From apprehension to Classroom Confidence
Workshops to empower school teachers to use Affinity Software in class
Art teachers at OHG Göttingen had new iPads to use in class the following year but no roadmap to utilise them.
They had low confidence, divided attention and students were missing out on key digital design skills.
The head of the art department proposed to use Affinity design software. However, 7 out of 9 teachers had no experience in using it and 3 of those had no experience with design software at all.
The iPad investment risked disuse and after our initial meeting it became clear that the teachers needed more than just training, they needed ownership, to learn only what they needed for class and ready-to-use resources.
A 3-part workshop series was designed using Needs Analysis to focus on key behaviors:
- Workshop 1 - Motivation: Teachers learned the possibilities of Affinity and designed their own class project, sparking ownership.
- Workshop 2 part 1 - Capability: I created an AI-coded demo player (custom HTML/CSS/JS, hosted on Webflow) for self-paced learning, with live support.
- Workshop 2 part 2 - Opportunity: Teachers created "expression posters" as ready-to-use inspiration for their classes based on the key tools and processes learned in part one.
After the workshops teachers expressed new confidence in their Affinity skills and the demo player was highly praised as a study aid and a resource for their lessons.
After their first classes using Affinity we may run another workshop to reinforce their training and demonstrate the new Affinity for iPad app if released by then.
Reflection
Navigating the highs and lows of a live workshop
'Workshop 1: Tough crowd
'Teachers were tired, distracted, and eating lunch; the session was in English with some German.
Key takeaway: Always plan for distracted participants and expect to accomplish a third less than planned, don't introduce key taks in the last third.
Workshop 1: Reducing pressure
Announcing "You don’t need to remember anything" visibly relaxed the room.
Key takeaway: Address anxieties upfront and avoid high-pressure tasks early on.
Workshop 2: Near-disaster
A blunder at the start of workshop 2 caused a teacher to nearly walk out. I interrupted self-study too early to share a question, causing a flustered teacher to nearly walk out.
Key takeaway: I should have written it up on the board and waited utill the end.
The demo player: Game-changer.
The self-study section with the AI-coded demo player won them over. It enabled individual pacing and freed me to assist. The plan was a workaid, but it never would have worked in this case.
Key takeaway: Consider AI and other new methods to solve multiple problems at once.
