JACQUELINE MUNDELL
Librarian
On July 16 and
17, Jacqueline Mundell, former Executive Director of the Library and
Information Technology
Association
(LITA), a division of the American Library Association, visited METRO’s office.
As leader of the
ALA-wide
Web-based continuing education project which crossed all divisions within ALA,
Mundell is an expert on online learning. Before working for LITA, from 1993 to 1996,
Mundell was Executive Director of the Cleveland Area Metropolitan Library
System (CAMLS), a consortium similar to METRO. ALA’s first Web course, on
copyright and fair use, will be offered later this fall. Jacqueline Mundell
recently met with METRO staff to examine the feasibility of addtionally
offering Web-based training as an option to our on-site Professional
Development courses.
@METRO: What do
you see as the benefits to offering courses online?
JM: It’s primarily an issue of convenience.
Online courses make learning available all the time. A person no longer has to
be in a certain place at a specific time to participate in a high-quality
learning experience. METRO already has a very strong Professional Development
program so online learning would be an optional addition to the full range of courses
and workshops already offered.
@METRO: What
kinds of courses are best suited for online learning?
JM: The question is not what kinds of courses
work well online, but how should courses be designed to work effectively in an
online environment. For example, in a workshop setting, simple handouts can
work well as a back-up to a teacher’s presentation. Online, without live
presentation, visually interesting and engaging activities must be included.
These are the kinds of issues which we are exploring.
@METRO: What
sort of study will you do for METRO?
JM: I’ll be conducting various needs
assessments. The one that all members can participate in is a Web-based survey.
It will be available on METRO’s home page from September 5 through September
26. We hope many members will take a few minutes to give us their input on
Webbased training and areas of interest to them.
I’ve also
talked to Susan Salomone, METRO’s Professional Manager, about the focus groups
she’s been
conducting on
these issues. Based on METRO’s recommendations, I will be making individual
telephone calls to selected members to poll them about their needs.
Additionally,
I’ll be researching software and vendors for METRO, producing a short list that
fits METRO’s capabilities, limitations and needs; citing features, pros and cons,
and product options. The report will be available in late October, 2001.
Jacqueline
Mundell can be reached at jacqueline@jlmundell.com
http://www.metro.org/pdfs/NewsletterSummer2001.pdf
Prepared by Bob Dalrymple, PO Box 122, Dapto, NSW Australia 2350
eMail: bob@relativelyyours.com