Kelly's Curriculum Corner

One might think my lack of webinar facilitation experience, five total, would limit the potential for profound insight…. but in truth, I think it’s my lack of experience that might be beneficial. I have no special technology degrees, no formal training in webinar facilitation. In other words, if I can do it, anyone can do it. Here are my Lessons Learned: Just do it – No substitute for experience. No amount of planning will completely remove those butterflies. Use Familiar Content – New content and a new format is a recipe for stress. Script it Out – I write out exactly what I am going to say. I put everything in the notes section of the PPT. Team up – Work with a moderator & meet with them ahead of time. Run through your presentation, ask for suggestions on how to embed interactive activities. Interact with your Audience – Every 10 to 15 minutes have an interactive activity.. Questioning – smiley faces, polling, chat box – response to questions. Somethin...

We are rapidly moving forward with a vision to augment our face to face professional learning opportunities for teachers and administrators. The goal is to provide learning opportunities in multiple formats including podcasts, webinars, videoconferencing, multimedia videos, etc… Our staff has been receptive, but there is a reluctance, maybe it is a sense of loss. Hord & Hall indicate grief is often mistaken for resistance. Working alone at your computer to facilitate a webinar or podcast can seem sterile – no immediate feedback, no eye contact or body language to help you gauge audience reaction.  It has given me pause to think about the role of technology and whether or not it is taking away from relationship building which is essential to our role as educational consultants at a regional service agency. As I was contemplating, I received a few emails in response to a webinar I facilitated: Reactions from participants following webinar 3 “On a personal note, I must ...