CPDAnswers

The video below will show you how to do this. If you’re still stuck drop Susan a line s.lafferty@ltscotland.org.uk

The Glow network, now available in most Scottish schools and beyond, is largely made up of a series of web-parts. Think of them as lego pieces and you won’t go far wrong. There are Glow web-parts to deliver news, web meetings, chat sessions etc.

CPDGizmos are a collection of web-parts with a CPD purpose, that you can add to your own school or CPD area in Glow.

They include:

• feeds from CPDFind
• mini-versions of CPDReflect and CPDFind
• information from Teachers TV etc

See for yourself the library of CPDGizmos on Glow

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!

CPDMeet is the name the CPD Team uses for live CPD sessions on Glow. Generally they use Glow’s web conferencing technology, Glowmeet.

Each CPDMeet has its own CPDMeet page on Glow where would-be participants can see details, sign-up and interact before, during and after the CPDMeet.

Typically, each CPDMeet will be promoted in a variety of ways including CPDFind. CPDFind is the national database of CPD run by LTScotland and the National CPD Team.

Subject to permissions from the CPDMeet participants, the events are recorded and made available as an archive for follow-up work.

You can see forthcoming CPDMeets in the Online CPD library on CPDCentral

Help! I’m a CPDMeet feartie!

Most of the CPDShorts come from publicly available sources such LTScotland, TED TV, Journey to Excellence. So why put them in a place on Glow where I have to apply to join a ‘group’? There are a couple of reasons but it’s mainly about encouraging professional learning beyond stage 1 – raising awareness . See CPDScotland’s section on the 4 stages of CPD. To move to stages 2 and 3, I really need the support of colleagues.

To see those colleagues on Glow (using Who’s enrolled on this CPDShort?) you need to have an enrolment system. To that extent, it’s more like a small-scale, face-to-face CPD event. There aren’t many of these you get to visit anonymously!

In addition, Glow allows us to share thoughts and examples of practice as well as prompts to take your professional learning further in the cpdshort+ section. See the New to CPDShorts section on Glow for more details of this.

Suggestions are always welcome on how to improve collegiate CPD online!

In these early days of building the online community, we have decided to restrict membership to supply and temporary teachers only. This will allow these colleagues the time and space to discuss their own requirements. Thereafter, they may well decide it would be better to open up the community to headteachers, CPD leaders, national professional advisers and the like.

Feel free to register your interest with Susan at stepin@ltscotland.org.uk and we will get back to you if the nature of the membership changes.

You can get a sneak preview of what CPDStepin does on the CPD Team blog

If you got your Glow password from anyone other than a local authority, (eg as a guest of LTScotland on CPDStepin) you will not be able to ‘see’ local information such as school and local authority sites.

In this case, you should let your local authority Glow contact know and ask if they can now issue you with a Glow user ID. You can find a list of Glow key contacts in Glow in your area page of LTScotland’s site. If he/she agrees please let LTScotland know. Your new ID details will be merged with your guest ID.