Author: Celia Popovic
Vignette
Paul was thrilled to be hosting his first workshop. He had carefully researched the topic, ensured it was what the participants required, and had his materials ready. As the participants began to arrive, he was pleased to see them talking to each other. However, as he started the session, one of the participants interrupted to ask his colleagues what they thought about a controversial topic dominating conversation at the university at that time. Before he knew it, ten minutes of the workshop had been lost and the audience were focussed on the controversial topic instead of the workshop content. Fortunately, Paul was resourceful, confident and calm. He soon managed to gain the attention of the participants and got back on track with his original plan.
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Workshops and webinars (online workshops) are a key staple in Educational Development. Isolated events may not be as effective as sustained programs, but here we will focus on ways to ensure a workshop or webinar is well designed and fit for purpose.
Workshops are particularly useful when there is a new policy to be launched or a pertinent issue to address. For example, in the Spring of 2020 we had a huge uptake in attendance at webinars on online teaching. The need was acute, the mode of delivery was appropriate and the interest was high. Such success is less likely if the topic is not of wide interest, the timing makes it difficult for most to attend (or those most likely to be interested to attend) or the location is inaccessible.
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