Elements of a Good Tech Workshop
- Lessons that we can take home to try--something to try.
- Free time to explore and work on the workshop's topic. Time to play.
- Feel inspired by the presenter and the participants and the subject: emotionally, intellectually.
- Acknowledgment that there will be difficulties and challenges--and an opportunity to troubleshoot those challenges.
- Time to share ideas and collaborate.
- Opportunity to break into grade-level groups.
- A presenter who is rehearsed and who has a sense of humor/personality. No talking heads!
- A presenter who acknowledges that participants bring some tech knowledge / expertise to the workshop. The presenter is not the only one who knows something about the subject.
- A presenter who asks what the presenters want.
- Exemplars: actual student work, not just theory. Results
- Resources to which we can return, places to go for more information and/or support in working solo.
- Visual aids. Participants need to be able to see and do.
- Respect for varying levels of (tech) experience: keeping all participants--the knowledgeable speedies and the less confident deliberates--happy and engaged. (Pacing's a bitch.)
- A presenter who makes time to learn about the participants: what they know, what they need, what they want.
- Recognizing that a workshop should share information on the technology itself and the particular application: on the student videos and on how to use the video software/hardware.
- Recognizing and accommodating the fact that participants teach different ages: applicability and usability for first graders, fifth graders, HS seniors, etc.
- An opportunity to explore questions rather than accept an answer.
- Time to consider applications and variations: designated, supported time to think about how to use technology and different ways I can adjust tech to fit my own needs. This includes time/support to identify those needs.
