TeachMeet – An exciting way to share ideas!

TeachMeet(s) have their origins in the field of Education but Aidin O’Sullivan (Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown) and Greg Sheaf, Trinity College Dublin) on behalf of LirHEAnet ran a fantastic session on Thurs 17th May 2012 at TCD.

The theme for the TeachMeet was “Innovative Training Methods”. Participants were not left disappointed as they were given some first-hand experiences and solutions to delivering training. 

Greg and Aidin kicked off the session with a speed training ideas round- very similar to a speed dating set up where participants get 2 minutes to talk to each other and then move on. Also it should be noted that as advertised there was lots of cake for attendees! The sugar rush combined with speed round got everyone very engaged for the start of the presentations.All of the presenters had excellent ideas here are some of them reviewed by me.

Una O’Connor from the Athlone Institute of Technology was the first presenter who gave an interesting presentation on LibGuides  and how she uses them to deliver user services. 

Niamh O’Sullivan from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service talked about presentation techniques. Included were examples of slides gone wrong and helpful hints on how to improve slides for effective presentations. Niamh, gives this talk to staff at the IBTS- this is a great idea for any LIS professional who support staff research projects. 

A review of Gaming techniques as tools for training was presented by Susan Boyle, Liaison librarian at UCD. Susan work in this area is now chapter in a  recent publication, Information Literacy Beyond Library 2.0. Edited by Peter Godwin and Jo Parker Editors, Facet Publishing.

Prezi  is a cloud-based presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore and share ideas. It is nice alternative to power point. Áine Lynch from (Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown gave a fantastic demonstration so much so that I couldn’t wait to get home to start playing around with it. 

This was the first TeachMeet that I had ever attended and will be on the lookout for others to attend. I learned a lot that day and was re-energized by the collaborative spirit that librarians share. Hats off the Aidin and Greg a great session!