Wednesday, September 26, 2007

What's this program all about?

Welcome to Learning 2.0 at the Beach!

Learning 2.0 is an online learning and discovery program that encourages Virginia Beach Public Library staff to experience emerging technologies on the web. These technologies are changing the way people, society and libraries access information and communicate with each other.

Over the course of twelve weeks beginning October 29, 2007 and ending January 13, 2008, this blog will highlight “30 Things” and discovery exercises to help participants become familiar with new technologies. During the program, staff will learn about and play with instant messaging, blogs, RSS news feeds, tags, wikis, podcasting, video and image hosting sites.

Each week, participants will use these technologies as learning tools. Whenever possible, staff will read an online article in Wikipedia, listen to a podcast or watch a YouTube video on that week's subject. These activities support the discovery exercises. By using the same technologies as learning tools, participants will see how these tools may be used in the library business and in their personal lives.

The objectives of this online learning program are to:

  • Encourage exploration of Web 2.0 and new technologies by VBPL staff
  • Provide staff with knowledge, skills and opportunities that support Library 2.0
  • Provide staff with new tools (freely available on the Internet) to better support the Virginia Beach Public Library's mission

In addition, we want to reward staff for taking the initiative to learn about new technologies and apply them in their professional and personal lives. Staff members who complete all 30 things by February 29, 2008 will receive an MP 3 Player. Funding for staff rewards is being provided by the Virginia Beach Public Library Foundation.

NOTE: If you are a library staff person who registered for this program before February 29, 2008, keep working to complete all the exercises. If you can do all 30 Things before April 30, 2008, we will enter your name into a drawing for an MP3 player. To be eligible for the drawing and to receive credit for completing the training, you must send your name, employee number assigned to you at registration, blog title and blog URL to Cindy Hart, Virtual Librarian, at chart@vbgov.com before April 30th.

Monday, September 24, 2007

More About the Program

Who: This program is open to ALL VBPL staff regardless of position and status (full and part time). If you are not a member of the VBPL staff, you are welcome to follow along, however the library cannot award you any staff prizes for completion.

What: This is a self-discovery program which encourages staff to take control of their own learning and to utilize their lifelong learning skills through exploration and PLAY. There will be no classes or workshops offered to support this program. Instead, staff are encouraged to work together and share with each other their discoveries, techniques and how-to both in person and through their blogs. There will be "open lab" days so that you can ask questions in person. The open lab days will take place in the Automated Services Training Lab at the Central Library. There are only ten computer seats. Watch the blog for posts about when these days will take place.

The original Learning 2.0 program was designed by Helene Blowers, PLCMC Technology Director, with the support and assistance of several staff and is loosely based upon Stephen Abram's article, 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006) and the website 43Things.The original design of the Learning 2.0 program was completely built on Web 2.0 technologies that are freely available on the Internet. These sites include: Blogger, Flickr, Odeo, YouTube, PBWiki & Bloglines.

Learning 2.0 @ the Beach is based the program created by Helene Blowers at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. Some content and style for program has been borrowed and/or duplicated with permission of the author.

When: The program starts on October 29, 2007 following the October LCDT Communication Session--- Web 2.0 Kick-Off on October 9th. The blog posts for the 30 Things officially ends on January 13, 2008. Staff members who complete all 30 Things and record their progress by February 29, 2008 will receive an MP3 player in March 2008. Funding for the MP3 players has been provided by the Virginia Beach Public Library Foundation.

Where:
All VBPL staff may participate in the program at work. Please notify your supervisor of your intent to participate in this program. This will assist your agency in providing you with ample work time to complete this program.

