Volume 2, Number 11 November 1997 Editor's Note Notes of a Successful Internet Trainer by Stephanie Goodliffe Glitch Management for Internet Instruction by Dan Ream Training Staff at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro by Justin Ervin Senior Surfing - Silver Strands in the Web by Terry Dugas Internet Toolkit Clipboard Other Issues Current Issue October 1997 Evaluating Internet Services September 1997 Internet and Special Needs Patrons August 1997 Databases on the Web July 1997 Distance Education June 1997 Anniversary Issue May 1997 Researching the Internet April 1997 Internet, Libraries and the Law March 1997 Intelligent Agents February 1997 WebTV January 1997 Internet and Youth 1996 Issues		Glitch Management for Internet Instruction Dan Ream What Is A Glitch? Call it the universal curse of those who teach, sell, or do public speaking with technology. A "glitch" can most easily be defined as a technical failure. In its most primitive form, a glitch might mean having your last piece of chalk crumble into nothingness as you write on a chalk board at the beginning of a class session. For Internet instructors, glitches usually mean computer failures, projection equipment failures, or even an external failure of the Internet itself. More importantly though, a glitch can mean the difference between a successful workshop and a nightmare that cannot end soon enough ...for the instructor or the audience! Fortunately, many Internet teaching glitches are foreseeable. Though not preventable, they can be recovered from quickly so that the session can still be considered a success. "The difference between experts and novices is not necessarily their skill, but in their flexibility: experts expect problems and adapt, while novices crash and burn..... You want the audience on your side, rooting for you and not the technology.... Tell them the workshop's subtitle is..'Technical Difficulties" --Lee Jaffe, University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1993, and again in 1995, I posted an inquiry on a half-dozen Internet discussion groups for computing, media, and teaching professionals. The query asked for advice in preventing or managing technical glitches. Over one hundred answers were received, some containing sage advice, others recounting glitch horror stories that, when posted on these discussion groups, brought echoes of recognition from other mailing list members. Examples of some of the comments received, include: "If 30 people have invited you into their lives for an hour to teach them something, you cannot say 'sorry, the computer isn't working." -- Sandy Campbell, University of Alberta. " I have an overhead projection slide which I keep with me for glitch occasions. It reads: MURPHY'S LAWS OF MEDIA If anything can go wrong it will Equipment knows when you're nervous No two plugs are compatible Slides are always upside down Computer files are always incompatible If it worked yesterday, it won't work today --that's progress." --Ian Hart, University of Hong Kong As the technology of instruction grows more sophisticated, preventing and managing glitches requires that Internet instructors keep up. Nonetheless, some universal rules still apply: Always have a plan B "Start every demo by promising something will go wrong and teach the warning signs (slow responses, failure to connect, etc.) as you spot them.....people who mess around with electrons deserve what they get". -- Julius Ariail, Georgia Southern University. One key to successful glitch management is to have a backup plan ready for when technology fails. For Internet connection failures, tools such as Lotus Screencam or WebWhacker allow you to capture a World Wide Web session in advance. You can play it back for your audience when the Internet itself is uncooperative. For other computer failures, some use overhead projections or plan collaborative search tutorial exercises in which students work out search strategies they might later use when connectivity returns. Know your equipment before it's too late! "In my almost 20 years of experience 'Operator Error is the single largest cause of classroom and presentation technology failure...this would be my advice: 'Know Thy Equipment, and bring extra cords. --Bruce Ritchie, Plymouth State College (Plymouth, New Hampshire). Though often reputed to be readers, librarians are notorious for NOT reading the operators manuals for the computers, projectors, and other equipment they rely upon every day for teaching. So, be sure to READ THE MANUAL! Most contain troubleshooters guides that can be invaluable. Also, learn how to change your projector bulb and learn to always know where the spare bulb is--in many cases they're in the projector already and a simple flick of the switch can put you back in business. Learn what those buttons and switches on your equipment are for. Do so before you need them and before your audience's attention is lost for that day. If your technical failure is something audience members might encounter as trainers, use the failure as a teaching experience. Show your audience how to calmly and coolly overcome that obstacle. Know your technicians on a first name basis If you're fortunate enough to have nearby technical assistance for your computing or audio visual equipment, whether teaching at a "home" library or on the road, be sure to know who the technicians are and what they can and cannot help you with. Technical professionals can provide problem-solving expertise that few Internet teachers themselves have. Knowing these people in advance of your emergency will help you know who to call at your moment of need. In cases when doing a presentation "on the road" and no technicians are available to you, carry your own equipment that you can troubleshoot without assistance. Prepare your mind One of the most painful parts of suffering a glitch while teaching can be its surprise or shock value, bringing unwanted perspiration and a sense of desperation that clouds your ability to think of solutions. To avoid such "surprises", learn to think in terms of "when a glitch happens," rather than "if a glitch happens." For more detailed results from my "glitch management" survey and highlights of the comments received in that survey, see http://saturn.vcu.edu/~dream/index.html [Dan Ream is an Associate Professor and Head of Instruction & Outreach Services at the Virginia Commonwealth University Library in Richmond, Virginia. He has presented a video-enhanced "Glitch Management" program at the LOEX Library Instruction conference and several other conferences.]
Internet Trend Watch for Libraries is a publication of LEO: Librarians and Educators Online. All contents (c) 1997 by LEO. For information about LEO's services, visit our web site, call (617) 499-9676, or e-mail us at itw@leonline.com.