Monday, August 16, 2010

Thing 17: Webinars

So what's a Webinar? Webinar, short for Web-based seminar or teleconference, is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar transmitted over the Internet. So you can participate from the comfort of your work desk (or your bed and PJs!) You can find webinars about everything; from business to dog training. Some are live, while others are recorded and archived. If you choose to participate in a live webinar, when you register, you'll receive email instructions on how to link into it. In most email confirmations include a test so you can make sure your computer is compatible and your connection works. If your computer requires updates, this handy diagnostic tool will show you what you need. It's best if you log-in 15 minutes prior to the start time of the webinar to make sure that everything's working the way it should.

With so many budget cuts across the country, webinars are a great way to get some professional development without the crimp in your library's wallet as many of them are free. ALSC, for example, offers student sessions, which, while geared toward MLIS students, are a brilliant way to get some CE. I've attended a few myself which are archived here. They also offer some great online courses, that are simliar to webinars. Webjunction is another great place to find online trainings and webinars. Also, if you haven't found them yet, The CCBC (The Cooperative Children's Book Center out of the University of Wisconsin) offers some great webinars, CCBC Shorts which are quick and dirty 1/2 hour presentations on what's hot in children's and YA literature. And they're free!

Below is a youtube video showing some of the basic steps to join a webinar. Have fun!


While you might not have time to attend a whole webinar (though those CCBC shorts are short!) We'd definitely like you investigate the notion of webinars and think about how they might be useful to you professionally. Nebraska Public Libraries offers a plethora of archived webinars for free. TechSoup (technology website for non-profits) offers some great webinars. And the College of DuPage is very well-known for their thought-provoking webinars.
Some questions to ponder:
  • Were you able to find a webinar you'd potentially attend?
  • Do you think the staff at your library would be interested in attending a webinar or online course? Why or why not?
  • Webinars are a great way to network with people all over the world - have you ever made a connection with someone far, far away that you met at a webinar?
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Thing 16: Find and Listen to a Podcast

The word podcast is used to refer to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS.

In 2005, podcast was named the word of the year by New Oxford American Dictionary and with the growth of podcasting over the last year and a half; it’s easy to see why. Podcasts take many forms, from short 1-10 minutes commentaries to much longer in person interviews or panel group discussions. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest area and the best part about this technology is that you don’t have to have an iPod or a MP3 player to access them. Since podcasts use the MP3 file format, a popular compressed format for audio files, you really just need a PC (or portal device) with headphones or a speaker.

iTunes, the free downloadable application created by Apple is the directory finding service most associated with podcasts, but if you don’t have iTunes installed there are still plenty of options.

For Thing 13 we're asking you to take a look at some popular podcast directory tools. Do some exploring on your own and locate a podcast that interests you. Once found, you can easily pull the RSS feed into your Google Reader (Thing 4) account as well, so that when new casts become available you’ll be automatically notified of their existence.
Take a look at these directories and find something that interests you. You can find something library-related or not. When you find something tasty, add the RSS feed to your Google Reader. And write a blog post about how it all went. Inquiring minds want to know! Think about how a podcast might be enhance the services your library already provides. Could you create something that parents in your library would be interested in? Maybe your booklists could work in podcast form as well? The possibilities are endless! Here's a compilation of some cool library-related podcasts.

Feeling adventurous? Learn how to make your OWN podcasts! Here's a video tutorial on how:


And here are some additional resources:
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    Week 6

    So let's talk about professional development. In week 6, we introduce you to some great opportunities for remotely participating in some pretty cool online courses and workshops. Podcasts and teleconferences and webinars are where it's at. And not only are these great for professional development and continuing education, there's some very entertaining stuff out there too!

    Give us all you got! We're approaching the final stretch so be sure to keep up with your blog posts each week about what this all has meant to you! We've been seriously enjoying your comments, ideas and reactions!
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