Day Twelve Dominica: Done

On my way to the college this morning I took many pictures. This is my last day, or rather my final day of this visit. One lecturer warned me about saying 'last' due to the connotation of death. This day I was swamped with over eighty in-service teachers signing up for the summer institute, many of which had questions for me."What will we be learning?" "How do I know if I am a beginner or advanced?" "Who will be instructing us?" As in every environment, there were a few that felt the time would not be spent well and others who were scared that they would appear ignorant about technology. I laughed with a couple of friends who were teasing another about signing up as intermediate and not having an email address. One claimed, "You are a beginner if you do not even have email!"
Most of the day was spent with more revisiting and some apologetic revisiting of tools and skills. I smiled at this as I am technically still on duty, trying to make as much of an impact as I can while I am still here. I assured her that there was no need to apologize; this is what I came to do. Her smile in return was payment enough, but her comment about this being the most useful professional development she has ever had affirmed my approach to meeting each lecturer where they are skill-wise.
This has been the biggest lesson for me! In regards to hosting professional development sessions, first of all make it about them and their needs. Start where they are at and move at a pace comfortable to them. Provide enough information and support for them to experiment and succeed and they will come back for more!
One lecturer came in only last minute. It is likely that he felt there was little I could help him with, but after a quick assessment of what he already knew and exploring what he might need, we launched into something I did not introduce to any of the others. We investigated a beta version of an online course management system called Diipo. He was intrigued.
Next we learned how to import slides from one PowerPoint into another. This was essential as he has large presentations that cover several days of classes. To post them in his course, he needed to create several smaller ones. I must admit that I learned this because of his questions.
And so it is my last final day with the lecturers of Dominica State College Bath Estates Campus. Until next time, that is!