Class last week was a blast and so helpful to think about issues which will be upcoming (presentations) and that are current (HCOD). It was extremely useful to discuss the presentations (one-shot workshops) both in the sense of what we could do long-term (icebreaker-type activities) and what we could do with our classmates. I learned a lot about what to do when it really is a one-shot workshop and that is the only time that I would have with participants such as the basics (bathrooms!), activities to help folks get acquainted, different ways to help people learn material (connecting it to prior knowledge, activities that will help them process what they've learned, and wrapping up/evaluations.
What I kind of walked away with, was that the content is actually a fairly small piece of the puzzle. That's not to say the content isn't important, but it seems like what is more important is how I choose to present the material - not just an hour or 20 minutes of information, but the ways that I intend for participants to be introduced to, and process material. To me, this means MORE planning, stronger objectives, and more intentional learning. When Kara and I were planning, we kind of said, well, we know we can talk about this, so how do we want people to learn it? Anyone who is at at workshop could probably talk about the content for as long as needed (especially with Q and A time) so I learned on Monday that we really need to think hard about the focus of the workshop and what we want our participants to truly walk away with (probably 2 or 3 things that they can actually use!)
Then, onto our HarperCollins discussion with Bobbi Newman. WOW. What an incredible experience. To have such an expert talk with us in such a professional way was pretty amazing. I am not sure I could have learned everything I did in another way, without reading incessantly for weeks. Her opinions, facts, and relatively neutral point of view were extremely valuable for me to learn about the issue and hear how professionals discuss such issues. To be able to ask questions to Bobbi, and really discuss with her this topic was incredible and I appreciate very much the opportunity to do so. It was also really cool to see our class on the twitter feeds of other well-known folks in the field. Yay!
As I saw on the syllabus, there were no readings? So I think I'm good on this part of blogging for the week... :)
I totally agree that content is not the problem here but coming up with how to present it. I'm very confident my group has interesting and compelling content, but not so sure how it's going to come off when delivered and the extent to which user participation can make or break it. It should be interesting. I slightly wish we had a bit longer than 20 minutes though as it would be more reflective of an actual workshop we might hold at a job in the future.
ReplyDeleteHaving just drafted the actual teachable information for this workshop, I totally agree with you and Brett that the content is a pretty small part of the workshop as a whole. what's important is, like you said, the learning objectives--what insights you want to impart on your audience, not necessarily the facts of the case. I also really enjoyed Bobbi's presentation.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the talk!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The larger piece of the puzzle was definitely determining how to effectively present the content in a way that would be useful to participants and allow us to maximize our time.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned focusing on 2 or three things. It's a good reminder that there is a lot of information, but to be most effective, and make it useful, we only want to give them what they can practically apply.
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