[#facilitation + #tech] Hello fellow #teachers in #MENA who are working today (Sunday) too! I just finished delivering two training sessions. I was a little low in energy before the sessions but three things helped pick me up once it all began (does that energy shift ever happen to you before/after a lesson starts?):
1. My trusty water tank for vital hydration (see P.S. for fun challenge)
2. All the teacher engagement + energy (thank you Stirling Schools’ teaching team 💛🙏🏼)
3. Learning to master new features on #Teams
Here are some reflections on that third tech note:
This was one of the first smooth sessions I delivered using Teams, and as someone who has previously not liked to use it for training (I preferred Zoom), I can’t believe I am about to say I really loved using Teams today. Here are couple of details specifically that I think helped improve the experience:
1️⃣👍 Improved slide sharing in presenter mode
You can share slides straight from OneDrive without losing sight of the chatbox or the participants. Total improvement! For me, the chatbox is a fundamental part of online sessions. It’s one of the keys to engagement.
2️⃣👍 Advanced slide options for participants
You can allow participants to move through the slide deck themselves - it’s going to be useful for other presentations where that might be a help for anyone who just joined late, can catch up on slides etc. For this training, I turned this off because it would ruin my hype around the “grand reveal of the answer”. 🤭😬
3️⃣👍 Chatbox reactions
In zoom this feature is not smooth, but reacting to chatbox messages in teams is very easy and so helpful! For example, when people put the right answer to the questions, I can quickly acknowledge them without reading out names, or if they add a question that’s very pertinent, I can see as many people can agree with a thumbs up, and this all helps enrich the discussion.
Those are some of my learning & reflections on today’s orientations I delivered for Stirling Shool’s teaching team in #Iraq, helping them prepare to use their new Cambridge University Press Education #Math and #Science resources for the upcoming academic year. They had their #ELT sessions running concurrently, led by the Cambridge University Press & Assessment English team!
Thanks to Mohammed Salm Karim and Sercan Oz as always for the great support! And to all the teachers who shared their ideas so generously throughout these sessions. This all reminds me of my favourite quote about learning:
When one teaches, two learn. 🙌🙏🏼☺️
Day 1️⃣ of this training programme: complete ✨✅
Wi-Five 😎✋🏽
💭#overtoyou: do you ever use Teams for teaching or training? How do you find it?
P.S.: I really need to give my beloved water tank a name. It goes everywhere with me. Any ideas? 💦
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sumbella_facilitation-tech-teachers-activity-7071123551688228864-622Y
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