online-programs-adults

PROGRAMS & EVENTS FOR ADULTS

VIRTUAL TALES AND TRAVEL

The Tales and Travel program is an Interactive Literacy Presentation for those living with dementia.

There are two ways to use this virtual Tales and Travel program:
1. You can just listen and follow along as the narrative is read to you or
2. You, or your partner, can turn down the volume and use the controls to pause the video so that you can read the narrative out loud yourself. You might also want to talk with your partner about what you are seeing or about any memories that come to mind.

Click here to see the video playlists.

VIDEOS AND HANDOUTS OF PAST PROGRAMS

My Homecoming Dance: Reflections on Teaching in Wisconsin with Sue Leamy Kies and Marja Mills

New York Times bestselling author Marja Mills interviews Sue Leamy Kies about her new memoir of teaching high school English for three decades at Platteville High School, her alma mater. With compassion and humor, Kies reflects on life in the classroom, its highs and lows. She discusses what has changed in high school education in Wisconsin in recent decades, what hasn t and what should.

The two also will discuss what goes into writing a memoir, and will share tips. Kies took one of Mills s popular online workshops about writing memoirs and personal stories. Copies of books by both authors will be available for purchase after the program.

Sue Leamy Kies recently retired after teaching high school English for nearly three decades. She also has published essays, poetry and short stories. My Homecoming Dance: Reflections on Teaching in Wisconsin is her first memoir. Before teaching, she and her husband ran a dairy and hog farm while raising five children. She returned to college at the age of 36 and graduated as valedictorian from the University of Wisconsin Platteville. Her degree in English and minor in journalism allowed her 27 years at her alma mater, Plattevile High School. In 2000, she earned a master s degree in education, also from UW-P.

Marja Mills is the author of the 2014 New York Times bestselling memoir The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee. The memoir chronicles her time with Harper Lee, author of the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, and Lee s sister, Alice Finch Lee, in their small Alabama hometown. Mills met the Lees on assignment for the Chicago Tribune, where she was a reporter and feature writer. Mills now divides her time between Black River Falls and Madison.

Now Is the Time to Act: Clean Energy Incentives for Businesses and Nonprofits

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Join Kathy Kuntz, Director of the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change, via Zoom to learn how organizations can leverage IRA funding for solar, energy efficiency, electrification and more.

Wisconsin Waters: the Ancient History of Lakes, Rivers, and Waterfalls

Scott Spoolman invites you to explore Wisconsin s many and varied waterways and to learn of how they came to be as they are today. From the placid Mississippi, to waterfalls crashing over hard rock ledges near Lake Superior, to life bursting forth in one of the world s largest freshwater marshes, these waterways each have a fascinating story to tell. Scott will sample a few of the 19 stories from his book Wisconsin Waters: the Ancient History of Lakes, Rivers, and Waterfalls. He will also address local waterways, and he will include readings from his stories and from the travel guides that follow each story.

Scott Spoolman is a science writer who has focused on the environmental sciences, especially those stories of natural science and the environment related to Wisconsin and surrounding states. He grew up in northern Wisconsin and earned a master's degree in journalism with an emphasis on science reporting. He has coauthored several editions of a series of environmental science textbooks. His recently published books are Wisconsin Waters: the Ancient History of Lakes, Rivers, and Waterfalls, the award-winning Wisconsin State Parks: Extraordinary Stories of Geology and Natural History, both published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, and Wisconsin Rocks: A Guide to Geologic Sites in the Badger State, published by Mountain Press Publishing Co.

Generative AI's Potential Uses and Impact on your Career and Personal Life

Creating, Automating, and Inspiring: Generative AI's Potential Uses and Impact on your Career and Personal Life

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ChatGPT and other generative AI tools have already started to change the world. Introduced less than two years ago, these resources promise to grow both in capability and use in the coming years. But what are their limitations and ethical problems, if any? How can these tools be harnessed by professionals in their jobs, or by individuals for fun? This session will cover the nuts and bolts of what these programs are, what they can do, and how you can start to integrate them into your career or personal life. Just as importantly, we'll discuss where these tools fall short and discuss the nuances and ethics of responsible AI use. By the end of the session, you'll be prepared to decide for yourself if we should start believing in Generative AI as the next step in technology development.

