FRIDAYLIVE! PLANNING DOCUMENT TEMPLATE
For the TLT Group’s Online Institute LEADERS/PRESENTERS [and anyone else in an active, "visible" role!]
Each FridayLive Session is an exploratory interview “Clothing the Emperor”, a dialogue with/among stakeholders, or presentation/demonstration of “Quick-LTAs”. For more, see: http://www.tltgroup.org/tlt-swg/Friday.html
For TLT Group's Home Page of Resources for Leader/Presenters and Participants in Online Synchronous Sessions:
WWW.TLTGROUP.ORG/IVOC.HTM
TITLE: What is "Google Docs & Spreadsheets"?
DATE: Friday Nov 17, 2006 TIME: 2pm EST
FridayLive! Demonstration/Discussion
Also see: Related TLT-SWG blog page:
I. Why bother? Easy to use. Reliable, accessible. Good for joint planning, collaborative work. Many potential educational uses - esp. well-suited for student collaborative projects.
II. Advantages: Free and relatively easy Web-based tool for creating and collaboratively editing documents online. Resulting documents are similar to wikis, blogs, but easier to edit and share, publish or hide. With Google Docs, previous versions of the document are always accessible and it is easy to see who made which changes. However, the most easily visible version is the aggregation of all previous changes, completely hiding the process by which it was developed. First time users can be assured that they do not need to worry about making mistakes - no matter what they do, the favorite contributions of each collaborator are always still accessible and can be retrieved and displayed elsewhere or re-integrated into the document. It is relatively painless to establish the online account required for active participation. There seems to be no inappropriate use of the info that must be given to obtain the account. Google's financial success makes it likely that documents created by using this service will not disappear and neither will the service.
III. Educational uses: Many. Especially nice for student teams in which someone is likely to worry that his/her contributions will not be matched by comparable work done by each team member. At any time, anyone who has permission, can easily view previous versions and see who has made which contributions.
IV. Disadvantages: This tool keeps improving but some functions still work with unpredictable delays. The results of some kinds of attempts to change formatting can also be difficult to predict. Many people who begin working on a Google Docs document for the very first time find it a little more challenging than ideal to understand and follow the directions that are automatically sent as part of an invitation to become a "collaborator" on a Google Docs document. Establishing another online account - with user name and password - is required for active participation.
V. Resources: Cindy Russell's Blog: "Technology-Escapades"; see specific posting at:
http://technology-escapades.net/blog/?p=20
VI. Guidelines: Please suggest any way of making this intro clearer, easier to use.
FIRST INTRO - VIA EMAIL INVITATION
NEW PASSWORD
If you first write down that password or copy it using your computer, then when you click on that link you can insert the password where it is needed. After that you will be asked to create a new password - that is so you can pick one more likely for you to remember!
After that you can return to this particular Google Docs document (really, a Web page) any time. Your email address and your password will let you back in. You will be able to edit this document as much/little as you like.
GOOGLE ACCOUNT - EMAIL ADDRESS AS USERNAME
You may be required to set up a Google account, which you can do using your own current email address or you can create a new GMail address. Be sure to remember exactly which email address and in what format you are using, because that will serve as your "username" in your future use of Google Docs. If others are trying to include you as a "collaborator" on another Google Docs document, they will need to be careful to use this same version of your email address for that purpose. For those of us who use several email addresses and "aliases", it is easy to get confused and be denied access to Google Docs by trying to use a DIFFERENT version of email address than the one used to set up the Google Docs account.
It usually takes a few minutes to figure out exactly how the editing tools work, but they are VERY similar to Microsoft Word or other typical word-processors. If you pass your cursor over one of the icons and pause without clicking, you will see a brief explanation of what that icon will do when you click on it. Sometimes you may have to wait a few seconds for your editing to take effect. Since formatting can be a bit quirky, it is very useful to use the "Remove Formatting" option on a section of a document if the formatting isn't appearing as you intend. The "Remove Formatting" icon on the "edit" tool bar at the top of the document looks like a capital italic "T" with a small red "x" on the lower right end of the small line directly beneath the letter. Select any character, phrase, or section of the document and then click on the "Remove Formatting" icon to return what you have selected back to plain text. Once you have plain text, it is often easier add whatever formatting you prefer than trying to change from other unwanted formats directly into the format you seek.
DON'T WORRY! YOU CAN'T RUIN THE DOCUMENT! ALL PREVIOUS VERSIONS AVAIABLE!
Have no fear of ruining this document.
A nice feature of this tool is that EVERY previous version is always available to anyone who is authorized/invited to collaborate on the document. So, you can try something and if it looks terrible you (or anyone else involved) can make the document revert to a previous version.
