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What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

I needed a bit of inspiration the other day. This book did the trick. It is a quick read, but contains quite a few tidbits of inspiration around “change management”. The characters resemble many educators (and a few bloggers) that I have encountered over the years .

“Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson

Available at a library near you.Â Also, see Who Moved My Cheese? on wikipedia.

Using a Pre-Survey For Professional Development

I’m constantly in a process of trying to make Professional Development workshops better. It can be a tough process to remove portions of your workshop that you might have thought were excellent, in order to make the overall professional development a more engaging experience for educators.

I was thinking about sending a digital pre-survey to workshop participants in order to get a better idea of their needs before going to the workshop and then shaping the PD in order to meet those needs.

Here are a few of the questions that I was thinking about:

1. I am looking for instruction on how to use the software.

2. I am looking for lessons and project ideas associated with the software.

3. I am looking for teaching strategies for integrating technology.

4. I am looking for classroom management strategies for integrating technology.

5. I learn best: (Please select one)

a) At my own pace b) working in a group c) in an instructor directed model

6. I would like to: (Please select one)

a) follow the instructor on my own computer b) listen to the instructor then work on my own c) work on my own and ask the instructor for assistance d) work within a small group on a project

7. I would like paper handouts: Yes/No

8. I would like digital resources emailed to me: Yes/No

9. I would like discussion and debriefing time with peers during the workshop: Yes/No

10. What I would most like to learn at the workshop is … (open ended)

Are any of you using a pre-survey before you deliver a workshop to educators?Â Have you ever completed a pre-survey and wished there was another question on that survey (I would love to know the question you were thinking about)?

Toward a New Knowledge Society

A great presentation by Stephen Downes up for the World’s Best Presentation Contest.

Scrapblog for Media Rich Presentations

I have been experimenting with Scrapblog as a presentation tool for an upcoming workshop. It is a neat mixture of scrapbook and presentation tool. I know my better half is going to love this web site.

I was able to embed photos (your own and a range of sites like Flickr), YouTube videos (You have to hover over them to get the play button), background music, titles, transitions, captions and more into the presentation.

The site has lots of social features, and of course, the ability to embed presentations into your blog. Here’s the one I was working on. (FYI – Some of the links are local to my school district)

View the full sized presentation here. If you use the left and right arrows instead of selecting the “Play Slideshow” button you can stop and watch the videos.