Student Development
1) Training needs to be hands on. Do short 10-15 minute demonstrations and then allow students (faculty members) to work on techniques and concepts.
2) Avoid the "presentational mode." Long presentations or lectures about technology may work as good introductions to possibilities but they rarely help students learn how to use the technology in the context of their work or the classroom.
3) Be institutionally specific. Develop resources and explanations that "fit" the information technologies available at your institution. Students who attend workshops at other places often return to their home institutions and find it difficult to apply what they have learned because of different systems and software.
4) Be recursive and repetitive. A carefully planned linear step-by-step approach may look good on paper but it will not help your students. People will do best if they repeat steps often. It also helps in the process to keep returning to and connecting with earlier material.
5) Before training sessions decide what are the most basic and important things to be learned by the students. Repeat these things often. Don't try to do too much in any one session.
6) Allow time for practice and play. Ideally students should be allowed to repeat steps at least three times. Letting students "play" with web pages, colors, and images (as well as "pushing" all of the buttons on new programs) helps them to overcome their fears. It also helps them to learn how to learn new technologies.
7) Have students work on specific projects. Students learn technology best if they learn it in the context of doing something else. In a one-day session, your goal may be to have students create and publish their home pages. In a week-long workshop, you may have faculty members create an online learning resource. Straight teaching of technology does little to help teachers and students integrate technology into their daily practices because they do not see or experience its utility. They learn through use.
8) Allow students time to explore and play with resources that are similar to those they will be creating. For example, if your goal is to have students create online art exhibits, you may want them to visit several online museums and galleries. Discussing examples as a group can be very helpful.
9) Create both online and print resources for students. Students often do best if they can return to and review materials they have learned. Faculty members often do best when they have printed resources to review.
10) Have students learn the basics of HTML. With the advances in web editors, it is possible to avoid learning HTML. However, all current editors can cause problems "behind the scenes" with the HTML and it is good to know how to fix things. Learning HTML will also help them do more advanced work with scripts and forms. Yet, most important, learning a bit about HTML and the "text only" nature of web pages helps students to conceptualize how the Internet works and how web sites are designed.
11) Focus on and repeat the steps about File Transfer (FTP). FTP is the backbone of any online project and, as with HTML, learning how to do it well helps students to conceptualize how the Internet works.
12) Work on conceptualizing and putting in context what students are learning to do with the information technologies. Like all subjects, students can memorize steps without gaining literacy. This can best be done by integrating technology within specific disciplines or tasks.
13) Take students inside of the computer. Often holding computer parts helps them to conceptualize (visualize) how things are working. As with learning HTML and FTP, getting inside of the computer helps demystify the technology.
14) Leave time for "open computer lab," a time when students can come in and use the computers and repeat on their own what they have learned.
15) Encourage collaborative learning. Students often learn best from other students and from helping other students.
16) Encourage the sharing of expertise. Students (faculty members) will enter your workshop with varying levels of expertise. Let them share their knowledge and ideas. Leave time at the end of the workshop (or session) for students to share what they have created.
17) Short infrequent sessions are rarely helpful. Longer intensive sessions work best. In the best of all possible worlds, one- to two-week (full-day) workshops are best. They can often be most successful if faculty members are rewarded for attending.
18) Supply ways to follow up on workshops. Connect people through a listserv to continue sharing ideas. Have them meet periodically (over lunch, at a refresher session, or during a party) to talk about how they are using technology in the classroom. Have old workshop groups meet with new workshop groups to share experiences.
19) Remember that "playing" with computers can be fun so make it fun by finding interesting ways to present information. Also allow time for students to test limits and fail.