K-12 Partnership Program

Prior to Your Workshop 

• Know your audience. Distribute a questionnaire prior to the workshop to gauge participants' computer skills and Internet experience. What have they done before? What subject or grade level do they teach? What do they hope to get out of the training?
• Develop and publish a web page that has links to the material you plan to cover in the workshop. Try to tailor the material to the participants' backgrounds and interest. Print out a copy of the web page (including URL) to distribute to participants after the workshop so they can go back to the site at a later time.
• Check out the computer lab that you will be using ahead of time. Make sure you are familiar with the web browser installed on the computers. Make sure you have a fast and dependable Internet connection. Have a number to call or a person to contact in case of technical difficulties. Will you need to bring any additional equipment?

During Your Workshop

• Try to ensure that there is only one person per computer. Typically, when two people (or more) are working at a computer, the experienced person gets more experienced and the less experienced person doesn't gain significant experience.
• Use a presentation device so that participants can follow where you are during the session.
• Share the experiences (and mistakes) you had when first learning about the Internet. This will make participants feel more at ease.
• Walk participants through online examples but be sure to give them plenty of free surfing time.
• Encourage participants to share their thoughts of how they could use the Internet in their classes. What kinds of projects would they like to do? What to they think about a particular example you showed?
• Have a backup plan in case the Internet connection fails. If you can, have your web page published on more than one server in case one goes down. 

After Your Workshop

• Have participants fill out an evaluation form. What did they like and dislike about the workshop?
• Stay after class to answer questions from participants.
• Encourage participants to stay in touch. Send them an email occasionally to see how they are doing or better yet, stop in their classroom and see for yourself.

(Adapted from Classroom Connect Newsletter, Net.Pro: Internet Training Tips, Summer 1998)