Kris Turner is the Associate Director of Public Services at the University of Wisconsin Law Library. He began working at the Law School Library in January 2012 as a Circulation Assistant and Daytime Supervisor, and also worked as the Reference and Technology Services Librarian and the Head of Reference before becoming the Associate Director of Public Services. Kris is responsible for managing the reference and circulation departments and enhancing the legal research services that the library offers or may offer in the future. Kris also teaches Law Practice Technologies, a course focused on the use of technology and AI in law firms and co-teaches Advanced Legal Research with a focus on ethical and practical generative AI use.

Birding by Ear (FOPBC Conservancy Day)

Join us for an immersive birding experience as we explore the world of birding by ear. In this presentation, you'll learn how to identify bird species by their unique songs and calls. Delve into the fascinating melodies of our feathered friends, discovering the stories behind their vocalizations and the secrets they hold about their habitats and behaviors. Whether you're a seasoned birder or new to the world of birdwatching, this auditory adventure will deepen your appreciation for the avian wonders that surround us.

Timothy Hansel is the education coordinator for the Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy, an avid birder, and photographer. He is also a Wisconsin Master Naturalist and serves as a Wisconsin Master Naturalist instructor for The Prairie Enthusiasts. With a Ph.D. in philosophy, Timothy has 16 years of teaching experience, focusing on topics such as environmental ethics and critical thinking.

PowerPoint slideshow available here:
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Introduction to Canva

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Canva is a wonderful online designing tool that can help you make a wide range of things, from posters to business cards and tri-fold brochures to birthday cards and wedding invitations. We will look at this web-based service and learn the basics to create things that you may not know how to make from scratch. This class will be live on Zoom.

Gmail & More

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Join us as we explore Gmail and other applications Google has to offer, such as: Google Drive, Google Calendar, and more! This class will be live on Zoom.

Psychedelics and Mental Health (Scholar for Life)

Join us for the next lecture in our ongoing Scholar for Life series in partnership with Badger Talks!

Cody Wenthur, Assistant Professor in the School of Pharmacy at UW-Madison, will describe how psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy may be used to treat end-of-life anxiety, treatment resistant depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. A discussion of recent clinical results, safety and efficacy considerations, and social factors at play in the potential therapeutic use of these compounds will be included, with opportunities for a question-and-answer session at the end.

Dr. Cody J. Wenthur is an innovative, translational investigator in psychopharmacology who has been on the UW Madison faculty since 2018. Prior to joining the faculty, he received his PharmD from Purdue University in 2011, and a PhD from Vanderbilt University in 2015, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Scripps Research. His work is focused on improving our understanding of the basis for beneficial and detrimental effects of psychedelics, opioids, cannabinoids, and other neuroplasticity-inducing drugs. These efforts are directed toward developing novel therapeutic approaches for promoting and maintaining mental health.

Photo Editing with Pixlr

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Join us as we learn to do basic editing of photos on this free website resource. Features on Pixlr Editor rival those of other photoshop software. Learn to change photo colors, edit blemishes, edit out objects, and more. This class will be live on Zoom.

A to Z Database Workshop

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Search millions of business and resident listings in the United States with this powerful, easy-to-use directory. Download records in Excel or other formats for easy business marketing or personal address lists. This class will be live on Zoom.

Race to the Pole

Join local author and Middleton resident, Dennis Schenborn, for a talk about his book, Heroes All: Race To The Pole -- An Antarctic Tale.

In 1974, Dennis Schenborn survived a winter in the Antarctic in sight of Scott's Discovery Expedition Hut. He has walked on the Antarctic Ice Barrier, traveled by dog sledge, man-hauled sledges across the ice, and slept in a tent at -50º F.

His interest in the Amundsen and Scott expeditions began during his cold, dark Antarctic winter when he read their accounts and came away with more questions than answers. And so began his decades-long search for answers in hand-written expedition journals, first-person accounts, contemporary newspaper articles about the Amundsen and Scott expeditions.

