The Learning Lab is a place to experiment with learning and development.
We have lots of information about our procedures on the T: Drive and Teams, as well as some great staff FAQs, to help us do our jobs, but sometimes the only way to learn and understand something is to practise it.
Sometimes it's as simple as having the same facts presented to us in a different way. Often, when you are presented with a 'wall of words' you just turn off and decide to leave that email, or that document, until another day. What if the document is presented as a flow chart, or you can watch the process and then answer a few questions to check you understand it, or, instead of an email explaining a new process, you get a comic strip? We are all different and we all learn in different ways.
We want everyone to have a bit of fun thinking about, and creating, resources that help us share our knowledge and experience.
The Steering group has responsibility for this guide.
The Steering group: Susan Willcox, Nicola Baxter Julie Brett, Amanda Bursk, Cath Dale, Laura Gledhill, Sarah Hornby, Richard Longstaff, Richard Lumb, Lydia Nelson, Georgia Paskell, Christina Taylor and Stacey Whittle.
The Steering Group has staff who work full-time, part-time, weekends, evenings, and in different site libraries.
The Steering group will:
- Oversee the overall design and structure of this guide. They will look after the Welcome page, Resources page, Tracking Training page and maintain the Index.
- Encourage all CS staff to take part in producing material and take part in trying activities.
- Have termly meetings to raise awareness of different resources, give encouragement and ensure that practical issues are dealt with efficiently.
- Facilitate and/or run training sessions for CS staff to ensure that staff have the skills needed to complete tasks.
You can contact the Steering Group here: lib-learninglab@newcastle.ac.uk
Most pages on the Guide have a designated Champion. The Champion for each page is highlighted in one of the 'little boxes' on the page.
The Champion will:
- Oversee the material on their page(s).
- Encourage team members to take part in producing material and take part in trying activities.
- Help identify training or learning activities from their section that can be offered to all CS staff.
- Attend termly meetings with the Steering Group.
Are you keen to get involved and take responsibility for a page on this Guide?
We need staff to create resources that help other staff learn. How can other staff practice what you are preaching? Could you do a short 'cheat sheet' or 'Top 5 tips for completing an ILL form'? Would a quiz help? Maybe a screencast would be more appealing to staff who find it hard to read 'wordy' documents?. How about a survey to find out what staff want to know? Are you on a project group and need to spread the word?
If this sounds interesting, or exciting, or challenging, and you want to get involved, speak to your team(s) and ask if they would like you to be their Champion. Or if you are not part of a team, but want to get involved, contact someone on the Steering Group, in the first instance, and we will advise.
Code of Conduct by Digital Library Services
Ways to get involved
Are you keen to get involved and take responsibility for a page on this Guide?
If you are interested have a look at the Guide Champions tab above.
We have a lovely blog just for CS staff! If you want to contribute, but can't think what to write, here are a few ideas:
- What did you learn this week?
- A training session you've attended that you've found helpful.
- A video you've watched that helped you learn something new or understand something more fully.
- Write a paragraph (with photographs!) about a Lib-Lively event you attended.
- A good joke!
- Are you a secret photographer/writer/poet/musician? We'd love to see or hear your creations!
- Do you want to start a 'book of the month' or 'recommended reads' series on the blog?
- Updates about projects, library groups, meetings that you attend.
- Tell us what your Desert Island Discs would be!
Ideas for blogs post that you would like to see are also most welcome!
If you are a very experienced member of staff please think about how you can help your less experienced, or new, colleagues.
- How do new staff find out how to do things?
- Is it written down?
- Could you make it clearer?
- Would it help to explain it in different ways or formats?
- Learning by 'doing' is recognised as a good way to learn new things. Quizzes, activities and examples of scenarios help new staff put the theory into practice.
If you are a new, or inexperienced, member of staff please think about any training you have received.
- Did you understand what you were being told?
- Have you had a chance to put your training into practice, either in real time, or as a training activity?
- Would you do it differently if you were teaching someone else?
- What would help you learn more effectively?
We want guinea pigs!
Are you happy to 'road test' training resources for other CS staff? If you are happy, then let the Steering Group know and we will keep a list of willing guinea pigs on file.
Let the Steering Group know if you can help.
Does the thought of a misplaced apostrophe send you into spasms? Well you could be just what we are looking for. Get rid of all that excess frustration and help us all to write prose that would make Shakespeare proud.
Let the Steering Group know if you can help.
Did you know that CS has 6 representatives on the Library Learning and Development Group?
Sarah Hornby
Richard Lumb
Claire Leighton
Richard Longstaff
Susan Willcox
If you have any questions, suggestions, ideas or comments about Learning and Development in the Library then let your representatives know and they will take them along to the Group.