Virtual Network Building: Connecting Trauma Experts Through

Collaboration Tools Alexandre Le, MS

Meghan Gurlitz, BA

Nathalie Reid, MLIS, MA

Sarah Peterson, MSIS

Introductions

Jen MazeCo-Managing Director, NCCTS

Jason LiuSenior Manager

James WuWebsite Support Specialist

Alexandre LeManager of LCCAT

Meghan GurlitzAnalyst Programmer

Danny FuAnalyst Programmer

Nathalie ReidManager of NCTSN.org

Sarah PetersonInformation Specialist

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify how the NCTSN creates a collaborative infrastructure that is facilitated through the use of technology.

2. Participants will be able to name specific NCTSN tools and how they have and will be used for virtual network building.

3. Participants will understand how to access and use different NCTSN technologies for their own projects and within their own teams to create connections and establish partnerships among distributed groups.

Part 1: Definitions

What is Collaboration Technology?

• Technology that enables people at different locations to communicate and work with each other.

• NCTSN collaborative technologies fall into three areas:

WorkspacesWeb

ConferencingInstant

Messaging

Workspaces

• These are asynchronous spaces for collaboration or resource management. They could involve document libraries, contact lists, learning materials, discussion boards, etc. These spaces may be run by a manager or could be maintained by the group as a whole.

• e.g. NCTSN Intranet, LCCAT Communities

Workspaces - History

• Original intention of the Intranet was for a ‘private’ document management system

• With improved features over the years, documentation is now only one aspect of the Intranet

• It can now be considered a space for collaboration, knowledge exchange, networking, etc.

Workspaces - Features

Document Library

Calendar Contact List

Web Conferencing

• These types of web meetings are typically pre-planned, real-time, and with larger groups. The topic may be instructional or collaborative. The idea is that everyone gathers at a pre-determined time to participate in a group activity.

• e.g. WebEx or Blackboard

Web Conferencing - History

In 2010 the National Center introduced Web Conferencing technology to the network.

Web Conferencing - Features

Hand-Raising Polling Chat Box

Instant Messaging

• These types of web meetings are spur of the moment. They may involve video, chat, or screen sharing and can range in topic. The idea is that two or more people who are not spatially near each other are able to connect at an unplanned time.

• e.g. Google Hangout or Lync

Instant Messaging - Features

Contact List Chat Window Sharing Tools

Why Collaboration Technology?

• Improved dissemination of information: More professionals/ partners/ family members are getting access to information that is trauma-informed.

• Wider variety of training topic areas and through new methods: Professional and community members can get training on specialized topics through a diversity of mediums

• Ongoing connections and partnerships: The community is contributing to the knowledge base which feeds back into the education of the community.

Part 2: ChallengesParticipate at https://share.nctsn.org/help

Group Activity Objectives

• Activity takes place online via the Intranet on a blog

• Purpose is to engage in an online discussion around technology challenges

• Activity is to offer up solutions, advice, strategies, best practices to challenges and examples already posted

• The conversations have already begun, will continue during this activity, and keep going after the ANC

Group Activity Instructions

1) Get into groups. Each group will be assigned a challenge or scenario to work on. (8 minutes)

2) Log in to the Intranet and go to this webpage: https://share.nctsn.org/help/default.aspx (Trouble logging in? Flip the web link card for a general account you can use).

3) Discuss as a group your strategies, advice, experience with the challenge or scenario.

4) Post your response online as a comment to the challenge or scenario (post can be done individually OR as a group using 1 person’s device).

5) Report out to session participants what was discussed and posted for your group. (5 minutes)

6) Check back on the blog after the session is over to see all responses

Challenge 1: Email is down!

• SCENARIO: You have been working with your collaborative group members on a product you are developing together. You are in the content development stages and are trying to get your first draft in to the Product Development Coordinator by the end of the day. As you are working away, the email service for your entire university/organization goes down, and your email correspondence with other collaborative group members is halted for an indefinite period of time while IT fixes the issue. Your deadline is today – what are some possible ways you can continue to work with your colleagues without email?

Challenge 1: Email is down!

