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ESL/CivicsLink Training Module

Digging In

(Note: font formatted like this on this page are facilitator comments.)

(a) Have all participants view the log-in page. Using an LCD projector, start with Registration and guide participants through the registration process.

Some time should be spent reviewing the management pages for those participants who are going to be a facilitator and responsible for training teachers in their program. The management pages enable the designated facilitator in a program to add users to the site, and manage the different site pages.

(b) Once registration is complete, participants should review the Workspace page. From the Workspace page, participants can link to the four major parts of the site: Units, Portfolio, Community Space and Resources. Using the LCD projector, go through the main pages in each of these sections with the participants, explaining the significance of each.

(c) After a brief run-down of the main pages within the four major sections, ask participants to go to the Units Dial Page. Ask them to explore the unit that they think they would like to work on. Give participants approximately 30 minutes to explore the unit.

Provide the following (loose) instructions:

• Your primary task is to familiarize yourself with a unit and begin to evaluate its potential value in your program.
• You may review the site on your own or with other participants.
• As you review the site, write down any questions that occur to you.
• There are no rules for how to do this. This is free time for you to investigate. You will have 1/2 hour.
• Go!

The purpose of the above activity is to, in some measure, create a microcosm of the kind of scenario participants will likely encounter in their programs. This process may be confusing or frustrating for participants, but that's okay, even desirable. There are a couple of things that should, with luck, come out of this session - the first of which is participant questions. These questions will help guide the training day. The second thing to come out of this session is a sense of buy-in re: why this training is crucial. Seeing how much there is to absorb in a unit (and perhaps not knowing where to start) will provide some people with the necessary incentives to maintain focus.

(d) Discuss the above activity and ask participants to share their questions. Record these questions on a flipchart. Then ask participants how they feel about this whole process.

Explain why you started this way - to reinforce an "inquiry" approach, to use authentic questions to ground the training, to simulate the "in-program" experience, and to help participants recognize:

• the amount of material available
• the site's potential for addressing their needs
• the value/necessity of professional development & the relevance of this training

Keep participants' questions posted in the room - as a guide throughout the day. Be sure to refer back to these basic questions as the training proceeds.

(e) After participants have had the opportunity to pose questions, proceed to the Orientation unit. It's likely that most of the questions regarding the site can be addressed as the participants are guided through this unit.