I’m
starting to get Facebook reminders of our time in Nepal last year, and as each
one pops up I’m thinking more about the training we did there, what I learned
in those situations, what I’ve applied already and what I would do differently
in those situations now.
The most significant experience at the time was seeing the
enthusiasm displayed by each group of learners. These were people who were all
experienced in their field (community development, nursing, community health,
finance) but with limited or no experience of working with a computer. They
were amazed that we had travelled to their remote communities to spend time
providing training opportunities and were more excited than any learners I have
come across in fifteen years training in Australia. This experience has
deepened my sense of privilege of access to learning and reignited my passion for
training.
Having had this experience, I now question why we don’t see
that same level of enthusiasm here. One common reason / excuse for not
attending professional development is “I don’t have time”. At the beginning of
this year I came across a blog put together by four Educational Technologists
from the UK who were experiencing the same issue with their staff. Their blog, “1 minute CPD”, offers daily bite
sized, just-in-time, professional development. James Clay’s blog post “I don’t
have a dog”, shared recently through my Twitter PLN, is both entertaining
and enlightening as he shares his thoughts that we all have the same number of
minutes in a day and how we choose to use them is a matter of personal
priorities.
Through following 1 minute CPD this year I have improved my ICT
proficiency, acquired new skills in classroom technologies and learnt to use
curation tools … and so much more – and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned
on my social media and with my colleagues. Sharing the 1 minute CPD concept and
James’ thoughts have already proved helpful to me in encouraging staff to
re-evaluate their priorities and to see professional development as something
desirable and enjoyable and not just a compliance “tick the box”.
