Introduction to E-Learning for Legislative Staff
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NNATIONAL CCONFERENCE ooff SSTATE LLEGISLATURES IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN TTOO EE--LLEEAARRNNIINNGG FFOORR LLEEGGIISSLLAATTIIVVEE SSTTAAFFFF Prepared by the NCSL Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee E-Learning and Technology Review Subcommittee Introduction to E-Learning for Legislative Staff National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee (LSCC) E-Learning and Technology Review Subcommittee Chair: Gary VanLandingham, Florida Vice Chair: Martha Carter, Nebraska Laura DeVivo, North Carolina Cathy Fernandez, New Mexico Ken Levine, Texas Wendy Madsen, Wyoming Cathy Martin, North Carolina Bob Nelson, Wisconsin Dawn Reese, Pennsylvania Earnest Sumner, Florida Gary Wieman, Nebraska NCSL Staff: Diane Chaffin, Karl Kurtz, Doug Sacarto This guide is intended as an introductory resource and does not contain an exhaustive list of e-learning technologies. Instead, it focuses on a few tools that hold promise for long-distance professional development opportunities for legislative staff. Our Thanks Thank you to NCSL’s Diane Chaffin, Karl Kurtz, Doug Sacarto and Gene Rose for providing guidance to inform the subcommittee’s work. Also thanks to Amy Smith of Amy Smith Consulting (www.amysmithconsulting.com) for providing guidance to the LSCC in developing an understanding of the potential for NCSL to employ e-learning initiatives. Much of the content for this report was found, appropriately, online through sources such as Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) and Webopedia (www.webopedia.com). Wikipedia is a web-based, free content encyclopedia project, written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. Webopedia is an online dictionary of words, phrases and abbreviations related to computer and Internet technology. Information on these sites changes frequently and you may want to visit them for the most current definitions of these and other e-learning terms. NCSL Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee | E-Learning and Technology Review Subcommittee Table of Contents Introduction..........................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Give Me Some Examples! ................................................................ 2 Blog........................................................................................................................................................3 Collaborative Website ............................................................................................................................5 Web Site Chat.........................................................................................................................................6 Narrated Presentation............................................................................................................................8 Podcasts and Webcasts..........................................................................................................................9 RSS Feeds ............................................................................................................................................ 11 Webinar................................................................................................................................................13 Wiki......................................................................................................................................................16 Chapter 2: Where Do We Go From Here?.........................................................18 Introduction to E-Learning for Legislative Staff | August 2007 NCSL Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee | E-Learning and Technology Review Subcommittee Introduction The Subcommittee’s Charge The 2006-07 E-Learning and Technology Review Subcommittee developed this guide, a narrated PowerPoint presentation, and a website (www.ncsl.org/public/staff/e-learning.htm) to inform legislative staff about e-learning technologies and their many uses. These materials are designed to help you understand commonly used e-learning technologies and to encourage you to experiment with innovative ways of using them to meet your training needs. The Need NCSL provides excellent professional development seminars for legislative employees. Those who attend staff section conferences, the NCSL annual meeting, the standing committee meetings, and special issue seminars routinely give these programs high ratings. Unfortunately, only around 5% of the nation’s 35,000 legislative staff are able to attend an NCSL meeting in any given year. Accordingly, it is critical to develop the capacity to deliver high quality training programs to persons who cannot travel. Simply put, if staff cannot travel to NCSL events to receive training, we need to (virtually) bring this training to them. What is “E-Learning”? A simple definition of “e-learning,” from Wikipedia, is “a general term used to refer to computer- enhanced learning.” Essentially, e-learning allows you to receive information and training through your computer without leaving your office, or by using a portable device. There are a wide range of e-learning approaches and technologies, and these technologies have the potential to dramatically expand NCSL’s ability to deliver professional development programs to state legislatures. NCSL already works with legislative staff to use some of these technologies, but much more can be done. What’s in this Guide? Chapter 1 explains and gives examples of common e-learning tools and Chapter 2 presents the subcommittee’s recommendations for future Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee actions to increase the use of e-learning tools by legislative staff. The E-Learning and Technology Review Subcommittee’s website contains additional resources to help you get started. Read on to learn more about e-learning technologies and ways they can help you provide training! Page 1 Introduction to E-Learning for Legislative Staff | August 2007 Chapter 1: Give Me Some Examples! NCSL provides a variety of information technology services for legislative staff. For example, the standing committees and staff sections have their own web pages on the NCSL site and many also have listserves for e-mail communications within their groups. NCSL can provide other information technology services to help staff communicate, including online surveys and discussion forums limited to selected topics. The technologies highlighted in this chapter are especially useful for delivering training programs. In addition, NCSL can provide, or help you develop, most of these technologies at no additional cost. (A few, like webinars, currently have an additional cost.) The technologies described in this chapter are those defined below. Blog: a website on which information is posted by one or more people, in a journal style, to which others can type in comments at any time. Collaborative Website: a website that serves as a central location for a variety of materials—like participant comments, document files, etc.—relating to a project. Web Site Chat: a website on which several people connect simultaneously, and on which any participant can type in comments that appear on all participants’ screens. Narrated Presentation: a slide presentation that includes audio narration. Podcast and Webcast: recorded audio or video presentations that are saved on a website and can be listened to at any time. RSS Feeds: subscriptions that allow you to receive automatic updates from websites of your choice. Webinar: a live presentation initially shown (and heard) over the computer, which may also be recorded and made available for later viewing on the web. Wiki: a website that allows users to remotely post and update content. TIP: Some of the examples in this guide include Internet links. If you’re reading an electronic version of this guide, use the link by either (1) move your cursor over the Internet address and hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the address, or (2) copy the address into the address line of your Internet browser (like Microsoft Internet Explorer). If you’re reading a hard copy of this guide, simply type the address into your Internet browser. Page 2 NCSL Legislative Staff Coordinating Committee | E-Learning and Technology Review Subcommittee Blog What is it? A blog (short for web log) is a web page that contains written entries about a topic or series of topics, posted in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Blogs can be written by one person or a group of contributors and may include pictures, links to other websites, and even video clips. A blog is like a newspaper editorial, and the comments to blog entries posted by readers are like letters to the editor. Blogs are a great way to share information about a topic, and there are thousands of blogs available on the Internet. Most newspapers (particularly political reporters) have blogs that you can access through their websites, and NCSL and some staff sections are using blogs. For example, NLPES, the program evaluation staff section, has a “Question of the Month” blog (www.ncsl.org/nlpes/question/nlpesquestion.htm) that allows staff to share information on various topics such as recruiting techniques and research methods. The Legislative Reference Librarians used a blog (set up by NCSL) to distribute the contents of their 2006 professional development seminar to those who could not attend the conference and as notes for those who did (www.ncsl.typepad.com/cuttingedgelibrarianship/). How do I use it? Simply follow the web link to the