News from the NLM National Training Center

Posted by nwsoadmin on November 10th, 2011 Posted in: News from NLM, News From NNLM PNR, Training & Education

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The following news is from Sharon Dennis, Assistant Director of the NN/LM National Library of Medicine Training Center (NTC), located at the University of Utah, which offers in-person and online training related to NLM products.

PubMed class

The previous one-day PubMed class is being replaced with a hybrid PubMed for Trainers class. This hands-on course consists of lectures, individual exercises, group work and discussions in four sessions, with independent work before or after each session. The course consists of three 2 hour online sessions and an in-person session. NLM or NTC trainers will deliver the lectures and facilitate discussions.

The objectives of the class are for current and future PubMed trainers to discover and develop:

1. functional knowledge of the MEDLINE® database,
2. understanding of the structure and use of the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH®) vocabulary in MEDLINE/PubMed,
3. expertise in the use of features and functions of the PubMed system, and
4. techniques and best practices in MEDLINE/PubMed instruction with fellow trainers.

The class is intended specifically for those who train, or will train, others to use PubMed. This class could be for you if you teach PubMed to large groups, small groups, or one-on-one training. We look forward to lively discussions on PubMed instruction and adult education best practices.

The first NTC PubMed for Trainers class was held in October 2011 in Bethesda, MD. NTC will be offering PubMed for Trainers classes in five different locations from February through April 2012. The locations are Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; Chapel Hill, NC; Chicago, IL; and Syracuse, NY. The class will be offered in the Pacific Northwest Region later in 2012 (dates to be announced).

TOXNET and Beyond class

We will continue to offer the one-day TOXNET and Beyond class. This course is designed to convey the basics of searching TOXNET, a Web-based system of databases in the areas of toxicology, environmental health, and related fields. The course also teaches students how to use the NLM Environmental Health and Toxicology portal which provides resources beyond the TOXNET® databases. Students learn the content and structure of files covering toxicology data, toxicology literature, toxic releases, and chemical nomenclature. The databases highlighted are TOXLINE, the Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), and ChemIDplus. The course includes lectures, online demonstrations, and hands-on exercises.

NTC has TOXNET and Beyond classes scheduled beginning in February 2011 in Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; and Chicago, IL.

Plans for Online Training

In addition to the hybrid PubMed class and in-person TOXNET and Beyond class, NTC will be offering shorter online Adobe Connect classes for delivery later this year. In conjunction with the Pacific Southwest Region, we are also developing a Moodle version of the “Effective Training Design: Teaching with Technology” class (see http://cech.mlanet.org/node/576).

In the next few months, we will be conducting a needs assessment to identify gaps in the current Web-based training offerings. After the needs assessment is completed we will be developing additional Web-based training.

Wait, there’s more…

The NTC blog features regularly published short articles about teaching technologies, adult education, and upcoming activities. You can also follow us on Twitter where we are posting links to resources related to education and NLM products. Please visit the NTC Web site at http://nnlm.gov/ntc/ for more information, to register for classes and to follow the NTC blog or Twitter feed.