Monday, August 22, 2011

Board Game Representation of using eBooks on OverDrive

Thanks to Craig Haggit, Adult Services Librarian at the Lancaster Public Library for sharing this Prezi presentation with me.

Lisa Bunker, a librarian at Pima County Public Library in Tucson AZ, posted this creative Prezi Presentation, Dowloading Library eBooks Using OverDrive, using a board game representation of the process. The drawing shows there are many steps involved, but instead of feeling overwhelmed by it all, the child within feels challenged to have fun and win the game! Great stuff.

One note: in our OverDrive interface, we do not offer a 21-day loan period; just 14-day or 7-day. Other than that, everything in this presentation is true for us. Also, for those of you with access to our Intranet, LILLY, I posted this to the OverDrive page under the OverDrive Training heading.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Train Your Staff and Patrons with My PC Series



Microsoft has launched a new resource called My PC Series. I attended a Webinar today from TechSoup. I'm sure they will be posting the archive soon. This is a FREE Windows 7 online curriculum to help provide "jargon-free, basic computer training for an adult audience". So, the only catch is you have to be using the Windows 7 operating system for the lessons.

The curriculum consists of ten 1 hour workshops that teach 'getting started' PC topics (Chat with IM, Create a Digital Movie, Digital Camera Tips and Tricks, Pick the Right PC, Start Here with Windows 7, Stay Safe With Windows 7...), four 3 hour workshops (Getting Started with Windows 7, Digital Photo Editing, Creative Slideshow, Connecting with Friends & Family) and a longer 12 hour Intro to Windows 7 course for business and home users. See the Workshop Descriptions Page or the Curriculum Comparison Slide for more information.

All of the materials are already created from Instructor Guides to PowerPoint Presentations to Activity Sheets. Plus there is a Student area of the Website where class resources are posted for students. See this Adoption Checklist to see what to do next to get started. I already downloaded a lot of the materials and will plan on using them as we move into Windows 7.

Did I mention this is all FREE?!! Be sure to check out this great resource.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Windows Nostalgia...

Check out this video of installing versions of Windows from the beginning of time through Windows 7. Very nostalgic! This just confirms that I'm getting old!