Following the Technology Essentials 2010 online conference, Kelli Staley of the Lansing Public Library collected feedback from staff on their experience attending the conference as a cohort.

1. How many staff attended the conference (any of the sessions) and how many staff do you have?

• About 12 staff attended various sessions.
• Attendance ran as high as 10, and as low as 1 for individual sessions.
• We have 26 staff, not counting the shelvers, admin asst., and custodian.
• For many, this was their first time attending a webinar format.

2. Did you have discussions about the topics or sessions as they happened?

• Did not discuss during the sessions, occasionally a someone made a brief comment.
• Generally, the sessions moved at a pace that would result in attendees missing content if they were discussing as the presentation took place.

3. For staff who didn’t attend, did you share information or reflect on the experience afterwards with them?

• Some staff shared the info with others who did not attend.
• Overall, it seems only about half the staff shared their experiences.
• This is something we as the library need to work on.
• Told several people that it was really nice to have these sessions online and easily available.

4. What did folks liked best about attending the conference as a group?

• We set up a projector in the meeting room, so staff viewed sessions in small groups.
• General feedback from various staff included:
  • being in a group was beneficial as it allowed for note taking and sharing things missed, or not seen as well.
  • some people do not like to type responses or ask questions in chat; a group allowed someone who was comfortable to type for the group.
  • Nice being able to attend at our own library. Also nice because you can discuss issues with your own staff when issues and ideas are raised.
  • Session coincided with a local snowstorm; had these been in-person sessions which required travel, some staff would have tried to cancel.
  • Enjoyed that you can express your opinions right away and discuss the pros and cons. Also, any questions can be asked and answered immediately by the presenter.
  • More minds, more thoughts, especially when there is an interesting topic with a curious group.
  • Nice being able to attend at our own library. Also nice because you can discuss issues with your own staff when issues and ideas are raised.

5. What could have been done (by conference facilitators, or by you as a library) to make it a better or more useful experience for your group?

Conference:

• One staff member's comments: The running dialog on the right of the screen was distracting and often those participating in that dialogue were talking about off-the-subject topics such as the weather. Also, the audio was very poor.
• Personally, I was appalled at some of the chat taking place by colleagues. There were a few attendees who need a lesson in chat etiquette and what is appropriate for a conference. Had the chats remained on topic and relevant, they probably would have been less distracting.
• We were aware of the ability to hide the chat, but some of the comments were relevant.
• Audio was so poor on one session that the attendees left.
• I liked the online conference, but it’s hard to discuss much without missing things.
• Maybe have the conferences in one day so all the staff can attend as an all staff meeting day.
• Target those that would be using the information. To the facilitators...the slides weren’t always well organized and the sound wasn't so good.
• Some presenters were better organized than others.
• Some technical difficulty and sound volume issues.

Library:

• Stress the importance of sharing the information. Schedule time off-desk for discussion opportunities.
• Target those that would be using the information. (We allowed people to choose which sessions to attend, and the Director is focusing on learning outside your comfort zone, this may have influenced this staff comment.)

See a photo on Flickr of a group attending the conference.

See also: St. Joseph County Public Library cohort experience.