identifying an audience | scheduling coaching | coach's questions | presenter's questions | publicity | sundry | potential venues | workshop alternatives
How to Get Coaching and Schedule a Workshop
How do we identify an audience for our workshops?
- Find folks already ready for / interested in your topic
- Find out level of tech savvy and tech readiness
- Consider how much time the workshop gets
- Find the hook: how audience members need and can use and will have fun with your topic
- Survey participants ahead of time (SurveyMonkey.com = free)
How do we want to schedule / arrange / allow time for pre-workshop coaching sessions?
- Workshopper does an eMail Shout Out via GoogleGroups: identify topic and venue and time required and, maybe, level of readiness
- Meet-O-Matic (free!)
What questions should coaches ask of presenters?
- Is there anything you particularly want me to address?
- What do you think is good about your workshop? What do you think needs improvement / may not work / or is AFU?
- What is the purpose of the workshop? The goal, the point?
- Who is your audience? WHY?
- What is the goal / value / applicability of the technology?
- How much time do you have?
- Is this a show-and-tell or a hands-on workshop?
- How much do you expect your audience to know already?
- Do you want the audience to have prepared anything in advance?
- What technology do you need? Do you have or need a Marsha or a Grace?
- What kind of handouts do you need to prepare? How much do you need to have posted ahead of time? Business cards? Post cards?
- How will you evaluate your workshop and/or yourself?
- Would you like to debrief after the workshop? On what do you think you'll focus during your debriefing? Should the debriefing happen online or in person?
What questions should presenters ask of their coaches? (Turn into statements that form a checklist.)
- Can you tell what the purpose is?
- How's my timing/pacing?
- How's the variety of activities?
- Are my handouts clear?
- Are my explanations on my handouts clear?
- Is my agenda good?
- How am I acknowledging the expertise of the participants?
- Am I addressing adult learners?
- How are participants really participating?
- Can you suggest other resources?
- Is there too much or is this a manageable chunk?
- Do you think I'm integrating technology well?
- Is it purposeful?
- Is the show-and-tell portion(s) balanced well with the hands-on portion(s)?
- How can I communicate my expertise without bragging?
- Have I provided sufficient resources for my audience to continue past the workshop itself?
- How can I provide further support for my participants? Series? Support groups? Online resources? Now, how can I get compensated ($$$$$) for this after-workshop work?
How can we publicize our workshops?
- Word of mouth
- Listservs
- Venue's publicity
- HCOE catalog
- RWP Website
- NCJ (free) online calendar
- Press releases (stuff from RWP)
- "Publicizing Your Workshop" checklist from RWP (on the website, too)
- Letters to administrators
- Flyers to school sites--beware the blind blanket
- Disseminating flyers via TCs and key contacts and other advocates
- Postcards (mailers)
- Target audiences!
- Consider credential applicants, pre-service teachers
Workshop Information:
- Presenters get $100 for the first workshop--no matter what (I think)
- Once we have sufficient paying customers, presenters get $100/hour. This'll help us decide what the break-even point is: the point at which we determine whether we have enough paying customers to do the workshop. After the break-even point, the remaining income is split between presenter (70%) and RWP (30%). SO, If I want $1500 for a 15-hour workshop, I need a minimum of 10 people at $250 each (and RWP gets $750).
Possible Workshop Venues
- Fall Tech Series: Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec; 2-3 hour sessions
- Spring Conference: March 28, 1.25-2.5 hour sessions,
- ISI Visitor's Day: Invitational Summer Institute
- HSU Comp Program Meeting: September 12 and October 31 plus other, TBA dates, too
- School Inservice--and Go East, Young Women!
- FESCUE: October 25
- Other Writing Project sites
- CATE (Anne Sahlberg)
- NWP
- IRA
- CRA
- NCTE (all show and tell)
- EdTech institutions
Workshop Alternatives (This is different from ATIHomey Support)
- Tech mentoring (which can include on-site tech support)--Lauralee is available and eager
- Designing an online course
- Create a how-to website
- Create a techEd repository for RWP
- In addition to something else, serving as IT person for conferences
- Creating a web video: TeacherTube how-tos and whatnot
- EduSpaces.net something
