Training today

Basic WebLearn training.

I think it's the first time I didn't feel gut-churningly nervous before a training session! Even though it's such a tiny thing, and for most people there would have been no reason to feel nervous in the first place, for me this is quite a step.

I didn't have a lesson plan because I took over at the last minute. And it's interesting that perhaps I was less nervous exactly for that reason - because it had not been possible to plan and so whatever happened happened. That I shouldn't expect to be entirely in control. It's a good feeling and one it's worth trying to replicate, but I'm not sure how....

It wasn't exactly a smooth session. There was a very wide range of abilities...and at the beginning the attendees were nervous about being left behind or frustrated that they were being held back...but after about 30 mins it the whole atmosphere changed, and there was sense that we were all in it together. I'm not sure when the change happened...it was sometime between the point when one person didn't have a module, and then we faffed for ages trying to get one set up so he had something to work on, and things fell apart a bit, but then we worked it all out. I wonder if it had something to do with my own mood. Although I wasn't nervous, I started off a little bit tentatively...then I had to rush around because things weren't working and so I just became a practical person trying to get things done and it seemed to me that at this point we all seemed to relax. But maybe that's just the way I perceived it because as soon as I was doing something I felt better and perceived the class in a different way....?

It is so interesting to see that, despite everything I keep saying about it, the staff really do enjoy training. They enjoy creating these simple online presences. They feel proud when they pick things up. I love the moment when they get it and then they start asking questions and they're saying "oh right yes - and so if I do this then this happens and so what would happen if I wanted to do this?". That's the best part of these sessions.

It wasn't very well structured. I forgot to mention bits and pieces. We worked on things as we went along. It was informal. The informality definitely works for me. The more of that the better.