ONLINE GROUP PLANNING WITH GOOGLE DOCS
We often use a Google Docs document as the base for an online planning session. We use a telephone conference call so that we can talk with each other while viewing and working on the same document. We've learned that when several "collaborators" are engaged with the same document at the same time during a discussion, it is helpful to designate one person to be making changes and for the others to wait. Google Docs can manage multiple changes at the same time, but in doing so it may tell one collaborator that his/her most recent edits have been discarded because someone else was already making a change to the same section. We have also learned that when several people are viewing the same Google Docs document at the same time, it is useful to position the cursor within the document at the location where you want to be reading. Placing the cursor that way reduces the frequency of having the view of the document "jump" because someone else has just made a change. These jumps can be frustrating and distracting.
FRIDAYLIVE! PLANNING DOCUMENT TEMPLATE
WHAT’S IN THIS PLANNING/PREPARATION DOCUMENT:
TITLE:
DATE
TIME: 2pm Eastern U.S. Time Zone
FridayLive! Interview WITH FEATURED GUESTS:
WORKING NOTES:
GOALS
State at least 2 goals at beginning of your FridayLive! session and then review progress on at least those 2 goals near end of session.
· You do NOT need to list ALL of your goals
· you do NOT need to make every goal quantifiable.
· Goals can vary in format and nature!
· Provide both some abstract goals AND some concrete goals;
· something participants can use/do soon
· something they can use/do a little later to keep the new momentum going.
· Try to offer some options in the spirit of LTAs (Low-Threshold Applications and Activities).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
** Sample kinds of goals: Preparation and planning for other online events; Clarifying "Dangerous Discussions" topics; Determining extent to which CtE leader/presenters are receptive/eager to help develop, participate in follow-up OLI workshop, sessions...; help participants learn new LTA they can use VERY SOON! Develop online version of "fishbowl" discussion model.
SCHEDULE
1:45-2:05PM - Login, get help, practice using the platform , say hello
2:05PM begin the actual session
Max 10-15 minutes of slides per presenter; total max 15 minutes presentation
2:55PM Guests asked for final "official" closing comments/suggestions/requests/questions
3:00PM formal adjournment
3:00-3:30PM Informal Q&A if presenters, participants have time!
3:30PM End!
Also see:
· TLT Group's Home Page of Resources for Leader/Presenters and Participants in Online Synchronous Sessions:
WWW.TLTGROUP.ORG/IVOC.HTM and
SESSION DESCRIPTION for marketing
Each FridayLive Session is an exploratory interview “Clothing the Emperor”, a dialogue with/among stakeholders, or presentation/demonstration of “Quick-LTAs”. For more, see: http://www.tltgroup.org/tlt-swg/Friday.html
FOR INTERVIEW SESSIONS (Clothing the Emperor) AND STAKEHOLDER DIALOGUES, SEE DANGEROUS DISCUSSIONS AND CLOTHING THE EMPEROR METHODS AT
http://www.tltgroup.org/ClothingTheEmperor/method.htm
QUESTIONS
We will raise, clarify, and/or explore some of these questions:
· What are realistic expectations for faculty to learn and use new teaching/learning options?
QUICKTAKE SESSIONS –
EACH ACTIVITY/APPLICATION/RESOURCE/TOOL INTRODUCED CAN BE DEMONSTRATED AND DESCRIBED ENOUGH IN 15 MINUTES TO ENABLE PARTICIPANTS TO DO SOMETHING USEFUL WITH IT THE NEXT DAY.
That does NOT mean that anyone will necessarily learn everything they want to learn about this LTA in 15 minutes. It would be just fine to have 2 or 3 sub-sessions of max 15 minutes each in which either 2 or 3 different ways of using the same thing were demonstrated and explained OR 2 or 3 different LTAs were introduced.
FULL DESCRIPTION:
<AUDIENCE: Max 75 words>
PREPARATORY CHECK-OFF LIST & REMINDERS FOR LEADER/PRESENTERS
To be completed before/during planning meeting for FridayLive Sessions.
1. ____ GOALS AND QUESTIONS See GOALS section below and provide info about overall goals for the session. E.g., provide some abstract goals, some concrete goals; something they can use/do soon; something they can use/do a little later to keep the new momentum going.
2. ____ PHOTOS Please send digital photo suitable for display on Web [for use in promotional mailings, display during online sessions, etc.] to Joanna at beiter@tltgroup.org
3. ____ TLT-SWG
Please confirm that you are subscribed to and have taken a look at the resources available via TLT-SWG www.tltgroup.org/tlt-swg.htm; if you have ideas about how to contribute info or how to use the resources of TLT-SWG, send it to Joanna at beiter@tltgroup.org. Best of all, write something useful and provocative for TLT-SWG related to your workshop topic.... or get a student or colleague to do so!
4. ____ REVIEW FRIDAYLIVE! SCHEDULE
1:45-2:00 - Login, get help, practice using the platform , say hello
2:05 begin the actual session
3:00PM formal adjournment
3:30PM End of extra optional session!
Can you stay beyond 3pm for an extra "unofficial" 30 minutes of Q&A ?
