What is a workshop

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.