Getting down to it

Now we need to ensure that the first steps to the Live Classroom are made simple for our learners. We don't want any technical hitches to confuse or frustrate them. It will be critical for teachers to be confident that the software won't let them down. They will also need to feel confident that they can operate within the Live Classroom without having to adjust their normal practices too much in the real classroom.

We need to spend some time providing opportunities for teachers to build their skills and confidence with Live Classroom and so far at Wodonga we are moving towards that with scheduled tutorials and supported activities. The infrastructure is now set up for teachers to access Live Classroom in the Project Factory without any difficulties. Tutorials will be held in there prior to trialling with the learners. Some printed resources for teachers will also be developed as we provide the tutorials. This will enable them to mentor other teachers later.

Note: As a mentor, I am making use of the text resource ; "The synchronous Trainer's Survival Guide" - Facilitating Successful Live and Online Courses, Metings, and Events. Jennifer Hofmann, John Wiley & Sons, 2004.

In the meantime we also need to consider the needs of the learners as they approach the Live Classroom, and prepare some simple to use printed guidelines. We've decided to make use of the Flip Pockets to house these Learner Guides and attach them to the PCs in EStreet where they will be accessing the software. As we approach trialling we will provide these printed resources at other PCs where learners will be located; for instance, in the classroom, computer labs and learning centres.

Note: some resources have been made available for the project in the Communications Hub; a module in the TAFE Virtual Campus. Each teacher has been provided with a login to this (firstname_lastname) module at: http://www.tafevc.com.au