Competency M
Demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations, and professional level presentations
Introduction
Collaboration
Teamwork and collaboration are woven into the core of the SJSU SLIS experience. In almost all my courses I have gained experience in a team oriented project, written and oral. In these collaborative groups we used collaboration tools like PB works, Elluminate, Google Docs, Google sites and LibGuides to brainstorm, collect content and format presentations. Many problems, within work groups, work teams, or organization wide, can be traced to poor communication. Oral and written communications are essential to contribute, collaborate and present ideas. Open and frequent communication establishes informal relationships and connections in addition to commitment to a group and its project, goal or objectives. Effective communication in any area of library and information science is crucial to maximize collaboration and team effectiveness.
Oral and Written Communication
Effective communication includes, speaking, writing and listening. Group commitment, decision making, problem solving, conflict resolution, and accountability all rest on the quality of the group’s or team’s communication. There are four rules that must be followed that lead to having a successful team 1) members must be open and honest 2) members must be clear and concise with their communication 3) they must sbe consistent and 4) members must be civil and courteous, show respect for others and their views.
The information science field will always be affected by communication. Libraries are constantly communicating with internal and external patrons. Promoting information literacy, programs, services, teaching classes, workshops and collaborating with other departments, are essential functions of information, education or research environments. They all rely on good communication. Information affects the success of communication within the organization. The most important characteristic of each medium is its ability to convey information richness. Information richness is defined as the extent to which the media is able to bridge different frames of reference, make issues less ambiguous, and provide immediate feedback. Also how well it transmits multiple cues, involves several senses, transmits language, or provides opportunities for learning in a given period of time.
Communication Types
Face-to-face communication is the richest because it provides immediate feedback, so that understanding can be checked and interpretations can be corrected. It also allows the simultaneous observation of multiple cues, including body language, facial
expression, and tone of voice, which convey information beyond the spoken message. Face-to-face communication is of a personal nature and may use language that is rich in variety. As a result of these benefits many organization now use video conferencing systems like Poly Com, Peoplelink, Blue Jeans, and video chat programs like Skype, Yahoo Messenger Video Chat, iChat, FaceTime, and other hardware/software solutions that provide face to face communication over distances via technology.
Non Face to Face Communication
Telephone communications are less rich but are widely available and do provide real time, synchronous communication. Many organizations use teleconferencing via phone companies or systems like Poly Com that allow individuals and groups from any location to communicate live, although voice only. Many organizations use telephone communication to “push” recorded information in a very focused manner. School districts and police often “push” timely emergency information to precisely affected groups and individuals. Many groups and organizations use YouTube to communicate with customers and users. For instance a user can view thousands of tutorials on how to use resources and updates on new programs and services. BYU used YouTube to create a multitude of videos about their library's resources and services, grabbing its users with a fresh approach to marketing to students. A few in particular were their renditions of the Old Spice (BYU Library), Used Car Sales (Library Resources) and Fedex ( BYU Interlibrary loan) commercials showcasing the BYU library and its services capturing their audience. There are a multitude of opportunities for libraries to use various existing technologies to enhance communications. Both real time, synchronous technologies, or not real time asynchronous technologies can improve communication in organizations.
Written
The information that is written down can be conveyed, so visual cues are limited to those that can appear on paper, and audio cues are completely absent. E-mail, although not real time, provides communications that are widely available, usually responded to quickly, and can be precisely focused. Embedded response e-mails in web sites can be used to provide additional information to users or collect information from users. In comparison with paper responses, responses to an electronic mail questionnaire are more extreme, more revealing and less social. Chat communication is written and interactive through electronic chat software. It produces immediate feedback. This is a real time communication tool that is widely used, inexpensive, and effective for quickly communicating with others. Most chat communication is text only but can include photos, videos, and documents. Chats tied to popular programs like Facebook and Twitter can increase the reach of the communication, tremendously. These forms of communications provide libraries with staggering opportunities to communicate with users and potential users and to do outreach.
While library staffing and service models are changing, libraries are facing less and less face-to-face communication and more chat or e-mail communication style. This is a challenge for any library, especially when with the social communication styles constantly changing. Libraries are having the think carefully while implementing these types of communications styles into their daily operations to be sure they actually promote good communication and are matched to the correct user groups. If used effectively using the most up to date social technology can allow library staff to reach library users in a whole new and innovative way.
