Apr 15, 2009

About

The Nebraska Library Commission debuted its first Nebraska Learns 2.0 online learning program on October 6, 2008 and it ran through January 30, 2009. It was great fun, and we've received so many inquiries about if and when the program would repeat, that we knew we had to do something. So without further ado, here it is--the second edition of Nebraska Learns 2.0!

Although we've made some changes to Nebraska Learns 2.0 this time around, the goal of the program remains the same: to encourage participants to experiment with and learn about the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the way people, society and libraries access information and communicate with each other.

Nebraska Learns 2.0 continues to be a self-discovery program which encourages participants to take control of their own learning and to utilize their lifelong learning skills through exploration and PLAY. There will be no formal classes or workshops offered to support this program. Instead, participants are encouraged to work together and share with each other their discoveries, techniques and "how to's", both in person and through their blogs.

This time around, instead of being required to do 23 Things in 16 weeks in order to earn CE credit, participants will be offered an opportunity to do a new Thing each month. (Some months we might even throw in a bonus thing!) If you read on you'll see lots of references to "Things." In Nebraska Learns 2.0 a "Thing" is essentially a Lesson. Participants can earn one CE credit for each Thing they complete. However, in order to earn the CE credit, each Thing must be completed by the end of the month in which it was introduced. Participants do not need to complete ALL Things in order to earn CE credit.

This program is open to ALL Nebraska librarians, library staff, library friends, library board members and school media specialists. If you are not a member of the Nebraska library community you are welcome to follow along; however, we cannot offer you official technical support nor will you be eligible CE credit.

Credit: The original Learning 2.0 program was designed by Helene Blowers, PLCMC Technology Director, with the support and assistance of several staff and is loosely based upon Stephen Abram's article, 43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year (Information Outlook - Feb 2006) and the website 43Things.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do? If so, be sure to read How to Participate!
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Apr 14, 2009

How To Participate

If you participated in the original Nebraska Learns 2.0 program you should already have completed the prerequisites listed below. Skip straight to the Sign Up to Participate step.

If you are new to Nebraska Learns 2.0, you will need to complete the prerequisites and then sign up to participate. Prerequisites include setting up the blog that you will use to post responses to the various Things, watching a short video tutorial on lifelong learning, and posting your reaction to the video to your blog. You will earn one CE credit for completing the prerequisites.

It's never too late to join in the fun, so why not sign up and start participating today?

Prerequisites - Required for those who didn't participate in the first Nebraska Learns 2.0.
  1. Set up a blog
  2. Watch the video on lifelong learning
  3. Create an initial blog post on your blog in which you reflect on the lifelong learning video. If you have suggestions for Things you'd like us to cover, please include those as well.
*** Although not a formal prerequisite, we strongly recommend that new participants sign up for a free account with an RSS reader service like Bloglines or Google Reader. If you aren't familiar with RSS readers, we suggest you review Thing #6: Make life "really simple" with RSS & a newsreader, a lesson from the original Nebraska Learns 2.0 program that describes why and how to use such a service. 

Sign Up to Participate - Required of ALL participants.

Email Susan Knisely and tell her you are planning to participate in Nebraska Learns 2.0. You must include the following information in your email message:
  1. Name
  2. Library name
  3. Email address we can use to get in touch with you if necessary
  4. Alternate communication method we can use to get in touch with you (work or home phone number, different email address, etc.)
  5. Blog name
  6. Blog URL (e.g., if you are using blogger it will be something like http://xxx.blogspot.com/)
Start Participating!

Once you've signed up to participate (and completed the prerequisites if you're new to the program) you're ready to get started! Here's how it works:

At the beginning of each month (starting May 1, 2009) we will post a new Thing for you to do to our Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog (http://nelearns.blogspot.com/). (Remember, a "Thing" is essentially a lesson or learning activity.) You will have the remainder of the month to explore and experiment with the Thing, complete any assigned activities, and then create a post on your own blog reflecting on the Thing.

Your blog post must describe which Thing you have completed, what your experience was learning about it--easy, hard, impossible, ideas about how you might use this Thing in your library or media center or in other areas of your life, and other comments on the process.

While we don't expect a dissertation on every Thing, we do expect thoughtful reflection and active participation that is clear in the post. Single line posts or those that show perfunctory participation will not be counted.

After you have written and published YOUR blog post, return to the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog and leave a comment on OUR original post on that Thing. Your comment should direct readers back to YOUR blog post on the Thing. (This is how we will know you are done with the Thing.) The easiest way to do this is to include the permalink of your blog post in the comment.

