Oct 25 2008
my first inset
I’m nervous about the first day of term (this coming Monday) because I have been asked to give an INSET session on how I make best use of ICT in my classroom. It all came about from an open evening for the school’s Parent Forum AGM, where several members of staff were approached to show their rooms and resources used in day-to-day lessons. The feedback we received was pretty positive and resulted in a request for us to run an ICT session for the entire staff at the next inset day.
My plan right now is to break the sessions (about 30 minutes each) into the following steps;
- show my classroom blog and the different resources I have made available online for pupils – another colleague will also discuss blogs but, having shared our experiences, it is clear that we use them for different things
- short focused introduction to the latest tool I have used, screencasting, taking my colleagues through a quick and simple example using the windows software they already have on their classroom pcs and discussing scenarios where this could be used across the curriculum
- a look at the video project I produced with my S2 class towards the end of last session, highlighting how open-ended activities such as this could fit into the CfE draft outcomes for Science
I had thought about a short introductory session on Glow, now that we are likely to be switched on in the New Year, but my Glow account has just been activated and looks pretty empty at present.
It might sound daft to be so nervous about talking to colleagues about what I do every day. In principle, I think it is good that the school recognises the need to share good practice. The problem here is that I can’t see there being very much interest in it. Feedback already received from colleagues suggests they don’t want to know about things that would mean spending more time doing school stuff. From my own perspective, I would have preferred to have a willing audience, rather than an audience who are there through compulsion.
Have you found yourself in a similar situation in the past? How did you approach the problem and how was your presentation received?
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I’ve been in this situation a few times! However, do not despair, you will be surprised at the folks who do take on board and have a go at trying to do similar stuff afterwards. There are always the cynics and they tend to have the loudest voices..but remember, a prophet is never believed in his/her own land. I always get a much more enthusiastic reception when presenting at other schools than at my own!
Good luck, although I’m sure you won’t need it…
Thanks, Jaye. You were correct, a few people surprised me with their response to my presentation. Despite many feeling it was always going to be beyond them, there seems to be a revived interest in one department. Another HoD told me afterwards that there was a real need for “thinking time” to look at blogging and podcasting before deciding on the best year group for a pilot.
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