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From now until January 6th, 2012 the names of all those who complete the quiz will be entered in a draw to win a $50 Chapters gift card (or gift card from an equivalent online book store).  We will be contacting the winner by email so you must enter your name and a valid email address to win. Contest closes at at 5:00 pm Pacific Time on January 6th, 2012.

Visit www.andornot.com/quiz for your chance to win!

The quiz asks you very specific questions about using DB/TextWorks, with answers provided after each, along with some usage tips.  You can also review the correct answers when you complete the quiz. 

Feedback so far has been very positive:

  • “I enjoyed it very much!!! A good refresher and you should do it more often!”
  • “It was fun and nicely designed.  I would like to see more in the future.”
  • “Tricky, but good”

We plan to offer more quizzes next year on different topics.  We’ll also incorporate some of the findings into blog posts or newsletter articles as we’ve already noticed that many people get one particular question about date searching wrong. 

Please also check out our DB/TextWorks training schedule or contact us for an upgrade quote if you discover that your version does not have all the features covered in the quiz.

In May and June 2011, we held Inmagic Training and Ideas Days in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto. We talked to over 90 attendees over the course of those sessions, and showed them tips and tricks for Inmagic DB/TextWorks and WebPublisher Pro and demonstrated some new and exciting discovery interfaces.

After each session we followed up with a survey and were pleased to receive very high satisfaction levels for all courses, including 95% satisfied or very satisfied for the discovery interfaces sessions. Comments from attendees of these sessions were:

“It's good to learn about discovery interfaces. I think they will become a trend and play an important role in the future.”

“Introduction to a new concept - I had not really been aware of this in the library context and found it very interesting”

“I found it very useful that you could drill down to specifics, rather than know exactly what you are looking for from the start.”

We felt that the DB/TextWorks sessions were the core of the whole program and probably contained the most pertinent information for all so we encouraged as many people as possible to attend. Upon completion, attendees received a copy of our Andornot Starter Kit database for the desktop, containing many customized forms and scripts. Overall we had an 89% satisfied or very satisfied level for these sessions. And we were pleased to see that 81% of attendees would recommend the DB/TextWorks session to colleagues or contacts. Several people mentioned that one of the most useful pieces of information that they went away with was knowledge of “Keyboard Shortcuts”. Others liked the “Dead URL link checker” and commented “I didn't know it existed!”

The WebPublisher PRO sessions was perhaps the most difficult for us to teach as we tried to show “out-of-the-box” examples. For clients who know Andornot; this is not the way we normally operate. We have long since moved beyond that level with our Andornot Starter Kit for the web, including custom cart, templating system, etc. During the session we demonstrated features that all users can apply to their systems, for example canned searches (using our search cannery), permalinks, and a simple commenting system. We ended the session with a show and tell of many of our designed sites. Attendees gave us an 88% satisfied or very satisfied rating and took away an RSS feed utility and a Query Logger database upon completion. One attendee commented that “it was useful to be shown how much Inmagic [WebPublisher] can be customized” and others were very keen on the Permalinks set-up.

Thank you to those who attended the sessions and filled out the survey. If any Inmagic users are interested in having us come to their community this fall or spring of next year, let us know. If we have enough interest we will schedule sessions. We also offer personal or web-based training; contact us training@andornot.com for further information.

On Saturday, March 12, 2011, Andornot conducted the annual DB/TextWorks training session for the student chapter of SLA at SLAIS, the library and archival school at the University of British Columbia.

As in previous years, about two dozen MLIS and MAS students came out for this Saturday session. Many had prior experience with DB/TextWorks from past jobs and co-op placements, or were actively using it in a current class, but all wanted a more solid understanding of its features and how to use them.

In the morning session, we came at the software as newbie users, learning how to search and edit records. In the afternoon we put on our database designer hats and created a simple database for managing oral histories – audio recordings and transcriptions.

To cover all the features of DB/TextWorks in one day is a lot to take in, but thanks to regular infusions of sugar from a tray of donuts, we all made it through.

We look forward to next year’s session, and are available any time to provide training on any Inmagic product.

This program might be a great opportunity to apply for funding to cover the cost of a training session with us on your Inmagic software.  Checkout the program details to see if you qualify, and then contact us for more information.

The deadline for applications for funding of training under this BC Workplace Training for Innovation Program is January 31, 2011.  The program is designed to provide eligible employers with funding for employee training in order to:

  • Improve productivity
  • Support the introduction of new technology, machinery/equipment or work processes
  • Enhance international competitiveness
  • Introduce innovative training and workplace strategies to increase the long term competiveness of the organization and its workforce.

Both businesses and not-for-profit employers may be eligible to receive funding.   Eligible employers must be:

  • Small organizations (less than 50 employees)
  • In good standing with the BC Corporate Registry
  • In existence for one year or more

In addition, organizations must certify that they would not undertake the training without financial assistance from the Province. Complete eligibility criteria are contained in the application form and program guidelines. The maximum funding available per employer is $5,000 and the maximum funding available per employee is $1,500.  An application is not a guarantee of funding. Applications will be processed on a first-come/first-served basis, subject to availability of funding.

Once you have arranged the funding, call or email us to set up a training time.

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