Sisyphus as a Training Metaphor (Not as Depressing as it Sounds)

Step 1: Train

Step 2: Wait for new feature/device

Step 3: See Steps 1-2

Training is a very key aspect of my position, whether it is working through sales techniques with my fellow employees or walking NOOK owners through the use and enjoyment of their device. I teach classes regularly in my store and I am currently going through the process of getting every single employee (my bosses included) qualified to teach them as well. I even created a handy-dandy practice guide for my owners to use since many are older and prefer traditional methods of learning.

Electronic resources are already at my disposal when it comes to training/teaching. For employees, we have a LMS (Learning Management System) designed by our corporate offices that does a wonderful job of introducing and evaluating an employee’s level of understanding on the devices. It is wonderful to set the stage for my work to come afterwards. For customers, video tutorials are not only included in devices (on NOOKcolor), but they are available 24/7 on our website. Tons of other videos exist on sites like YouTube as well for those looking to develop more advanced skills.

Copyright Flickr user: i could sleep through a world war

However, one of the problems of training/teaching in an environment like mine is that it is a constant game of catch-up. For example, I can have a store full of people knowledgeable on two devices, and then a third one comes out. The device is very similar, but must be treated differently and trained separately. And then when a new person starts – oh the high levels of turnover in retail! – I have to start again from scratch, hoping I can get them up to speed before the next update.

Of course, since I work in a function that revolves around technology, this game is not unexpected or unusual. I am by no means alone. However, I feel that there must be a better way to do it beyond just my skills. While I do hope to take my degree beyond my current position, I want to take advantage of any resources at my disposal. Through this class, I hope to gain some resources that I can repurpose for myself. Maybe there’s a great website I can use, or a neat program I can repurpose, or even just a video that adds a new level to my process. The holidays are coming up (gah, did I just say that?) and I will not have the time to start from scratch in the mad rush of things. The time is neigh for me to do my best and hopefully some new electronic resources will help me in my quest.

State of the Technology

I’ve resurrected this blog at the behest of another graduate school course, but this time with a slightly different angle. With a focus on electronic resources, I will be using this electronic forum to explore new and exciting options that I can use in my current position and hopefully for any new directions in my career.

As it stands currently, I am still working within the world of retailing serving as a techie guru to those wanting to enter the realm of eReaders. Presently, there are 3 classes of NOOK that I watch over: Nook 1^st Edition (aka, the original), Nook 2^nd Edition (aka, the newcomer) and NOOKcolor (aka, the tablet). Without sounding too full of myself, I am an expert in all three devices. My brain is so packed full of technical, operational and merchandising information that I wonder how I’ll be able to accommodate a new feature or accessory. However, I make it work as best I can, and make sure to spread the knowledge around as well.

Not me, but a guy showing one of my job functions. Copyright B&N

Outside of the products I sell, there is actually a pretty neat little piece of technology that is exclusive to my department of the store. In order to help aid cashing out a customer who has decided to purchase a device, my lovely PTB (Powers That Be) have bestowed upon me as handy-dandy little mobile cash register. Basically, they’ve taken a iPod Touch and outfitted it not only with our POS (Point of Sale) software program, but also a case that can scan products and swipe credit and gift cards. Honestly, this thing is pretty damn sweet. Instead of sending a customer to wait in line, I can have them out the door in no time with little to no fuss and/or muss. Also, it really impresses the customers. As it stands, there are no other applications on the little guy, but that is all for the best, I’m sure.

Through this blog, I will be exploring new and interesting electronic resources that might help aid me in my work, especially when it comes to training my colleagues and customers. I will be discussing more about my training situation in the next post, but so far, I am very eager for the possibilities to come this semester.

Girls Meets Teaching. Girl Loses Interest. Girl Meets Grad School. Girl Finds Passion. To be continued...

I have to say that this past semester has really given me a lot of hope for the future. I realize that that statement is both hokey and vague, so allow me to elaborate. When I originally got my Bachelors in English Education, I looked at my diploma with a bit of dread. After all of my hard work and even some sacrifice, I had the piece of paper that would allow me to get a job and stand before a classroom imparting knowledge. The only problem was that I now didn’t want to do any of that. The traditional classroom setting no longer appealed to me and I had no idea as to what I wanted to do now. So I just kept working at my day job at Barnes & Noble, watched the days and weeks go by, and put that diploma in a box in a storage unit.

Voila!

Photo copyright A. Syn and permission provided under rights of Attribution from Creative Commons

No reflection this week, folks. All my effort and enthusiasm this week has gone into making a comprehensive culminating project for one and all. I took all these ideas that have been bouncing around and pulled it all together into one big, beautiful online resource. In fact, instead of just plugging in outside elements into my curriculum page (entitled EBooks & Education), I decided to make a brand new wiki just for the project idea and fit all the little puzzle pieces into it. So now, I'll step back and let it speak for itself.

Integrating eBooks into Education with a Book Pitch

I know an "A" when I see one...or do I?

Copyright Sage Ross (some rights reserved)

Assessment is easily one of the hardest parts of teaching. Sure, getting your lesson plans together can be pretty difficult, as is determining and collecting all your necessary resources. But, when it comes right down to it, truly understanding how well a student is or is not learning is pretty darn tough. Obviously, if your assessment method of choice is a quiz or multiple choice test, the numbers do the determining for you, but then you have to figure out what questions to include. However, in the world of language arts which I have taught, tests are rarely your main assessment tool. Usually, assignments like papers and projects are the norm, with very defined goals that help the teacher figure out a final score. These could include criteria like how many paragraphs/pages are there, is there a clear thesis statement, and was an argument persuasive enough. Overall, though, assessment is such a tricky word. Not only does it mean the manner in which a teacher grades a student, but also method and product that student creates. In other words, when a teacher gives a student a paper to write, it is the paper itself and the grading criteria that the teacher uses which that creates an assessment. So not only do teachers have to choose wisely on what kinds of assessments to give, but how to deal with them when they are turned in.

Putting My Prezi Where My Mouth Is...

My kind of sales pitch (Photo copyright of Romana Klee)

So far, I’ve explored the concept of digital storytelling, as well as how I could use it in a hypothetical classroom of advanced high school students. Now, the time is nigh to walk that talk of mine. In other words, I set out to make an example of the project I designed.  Before I do so, I feel it is a good idea to provide a refresher (both for myself and for my classmates) of what exactly I am doing.

Ready...Set...Wiki!

Photo Copyright Lindsey T.

I would like to start this reflection with something witty, clever and possibly even profound. However, I feel like for that to happen I would need to get a set of jumper cables from the garage and clip up my ears and turn the key. Frankly, I am spent mentally and it is all thanks to the wonderfully exhausting experience of creating my own curriculum page.