You must complete your blog post on a Thing before the end of the month in which the Thing was introduced in order to earn CE credit. Please include the Thing # in the title of your blog post to assist us in identifying and tracking your progress!

Additional Questions?
 
Check out our FAQ and Helpful Hints!

If you don't find your answer there, Contact Us.
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Apr 13, 2009

Set Up a Blog

If you are new to Nebraska Learns 2.0, it’s time to setup your very own personal blog to begin recording your thoughts, discoveries, and exercises.

A blog? What's that?

To learn about blogs, here are some discovery resources you can use:
Create Your Blog

For this program, we recommend that you use either WordPress or Blogger, popular, free online blog hosting services that are extremely easy to use.  

WordPress

To set up a WordPress blog, to to http://wordpress.com/. Click on the big, orange "Get started here" button and follow the steps to set up your account.

Step-by-step instructions are available on the Learn WordPress.com website.

You can also watch this short video about getting signed up:

 

Blogger

To get started go to http://www.blogger.com/. Click on the big, orange "Get started" button and follow the easy, three-step process:
  1. Create a Google Account (view screenshot).

    NOTE: If you alreade have a Google Account as a result of using services such as Gmail, Google Groups, or Orkut, you don't need to create a new account. Instead, click on the sign in first link that appears at the end of the paragraph immediately beneath the "Create a Google Account" heading. Sign in to Blogger with your Google Account.
  2. Name your blog (view screenshot).
  3. Choose a template (view screenshot).
You can also watch this video tutorial, "How to Create a Blog on Blogger":



Using Your Blog

Once you've created your blog, there are several important details you need to remember:
  1. Note your login and password: You will need this information to log into your blog account to create new blog posts and customize your blog. 
  2. To manage your blog: Go to http://wordpress.com/ or  http://www.blogger.com/, depending on which service you chose. Sign in to your account. This will take you to your Dashboard page. Your Dashboard is your main editing interface. From here you can add a new post to your blog, edit a post, customize your blog settings, or change your blog layout.
  3. To view your blog: Your blog address is http://(xxx).wordpress.com/ or  http://(xxx).blogspot.com/, where (xxx) = the unique blog address you choose when you set up your account.
Now what? 

You have a blog name and blog URL, so now you have all the information you need to Sign Up to Participate! After registering your intent to participate, move on to the remainder of the prerequisites - the Lifelong Learning video and your first blog post!
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Apr 12, 2009

Lifelong Learning

As we embark on this online learning and discovery journey, we will start by reviewing a few habits that can assist us in becoming better lifelong learners.

The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County has put together a list of habits for lifelong learning. The list and accompanying tutorial is titled 7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners. This tutorial will provide us with a refresher on what it means to be a lifelong learner. As you watch the tutorial, think about how these habits relate to your own life.

For this exercise you will watch the 7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners tutorial. It's approximately 14 minutes long. This tutorial includes audio so it would be helpful to have headphones or speakers attached to your computer. If you cannot hear the audio the text of the presentation is also made available.

Discovery Exercise:
  1. During the tutorial the presenter will pause so you can download two handouts. You may wish to use the following links to download them before you start the tutorial. (Some folks have encountered problems downloading the files from within the presentation.)
    - Learning Contract
    - 7 1/2 Habits
     
  2. View the 7 ½ Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners tutorial (below). As you watch and listen, write down which habit among the 7 & 1/2 is easiest for you and which is hardest. (At this time the original video has been removed from the source Web site but this PPT version is available. We're working to find a new copy of the video.)
    7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners
    View more presentations from Lori Reed
  3. Create an initial post on your blog in which you reflect on the 7 and 1/2 lifelong learning habits. Which one might be easiest for you? Hardest? Why?
Have fun! It's never too late to become a lifelong learner!
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Apr 11, 2009

FAQ

  • How does this online learning program work?

    This is a self-discovery program which encourages participants to take control of their own learning and to utilize their lifelong learning skills through exploration and PLAY.

    There will be no formal classes or workshops offered to support this program. Instead, participants are encouraged to work together and share with each other their discoveries, techniques, and “how tos,” both in person and through their blogs.  
  •  Who can participate in this program?

    This program is designed for Nebraska librarians, library staff, library friends, library board members and school media specialists.

    If you are not a member of the Nebraska library community you are welcome to follow along; however, we cannot track, support, or award CE credits to participants outside our target audience.
  • I participated in the first Nebraska Learns 2.0 program. Can I participate in this program too?

    Yes. This will not be a repeat of the previous program. This new program will either introduce new Things or expand on Things covered previously.
  • How does this new version of Nebraska Learns 2.0 differ from the original version?

