Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks: Using Technology to Train and Manage Student Employees Amanda Folk University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg Jenn Grimmett Emmanuel

Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks:Using Technology to Train and Manage Student Employees

Amanda FolkUniversity of Pittsburgh, Greensburg

Jenn GrimmettEmmanuel College, Boston

ALA Annual ConferenceMonday, June 25, 2012Anaheim, CA

Institutional Context

Jenn Amanda

• Private, liberal arts college serving mostly undergraduate with a few master’s programs

• Number of student employees: 25

• Funding: Both work study and salary

• The library is open 106.5 hours a week, with 2 student workers on. Another 40 hours a week for special projects, most of which is dedicated to the digitization project of the College archives.

• Small, regional campus providing an undergraduate, liberal arts education. Part of the University of Pittsburgh’s Library System, a ARL member library.

• Number of student employees: 7-8

• Funding: work study only

• The library is open 82.5 hours a week, with 1 student worker on for most of the day.

Folk & Grimmett, ALA, 2012

Why us?

Jenn Amanda

• Relied on the student workers for complex operational tasks

• Asked to manage the team because I exhibited an interest

• Was motivated to make the training program yield better results

• Several years observing Jenn's supervision of student employees

• New job = new responsibilities

• Opportunity to gain supervisory experience


Our philosophy

Student workers are the gears that make many libraries run. If the gears are ignored and get sticky, not only does the library suffer at an operational level, but the patrons suffer at a functional level. However, when the gears are oiled and mindfully maintained, they facilitate a smooth and reassuring transactional experience for everyone.


Our philosophy applied

Jenn Amanda

• Integrate learning into a productive and familiar environment

• Technology is present in their daily lives; use this to your advantage

• Use familiar platforms such as chat, discussion boards, and pictures

• A centralized environment can bolster confidence and productivity

• Multiple training techniques for multiple types of learners

• Ensures consistency in training

• Easy to review skills throughout the semester


What did we do?


What Jenn did…• When I took over the position, I knew little to

nothing about managing this particular demographic.

• By the end of the second semester, I identified that the nature of the program was not elastic enough for the nature of the student workers; flexibility was a priority.

• I thinned out the "policy pile," and turned my

focus onto the student workers, with the goal of training them for both the "now" and to help prepare them for their professional futures.


What Jenn did…• SurveyMonkey to gauge student worker

comprehension and needs• Blackboard Vista for training new employees

▫ tossed out manual testing (transitioned to online only)

▫ transitioned the training manual from Word format to PowerPoint this helped to sync the process and cut down on time

• Discussion boards on FirstClass • Merged the whole program into the SharePoint

platform in 2009▫Centralized the workflow, scheduling, discussions,

training, and professional development into one platform


Blackboard Vista

To host site for training tutorials and follow up quizzes.

Pros • Tutorials can be updated internally or externally• Allows external media (such as PP, PDF, or video clips)

to be uploaded (i.e. not limited to internal format)• Assessments can be auto-graded, giving the student

immediate feedback.

Cons• The environment is super clunky and not very user

friendly.• It takes a bit of work for the designer to get things

organized. Folk & Grimmett, ALA, 2012


Microsoft SharePointCollaborative environment used to facilitate and bolster communication for both training and day-to-day operations. Pros• Consolidated environment • User friendly• Students are already familiar with the environment (College

platform)• Able to link to internal [server] or external [web] content • Easy data export for record keeping (payroll) and analysis

(surveys)

Cons • If the system / environment goes down, things can come to a halt.• The designer has to be very comfortable with this technology to

create a logical workflow for the student workersFolk & Grimmett, ALA, 2012









2

3

1

What Amanda did…• I was thrown to the wolves.

▫Confusing checklist of tasks not competencies▫Lack of communication between students,

Amanda, and entire staff▫A centralized student employee area did not

exist

• I implemented a number of changes unrelated to technology.▫Centralized student worker area with mailboxes▫Communication binder▫Question of the week


Adobe CaptivateTo create polished training tutorials introducing basic information about the library and its staff, the ILS, and checking in and checking out laptops

Pros• Like a more robust version of PowerPoint• Good training materials are available• Does not require a lot of equipment• Offers a lot of flexibility and ability to customize Cons• Software costs over $100 • Needed to create a workaround for a glitch in Captivate 4• Needs to be hosted on a website • Learning curve• Can be time consuming Folk & Grimmett, ALA,

2012

Adobe Captivate

How did I learn how to use Captivate?

