[Baynet] Infopeople's new online course "Top Online Reference Sources 2008"

Tue May 13 15:12:58 PDT 2008

Since some people who may be interested in participating might not receive
this notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or
route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!

Title:  Free, Fast, and Factual: Top Online Reference Sources 2008  (online
learning course)

Dates:  June 17, 2008 – July 14, 2008

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at

http://infopeople.org/workshop/380

Fee: $75 for those in the California library community and $150 for those
out-of-state.

Reference is changing: we answer questions in person, via phone, instant
messaging, email, web-based chat, and text messaging. With disappearing
budgets and increased workload it can be difficult to find the time to keep
up with all the new web sources that can supplement the library's print
reference collection. This course will update you on free web resources you
can use to find the answers to many of the reference questions you're asked.
You'll learn where to find information quickly on topics such as:

·         Photos of the 2008 Olympic Torch relay that aren't copyrighted 

·         Free public records available online for your area 

·         If it's legal to be stopped in California for not wearing a
seatbelt 

·         All the bands who have ever recorded a version of Donna Summer's
"I Feel Love" 

·         Finding consumer reviews for various PDAs 

·         Learning steps for staying healthy with diabetes 

Reference is not dead! Save precious time, money, and frustration by tuning
up your online reference skills with this class.

Workshop Description: This four-week online class will teach you the tools
you need to quickly mine the web for answers to ready reference questions.
Additionally, through exercises and group discussions, you will update your
knowledge of the best, free, online web sites for finding factual answers to
questions you used to have to refer elsewhere. You will also explore
gateways and portals designed to lead you to the best information on
specific topics and will learn new uses for old ready reference standbys.
Instructor Sarah Houghton-Jan will provide cheat sheets, guided discussions,
and a webliography as well as practical tips for improving your search
strategies to reduce the time spent searching for that elusive answer. 

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet
connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and
complete the following learning modules:

*	Module One: Library Gateways, Ready Reference, Business, and
Directories Webites 
*	Module Two: Health, Home & Garden, Jobs & Careers, and Consumer
Resources Websites 
*	Module Three: Government & History, News, Statistics, and Law
Websites 
*	Module Four: Music, Multimedia, Books & Reading Websites, Google
Tools, and Reference Site Finding Strategies 

Instructor:  Sarah Houghton-Jan.  Sarah is the Digital Futures Manager for
the San Jose Public Library. She also spends time contributing to LITA’s Top
Technology Trends Committee, teaching for Infopeople and other
organizations, presenting and training for libraries internationally,
writing for library and technology journals, and this past year she
published her first book-length piece: Technology Competencies and Training
for Libraries. You may know her better from her blog and alter ego: the
Librarian In Black <http://www.librarianinblack.net> .

Online Learning Details: 
This four-week course will be taught online using the web. When you
register, you will receive a registration confirmation that will include the
URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password. 

Every student proceeds through the online learning modules at his or her own
pace. Students should expect to commit to spending a minimum of 3 to 3½
hours per week on this course in order to be successful. You can work on
each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you
will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's
assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the
course to begin the course work.

Your instructor will be available for limited consultation support for two
weeks after the official end date of a course, and the course material will
stay up for an additional two weeks after that, to give those who have
fallen behind time to work independently on the course. However, you will be
expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with
your peers during the first four weeks.

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone from the California library community
with an interest in using free resources on the Internet to answer questions
reliably. This workshop is appropriate for reference and other public
service staff.

Prerequisites:
This course is taught over the web. You must:

*	Have an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher. 
*	Be able to save Microsoft Word .doc or Adobe .pdf files to your
computer and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is
available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3657ce88-7cfa-457a
-9aec-f4f827f20cac&DisplayLang=en> . Search for "Word Viewer." For .pdf
files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html). 
*	Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward
on a website that uses frames. 
*	To be most successful in this course you should be willing to share
information with your colleagues and be willing to spend time reading and
participating in the weekly discussion boards. 

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is
called Angel. The following are minimum system requirements for using Angel.
You will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to
participate in an online course: 

*	Windows: 

*	Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, Netscape 7.1 and above, or Firefox
1.5 and above 

*	Macintosh: 

*	Mozilla 1.4 and above (which is the same engine as Netscape 7.1),
Safari 2.0 and above, or Firefox 1.5 and above 
*	OS X and above (OS 9 will NOT work with our online learning product)

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking
this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information
about Infopeople Training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople Workshops
page at http://infopeople.org/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at
<mailto:assist at infopeople.org> assist at infopeople.org or by phone at
650-578-9685.

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