5 Web Resources on Soft Skills
Educational Media
This three-times-a-year news letter is published by the Renton Technical College Library. It is intended to spotlight issues regarding the use of educational media— internet, videos, DVDs, audiotapes, software, and other electronic resources. If you have any questions or suggestions for topics, please call the library at (425) 235-2331, or email Laura Staley at lstaley@RTC.edu .
Trivia: This issue’s trivia regarding titles people chose for their autobiographies is from: 15,003 Answers: The Ultimate Trivia Encyclopedia. By S. Newman and H. Fittipaldi. New York, Random House, 2007. These aren’t titles we carry, but we’d be happy to borrow them for you.
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One of the more enjoyable library jobs is spending someone else’s money on videos and DVDs. Bragging about what we bought is also great fun.
Therefore, in this issue of Educational Media, we will review a few of the many titles we bought for your students and your classes this year. There are DVDs and videos on medical diagnosis and mental illness, how culture affects our experience of disease, on education—from national policy to baby talk— food preparation, restaurant management, math, speeches and great speakers, and much more. We hope you enjoy teaching with them as much as we enjoyed selecting them.
DVD resources for teaching “soft skills”— communication, workplace etiquette, tolerance—can teach valuable lessons quickly, humorously, and in a non-threatening way. Many of these DVDs listed below come with teaching guides.
Manners at Work. Call # 395.52 MANNERS 2006a. This DVD shows how to make introductions and how to politely use electronics such as cell phones, voicemail and email. It also includes the rules of cubicle courtesy and sharing office equipment. 20 minutes.
Communicating With Tact, Candor, and Credibility. Call # 302.2 COMMUNI 2008w. This DVD looks at dysfunctional workplace communication styles, and then models communication that is effective and tactful. Excellent for teaching people to communicate clearly and politely about problems, without causing resentment or distress. 19 minutes.
The Art of Listening. Call # 153.68 ART-OF 2007L. Being an effective listener can help you make a sale or learn critical information. This DVD covers the value of silence, the role of body language, and considering more than just the speaker’s words when looking for meaning. 25 minutes.
Body Language 1. Call # 302.222 BODY-LA 2008 v.1. This is a quick primer on the art of interpreting the gestures, postures, and facial expressions we use. It stresses keeping verbal and nonverbal signals synchronized in order to enhance credibility and reinforce our message. 24 minutes. Body Language 2 expands on this, including tips on the body language and vocal characteristics of effective speakers. Both of these are excellent for learners from other cultures and for people trying to sharpen their interpersonal skills. Call # 302.222 BODY-LA 2008 v.2. 24 minutes.
Everybody’s Ethnic. Call # 305.8 EVERYBO 2001c. This DVD encourages tolerance by teaching viewers to see their own culture as something developed and learned, rather than “the way things are supposed to be.” 21 minutes
Sell Yourself: Successful Job Interviewing. Call # 650.144 SELL-Y 1999. This frequently amusing DVD covers preparing for an interview, answering questions so as to highlight your qualifications, appropriate ways of showing interest in the position, and dealing with awkward questions in the interview. 23 minutes.
Trivia
Autobiography title: 24 Years of House Work…And the Place Is Still A Mess. By Pat Schroeder, US House of Representatives from Colorado, from 1973-1997.