Bruno, as well as visits with friends who live in the DC area.
I prepared a low-key (and in some cases, low-brow), humorous presentation for freshmen on how to use social networking sites. It’s available here: In Your Facebook! Managing Your Online Identity.
No one showed. For either of the presentations. There could be several causes (foremost in my mind is timing), but it was not for a lack of marketing. We’ll probably just set up to do it again later in the semester.
I note in my presentations that I’ve embraced failure as part of the creative process. And after all, if I have to fail, I want to do it spectacularly. I want to fall on my face in front of a crowd of people who point and laugh at me–just so that I can remember to laugh at myself.
So in that spirit, feel free to have a look at my cheezy-humored presentation (with a few facts thrown in for good measure), and laugh with me. I’m sure that next time the room will be packed. :)
Posted by Cliff on August 9th, 2007
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In a couple of weeks, I’ll be speaking about Social Networking Sites to that other crowd–students. I have two workshops set up for Fall Explosion (our freshmen orientation) in which I’ll be teaching how to manage your online identity.
I’m actually finding this more challenging than speaking to librarians about social networking. Most of the time when I give Library 2.0 talks, the majority of the crowd is being introduced to it for the first time (beyond what they hear in the media). So after I do a little damage control regarding predators (with the data to back it up, of course), I explain how these tools can be useful for libraries. That’s the other defining characteristic–I’m telling librarians how to use these tools for work, not fun (although I personally find them a lot of fun). So I start from the basics and then talk about libraries. Piece o’ cake.
Not so with talking to freshmen. How many of them are already embedded in SNSes? I’m sure that many of them have been using MySpace (and perhaps Facebook) for some time. And yet some may have not. And for those who have, their various degrees of experience will mean that for some I will be teaching a lot of new material, and for others I’ll be rehashing stuff they’ve known for years. The solution? Tap-dance. If you have to rehash stuff, do it in a way that’s entertaining and innovative. I’ll try to throw in as many jokes, comics, pictures, etc. as I can to keep it light and entertaining.
Second, I’ll be speaking about how freshmen can manage their online identities (i.e. privacy). Not the sexiest of topics. I’m sure some of them have had their authority figures try to scare the crap out of them in the wake of the MySpace Predator scare (since fear is an easier deterrent than education). So I’ll be informing them about the instances of true predation, the statistical likelihood of predation and stalking behavior, and how to protect themselves (so that they don’t become that one-in-a-million). I’ll also need to educate them about the long-term effects of having an online presence (insert WayBack Machine here). I can’t wait to show them my web pages from college!
If you have any great ideas of what college freshmen should know about SNSes (or more ways to make it entertaining) let me know!
edit: I changed the title because it was non-descriptive (in an attempt to be poetic). Bad, librarian, bad!
Dear reader, you have two objectives:
- Buy two copies of this report–one to read/mark up, and one to share.
- Grab a pencil–you’ll want it.
In Technology Competencies and Training for Libraries, Sarah Houghton-Jan has created a concise, humorous, and illuminating step-by-step guide for planning, writing, implementing, training for, and reviewing technology competencies in libraries. This report continues the sensible organization and writing style that I have come to love about the Library Technology Reports series. In addition, Houghton-Jan has included practical advice for each step, gleaned from personal experience and thorough research. As she says in the introduction:
A few years ago, I found myself wanting a work like this to exist. Because it did not, I figured that I might as well consolidate all the information about library technology competencies in one place so that others could benefit from my hunting and gathering.
She has truly succeeded in this, because her writing style fluidly combines personal narrative with an abundance of research. I found myself scribbling notes in the margins, drawing big arrows, and underlining entire passages. It is impossible to read this report without thinking about the ways that you can implement the information in your own library. Be prepared–reading this report will induce a brainstorming session!
The step-by-step format of the report makes it accessible and practical. I could see this becoming the standard work for technology competenies taskforces, with each chapter serving as a practical guide in the process of developing and implementing technology competencies. The author’s advice is useful and down-to-earth; she skillfully addresses dealing with the possible fears and reluctance of staff, librarians and administration. Problems with funding, skilled trainers, learning styles and lack of time are all addressed in full. Each time that I thought of a potential question to write in and ask, I found the answer a few sentences away (the mark of a great trainer!).
Even if you don’t plan on implementing technology competencies in your library, this report will prove valuable. Instruction librarians in particular should read the chapter “Conducting Technology Training,” since the library skills that we now teach to our users are inseperable from technology. I will be passing along Houghton-Jan’s list of twenty technology training tips to our Library Instruction committee, and will be reviewing them for my own benefit for years to come.
My class is finally over. Final papers are graded. My regularly scheduled ramblings can begin anew(after a well-deserved weekend).
And I have 883 spam comments on my blog to sort through. joy.
Posted by Cliff on April 27th, 2007
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