Modifying the Model

Hege; Used under Creative Commons

There always comes a time when you have to reflect on what you are doing and then modify to make it better. I'm at the modification stage now.

So far my model has been to offer workshops at both schools each week with a set topic and then office hours to accommodate 1:1 time. Based on attendance and feedback from staff, that doesn't seem to be the right model for our staff. Many of you have expressed to me that you like having the content available to you via my screencasts, but are simply struggling to be able to fit in a traditional workshop into your day.

At the same time, my office hours have been for groups or 1:1 work with me to learn new skills. That has worked for many of you. But I know that others find the one day a week a struggle to make work with everything else you have going on.

Let's try to solve all that...

• Topic of the Week: My new plan is to post a screencast with a new skill or tool every Friday for the following week. That would give you the weekend, if you so chose, to review it on your own time whenever is convenient for you. If you want 1:1 help with it or do better with it being taught to you 1:1...

• Appointments: I've called them office hours before but I'm renaming them to just be appointments. My new model will mean that I have appointments available to you every day that I'm on campus. I will have two days each week when I am based in a school (typically Mondays & Thursday for the High School and Tuesday & Friday for the Middle School during weeks that I'm on campus every day) with the fifth day being flex time to accommodate the Alternative Ed programs if needed, etc.

• 1:1 or Team Meetings: If you or your team/clan/etc. would like me to work with you, just make an appointment with me and let me know within the description what we are working on so that I can be prepared.

• Classroom Time: I know that it can be very overwhelming to teach a lesson using technology when you aren't 100% comfortable with it. As a result, I would love to be given the opportunity to help you with that! The idea is that I'm on hand to answer questions and troubleshoot and be your backup. I'm not there to teach the lesson, but more to support the technology aspect of it. What do you need to do? Just get in touch with me! You can schedule me via my appointments and then we can work together to make sure the lesson is a success. I'm here to help! Please help me spread the word so that your peers know and will take advantage of my support.

I'm hoping that this modification will help to make me more accessible to all of you so that we can really take advantage of all of the technology we are so lucky to have available. As always, I'm open to your feedback!