Streaming FREE with Hoopla & Kanopy

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Hoopla & Kanopy are digital media lending services for libraries. Users sign up with an email address, password, and library card information, and Hoopla gives them access to their local library's collection of digital titles of ebooks, audiobooks, comics, music, movies, and TV. Kanopy gives access to movies and TV.

Learning Mango Languages

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Join us as we learn how to create a free account, navigate, and use Mango Languages. This is an online language-learning system for help learning languages like Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian and more.

Using Consumer Reports Online

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Join us as we explore and learn how to use the Consumer Reports database. Use it to compare products such a washing machines, dryers, fans, cars, and much more! This class will be live on Zoom.

Creativebug Crafting

Join us as we explore and learn how to use the database Creative Bug. This database is all about crafting. Use it to get ideas, patterns, watch video classes, and be able to save them in one place to get back to when you need it. If you are looking for some make-it-yourself gift ideas, this will help you out! This class will be live on Zoom.

Rosemaling: a Norwegian Tradition

Stoughton artist, Nancy Odalen, will talk about the art of rosemaling and how it found its way across Norway, then to Wisconsin.

Web Tools for Great Reads

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Do you need help finding a new book? We will look at one of our databases, Novelist Plus, and some others that are web based resources. They can be used to help recommend new books to read! This class is live on Zoom.

The Social Regulations of Speech (Scholar for Life)

Join us for the next lecture in our ongoing Scholar for Life series, in partnership with Badger Talks!

This talk addresses the relationship between the First Amendment, the social regulation of speech and cancel culture. In the process, it addresses the impact of social media technologies on our understandings of and assumptions about free speech as well as why community control of speech norms has devolved into exercises of domination.

Franciska Coleman is an Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School and the Associate Director of the East Asian Legal Studies Center. She is an interdisciplinary scholar, whose work draws upon political theory, critical discourse analysis, and constitutional law.

Professor Coleman s current research focuses on the constitutional implications of the United States eventual demographic shift to a minority-majority society. Her current work also explores cancel culture as a byproduct of the American constitutional choice to rely on the social rather than legal regulation of speech, with particular attention to the cancelling of speakers who are members of racial or ethnic minorities.

Prior to joining the faculty of UW Law School, Professor Coleman was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis and also held a Visiting Scholar appointment at Harvard Law School.

Cranes Over Wisconsin

Join Stephanie Schmidt, Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation, to discuss the history of Wisconsin's cranes, the science behind the reintroduction, the continued efforts to protect cranes, and how to be a crane ambassador.

Gmail & More at Middleton Public Library

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Join us as we explore Gmail and other applications Google has to offer, such as: Google Drive, Google Calendar, and more! This class will be live on Zoom.

Introduction to Canva

Sustainable U: Recycling Reboot 6 16 22

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In this session of Sustainable U, we take on recycling! Learn (or re-learn) what you can and cannot recycle. Speakers from the Middleton Recycling Center (MRC) and Pellitteri will help you sort out what s recyclable, what can go into blue bins for curbside recycling, and what needs to be dropped off at the MRC. We ll have plenty of time for questions so residents can get the answers they need to help them put their waste in the right place.

Spotting Fake News Online

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Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between news that's well researched and news that's false or misleading on the internet. In this presentation you'll learn techniques for evaluating the credibility of news stories online and learn the importance of getting information from multiple reliable sources.

Web Tools for Great Reads

Pheasant Branch Creek - Where Does All this Water Come From? (Sustainable U)

We hear the term watershed a lot in reference to water resources, but what does that term really mean? Focusing on Middleton s beloved Pheasant Branch Creek, we ll explore how water moves from the edges of the watershed all the way to Lake Mendota. We ll also take a look at the famous (or infamous) rain event and flood of August 2018 to get a glimpse of how climate change is already impacting Middleton.

Presented by Jim Bachhuber, a retired stormwater consultant who is an occasional instructor at UW-Madison.

