How can we make training better?
This question kept wandering through my head whilst attending a conference that could have been entitled ‘Death by PowerPoint’. The best part of the day was lunch. The chocolate gâteau was very good and so was the conversation around the table. It was an invaluable opportunity to meet other practitioners, share problems and swap possible solutions. However, lunch was over far too quckly. The groans were audible as we were dragged back into the torture chamber for the afternoon session on ‘suffocation by handout’.
This year I am organising four days training for ICT trainee teachers spread across Norfolk and Suffolk. I decided to practice what I preach by creating a virtual community for us to stay in touch throughout the year and to maximise the benefits of the training days.
Making this idea into reality came in the form of a blog. I was asked to pilot a blog set up by Sebastian Gasse (ICT Advisor, Norfolk LA). At first I thought that blogs were a bit of a fad with no major advantages over my existing website. However, I was soon hooked and www.communICTy.org was born.
Why bother blogging?
The first advantage of a blog over a normal webpage is the speed at which you can create an article and publish it to the web. You don’t have to waste time with formatting, or creating hyperlinks. You simply tag the article with a category theme and a date. This also means that users can quickly find articles on your site using the search field, category search or date archive.
The next major advantage is RSS (Really Simple Syndication). This makes it possible for users to subscribe to your site and receive alerts whenever a new article is added. You can use a news aggregator such as Bloglines or Google Reader to do this. However, I have found an even simpler tool. All you do is copy the feed address for the site and paste it into www.rssfwd.com, then give it your email address and bingo! You then receive any new articles directly into your email, saving you the bother of visiting either the original site or a separate news aggregator.
Potentially the most powerful tool on a blog is the ability to add comments. Users of the site can share their ideas on any particular post and start an online discussion. In this way an article takes on a life of its own and evolves into something more interesting to read.
Before our first training day I emailed the trainees and invited them to browse my blog to introduce myself to them. I put all my presentations and activities up as a post entitled ‘Key elements of an ICT lesson‘ so that they could quickly access them on the day, but more importantly after the event too. This meant that we could do away with manic note taking and the need for half a tree of handouts.
However, the blog really came into its own after the training day. I invited the trainees to post comments on the blog, identifying the five best ideas they got out of the day. This not only provided invaluable feedback, but also empowered the trainees to become teacher trainers and to share their ideas long after the day had finished.
Have you had a flashmeeting?
At first, flashmeeting sounds like the kind of site that any school’s web filter system should instantly block! Finding out that it enables users to view and chat with each other over the web will only confirm your first impression. However, it is in fact a web conferencing tool set up by the Open University. E2BN have enabled schools in the eastern region to experiment using videoconference for free.
Unlike many other vc systems, flashmeeting is very basic, easy to connect and simple to use. All you require is a broadband connection, Flash8, a microphone and a webcam (optional). What seems like a disadvantage is that only one user can speak at a time. However, the flip side of this is that it will work using minimal bandwidth and a large number of users can participate at the same time.
I invited our ICT trainees to participate in a video conference several weeks after their training day. I also asked some trainees in London and Liverpool to take part. The focus of the conference was ‘What have you added to your teaching to make it better?’ This led on from the discussion we were having on my blog.
After a very quick intro on how to use the various features of flashmeeting I invited the group to share their ideas. There then followed a lively conversation on techniques to get students’ attention, use a markbook, the best layout for an ICT suite and how to give lessons a sense of pace. The participants then contributed feedback after the session via my blog. They said that the virtual community helped them to feel less isolated and helped them to realise that we all face similar challenges. What amazed me was that despite only having taught for a couple of weeks, the trainees had already become experts in teaching ICT and I learnt a lot from their ideas. Who was the trainer now?
Virtually Possible?
This experience has led me to conclude that the most valuable form of training is when a group of people meet and have proper time to learn from each other. However, this sharing of ideas still needs an initial stimulus with a clear focus.
If trainers gave access to their presentations via the web before an event, the attendees would have time to properly absorb the new information by themselves. This in turn would free up more time during the training day for the participants to actively participate and share their combined experiences. The dialogue could also carry on after the event via the web. Participants could then put what they learnt into practice and share their experiences with the rest of the group.
I do not foresee a time when training could be done 100% in a virtual environment. We will always benefit most from meeting people face to face. However, it is too valuable an opportunity to waste time by passively listening to one expert. Instead the effort taken to get a group of people together should be maximised by empowering them all to collaborate and pool their combined expertise . Lunchtime would finally be officially recognised as the most important part of a training day. This would also provide plenty of time for that ellusive second slice of chocolate gâteau!
Links:
http://communicty.org
Free blogs for teachers at http://www.edublogs.org/
http://www.flashmeeting.com
Chocolate cake photos by LynnInLimbo and woupidy
Comment by Terry Haydn
3 October 26, 2006, 11:32 pm o'clock |
Dear Alex,
Delighted to hear that things went so well. First steps/encounters are so important in creating a positive, cheerful climate and it sounds as if it could not have gone much better. Also good that there were no technical glitches, I think once VC is established and routine the odd mishap doesn’t matter as much but in the early stages it must be off-putting.
I think it is interesting to reflect a bit on what makes a difference to how well things work. Often ( I think) it’s not just the technology per se, but the quality of ‘the script’ and the thought and clear sense of purpose which has gone into it. In this case, I think both were spot on, Your initial contribution on the blog was really good - eminently readable and interesting and I think that really encourages people to contribute rather than just lurk. The other thing I thought was great was that there was a clear and definite purpose to the video conference. I’m not very experienced in this area but on the few occasions I have taken part in video conferencing, it has been mainly just to show that it can be done - people linked up but then had nothing worthwhile to say other than hello. I think new technology does have fantastic potential to improve teaching and learning but you still have to think how to use it intelligently. It’s to at least some extent the quality of thinking which goes into the encounters whinc determines how successful it is, not just the sophistication of the ICT.
Comment by Tim Lawes
2 October 25, 2006, 10:29 am o'clock |
Hi Alex,
Interesting and highly informative article (as usual!). Walking the talk does help - can’t wait to have a go at CGMS!
Comment by Jamie Scott
1 October 24, 2006, 1:59 pm o'clock |
That’s a brilliant article. A great example of using technology to share experience and ideas. Good to hear the virtual community made people feel less isolated.