What
is a workshop?
Workshops are held to educate people
about various topics. It is an in depth review of a specific topic of interest
to a community.
Workshops provide an in-depth review of a
topic of interest to the community. It typically provide participants with materials
and/or ideas that are immediately useful, and ideally devote significant time
to hands-on activities by the attendees.
Why
would you hold a workshop?
A workshop is held to edify people to
develop specific skills. Statistics show that our students are increasingly
making use of the internet to complete school assignments and tasks. It gives
attendees a chance to use information effectively to accomplish a specific
purpose. It helps them to understand the economic, legal and social issues
surrounding the use of information and information technology. I want attendees
to incorporate selected information in their knowledge base and value system. I
want to do my part by educating students for lifelong learning.
Who
is your target audience?
Library staff in the
public libraries.
When
would you want to conduct a workshop?
Every time when new policies are
implemented, or whenever staff are unsure about something.
How
do you conduct a workshop?
Define the workshop objective.
Whether you are teaching a skill, delivering information or increasing
awareness, outline the goals of your workshop. This analysis may result in a
list of specific skills you will be teaching, concrete topics you will cover,
or simply a feeling you will inspire in your participants.
Plan carefully.
- Determine
the details of the workshop. If you will be delivering information, decide
exactly what you will discuss. In the case of skill-building, determine
the types of activities you will include in your workshop.
Arrive early.
- Set
up all equipment before participants arrive. If you are using video,
graphics or other media, test them out before the day of your workshop.
- Distribute
materials. If you have notebooks or other workshop materials to hand out,
place them on the tables or chairs in advance to save time during the
workshop.
- Greet
participants as they arrive. Arriving early allows you to set up, relax
and get to know participants before the start of the workshop. This helps
in building relationships with the participants.
Welcome everyone and begin
introductions.
·
Introduce yourself, explain the workshop objective and ask participants
to introduce themselves. Limit the introductions to a few sentences by asking
everyone to answer two or three specific questions, such as providing their
names and what they hope to gain from the workshop.
Allow
regular breaks.
Scheduling
breaks helps people assimilate the information and reflect. Let participants
know how often they will get breaks and the lengths of the breaks. This allows
workshop attendees to plan accordingly for restroom usage, phone calls and
other personal needs.
Follow up with the participants after the workshop.
Ask workshop attendees if you may contact them in the future for their
input. Some people need time to reflect back on their workshop experiences.
Following up with workshop participants several days or weeks later might
reveal new insights.