• Potential Barriers:• Different versions of your group’s documents are in

various emails• How do you let people know that you don’t have

email?• Can’t get everyone on the phone at the same time

• Strategies:• Use the Intranet/online workspace to save and edit

documents collaboratively. (No need for dozens of emails back and forth!)

• Have a web conference to look at documents together and talk about changes.

• Try a chat program as an alternative to email

Challenge 2: Getting Active Users

• SCENARIO: Imagine you are the manager of a project, and it’s your job to keep track of all the documents, comments, and links for the project. You are also working with a team that is at several different organizations, so you all have different locations where you are used to saving documents. Some people use their university’s shared network drive; some use DropBox or Google Drive; and still others keep everything on their local computer and email anything they need to share. Before the project starts, you have this great idea - CREATE AN ONLINE WORKSPACE! Done, you've contacted the NCCTS IT team, and now you have a great new Intranet workspace. What are the barriers you expect to getting people to use it? How do you respond to users who feel it is too much of a hassle to change where they save their documents or who just want everything emailed to them?

Challenge 2: Getting Active Users

• Potential Barriers:• Engrained habits. Having to save documents for this project

in a different place may be viewed as a hassle• No one wants to learn a new login and new technology• People forget it’s there!

• Strategies:• Make it simple to use and provide clear instruction• Make it a habit by starting the workspace the same time the

project starts and using it consistently throughout• Organize information clearly and make sure valuable

resources are posted to the workspace• Always include direct links to the site in your correspondence• Make sure you are comfortable with using and explaining the

technology, as well as any other staff you have on the project

Challenge 3: Connecting Teams

• SCENARIO: You are the director of a program whose members are scattered around the country. Most of your colleagues are in your office, but some are several hours away. You meet weekly as a program, and so far you have been using the phone to gather everyone together. This works okay, until you realize you are passing around a document that your distant colleagues cannot see. What are some other barriers that occur when you are meeting over the phone? How can you replicate the interactivity of a face-to-face meeting when some of the members are a plane ride away?

Challenge 3: Connecting Teams

• Potential Barriers:• Miscommunication caused by not being able to see faces• Group members on the phone have trouble speaking up and

becoming part of the conversation• People on the phone are distracted by other work (checking

their email, etc.)

• Strategies:• Use the “Share Your Desktop” features of a web conferencing

program to share documents, websites, and other materials.• Use webcams to be able to see the faces of distant colleagues• Use the “Raise Hand” and chat features in web conferencing

software to make sure those on the phone can become part of the conversation

• Keep everyone engaged by having a visual component to your meeting as well as an audio component

Challenge 4: Knowledge Exchange

• SCENARIO: You're a busy program manager that gets daily requests for similar types of information , and you have to gather this information from various other groups that can sometimes be hard to get a hold of. Basically, you have become the person in the middle. How can you connect these two groups to each other, so that you can save yourself some time and keep the information updated and current? What barriers do you anticipate?

Challenge 4: Knowledge Exchange

• Potential Barriers• Switching users from emailing you to going to a

website or other resource• Getting buy-in from the people with the information

and having them update the information

• Strategies• Market your new resource so everyone is aware it is

available• Link to the resource in your emails• Make adding information easy and straightforward• Make finding information easy and straightforward

Part 3: The FutureSocial, Mobile, Empowered Users

Streamline NCTSN Intranet

Workspace Member Directory

Workspace Profiles

Web Conferencing - Recap

• Keep current on emerging technologies

• Evaluate new systems for changing needs and better functionality

Web Conferencing - Future

• Continuous Evaluation

• Testing New Systems

Web Conferencing - Future

• Testing of systems on a variety of devices (mobile, tablet)

• Demo

Instant Messaging - Recap

Instant Messaging - Future

• Roll-out coming soon!

• DEMO

Learning Center Before

Speaker Series Discussions

e-Portfolios and Badges

[Insert Screenshots]

Summary: Our Future Users

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will be able to identify how the NCTSN creates a collaborative infrastructure that is facilitated through the use of technology.

2. Participants will be able to name specific NCTSN tools and how they have and will be used for virtual network building.

3. Participants will understand how to access and use different NCTSN technologies for their own projects and within their own teams to create connections and establish partnerships among distributed groups.