Professional Presentations
No matter what type of library environment you are in, academic, specialized or public, every library and information professional will have to participate in professional presentations. It could be for a job interview, stakeholder meetings, planning activities, team work, fundraising activities, or a professional association meeting. This is a skill that is expected of everyone in the profession. Professional presentations have changed over the years. Presentation formats are also changing. Librarians have a number of choices when it comes to presenting. PowerPoint used to be the standard platform for presentations. However new technologies have emerged including Apple’s Keynote,"The Brain", Google Sites, LibGuides and even YouTube that librarians are able to use effectively. In addition, communicating and presenting using iPads, tablets, Kindles, Smart Phones and other emerging devices presents an on going challenge to libraries as well. The standard presenting model used to be a group lecture environment, however with communication tools like, GoToMeeting, Blackboard, D2L, Dyknow SKYPE , Adobe Connect and Elluminate, online presentations are creating a whole new environment for librarians to present their ideas.
Experience
Oral Written Communication
The following are my artifacts that demonstrate my proficiency in the oral, written and collaborative skills. My first piece of evidence is from LIBR 246 in which groups were asked to collaborate on a plan to implement a social technology into a library. My group decided to use the software LibGuide, to create an introduction guide for new users or users who needed a refresher on the King Library. We used PB Works collaborative tool to brainstorm and organize our content to align our ideas with the criteria from the professor, LIBR 246: PB Works Example. Once we edited our content on PB Works we created our final document for our LibGuide Plan, created our LIBR 246 LibGuide:PowerPoint Presentation and gave our LIBR246: LibGuide Presentation.
Collaboration
My second piece of evidence was a whole class and group collaboration assignment in LIBR 287. During the beginning of the course the class was set up in two groups. Each group had to do switch off collecting resources on the topic of web 2.0 emerging technologies and creating a project. Our group was tasked to put the resources into a LibGuide format. We had to put the resources into categories and then organize the information into a LibGuide. The process was quite interesting and we all came up with the top categories, took ownership of one, and created a page of the Guide. We used two tools to complete this project. We brainstormed in LIBR 287:PB Works and used LibGuide software to create the guide. The completed project is LIBR 287: Emerging Technologies LibGuide.
Professional Level Presentations
My third piece of evidence are two individual presentations that I gave. One in LIBR 287: Emerging Technologies Proposal for Screencasting and LIBR 220 Medical Librarianship: UpToDate Presentation. In LIBR 287, we were assigned an individual presentation on the implementation plan of an emerging technology. In 2010 I was able to attend the American Library Association Mid-Winter Conference where I was introduced to screencasting. I was so excited about this new technology that I wanted to implement it at my current place of employment. The users of the Lane Medical Library get confused on how to navigate to find information and I was excited to implement some screencasting tutorials to assist users with their research. I delivered a presentation, Lane Medical Library Screencasting Proposal, with Elluminate Presentation included.
My last piece of evidence is a presentation that I gave for LIBR 220 on the software called Up To Date. It was an overview of the product, and was given to a class for medical librarianship. It demonstrated my presentation skills and oral communication style.
Conclusion
Through my course collaborations, communications and presentations I am confident in my abilities to communicate effectively, both verbally and written. I feel that my group and individual presentations, and collaborative styles are at a professional level. I understand the various roles and dynamics of group collaborations and have experienced many roles, dynamics, projects, and presentations that are parallel to the ones I will be expected to produce in my professional career. I have interacted with other students throughout my studies in activities that are similar to those I will experience upon entering into the profession. I am confident I will be able to utilize my communication skills and all that I have learned to excel at a professional-level. I feel uniquely well qualified in leading others in the application and use of emerging technologies and collaborative tools that make online collaboration successful.
Collaboration
Teamwork and collaboration are woven into the core of the SJSU SLIS experience. In almost all my courses I have gained experience in a team oriented project, written and oral. In these collaborative groups we used collaboration tools like PB works, Elluminate, Google Docs, Google sites and LibGuides to brainstorm, collect content and format presentations. Many problems, within work groups, work teams, or organization wide, can be traced to poor communication. Oral and written communications are essential to contribute, collaborate and present ideas. Open and frequent communication establishes informal relationships and connections in addition to commitment to a group and its project, goal or objectives. Effective communication in any area of library and information science is crucial to maximize collaboration and team effectiveness.
Oral and Written Communication
Effective communication includes, speaking, writing and listening. Group commitment, decision making, problem solving, conflict resolution, and accountability all rest on the quality of the group’s or team’s communication. There are four rules that must be followed that lead to having a successful team 1) members must be open and honest 2) members must be clear and concise with their communication 3) they must sbe consistent and 4) members must be civil and courteous, show respect for others and their views.
