Professional Development

Well, this is it, my last post regarding Master Trainer (for now, anyway).  For this last day we discussed (old and brand new trainers) power and influence in “libraryland.”  Basically, this session was aimed at getting us to think about our goals, focus our goals, organize our goals, decide the minimum we would accept for our goals, and developing an effective 30 minute introduction to our goals (what I like to refer to as a “getting your foot in the door” speech).

Then, after this very useful session, we met in our regional groups.  My region covers all of the central piedmont and Charlotte area.  We are planning to meet in June, I believe June 15th, and then hopefully again in the fall.  The rest of my region would like to come to Wake Forest, so hopefully I can arrange that, I am sure that I can.

We had lunch shortly after our regional meeting and then we met one last time to discuss tools and trends.  The good news is that we are ZSR are already using and investigating a lot of the new tools and trends out there right now.  The bad news: the world is always changing and there is always something new.  Even when you feel caught up, you do a quick Google search or get an article and realize you’re behind again.  I guess that’s good, keeps things interesting.

After this session, I went back to Winston-Salem.  I actually came right back to ZSR, I couldn’t wait to see everyone and show them my showcase board.  I am very glad to be back and ready to start teaching!

I’m a little behind on my posting, but the last few days have been too hectic, so bear with me.

Tuesday was the final presentation and showcase.  My director, Lynn Sutton, came to be my support, which was wonderful.  All of the directors were invited, but not all of the directors decided to come.  Some folks had their immediate supervisors, and that is nice, but it is more reassuring to have your director there, I think, there’s a lot of unspoken support in that act.  I would have loved to have my supervisor, Susan Smith, of course, I would have brought everyone if I could have, but that wasn’t possible.  Anyway, I thank Lynn for coming, it meant a lot to have her there supporting me.

My presentation was excellent.  I was second from last to go (out of 15 people), so I was ready when my name was called.  I made a few witty comments, got a few laughs, but I also made a great presentation.  During our showcase I had a lot of people asking me about my topic (RSS) and how we were able to get an RSS Feed set up with our catalog.  I of course didn’t know all the answers to the technical questions, but I would like to learn (Erik and Kevin).  I have a pretty good idea, I know how to set up a RSS Feed, but how it works with out catalog, no clue, probably very similar to any other site.

I gave out a lot of business cards and handouts, so I hope to hear from people in the next few weeks.  It was great to hear that I/we as a Library at ZSR are doing something considered amongst our peers as very “cutting edge.”

I graduated after the Showcase and now have a certificate of completion and an official Master Trainer of North Carolina name badge.  I have meetings with my regional group lined up for the summer and fall (I might be hosting the meeting in the fall) and am now on an email list of all the Master Trainers in the state.  I have started coming up with a lot of ideas of different training classes I want to offer in the fall, I just hope the creativity keeps flowing!

Thanks again to everyone that supported me through this process, I could not have done it without you.

We spent today getting ready for the Showcase, which will be all day tomorrow. It will involve setting up early in the morning (7:30am) and starting around 10am with the presentations. First, there should be an overview to the directors of our prospective libraries of what we have been doing with this program, what we have learned. Then, each of us (15) will give a 5 minute explanation of what we did for our training designs. There will be a break in between that and then lunch at the end of those presentations. After lunch we will have the actual showcase, where we each stand by our presentation boards and answer questions from attendees (directors and other Master Trainers around the state).

I need to polish my presentation tonight, but I am pretty confident with the information I am going to give. At the end of the day tomorrow we actually have a graduation ceremony. I have to say, as much work as this has been, I have learned a lot (more on that after graduation) and it has been rewarding. My next post will be a post from a Master Trainer…me!

More reflections after tomorrow’s big day!

Okay, so I am going for a little drama here, trying to make things interesting…

I am back in Raleigh for the third and final round of Master Trainer. I have my display board ready to go, the showcase is Tuesday, but we’ll spend all of tomorrow getting ready for that. We haven’t been told much about that yet, we have to present our displays and give a 2 minute presentation to the other Master Trainers and our Library Directors (thanks, Lynn), but as far as the set up or what we are supposed to say, no idea yet.

Not to spoil anything, but as a little teaser, the title I decided on for my display was/is “Let RSS Feed You.”

I think it’s cute and original, but it also shows that I am a nerd…but a PROUD nerd!

I’m home, yay!  I got home a little while ago, and even though I did complete more of my goals, there is nothing that makes me happier than being home.  But now, time for a recap of our last day until April!

We started the day with our 3 minute presentations, which were recorded.  I was 2nd to go, and it went well.  The thing I wanted to work on was speaking slowly, slowing down on my presentation.  I was able to do that, and got some great feedback in the process.  I need to keep my pace (slowing down) in mind, always, and I used a few fillers (uh, um, etc.) but nothing too major there, things that I can work on.  I got great compliments on my posture, the way I present information, and my eye contact.  I was even told that my speaking is good, again it’s more my pace.  So I will watch my video and see for myself how I look and sound.  A part of our homework for next time is watching this video and reporting your interpretation of your presentation skills, so I will get on that.

I was able to finalize my learning objectives, cycle of learning, and  even get a preliminary outline for my training piece.  Now I need to my outline worked out completely and then pick a date to offer my class.  I have to give my session and design a tri-fold (think science fair) for the showcase at the end of April.  On top of everything else going on, I am going to be busy, but I can handle it, and after the showcase I will be a North Carolina Master Trainer.

For now, back to work!

What a long day! I started at 8am, I couldn’t get coffee in me fast enough! The first thing we did this morning was to revisit last time, make sure we were all still on the same page on our four models: needs assesments and learning objects, the cycle of learning, the group dynamic model, and the learning styles. After that, we had a break…more coffee for me!

After our break we broke into design groups, our same groups from our first session, but this time instead of planning training amongst each other, we bounced our ideas for our training sessions off of each other, and with the help of our coaches, were able to narrow our topics and focus our topics. One thing that continues to challenge me is keeping my learners in mind and make sure I cover what my learners want/need covered, not necessarily what I want to cover. I am coming along, though, and I have some good ideas about how I want to present my training.

After group design meetings was lunch (the cheesecake was good, but that’s all), and then we had a session on power and influence. Basically we learned ways to approach getting what we want and need as trainers. I realized while talking to some of my colleagues that I am very lucky in this regard. Everyone at my Library is very open to new ideas and training, especially my supervisor and director, so it is easy to approach people with new ideas and present my ideas, in fact I am encouraged to do so.

We then had another round of group design meetings and then the last session of the day covered presentation skills. One thing I have always wanted to work on regarding my own presentation skills is slowing down, and I think I have learned a few ways to do that, other than just slowing down.

I have homework tonight! I have to get ready for my 3 minute presentation tomorrow. I am pretending to present to my supervisor and director my training idea. I have to design to flip chart visual aids tonight and organize my thoughts regarding my topic to present. The presentation material does not have to be perfect, the presentation skills are what are under fire, so to speak. AND, like I have mentioned, this is being video taped and given to us to keep and watch for our own educational purposes.

I’ll let you know tomorrow how all that goes!