The 15 Minute Series is a collection of Internet training materials provided as a service to the research and education community by the InterNIC and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). With this collection of training materials, we hope to provide a resource that will assist members of the research and education community with their efforts to incorporate and support the growing role of the Internet in their day-to-day operations and activities.
As the amount of information and data stored, disseminated, and retrieved via the Internet grows, so too does the need to educate end-users in the methods and tools employed by the networked medium. The InterNIC and LITA recognize that this demand for education falls squarely on the intermediaries - libraries, computer services departments, faculty, information resource managers, and others - who play a role in providing information services to the end-users within their organizations. While some organizations are able to accommodate the challenges this trend presents with regard to budget, growth, and professional development, many institutions find their resources strapped as they endeavour to keep pace with their expanding responsibilities. Rapid growth and frequent change in network technologies further increase the pressure on intermediaries to stay one step ahead of their constituent audiences. Consequently, many organizations find themselves needing to constantly educate, and re-educate, staff in end-user support roles in order to fulfill their missions. This need to "train the trainer" is the basis for the development of the 15 Minute Series. Our goal is to fill this need by providing those individuals on the front lines of information exchange with a source for current, accurate, "ready-to-use" training materials that will be informative for both the end-user and the Internet trainer.
To accomplish our goal, the 15 Minute Series training materials need to be not only educational, but immediately usable. To serve the wide and varied interests of the research and education community, the materials must also be portable and easily adapted to local environments, specific audiences, or particular topics. To meet these requirements, the 15 Minutes Series training materials have been designed as a series of modular, extensible, "15 minute" sessions on Internet-related topics.
Structure
Each of the 15 Minute Series modules is structured as a mini-slide presentation and is designed to answer a specific Internet-related question. These questions can be very narrow (e.g. What is Rich Text Format?) or very broad (e.g. What is the Internet?) and may address varying levels of expertise. Asking questions such as "What is...?" or "How do I...?", each module attempts to provide a clear and concise answer to the specified question. This approach allows an individual module to stand on its own as a discrete unit of information, thereby serving a purpose either alone, in combination with other modules in the series, or in conjuction with outside training resources.
We believe that consistency is the key to providing resources that are modular yet at the same time coherent. Consequently, all of the 15 Minute Series modules will follow a consistent presentation outline and use the same style and formatting. The modules are developed using a template to ensure a consistent "look and feel," which accommodates their use as a cohesive group of materials. Each module consists of between 4 and 8 "slides" which present the topic in question and answer format. The first slide presents the answer to the question in outline form; subsequent slides develop the points in the outline; and the final slide summarizes the module's topic in narrative form.
Adapting the modules for local use
As one of the principle objectives of the 15 Minute Series is to provide trainers with a resource that is ready to use "as is," factors that vary, such as operating platforms and access methods, are acknowledged but not addressed in detail when describing a particular Internet topic. This approach enables the module to be used in a wide variety of situations yet still convey its message, regardless of a trainer's or user's particular environment.
The 15 Minute Series modules, however, are also designed to be extensible. We recognize that the particulars of an end-user's local environment - access methods, operating platforms, specific client software - are often critical to a useful understanding of the topic or tool being presented. Toward this end, we invite trainers to extend any of the 15 Minute Series modules to include slides which address these local issues.
The editorial process and updates
To ensure that the training modules offer current, accurate information in a clear and understandable manner, each module is initially reviewed before publication by the joint InterNIC/LITA editorial board for technical accuracy, user-friendliness, and compliance with established style guides and templates. Following publication, each module is again reviewed every six months (based on the date the module was added to the collection) for currency and accuracy. This ensures that the training materials available reflect current developments and trends in networking technology, present this information in an accurate manner, and are easy to understand from both the trainer's and end-user's perspective.
Perhaps one of the most important features of the 15 Minute Series is its currency. As technology breaks new ground, training materials and trainers need to keep up to date and reflect these changes. With this in mind, training modules are assigned a date as they are added to the collection, which is then used to signal an internal review of the module after six months by the joint InterNIC/LITA editorial review board. After a module has been reviewed, it will be updated if necessary, returned to the collection, and assigned a new date, which will then signal a subsequent review in another six months. We recognize, however, that due to the dynamic and decentralized nature of the Internet and networking technologies, changes may occur more frequently. In view of these possibilities, the InterNIC and LITA invite the community to notify our staff of changes, corrections, or new developments as they arise, either via email at 15min@internic.net. We welcome feedback and input from the research and education community, as well as from the broader Internet community, in this regard.
To make it easier to browse the collection, the modules are also grouped into broad categories. These categories - Internet History, The Basics, Internet Organizations, Electronic Mail, The World Wide Web, Technology, Tools, Indexing and Search Services, and The Future - offer subsets of the collection to help you locate the topics you're interested in. The modules in each of these categories can be browsed either alphabetically by title, alphabetically by author, or by date added to the collection. Whenever appropriate, modules are cross-indexed under all relevant categories; for example, "What Is the World Wide Web?" would appear in both "The Basics" category and the "The World Wide Web" category. The collection of 15 Minute Series modules may also be browsed in its entirety by title, author, or date.
Many in the research and education community have extensive experience in supporting Internet end-users within their organizations, and consequently have valuable insights into what works, what is needed, and how to address varying degrees of technical knowledge among end-users. Consequently, we believe that the research and education community has much to contribute to the 15 Minute Series. We expect that, as this community makes use of the 15 Minute Series, they will build upon it and extend its scope in ways worthy of sharing.
Toward this end, InterNIC and LITA will be inviting members of the research and education community to submit modules for inclusion in the 15 Minute Series. If you would like to contribute to the collection of training modules, please continue to check the 15 Minute Series homepage. We will be announcing the call for participation and issuing guidelines for contributors soon!
The success of the 15 Minute Series will depend completely upon its ability to meet the training needs of its intended audience. To ensure that this goal becomes a reality, we ask for your input via email at 15min@internic.net. We are anxious to hear what works, what doesn’t, and what other topics or features you would like to see addressed by the series. We are also interested in what other types of services the InterNIC could offer the research and education community as they in turn support their local Internet end-users.
The InterNIC and LITA have made a commitment to build and maintain this resource for the benefit of the research and education community. Your feedback will play a vital role in ensuring that our efforts meet your needs and that the 15 Minute Series develops into a valuable resource for both end-users and intermediaries in this community. If you would like to see a module on a particular topic, suggest new features, or if you encounter any problems with our materials, we want to hear from you. If your browser does not support the use of forms, you may submit your feedback via email by sending a message to 15min@internic.net.
Questions regarding our goals, methodology, contributing to the 15 Minute Series, or technical assistance with using the modules should also be directed to 15min@internic.net.
We hope that the 15 Minute Series proves to be equally beneficial for the Internet end-users and those who train them, and we look forward to your input as we continue to develop this resource.