The information science field will always be affected by communication. Libraries are constantly communicating with internal and external patrons. Promoting information literacy, programs, services, teaching classes, workshops and collaborating with other departments, are essential functions of information, education or research environments. They all rely on good communication. Information affects the success of communication within the organization. The most important characteristic of each medium is its ability to convey information richness. Information richness is defined as the extent to which the media is able to bridge different frames of reference, make issues less ambiguous, and provide immediate feedback. Also how well it transmits multiple cues, involves several senses, transmits language, or provides opportunities for learning in a given period of time.
Communication Types
Face-to-face communication is the richest because it provides immediate feedback, so that understanding can be checked and interpretations can be corrected. It also allows the simultaneous observation of multiple cues, including body language, facial
expression, and tone of voice, which convey information beyond the spoken message. Face-to-face communication is of a personal nature and may use language that is rich in variety. As a result of these benefits many organization now use video conferencing systems like Poly Com, Peoplelink, Blue Jeans, and video chat programs like Skype, Yahoo Messenger Video Chat, iChat, FaceTime, and other hardware/software solutions that provide face to face communication over distances via technology.
Non Face to Face Communication
Telephone communications are less rich but are widely available and do provide real time, synchronous communication. Many organizations use teleconferencing via phone companies or systems like Poly Com that allow individuals and groups from any location to communicate live, although voice only. Many organizations use telephone communication to “push” recorded information in a very focused manner. School districts and police often “push” timely emergency information to precisely affected groups and individuals. Many groups and organizations use YouTube to communicate with customers and users. For instance a user can view thousands of tutorials on how to use resources and updates on new programs and services. BYU used YouTube to create a multitude of videos about their library's resources and services, grabbing its users with a fresh approach to marketing to students. A few in particular were their renditions of the Old Spice (BYU Library), Used Car Sales (Library Resources) and Fedex ( BYU Interlibrary loan) commercials showcasing the BYU library and its services capturing their audience. There are a multitude of opportunities for libraries to use various existing technologies to enhance communications. Both real time, synchronous technologies, or not real time asynchronous technologies can improve communication in organizations.
Written
The information that is written down can be conveyed, so visual cues are limited to those that can appear on paper, and audio cues are completely absent. E-mail, although not real time, provides communications that are widely available, usually responded to quickly, and can be precisely focused. Embedded response e-mails in web sites can be used to provide additional information to users or collect information from users. In comparison with paper responses, responses to an electronic mail questionnaire are more extreme, more revealing and less social. Chat communication is written and interactive through electronic chat software. It produces immediate feedback. This is a real time communication tool that is widely used, inexpensive, and effective for quickly communicating with others. Most chat communication is text only but can include photos, videos, and documents. Chats tied to popular programs like Facebook and Twitter can increase the reach of the communication, tremendously. These forms of communications provide libraries with staggering opportunities to communicate with users and potential users and to do outreach.
While library staffing and service models are changing, libraries are facing less and less face-to-face communication and more chat or e-mail communication style. This is a challenge for any library, especially when with the social communication styles constantly changing. Libraries are having the think carefully while implementing these types of communications styles into their daily operations to be sure they actually promote good communication and are matched to the correct user groups. If used effectively using the most up to date social technology can allow library staff to reach library users in a whole new and innovative way.
Professional Presentations
No matter what type of library environment you are in, academic, specialized or public, every library and information professional will have to participate in professional presentations. It could be for a job interview, stakeholder meetings, planning activities, team work, fundraising activities, or a professional association meeting. This is a skill that is expected of everyone in the profession. Professional presentations have changed over the years. Presentation formats are also changing. Librarians have a number of choices when it comes to presenting. PowerPoint used to be the standard platform for presentations. However new technologies have emerged including Apple’s Keynote,"The Brain", Google Sites, LibGuides and even YouTube that librarians are able to use effectively. In addition, communicating and presenting using iPads, tablets, Kindles, Smart Phones and other emerging devices presents an on going challenge to libraries as well. The standard presenting model used to be a group lecture environment, however with communication tools like, GoToMeeting, Blackboard, D2L, Dyknow SKYPE , Adobe Connect and Elluminate, online presentations are creating a whole new environment for librarians to present their ideas.