• Siegel, K.A. (2009). Essentials of Adobe Captivate 4: "Skills and drills" learning. Riva, MD: Iconlogic.▫Book and CD-ROM▫Also available on Safari Tech Books Online

• Organized by modules▫Provides detailed instructions for you to follow

along▫Confidence checks serve as quizzes to test

things on your own Folk & Grimmett, ALA, 2012

Adobe Captivate

What equipment did I need?

•Microphone•Empty box•Pen or pencil•Scratch paper

Additional equipment

•Scanner•Digital camera


Adobe Captivate

What can Captivate do?

• Creates a video-like presentation

• Allows custom recordings to be made in order to facilitate a guided simulation

• Allows interactive elements to be embedded into the tutorial

• Allows creator to time certain elements to appear in sync with the voice recording

• Table of contents frame allows users to jump back and forth between sections Folk & Grimmett, ALA,

2012

Adobe Captivate

Drawbacks

•For novice users, the custom recordings can be time consuming.

•Sometimes "funky" things happen in the recordings and you don't know why.

•Voice recordings don't always match.

•Captivate 4 would not allow me to create a quiz that would email the results to me.

Adobe Captivate

How long did it take to create these tutorials?

•I started teaching myself how to use Captivate at the beginning of February 2011 and finished exactly one month later.

•I started creating tutorials in March 2011 and finished in mid-July 2011.


LibGuides

To create a centralized, online student worker environment

Pros•Easy to use•Some flexibility and ability to customize•Can be edited from any computer with an

internet connection•Offers basic usage statistics •Promotes LibGuides use among student workers

Cons•Can be difficult to remember the URL


Outcomes


What has worked…

•Repetition in organizational workflow

•Centralized learning/working environments

•Consistent monitoring of work/progress

•Intermittent pop quizzes, focusing on operations

•Peer-to-peer mentoringFolk & Grimmett, ALA, 2012

What has NOT worked…

•Too many clicks!

•ANYTHING that doesn't make sense to the student workflow

•Busywork

•Replicating these tools in other departments


Potential pitfalls• Pinning yourself into "one" way of doing things

• Using a system / process that requires a lot of maintenance

• Viewing the technology as "the trainer"

• Making the tools to difficult to find and access

• Not having another tech savvy person on hand

• Institutional licenses change occasionallyFolk & Grimmett, ALA, 2012

Short-term outcomes

•Better understanding of professional expectations

•Better customer service

•Maximizes productivity by minimizing mistakes

•Training and supervision are streamlined


Long-term outcomes

•Bolstered confidence

•Decreased levels of workplace apathy

•Students come to view themselves as part of the bigger picture, and take pride in it

•Employment retention


Peer-to-Peer Training•Advantages

▫Empowers veteran student workers to be effective mentors

▫Acts as a training moderator between you and the students engaged in the training process

•Disadvantages▫It can create a sense of false security in the

training success if you don't directly participate.

▫Technology cannot replace the engagement of conversation.


Scalability

•SurveyMonkey and Google Docs▫Zoomerang, Lime Survey

•Blackboard▫Moodle, Sakai

•SharePoint and LibGuides▫Google Sites, Facebook

•Captivate▫Camtasia, Snagit, Jing, Screencast-o-matic

Conclusions

•There is no ONE "right" way to do it, and the "right" way for your group will ebb and flow as technology and staffing change.

•Maintaining an awareness of what the student workers find helpful and what they find frustrating is important.

•What it comes down to is "does this technology increase productivity and ease workflow?"


Recommended Resources• Farrell, S.L., & Driver, C. (2010). “Tag, you’re it:

Hiring, training, and managing student assistants.” Community & Junior College Libraries 16, 185-191.

• Power, June L. (2011). “Training 2.0—Library assistants in the age of information.” Journal of Access Services 8, 69-79.

• Sweetman, K.B. (2007). Managing student assistants: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

• Baldwin, D.A., & Barkley, D. (2007). Complete guide for supervisors of student employees in today’s academic libraries. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.Folk & Grimmett, ALA,

2012

Thank you!

Questions?


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Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks: Using Technology to Train and Manage Student Employees Amanda Folk University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg Jenn Grimmett Emmanuel