5 Alice Network Software Training for Participants
Although the Alice Network Software is a user-friendly application, you should not underestimate the need to provide training for teachers or others who will be using it. You will probably leave the training of students up to
their individual teachers, but you may want to consider
developing training materials that are appropriate for both
teachers and students. A number of different training
models can be used, including staff trainers who lead
in-person workshops for teachers, self-paced printed
tutorials, reference handbooks, instructional videos, and
live instructional TV down-links. Each project will need to
select the set of training resources best suited to its
teachers and its own special situation. For example, while
geographic dispersion of teachers may make it impractical
to assemble them in one place for workshops, some projects have used TV down-links for teacher workshops, and others have distributed videos.
For many teachers, the Alice Network Software will be their first experience with telecommunications. We have found that this first experience with telecommunications is a watershed. Before they have actually experienced
telecommunications, teachers are apprehensive and not sure what to expect. Afterwards they say, "That was pretty
easy." If this is the typical learning curve, then what
your project may need to provide is help in getting over
that initial hurdle. What many teachers seem to need is
help getting started: installing the software, connecting
the modem, setting up their account, and getting through
their first telecommunications session. Hands-on
instruction in a workshop or an instructional video are
good ways to provide the help they need. Most teachers will need little help with the report writer (word processor),
but will need help using the data table, sorting data,
creating subsets, generating maps and graphs, and sending
data over the network. Teachers also need help using the
Inbox and Outbox and managing their mail effectively.
Finally, both teachers and trainers need to understand the crucial distinctions between exchanging data, submitting data, and retrieving data. These points should be kept in mind while designing any training sessions.