Generative AI's Potential Uses and Impact on your Career and Personal Life

Learning Mango Languages

Using Consumer Reports Online

Creativebug Crafting

Web Tools for Great Reads

Sustainable U 12-14-21

Salt Use Reduction Strategies: What the City is Doing and What Residents can do to Protect our Lake Health by Allison Madison (Wisconsin Salt Wise) and Brad Hopwood (Operations Manager, City of Middleton).

Creative Bug Crafting

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Join us as we explore and learn how to use the database Creative Bug. This database is all about crafting. Use it to get ideas, patterns, watch video classes, and be able to save them in one place to get back to when you need it. If you are looking for some make-it-yourself gift ideas, this will help you out!

Preserving History with StoryCorps

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Join us as we learn about StoryCorps. By using the StoryCorps app and StoryCorps Connect, you can interview family, friends, or community members about events in their life and in the community. This gives everyone a voice and allows them to share their story. We will explore how to use these wonderful tools to help preserve our local history in the community of Middleton and for your families.

Genealogy Tools Online

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Access to genealogy databases are available through the library. We will look at Ancestry, Heritage Quest, and others, as well as learn some BASIC tips and skills to search and view information to start your genealogy project.

Sustainable U 10-21-21

Why and How to Make Middleton Sustainable by Kelly Hilyard (City of Middleton Sustainability Coordinator) and Managing Leaves to Help the Lakes by Christal Campbell (Stormwater Education Coordinator, Dane County Land and Water Resources Dept).

Spotting Fake News Online

Using Consumer Reports Online

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Join us as we explore and learn how to use the Consumer Reports database. Use it to compare products such a washing machines, dryers, fans, cars, and much more!

Streaming FREE with Hoopla

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Hoopla is a digital media lending service for libraries. Users sign up with an email address, password, and library card information, and Hoopla gives them access to their local library's collection of digital titles of ebooks, audiobooks, comics, music, movies, and TV.

Online Genealogy Tools

WI Cocktails

Presented by Jeanette Hurt

Web Tools for Great Reads

Contemporary US Asylum, Refugee, and Immigration Policy

Presented by Dr. Sara McKinnon

Reading with Libby

Join us for step-by-step instructions on how to download free library eBooks and audio books on your tablet. We ll show you how to download the Libby app, search for books, and download them to your device. Users of Android and Apple tablets welcome, the app is not yet available for Kindle Fire.

How Asian Americans Have Fought for Better Representation

Presented by Professor Lori Kido Lopez

Learning Pinterest

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Pinterest is a website that collects and shares web images, simply it operates as a place to bookmark/collect items. We will cover creating an account, learn to navigate the page, how to make and use boards, and learn what pinning is.

Basic Household Plumbing

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Presented by Project Home
Ever had problems replacing a toilet, sink or faucet? Learn the basics, the importance of the right tools and things to look out for. Also receive info on how to deal with drain problems and maintain your drainage system.

Spring and Summer Birding

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Presented by Caitlyn Schuchhardt

Spring and summer are on their way and Wisconsin s woods, prairies, and wetlands are waking up with the color and song of returning birds. Join Caitlyn Schuchhardt from Madison Audubon to learn about the variety of spring migrants you might find, from small colorful warblers to majestic wading birds. She ll also share some tips about getting started with birding and a list of must-visit destinations to make the most of your spring and summer birding adventures.

Reading Newspapers Online

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Join us as we take a look at the newspaper resources Middleton Library provides online for all to use. If you haven't been able to read certain papers because of the pandemic, you can find it online free to read!

Magazines For Your Tablet

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Read your favorite magazines on your tablet for free by using your library card! We have two great databases available to Middleton Public Library cardholders. We will learn how to use both Flipster and Overdrive Magazines and search for your favorites.

Your Garden Can Feed You All Year Long

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Presented by Megan Cain

With the right planning you can eat food from your garden all year long. This workshop will teach you how to have your earliest harvest ever in spring, keep the momentum going in summer through succession planting, and have a robust fall garden that feeds you all the way to holiday gatherings. Using simple techniques, you can extend the fruits of your labor into more months of the year so you re getting the most food possible from your garden.