[Baynet] Infopeople's Intergenerational Gaming online course

Mon Apr 27 15:59:53 PDT 2009

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:  Intergenerational Gaming (online learning course)

Dates:  June 16 – July 20, 2009

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

http://infopeople.org/workshop/429 

Fee:  $75 for those in the California library community and Infopeople
Partners, $150 for all others.

Are you staying ahead of the game at your library? You may be offering
gaming programs for kids and teens but missing opportunities to involve
older adults in the fun
and learning. 

All over the U.S., libraries are discovering the benefits of
intergenerational gaming programs. Connecting young people with older
adults, gaming programs actively engage young minds and keep aging minds
young and engaged. These programs recognize the popularity of gaming with
teens and the demographics of the "baby boomer cohort" and its impact on all
parts of society. It's a profoundly social experience where experts and
novices come together to learn from each other. 

In this course, experienced gamer and library programmer Kelly Czarnecki
will help you: 

• Understand how gaming is developmentally appropriate for teens and older
adults 

• Generate ideas for intergenerational gaming programs 

• Develop talking points about your programs targeted to potential funders 

• Identify elements that make an intergenerational gaming program successful

When you complete the course you'll have a "game plan" for starting
intergenerational gaming at your library, with funding and marketing
strategies, evaluation tools, and tips from expert library programmers 

Workshop Description: In this online course you will explore ideas for
intergenerational gaming programs that bring teens and older adults
together. Starting with age-appropriate outcomes, you'll develop a plan for
a gaming program at your library, look at spaces and equipment, identify
funding sources, create marketing tools, and figure out how to measure
success, sustain and expand the program. 

During the course, you will be reading background materials and case
studies, completing assignments and participating in online discussion
forums. The instructor will provide resources, best practices, and useful
tips and techniques that can be applied immediately. 

Online meetings during the course will provide opportunities to hear: 

• Jan Perrier, Roxbury Public Library in New Jersey, talk about her popular
class, "Wii for Seniors: Beat Your Grandchildren." 

• Maddie Siegel describe the intergenerational gaming programs at the Peters
Township Public Library in Pennsylvania. 

• Allan Kleiman, former Senior Spaces manager at Old Bridge Public Library,
now a library consultant, share his experiences with intergenerational
gaming and focus on success and sustainability. 

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: 

• Week One: Gaming and Libraries 

Historical context 

"Brain fitness" in teens and boomers 

Developmentally appropriate gaming 

• Week Two: Bringing the Generations Together 

What makes these programs different 

Characteristics of successful programs 

Planning, promoting and implementing 

• Week Three: Internal and External Funding 

Identifying funding sources 

Short term planning 

Longer term funding 

• Week Four: Evaluation and Expansion 

Case studies from successful libraries 

Ways to measure success 

Expansion and sustainability 

Use of volunteers 

Instructor:  Kelly Czarnecki.  Kelly Czarnecki is a Technology Education
Librarian at ImaginOn, a branch for children and teens at the Public Library
of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. She has organized several
intergenerational gaming programs at her library and has visited senior
centers to interest older adults in gaming programs with teens. She writes
the gaming column in School Library Journal and represents her library
system with ALA's Libraries, Literacy and Gaming initiative funded by
Verizon. She was nominated a Mover and Shaker by Library Journal in 2007.
She is always trying new programs at her library, usually involving some
aspect of gaming.

Online Learning Details: 

This four-week course is taught online using the Web. Because the July 4th
holiday falls during the session, we will extend the class by one week,
through July 20, 2009. When you register, you will receive a registration
confirmation including the URL to get to the course, as well as a username
and password. We recommend that you log in sometime during the first week to
begin the course work. 

To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 to 2½ 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, it is recommended that
you complete each week's assignments within that week to stay in sync with
other students. 

After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available
for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course
material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra
weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to
complete the course. To earn a certificate of completion, students must
complete assignments and participate in discussions. 

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone from the library community with an
interest in intergenerational gaming, connecting teens (ages 12-18) and
older adults (ages 55 and up). Those responsible for library programs will
find this course especially helpful and interesting. 

Prerequisites:

This course is taught over the web. You must: 

• Have an Internet connection. 

• 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=e  Search for
"Word Viewer." For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.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, be willing to share information with
your colleagues and be willing to spend time reading and participating in
the weekly discussion forums. 

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is
called Moodle. If you have taken an Infopeople online course in the past,
please note that this is a change from Angel, the previous online learning
product. The following are minimum system requirements for using Moodle. You
will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to
participate in an online course: 

• Windows: 

Microsoft Windows 98 or above 

Firefox 2.0 or above (recommended), Internet Explorer 4.0 and above,
Netscape 4.0 and above 

• Macintosh: 

OS 9 and above 

Firefox 2.0 or above (recommended), Safari 2.0 or above, Netscape 4.0 or
above 

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

If you would like to subscribe via RSS and be notified whenever new
Infopeople training events are available, you can use these links:

**For new on-ground or online workshops: http://infopeople.org/workshop/rss

**For new podcasts: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InfopeoplePodcasts

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
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.

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