CPDAnswers

CPDRequest is a service for CPDCentral members on Glow.

It’s a fairly simple concept. If  7 (or more) members of CPDCentral request CPD on a specific topic, the CPD Team @educationscotland will find someone to put it on for you (usually by CPDMeet). The service is free to CPDCentral members.

You can find out more on the CPDRequest page on CPDCentral or by following the short link (http://bit.ly/cpdrequest) (needs a Glow username)

Isn’t it great when you go to a CPD event in person and you see people and are introduced to them. To help us get that feeling, enrolling in one of our online CPD opportunities is in two parts.

Part 1 – All members of CPD communities on Glow must introduce themselves with a photograph and details using the About Us web part. If you haven’t already done so,  then please fill in this form as soon as possible. You only need to do this once!

Part 2 – for each of the CPD opportunities:

1. select the enrol button (eg for a CPDMeet).
2. the organiser will ‘add’ you to the opportunity just as if you are attending a face-to-face event.
3. When this is done, your details will appear on the About Us section for that opportunity
4. Note this may take a wee bit of time, so in the meantime, you can continue with the CPD opportunity or edit it yourself on your CPDMe page on CPDCentral! Look for the my participation section

More:   Why should I introduce myself to a CPD community?    How do introduce myself to a CPD community?

CPDCentral is an online community for all Scottish educators on Glow. If you’re looking for innovative CPD and want to share CPD practice with other educators, then this is the community to join.

On CPDCentral, you can:

• find and contact like-minded colleagues from across Scotland
• access interesting practice shared by CPDCentral members; videos, presentations, documents, etc
• take part in the weekly online seminars (CPDMeets) on a variety of topics
• take part in online discussions on the CPDCentral forum
• ask (and get answers to) your CPD questions

Who can join CPDCentral?

Any Scottish educator can join (teacher, adviser, early years practitioner, learning assistant, you name it!) .

How much does it cost?

Nothing at all!  However, you have to commit to a bit of collegiality before you join. You must:

• upload a photograph and introduce yourself to the CPDCentral members gallery
• agree to at least some collegiate activities over the next year. All of these count as collegiate activities:
  • uploading an item of interesting practice
  • sharing an idea, intention, issue or insight
  • starting, or contributing to, a discussion
  • taking part in, or leading, a CPDMeet

OK, how do I join CPDCentral?

1. Make sure you have a photograph of yourself on your computer

2. Make sure you have your Glow username and password handy

3. Have a look at the Terms & Conditions and pick an appropriate button at the bottom

CPDMeet uses Glow Meet technology; webconferencing with computers and webcams. It allows people to interact using video, audio and a shared whiteboard space.

You will need:

• a Glow username
• a computer with a microphone and a webcam. (Many modern laptops have these built in)

You will find a guide to using Glow Meet here (needs a Glow username and password)

The best thing to do is to have a wee play a couple of days before the real CPDMeet starts. You can also get support from your local Glow mentor or contact Susan Lafferty (susan.lafferty@educationscotland.gov.uk) Susan runs practice sessions on Glow Meet.

So, don’t be feart! Jump in, and if you’re not convinced here’s a wee recording of a bit of a recent informal CPDMeet we call a CPDBlether! It uses the ‘old’ Glow Meet’ but you will still get the picture!

Thank you! Contributions to the CPDMeet programme are always welcome. Your first step is to contact Susan Lafferty (s.lafferty@ltscotland.org.uk) who is the online administrator for the CPD communities on Glow. She will keep you right. You may also want to have a look at these related CPDAnswers blog posts

What is a CPDMeet?

What makes a good CPDMeet?

What do I do before leading a CPDMeet?

If this is your first time using Glowmeet, the National CPD Team can arrange a support session.  This will take place a week before your CPDMeet and last approximately 45 minutes. This is likely to be a telephone/online session.

Before the support session please have a look at the following links to give you an idea of what Glowmeet looks like and what it can do.

• Using Glowmeet
• How to use Glowmeet

Please contact Susan Lafferty at S.Lafferty@LTScotland.org.uk or 0141 282 5207. Susan will also prompt you for some or all of the following information for the CPDMeet page:

• a picture of you
• some bio information
• title of the CPDMeet
• outcomes of the CPDMeet
• are you happy to take questions in advance of the CPDMeet?
• are you happy to answer questions for a limited period after the CPDMeet?

This will be used to build the CPDMeet page on Glow

On the day of the CPDMeet

1. Please log-in 30 minutes before the start
2. Please load pages / slides in advance
3. Please have fun!

Whether live or recorded the essentials of effective online CPD sessions are the same as face to face session:

• content which is understandable, beneficial and accurately communicated
• an opportunity for collegiate discussion and activity

Some general points about leading CPDMeets

Participants are more likely to register for a CPDMeet when they know the answer to “what’s in it for me?”

1. To help you plan your presentation:

• Identify the audience you want to or need to attract eg probationers, supply staff, senior leaders
• Identify the pains, problems, needs and desires of that audience and what would prompt them to take the kind of action you want them to take.
• Your presentation should be focused on what your audience wants to hear, balanced with what you have to say.
• Ask yourself “if the audience only remembers a few key points what should they be?”
• Optimise the visual content of your presentation (see Andrew Brown’s opportunity on CPDFind). Images have the capability to induce emotion and tell a story but only if they are relevant to the point you are trying to make.  Charts and graphs can also have the same function.
• Be as natural as you possibly can, authenticity is preferred to perfection so avoid reading from a script or what’s on the slides.
• Where possible make use of activities to engage your audience:
  • allocate a task
  • ask for questions
  • encourage use of Glowmeet annotation tools and pointers to foster collegiality 
• Be aware of your virtual body language – tone of voice, speed of speech and posture.

Finally, don’t be too disappointed if only a handful of colleagues join in the CPDMeet. This is a relatively new type of CPD and it may take a wee while before it really takes off!