A Day of Technology Learning and Play

On Friday, August 1st, I attended and presented at the Northeast Kansas Library System's annual Tech Day. Michael Porter, AKA Libraryman, kicked the day off with an inspiring and engaging presentation about "gadgets". It was exciting to hear about technologies that will be impacting us not only in the future, but also right now. A panel discussion followed, during which several people talked about the role gadgets currently play in their lives, from the iPhone to the Kindle, and more. I don't think of myself as a "gadget geek", but realized during the presentation that they are already a big part of my life (I was using a cell phone, a digital camera, a FlipCam, and a laptop throughout this day, for example). The next gadget I want is the Roomba, an iRobot vaccuum cleaner. It sounds so Jetson's!!! 

My presentation was called, "Getting the Technology Training You Need" and it was based on Meal Plan 4 from MaintainIT's A Cookbook for Small and Rural Libraries. In addition to talking about the role of competencies (like those from the State Library of Kansas or from WebJunction), we also brainstormed ideas for learning. Individuals shared favorite tips for learning and talked about challenges, too. For example, Bobbi Newman, AKA Librarian By Day, talked about her del.icio.us links and her library's Learning Library 2.0 program. It was a highly interactive session and I hope everyone left with at least one new idea or resource to explore. I know I did!

Thanks, NEKLS, for including me in the day and thank you to the other speakers and participants for teaching me so much. Photos from the day are shared in the MaintainIT Flickr account.

Technorati Tags: gadgets MaintainIT NEKLS