Jack Fritts
Assistant University Librarian
National-Louis University
Phyllis Geren
Assistant Professor, Technology in Education
National-Louis
University
Bob Davis
Associate Director, Computer Services
National-Louis University
The North Suburban Library System (NSLS), located in Wheeling, Illinois, became an Internet node in the summer of 1994. NSLS technology specialists worked with a group from National-Louis University of Evanston and Wheeling, Illinois, to develop an online, interactive Internet training program for the member libraries. The program was designed to be usable by member libraries at a variety of levels of technological literacy. The training program developed used the HTML programming language to provide lessons accessible through the Internet, using Mosaic, Lynx, or Cello. This paper introduces the training program developed by this team.
Miriam Pollack, Assistant Director of the North Suburban Library System in Wheeling, Illinois, said in a grant proposal to the Illinois State Library in May 1994:
Librarians have always played an intermediary role between people and the information
they need, whether that information is in a book or on an electronic data base. As
access to information becomes more complex and the amount of information available
more and more overwhelming, librarians must be comfortable themselves with the
emerging technologies and learn to become technology resources for each other and
their community. They need to learn not only specific databases and networks, but
also how to learn new problem solving skills related to technology - the skills and
confidence to navigate approaches to any electronic resource. This requires not only
basic understanding of content, basic vocabulary and general principles. It requires
self confidence, the ability to face change, and the ability to learn on one's own.
Currently library staff are learning to use the Internet - just as twenty years ago
they learned to use online databases. There will no longer be twenty years between
major technological leaps - sometimes it seems like twenty minutes. Today the rage is
the Internet, tomorrow it will be something else.
The current interest in the Internet provides a great opportunity to teach learning
skills on technology. Library staffs will gain the flexibility and adaptivity to
enable libraries to play greater roles in our schools, colleges and universities,
companies and communities.
At the same time, in keeping with North Suburban's mission to serve its member libraries, the project managers developed a second process to ensure an easy transition for all members once full Internet access became available. They decided that an online, interactive training system linked to the System BBS system would help meet anticipated needs. In order to develop this training system, they turned to National-Louis University (NLU) for assistance. Not only had the University Library at NLU long been an active participant in NSLS activities and operations, but the ongoing mission of the University provided an especially appropriate fit to the needs of the System in this particular instance. The mission statement of NLU states:
The mission of National-Louis University is to develop highly competent and humane
professionals for leadership and service through quality undergraduate and graduate
programs. The University is a private, not for profit, independent comprehensive
university with a mission to educate a broad range of individuals, including those who
historically have had limited access to higher education. Central to this mission is
the commitment to facilitate that access to academic programs, to provide academic
support, to integrate knowledge across disciplines, and to encourage active
participation of learners. The education provided by National-Louis University enables
the learner to fulfill personal and professional goals as both a citizen of an
increasingly complex society and member of an emerging global community.
This team began meeting in April of 1994 to develop the vision for the training process. After several meetings it was determined that the training needed to be online, interactive, and presented in small segments for easy progress from step to step. The group agreed that the training program should be accessible through a dial-up connection, but that it would not be a part of the BBS system. Instead, the Internet training materials would be a separate menu item available to the user on connection to the BBS.
The team members agreed from the start that this project required the development of a training program that would provide a variety of levels of experience for the learners, up to and including live excursions into the world of the Internet. The instructional materials would include a mix of material that included textual presentation, canned activities that would demonstrate how the Internet should work, and live interactive activities that involved going out on the network to access information or retrieve materials. One goal of this project was to develop training that would complement the ongoing training sessions already provided at System headquarters. These lessons provided hands-on experience for small groups of library personnel from member libraries. The interactive training program needed to mirror those lessons so that students could move between the media with minimal confusion.
The interactive training program was designed to introduce users to the basics of the Internet and to allow them both pre-designed and live training opportunities. The individual units presented included an introduction to the Internet, communicating on the Internet, connecting to remote computers, browsing in cyberspace, searching for resources, logging on to remote computers and retrieving Internet jewels. The finished package would also include a bibliography of print and online resources, a mailbox to provide communication with the project designers for questions or problems, and a FAQ for commonly asked questions.
The training was presented as HTML text available through Mosaic, Cello, or Lynx. This project entered the pilot stages in August 1994. The first stage of pilot testing involved several steps. First the completed lessons were loaded on a server at NLU for internal testing and refinement. This testing included the use of various personnel from within NLU as experimenters to determine if the links worked as planned and if the process flowed smoothly from lesson to lesson. After some fine-tuning, the address of the lessons was made available to personnel from North Suburban so that they could begin to review the product.
The second stage of piloting the program was to involve the exposure of two test groups to the training materials. The members of each group were to be selected by NSLS personnel from the Internet Advisory Council. The members of the first group would access the training through their own computers from their libraries or homes. This group would work through the training unaided (except for electronic communication with the planners) just as all users would eventually do. Two meetings would be held with the members of the first group - one at the mid-point and one at completion of the training. These meetings would be used to elicit comments and suggestions from the users for refinements or improvements.
The members of the second test group would work through the training during an all-day session to be held at NSLS headquarters. The project planners and developers would be present to observe and work with this group during the process to get a first-hand view of the workings of the product in a user's hands. The members of this group would also be debriefed at the end of the session in order to hear their comments and suggestions.
The plan calls for the test phase to run through November 1994 in order to give the remote participants sufficient time to work through the program in a real world situation. At the end of the pilot period the process will be evaluated and revised as needed before opening access to all NSLS members. After the test phase the project designers will continue to monitor and revise the training materials as needed. They will also serve NSLS as trainers for those libraries with special needs.
In addition to designing and implementing this instructional program, the team members from NSLS and NLU also agreed that it was important and in keeping with the missions of both organizations to provide access to these materials and activities to other fledgling users of the Internet. In keeping with that goal this paper and demonstration is being presented to the participants of this conference. It is our hope that these training materials will provide easier access to the Internet by providing an easily understood framework for venturing into cyberspace.
Jack Fritts is the Assistant University Librarian for Public Services and Automation at National-Louis University in Evanston, Illinois. He holds the rank of Associate Professor and is currently serving as Chair-Elect of the Faculty Senate of NLU. His library responsibilities include maintenance of library automation operations at all of NLU's locations, including a CD-ROM LAN, ILLINET Online, and Internet training for library faculty and staff, as well as a wider range of university personnel. Before joining the faculty at NLU, Jack was, at various times a junior high librarian/media specialist, a junior high language arts teacher, and a fifth grade teacher.
Phyllis Geren, Assistant Professor in the Technology in Education Department, has been a member of the National-Louis University faculty for over 20 years. Since 1980, she has designed and taught computer education courses, responding to the needs of the schools as they seek to appropriately integrate rapidly developing technologies into their curriculum. She has also been a consultant developing software for major educational publishers and is currently designing on-line Internet training. Phyllis has worked extensively on staff development for school districts throughout the Chicago area, as well as designing administrative computerized systems and training staff.
Bob Davis is the Associate Director of Computing Services for National-Louis University. He has a Masters of Science in Management. He is an adjunct faculty member for the College of Management and Business at NLU. His responsibilities include supporting both the administrative and academic computing environments at all campuses and academic centers at NLU. He has done numerous presentations on the Internet and technology in-services for NLU faculty and staff. He has served as network consultant for organizations and school districts throughout the Chicago area.
Jack Fritts
Assistant University Librarian for Public Services and Automation
National-Louis University
Evanston, Illinois
jfri@evan1.nl.edu