12. _____ TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS, CONTINGENCY PLANNING, AND TECH SUPPORT OPTIONS
Identify the "comfort level" of each leader/presenter, et al., ranging from having TLTG train them to handle everything themselves to having TLT Group do everything for them vis a vis the technology "platform" used in preparation for and during the online synchronous sessions. Decide on technology options for synchronous and asynchronous activities. Help prepare technology disruption contingencies. At least 4 weeks before the first workshop session, let Joanna Beiter beiter@tltgroup.org know and arrange training as needed. See TECHNOLOGY & CONTINGENCY PLANNING section below.
Suggested to do before session:
6. ____ LINKS & REFERENCES Please send URLs (Web addresses) for each Webpage that will be used during the presentation at least one day before each session to Joanna at beiter@tltgroup.org.
13. ____ (RE)TRAINING SESSION
Please be sure to schedule a time for training or a refresher course on the tech platform you will be using for the presentation with Joanna. You are welcome to be a guest of the TLT Group to "sit in" any other FridayLive! session or online workshop prior to your own. We encourage you to do this to familiarize yourself with the technological interface and to see/hear how others use the facilities and resources available to you.
TECHNOLOGY & CONTINGENCY PLANNING
Support Level Available, Preferred: Discuss technology/pedagogy support available from TLT Group. Identify the "comfort level" of each leader/presenter, et al., ranging from having TLTG train them to handle everything themselves to having TLT Group do everything for them vis a vis the technology "platform" used in preparation for and during the online synchronous sessions.
Platform: iVocalize [Elluminate, other?]
Equipment: Let us know if you need help getting or setting up equipment to enable you to participate fully and effectively. We are pleased to provide computer-compatible headsets for leader/presenters who do not already have them. For more info, see: http://www.tltgroup.org/Events/Guidelines/Headsets.htm
Contingency Planning: Identify any tech items/activities that are really essential for the session(s) that is(are) being planned and have an explicit contingency plan for its(their) failure. [Can range from "tell a joke and defer the topic to the next week then continue" to "log out and reenter a different online classroom" etc.]; discuss "triage" decision process -
A. Is the problem something we can ignore for a few seconds and just continue?
B. Is the problem something for which we can have an alternative activity prepared, and use it?
C. Is the problem so severe that we must decide to reschedule the event?
Resources to be made available to workshop participants [and/or to leader/presenters, et al.]
In ADDITION to using the TLT Group's standard end-of-workshop online survey, what kinds of feedback should we solicit and how will we use it during this online workshop?
____ Slide showing goals at beginning of session and slide showing same goals and soliciting anonymous multiple choice response at end of session
____ Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) used DURING the session
____ Other kind(s) of asynch surveys? Using asynch activities for the FridayLive! Session (e.g., blog?)?
GUIDELINES
Rules of Thumb - Guidelines - for Synchronous Online Leader/Presenters
· "YOU ARE NOT ALONE!"
We look forward to working with at least two leader/presenters for each online session; and to figuring out additional constructive roles for other participants
· EXCEPTIONS ARE IMPORTANT
The exceptions to each of the following are probably as important as the rules themselves!
· DON'T EXPECT TO "COVER" MUCH
Three online sessions do not provide an opportunity to "cover" a lot of material. You will probably be surprised at how little you can include. So, whatever you can recommend or provide for access before/after the online sessions might be very useful.
· MAX 15 MINUTE MODULES
Every online event should be organized in modules, each no more than 15 minutes. Each module should contain some "presentation" and some "interaction."
· MAX 5 SLIDES/WEBSITES PER MODULE
For one-session online events, each module should show no more than 5 substantive slides and Websites. [Additional "housekeeping" slides are often necessary. ]
· MAX 10 SLIDES/WEBSITES PER MODULE
For three-session online workshops, each module should show no more than 10 substantive slides and Websites. [Additional "housekeeping" slides are often necessary. ] Some modules should include considerably fewer than 10 slides and Websites.
· WORKING WITH GROUPS - AND INDIVIDUALS
In most of our online workshops we discover that some sites have several people participating via a single computer connection during the synchronous sessions. Sometimes we urge or require such groups. As you plan your presentations and interactive tasks, consider options that will benefit from participation of site-based groups - as well as from individual participation. We look forward to developing more specific strategies and techniques for these "hybrid" combinations of groups and individuals.
· RESPONSIBILITY FOR BEHAVIOR OF REGISTRANTS
Leader/presenters, TLTG moderators, and those having other leadership or support roles are responsible for setting and maintaining guidelines for the behavior of registrants; that includes soliciting and responding to feedback from participants as well as setting examples for different ways of getting a lot out of the online sessions.
EXAMPLE: DON'T GIVE UP THE MIKE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT! The leader/presenter/moderator who has control of the microphone should not release it until he/she has clearly identified what will happen next and who will take the microphone.