Curiosity

I have written about Andrea Mercado's tech training on this blog before and just really like her philosophy and style. She recently wrote about an email class she taught for beginners. She makes many great points and observations in the post, but the thing I am most struck by is her curiosity about the learners. I think that's the number one characteristic in a good technology trainer -- a genuine curiosity about the ways that people learn and try to make sense of things. Having solid technical knowledge, a great presentation style, etc... is all great, but I really do think that curiosity is the key.

I think a good trainer is not driven by getting through a certain amount of material, but is driven by constantly trying to gauge the experiences of each learner -- letting people make mistakes and figure out answers, helping people build their confidence with the computer. It's what makes training so challenging, but also what makes each class a unique and interesting experience.

OPAL in August

That kind of sounds like a Merchant Ivory film title, doesn't it?

FYI, Johnson County Library has put together a great series of OPAL training sessions and two of your Librarians with Class creators will be leading one of them. Join us!

Friday, August 18, 2006 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 10:00 a.m. Central, 9:00 a.m. Mountain, 8:00 a.m. Pacific, and 3:00 p.m. GMT:
Delivering Top-Notch Technology Training for Your Patrons
Brenda Hough, Technology Coordinator at the Northeast Kansas Library System, Michael Porter (aka LibraryMan), Training and Support Coordinator at OCLC Western, and Rebecca Richardson, Technology Training Specialist at the Purdue University Libraries will be the presenters. More libraries are offering technology training for staff and patrons. Learn how to use interactive techniques to address varying skill levels, adapt to multiple learning styles, and deliver technology with greater impact. This program is part of the Librarian's Continuing Education Seminar Series, sponsored by the Johnson County Library. This OPAL event will be held in the Auditorium.