Experience
Oral Written Communication
The following are my artifacts that demonstrate my proficiency in the oral, written and collaborative skills. My first piece of evidence is from LIBR 246 in which groups were asked to collaborate on a plan to implement a social technology into a library. My group decided to use the software LibGuide, to create an introduction guide for new users or users who needed a refresher on the King Library. We used PB Works collaborative tool to brainstorm and organize our content to align our ideas with the criteria from the professor, LIBR 246: PB Works Example. Once we edited our content on PB Works we created our final document for our LibGuide Plan, created our LIBR 246 LibGuide:PowerPoint Presentation and gave our LIBR246: LibGuide Presentation.
Collaboration
My second piece of evidence was a whole class and group collaboration assignment in LIBR 287. During the beginning of the course the class was set up in two groups. Each group had to do switch off collecting resources on the topic of web 2.0 emerging technologies and creating a project. Our group was tasked to put the resources into a LibGuide format. We had to put the resources into categories and then organize the information into a LibGuide. The process was quite interesting and we all came up with the top categories, took ownership of one, and created a page of the Guide. We used two tools to complete this project. We brainstormed in LIBR 287:PB Works and used LibGuide software to create the guide. The completed project is LIBR 287: Emerging Technologies LibGuide.
Professional Level Presentations
My third piece of evidence are two individual presentations that I gave. One in LIBR 287: Emerging Technologies Proposal for Screencasting and LIBR 220 Medical Librarianship: UpToDate Presentation. In LIBR 287, we were assigned an individual presentation on the implementation plan of an emerging technology. In 2010 I was able to attend the American Library Association Mid-Winter Conference where I was introduced to screencasting. I was so excited about this new technology that I wanted to implement it at my current place of employment. The users of the Lane Medical Library get confused on how to navigate to find information and I was excited to implement some screencasting tutorials to assist users with their research. I delivered a presentation, Lane Medical Library Screencasting Proposal, with Elluminate Presentation included.
My last piece of evidence is a presentation that I gave for LIBR 220 on the software called Up To Date. It was an overview of the product, and was given to a class for medical librarianship. It demonstrated my presentation skills and oral communication style.
Conclusion
Through my course collaborations, communications and presentations I am confident in my abilities to communicate effectively, both verbally and written. I feel that my group and individual presentations, and collaborative styles are at a professional level. I understand the various roles and dynamics of group collaborations and have experienced many roles, dynamics, projects, and presentations that are parallel to the ones I will be expected to produce in my professional career. I have interacted with other students throughout my studies in activities that are similar to those I will experience upon entering into the profession. I am confident I will be able to utilize my communication skills and all that I have learned to excel at a professional-level. I feel uniquely well qualified in leading others in the application and use of emerging technologies and collaborative tools that make online collaboration successful.
Evidence Summary and Artifacts
#1 LIBR 246 King Library 101 Libguide
PB Works Collaboration
Library 101: LibGuide
Library 101: PowerPoint
Library 101: Group Presentation Audio
PB Works Collaboration
Library 101: LibGuide
Library 101: PowerPoint
Library 101: Group Presentation Audio
#2 LIBR 287 Emerging Technologies LibGuide
http://libraryschool.campusguides.com/287emerging-f10
Emerging Technologies PB Works: Collaborative Space
http://libraryschool.campusguides.com/287emerging-f10
Emerging Technologies PB Works: Collaborative Space
libr_emerging_technologies_libguide_pb_works_collaboration.jpg | |
File Size: | 71 kb |
File Type: | jpg |
#3 LIBR 287 Individual Presentations: Lane Medical Library Screencasting Proposal https://sites.google.com/site/libr287virtualservicesproposal/
# 4 LIBR 220 Up To Date Presentation
http://videos.ibibo.com/videos/viewvideo/shanners/446982
# 4 LIBR 220 Up To Date Presentation
http://videos.ibibo.com/videos/viewvideo/shanners/446982
References
Evans, E., & Ward, P. (2007). Leadership Basics for Librarians and Information Professionals. Lanham: Scarecrow.
Rai, U. and S. M. Rai (2009). Effective Communication. Mumbai, IND, Global Media.
Xu, H. (1996). Type and level of position in academic libraries related to communication behavior. Journal Of Academic
Librarianship, 22(4), 257.
Rai, U. and S. M. Rai (2009). Effective Communication. Mumbai, IND, Global Media.
Xu, H. (1996). Type and level of position in academic libraries related to communication behavior. Journal Of Academic
Librarianship, 22(4), 257.