    One of the main differences is that you no longer have to do ALL the Things in order to earn CE credit. Instead, you can earn one CE credit for each Thing you complete by the deadline.

    The other main difference is that instead of one deadline for the whole program, there is now a separate deadline for each Thing. To earn CE credit participants will need to complete a Thing by the end of the month in which it was introduced.

  • Do I have to do all of the Things?

    No. You may choose which Things to do based on personal interest and time availability. If the Thing of the month doesn’t interest you or if you are particularly busy that month, you can skip it.

    HOWEVER, before you skip a Thing due to lack of interest, keep in mind that part of the value of this exercise is learning about tools and services you might not otherwise spend time exploring. First time around, several of our participants fell in love with and became active users of Things they were sure they were going to hate. What if they’d skipped that Thing due to their anticipated reaction to it?

    If you are interested in a particular month’s Thing but are too busy that month to do it, we certainly encourage you to go back and complete it at a later date for your own personal enrichment. Your blog post on the Thing will still be a worthwhile and valued contribution to our online learning community. However, you will not earn CE credit for “late” Things.

  • How long do I have to do each Thing?

    Each month we will introduce a new Thing. You must complete a Thing by the end of the month in which it was introduced in order to earn CE credit for it.

  • Why do I have to do the Things in the month they are assigned?

    We strongly believe in the value of having all participants working on the same Thing at roughly the same time. We hope this will facilitate discussion (via blog posts and comments to blog posts) and contribute to a sense of community.

    Another reason for doing Things in the month they are assigned is that it is best way to insure you are getting up-to-date, accurate instructions from us. (Even then there is no guarantee – things change quickly on the Internet – but we’ll do our best!) Things won’t go away after their scheduled month, but they also won’t necessarily be updated to reflect changes to the service being discussed.

  • Can I go back and do Things I missed?

    Sure, as long as you are aware that you won’t earn CE credit for completing Things late and that the content of our lessons may not have been updated to reflect recent changes to the services being discussed.

  • Do I have to sign up to participate?

    YES! One lesson we learned as a result of the first Nebraska Learns 2.0 program was that we needed a more formal registration process so we’d know for sure who was participating and how to contact them. So, if you want to participate in our new Nebraska Learns 2.0 program, you will need to sign up!

  • How do I sign up for Nebraska Learns 2.0?

    Email Susan Knisely and tell her you are planning to participate in Nebraska Learns 2.0. You must include the following information in your email message:

    1. Name
    2. Library name
    3. Email address
    4. Alternate email address or phone number
    5. Blog name
    6. Blog URL

  • I want to sign up but I don’t have a blog name or URL to submit yet. What should I do?

    If you didn’t participate in the first Nebraska Learns 2.0 program, there are several prerequisites you will need to fulfill before you can get started. One of the prerequisites is setting up a blog. Complete this prerequisite and you will have the blog name and URL you need to include in your sign-up email.

  • How do I know I’m signed up?

    After you’ve emailed the required information to Jeannette Powell, we will add your blog name to our Participants page. If you see your blog listed, you will know you have successfully signed up. Please allow several days for your blog name to get added to the Participants list, as this is a manual process.

  • How will you know that I have completed a Thing?

    As the final step of each Thing you will be asked to write a post on YOUR blog about that Thing. Please include the Thing # in the title of your blog post (e.g. Thing #24: Blah, Blah, Blah).

    After you have written and published YOUR blog post, return the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog and leave a comment on our original post on that Thing. Your comment should direct readers (including us) back to YOUR blog post on the Thing. The easiest way to do this is to include the permalink of your blog post in the comment.

  • What is a PERMALINK?

    A PERMALINK is similar to your blog URL, but it is more specific.

    Here is an example of the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog URL: http://nelearns.blogspot.com/

    Here is an example of the permalink to the FAQ post, which resides on the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog: http://nelearns.blogspot.com/2009/03/faq_20.html

    Notice how the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog URL takes you to the main Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog page, where the most recent post appears at the top of the page. As you update your blog with new posts, today’s “most recent post” will move further down your main blog page. Eventually it will move to another page altogether. For this reason a blog URL isn’t the best way to direct readers to a specific blog post.

    A PERMALINK is a unique URL that will take readers to a specific post on your blog. It will always take readers to that specific post, no matter how many subsequent posts you’ve made.

  • How do I figure out what the PERMALINK for a specific blog post is?

    Every time you publish a blog post, it is assigned a unique URL - the permalink. Sometimes you can click on the title of your blog post, and sometimes you will need to click on it from your archived blog posts in the sidebar. That is your permalink - it will take you to the page devoted to that particular blog post.

