technology training

There is a great blog post on techsoup.org that very thoroughly discusses all the different online survey tools that are available, including free, low-cost and advanced options. I've used online survey tools for training programs, both for annual continuing education assessments and for individual workshops. When evaluating the success of any type of program, it can help to get responses from participants quickly and easily compiled. Which of these tools do you find helpful?

These excellent examples of library training programs can help you design innovative workshops and plan for training. Some of these were devised for staff training purposes but could be easily adapted for public training, or vice versa. If you need specific lesson plans, handouts, or PowerPoints, read this post for library and nonprofit websites that share their materials for free. If your library has a technology training program or if you know of other great examples, please share in the comments.

Successful technology training has less to do with technical knowledge than with other abilities such as communication skills, patience, interpersonal skills, flexibility, and empathy towards learners struggling with new technologies. It is more useful to know how to train than to just have technical expertise. Keeping it simple and relevant is often the most important thing you can do.

It seems sometimes like the best web sites for technology trainers change location every hour. I have trouble locating sites that are persistent and reliable with regular updates and new content. This is a shame, because technology trainers in schools, libraries and community technology centers don’t have time to recreate the wheel every time they teach Introduction to Microsoft Word, when hundreds of colleagues around the world have already written that lesson plan.