Chris ONeil

FRIT 7739
Face to Face Staff Development

Reflection

Teaching teachers is always a stressful undertaking. Teachers know their stuff and I know

through experience how valuable their time is. This is why I wanted to be sure to make the

training effective, efficient, and worth their time. Overall I feel as if he Face-to-Face training at

Stone Creek Elementary went well. There were 8 participants in total who all were very

attentive, engaged, and seemed to gain knowledge from the training.

The initial login portion of the training went smoothly as all 8 participants had logged

into Odysseyware at least once during the initial introduction of the program when it was

purchased by the County, but only two have used it on a regular basis since. From there, there

were differences in base knowledge became evident. Through the process, some caught on

quickly and a few seemed to move a little more slowly. This could have been due to ones

technological aptitude, or just the fact that some had used the program a little before this training.

In the end, all of the objectives were covered and the teachers/participants seemed to have a

grasp on what was covered.

In hindsight, I believe this training could be broken up into two or three sessions to allow

more time for questions and most importantly more time to be more hands on inside the program

itself. Even though all the objective were covered, I feel as the instructor that if more hands-on

time with the instructor there for support and guidance would have made for a more in-depth

learning experience. I also feel there would have been more interaction with a smaller itinerary.

In going through the responses I believe everyone had a positive experience but noticed a

couple areas that might need to be addressed before this training is presented to another group. A
few people expressed interest in more information concerning running Reports within the

Odysseyware program. It seems this might not have been covered as well as could be. The main

area teacher seemed to be uncomfortable with is in the area of Customization within OW. I

believe this is one topic that could have more time devoted to it so participants can actually

customize lessons on-site and be able to collaborate with each other and ask questions when

needed.