    Once you’ve done this, look at the URL in your browser’s address bar. This is the permalink URL you will want to use when directing readers to this specific blog post.



  • How long does my blog post have to be?

    Each blog post must describe which Thing you have completed (remember to put the Thing # in the post title), what your experience was learning about it--easy, hard, impossible, ideas about how you might use this in your library or media center or in other areas, and other comments on the process.

    While we don't expect a dissertation on every Thing, we do expect thoughtful reflection and active participation that is clear in the post. Single line posts or those that show perfunctory participation will not be counted.

  • Can I get CE credit for participating in this program?

    Yes. You can earn one CE credit for each Thing you complete. However, you must complete each Thing by the end of the month in which it was introduced to earn CE credit for it.

    If you are a NEW Nebraska Learns 2.0 participant (meaning you DID NOT participate in the original program), you can also earn one CE credit for completing the program prerequisites.

  • What do I have to do to get my CE credit?

    If you follow the steps listed below NLC staff will be able to track your participation and record your CE credits as you earn them.

    1. Sign up to participate in Nebraska Learns 2.0. (This only has to be done once.)

    2. Confirm that your blog name has been added to the Participants page. (This only has to be done once.)

    3. Write a blog post on YOUR blog about the current month’s Thing, before the end of the month. Include the Thing # in your blog post title.

    4. Leave a comment on the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog post on the Thing, directing readers back to YOUR blog post on the Thing. Include the permalink to your blog post in your comment.

  • Who do I contact for help?

    NLC staff members Allana, Christa, and Michael are all here to help you. Feel free to contact any one of us. However, before doing so we encourage you to post your question as a comment to the relevant Thing post on the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog. This way your fellow participants have a chance to answer your question if they’ve already mastered the Thing ….or, if they are having similar problems they can benefit from any answers you receive!

  • Can I participate anonymously?

    No & Yes.

    If you want to earn CE credit you will need to identify yourself accurately to NLC staff members when you sign up to participate in Nebraska Learns 2.0.

    Since you control all the information that you share on your blog, however, you can choose to use a screen name to identify yourself, thereby keeping yourself publicly anonymous.

    But, really, why be anonymous? Other participants want to know who you are so they can share and network more. It is not necessary to put all your personal information in your profile, but complete anonymity works against the social learning community we want to create with Nebraska Learns 2.0.
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Apr 10, 2009

Helpful Hints

Here are some helpful hints that we think will facilitate your participation in the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program:

  1. Set up your blog so you'll get email notification when someone leaves a comment on one of your posts.

    One thing participants in the original Nebraska Learns 2.0 program enjoyed was the sense of community that sprang up among them as a result of reading and commenting on each other's blogs. Occasionally, however, a participant would get busy and go several weeks before noticing that someone had commented on one of their posts. A simple remedy to this is to set your blog up to send you an email whenever someone leaves a comment. It's easy!

    When you are logged in to Blogger click on the Settings tab (or link) associated with your blog. Next, select the "Comments" link from the horizontal menu bar associated with the Settings tab. Scroll down the Comments Settings page until you get to the Comment Notification Email option. (It should be at the very bottom of the page.) Here you can enter up to ten email addresses, separated by commas, that you want to receive an email when someone leaves a comment on your blog.

  2. Subscribe to the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog, as well as your fellow participants' blogs, through an RSS reader.

    To get the most out of the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program, it will be important for you to regularly monitor the Nebraska Learns 2.0 blog, as well as the blogs of fellow participants. Rather than manually checking each blog for new content every few days, we recommend you subscribe to them via an RSS reader. An RSS reader will monitor your blogs for you and notify you of updates as they happen.

    If you aren't familiar with RSS readers, we suggest you review Thing #6: Make life "really simple" with RSS & a newsreader, a lesson from the original Nebraska Learns 2.0 program. The time you spend learning about RSS readers will be returned to you many times over through increased efficiency!

  3. Put the Thing # in the title of the post you write about that Thing!

    This may be a small thing, but it will help provide us and your fellow participants with context for your post.
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Apr 7, 2009

Participants

Listed below are the Nebraska Learns 2.0 participants. If you've signed up to participate, but your blog is not listed here, please contact us. For the purposes of this program, only the blog names will be listed here in alphabetical order. Participants may choose to reveal or conceal their identity themselves as they wish through their blogs.

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Apr 1, 2009

Contact

For questions about the Nebraska Learns 2.0 program please feel free to contact any of the following Nebraska Library Commission staff members.
You can email us individually (just click on a link below) or call 800-307-2665 (in Nebraska) and ask for us by name! We've also listed some additional ways you can contact each of us.
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