A simple online team-based exercise

A simple online team-based exercise

от Roger Deslandes -
Количество ответов: 2

Hi all,

To round out my sessions I thought I would provide you with a specific example of an online group-based exercise that I used during the EumetCAL radar course. I hope you find this useful and please give your own specific examples of how you created interaction whilst delivering online training.

EumetCAL radar course workshop: Refer attachment (For general strategies refer to the wiki in Activity 2c ) As an online facilitator (based in Melbourne) of the workshop component of the course which was conducted in Langen, Germany.

I used the attached Powerpoint resource (tables) as the foundation to conduct my first online activity - a group-based exercise.

Prior to the course I organized one of the local trainers to be my eyes and ears (my assistant) at the workshop. We organized the 20 trainees into 5 teams. He was also able to pass the microphone around so that I could communicate with the trainees. My presentation was delivered online to the trainees using Saba Centra as the online synchronous delivery tool and my desktop was projected onto a screen at the workshop.

The teams of trainees were given a particular meteorological Hazard - for example " large hail". Each team was asked to consider what were the fundamental physical processes supporting that hazard; whether there was a conceptual model that applied; what parameters might be used to diagnose the hazard; and how the hazard might be identified in various data and products. In particular, with respect to radar, they were asked to identify what radar signatures were proxies or evidence for the hazard and what other radar products might help in diagnosing and Nowcasting the Hazard.

The teams were given 15 minutes to brainstorm and fill out a paper-based version of the table in slide 2 (refer attachment) table. I actually had an I-phone clock counting down the time and gave them time reminders as they worked through the exercise. The trainees were able to hear the alarm sound when their time was up.

At the end of the 15 minutes the teams were asked to nominate a spokesperson and they had to speak to the wider course about their results. As the spokesperson spoke and the wider group gave comment I completed the table online in front of them (with me at a distance) asking the group whether I had interpreted their comments correctly. We did this for each group and each Hazard.

I then compared the table that they had constructed with my own version that I had constructed prior to the session (refer slide 3 in the attachment) and we discussed similarities and differences.

Cheers - Roger

 

В ответ на Roger Deslandes

Re: A simple online team-based exercise

от Vesa Nietosvaara -

Good people,

the original posting from Roger yesterday may have been a little bit difficult to read, but now you should be able to view it properly - just click at "See this post in context" in the end of this message to see the posting...

Roger,

I think your example of Langen online radar course is really impressive in many ways. I give four big thumbs-up for your action: 

1. How much money and working time did you save by Roger not flying to Langen? !

2. You used a local ambassador in classroom to be your eyes and ears. I have seen it makes a big difference and helps people not to fall into nirvana when there is someone in the room being a representative of the online presenter.

3. You used classroom exercises as a part of your online session. I have also noticed that an online session does not mean you have to be speaking all the time in the microphone. Silence in an online meeting can feel scary and some people get very nervous when the presenter is not saying anything, but if you explain clearly what will happen and show the slide with the explanations, everybody will understand the rules of the exercise.

4. You had a meaningful outcome of the session, and obviously made participants to critically find signatures for hazardous weather in radar.

Thank you for sharing, Roger!

В ответ на Roger Deslandes

Re: A simple online team-based exercise

от Bernadette Connell -

Hi Roger and all,

I agree with Vesa that this was an impressive undertaking to do and having a local ambassador/expert/enthusiast/spark in the room is VERY desirable. 

In our hemisphere WMO regions III and IV covering North, Central, and South America and Caribbean, we have been holding monthly Regional Focus Group Sessions for 10 years now.  As I think about it, the primary way we introduce people to the online sessions is through an in-class session or some other in-person recommendation.  If it is in a class, that facilitator adds their own comments like - every month we get an update on what is happening with the indices for El Nino, sea surface temperatures and anomalies, the dominating upper level synoptic patterns, and we often highlight imagery from an interesting recent case...  People from the class go home and participate in sessions, pick up something interesting and share it with colleagues.  That is an ideal to strive for - that local "spark" in the office.  So continue to encourage all participants to share helpful "tips" with colleagues and do not be afraid to ask about something that is not clear.  Remind them that not everyone thinks or sees things in the same way.

On the facilitator side, if I know someone is new, I can say to the presenter - can you refresh our memories on how that indice works because we have a few new people with us.  Often I hear new things that make me think about a feature from a different perspective.

We haven't focused on the remote classroom exercise, but I will think about it some more, particularly with exercises on how to use GOES-R.  I had missed the ppt when I looked at the post yesterday, and as I looked at the ppt today, my first thought was that this course was for the intern.  Is that correct?  Not knowing much about what else you presented or what else was presented in the course, I had to make a few assumptions:  Material was presented in your session or prior to your session on what was important to identify large hail, damaging wind, heavy precipitation, and tornadoes.  It seems like having them fill out the form was more a matter of what they remember from the presentation (if they are an intern) or what they remember from experience (repeated use of the indicators and more likely if they are an expert).  Another way to approach an exercise would be to provide an information sheet like you show in slide 3 and assign a different (short) case to each person.  Have them circle the relevant indicators and write in values and then present each case.  Then you can show the answer of if there was a  hazard or not.  -Of course, that is more work for the organizer, but the participants see more examples and get a quick introduction to variability.

So as I typed this, I have a few ideas as to how to do some online exercises.  The information sheet is not a new idea.  Sometimes we are asked to provide a list of important points to either print out or have in a file  for easy access and reference.

Regards,

Bernie