How: Read the program overview and review the program schedule on the Learning 2.0 @ the Beach blog. These blog posts will outline the program content and help you decide if you want to participate or not. ALL staff are encouraged to join this fun, learning experience. Additional blog postings will follow each week. These posts provide you with discovery resources and exercises. In week 1, you will find out how to register. Better yet, sign up for the RSS feed. You'll receive the discovery exercises in your email box each week.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this online learning program work?
This is a self-discovery program which encourages staff to take control of their own learning and to utilize their lifelong learning skills through exploration and PLAY. There will be no classes or workshops offered to support this program. Instead, staff are encouraged to work together and share with each other their discoveries, techniques and how-to both in person and through their blogs.

Is this program open to all VBPL staff or just some?
This program is open to ALL VBPL staff regardless of position and status (full and part time). If you are not a member of the VBPL staff, you are welcome to follow along. However, the VBPL cannot award you any prizes for completion.

How long do I have to complete the program?
The program kicks off on Monday, October, 29, 2007 and wraps up Monday, January 13, 2008. Staff members who complete all 30 things by February 29, 2008 will receive an MP3 player in March 2008. Yes, you have additional weeks to complete the program after all 30 Things have been posted. This will give staff who got off to a late start more time to finish and all of us more time to play with the tools we learn about each week.

How do I track my progress for each of the 30 things?
Each staff member who chooses to participate in this program will be asked to keep a blog to track their progress and will also record details about their progress.

If I'm not an VBPL staff member, can I still participate?
Yes, by all means. However, the VBPL cannot award you an MP3 player for completion. You can track your progress through the "30 things" list found on this blog. We welcome outside participants to join in the fun and follow along.

Will there be any training classes offered to show staff how to do this?
No. This is a self-directed learning program. If you feel you need assistance with an item, you are encouraged to be resourceful and find a co-worker or another staff member who can help. Reading other staff member's blogs can help, too. However, there will be open lab days to ask questions in person and share exciting discoveries. Look for a posting about open lab days.

I've seen the list of 30 things, but how do I know what to do with them?
Each week, two or three posts will be added to the Learning 2.0 blog with details about the discovery exercises for that week. The reason for this staggered approach is to allow participants the ability to focus each week on a different area without feeling overwhelmed.

Can I work ahead through the list of items on my own?
Yes, of course. You are encouraged to self-direct your discovery process, especially by working ahead on your own! However, if you do work ahead on some items, be sure to check back on the exercise details for each item once they are posted so you can be sure to receive full credit for its completion.

What if I need help?
Who can I call? Since this program is self-directed and is being completed by many staff members throughout the system simultaneously, you are encouraged to work with colleagues along your discovery journey. To find a list of staff participating, see The Participants. In addition, you may choose to come to open lab days to ask questions and seek help from others who attend. For open lab dates, please look for the open lab days post.

Once I complete all 30 things, how do I get my prize?
If you complete 30 things by February 29, 2008, your prize will be given to you shortly thereafter. If you complete and record the 30 things after February 29, 2008, there is NO guarantee that you will receive an MP3 player.

I am not comfortable publishing information about myself on the Internet. Can I participate anonymously?
Yes! After registering, you will receive an email confirmation that you are registered to participate in Learning 2.0 @ the Beach. Your email confirmation will have a number in it. This is your own unique identifier. You will use this number to record your weekly progress in the Learning 2.0 tracking log. In addition, when you create your blog in Thing 7, you may choose to reveal or conceal your identity. In other words, feel free to blog anonymously.

If you do not see your question here, please post it as a comment.

Open Lab Days

Need help figuring out what to do? Or do you just want to share something exciting that you learned this week?

Either way, you're invited to an open lab days!

Someone will be on hand to help from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the Central Library Automated Services Training Lab on the following days:

November 14 and 28, 2007
December 5, 12 and 19, 2007
January 9 and 16, 2008

If those mornings are not good for you, try these other dates and times:

January 17, 2008 2:30-3:30 p.m.
January 23, 2008 2:30-3:30 p.m.
January 30, 2008 2:30-3:30 p.m.
February 6, 2008 2:30-3:30 p.m.


See you there!