Nebraska Learns 2.0: Your questions answered

Wow! Our post last week announcing the forthcoming Nebraska Learns 2.0 program returned many more responses that we ever hoped for. Many of you had questions and many of those questions boiled down to a few common ones. So, wanting to give everyone as much time to plan for the program we’ve decided to release this FAQ now. This should answer most of the questions we’ve received. If you still have questions feel free to contact any of us as listed in the last question. We look forward to your participation! Frequently Asked Questions

• How does this online learning program work? This is a self-discovery program which encourages participants to take control of their own learning and to utilize their lifelong learning skills through exploration and PLAY. There will be no formal classes or workshops offered to support this program. Instead, participants are encouraged to work together and share with each other their discoveries, techniques and “how to’s”, both in person and through their blogs.
• Is this program open to all Nebraska librarians or just some? This program is open to ALL Nebraska librarians, library staff, library friends, library board members and school media specialists. If you are not a member of the Nebraska library community you are welcome to follow along; however, we will not be offering any official technical support nor will you be eligible for the prize drawings or CE credit.
• How long do I have to complete the program? The program kicks off October 6th, 2008 and officially wraps up on January 30th, 2009. Participants that complete all 23 Things by January 30th will have their names entered into the prize drawing and will be awarded their CE credits.
• What happens after January 30th? This blog will stay live indefinitely and anyone is welcome to continue the program and/or offer it to others. However, we will not be keeping the content up to date so the longer you wait the more dated the information will become. If you wish to offer this program to another group after January 30th we suggest you take this content and move it onto a new blog and update it accordingly. Feel free to contact the NLC and we’ll gladly help you get the files from us.
• How do I earn the CE credit? In order to earn 15 CE credits from the NLC you must complete all 23 Things in the timeframe specified for this project. Failure to complete all 23 Things by the final deadline will eliminate you from earning any CE credits for this project.
• How do I track my progress for each of the 23 Things? Each Nebraska library community member who chooses to participate in this program will be required to keep a blog to track their progress. For most of the assignments you’ll be required to write a blog post on the blog you’ll be creating and leave a comment on the Thing’s page pointing to your blog post. NLC staff will be keeping track based on this and will enter individuals into the prize drawing and be awarding CE credit accordingly.
• If I’m not a member of the Nebraska Library Community, how can I track my progress? To track your progress just print out the list of 23 Things and check them off as you go. We welcome participants from other libraries to join in the fun and follow along.
• Will there be any training classes offered to show how to do this? No, this is a self-directed learning program. If you feel you need assistance with an item, you are encouraged to be resourceful and to find a co-worker or another participant who can help. Reading other participant blogs can help, too.
• Can I work ahead or do it all at the last minute? All 23 Things will be made available on October 6th so technically yes, you can do it all in the first week. Also, you could wait and do it all on the last day if you so choose. However, we encourage everyone to stick to the basic schedule of 1-2 Things per week so everyone is proceeding at the same pace and can assist each other. If you do know that you’ll be unable to work on this during a period of time, feel free to work ahead or catch up later. The bottom line: we are not keeping track of when you do each Thing as long as it’s all done by the final deadline.
• I would like a chance to win one of the prizes but don’t feel comfortable with my colleagues reading my blog, can I participate anonymously? Yes & No. Since you control all the information that you share on your blog, you can choose to use a screen name to identify yourself to keep yourself anonymous. However, in order to qualify for the prize drawing and earn CE credit, you will need to identify yourself to the NLC staff members coordinating this learning activity.
• Once I complete all 23 Things, how do I get a prize? If you complete 23 Things by January 30th your name will be entered into the drawing. NLC staff will draw names for the prizes the week of February 2nd and notify the winners then. Winners names will also be announced on the NLC blog.
• Who can Nebraska library community members contact for help? During the 16 weeks of the program, NLC staff members Allana, Christa, Michael, and Susan are all here to help you. Feel free to e-mail or call any one of them. However, before doing so, we encourage you to post your questions as comments to the relevant Things to ask the participating community at large before coming to specific NLC staff members. That way, everyone gets the benefit of your question and its answer!