Reflection: Workshop on Spreadsheet (Secondary) 1st Run

@ First Toa Payoh Secondary School, 13 & 20 February 2008 (Link to Workshop Blog)
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险象环生
In the original plan, we did not even thought of facilitating the spreadsheet workshop via a blog... thought of adopting the same approach - using a Shared Spreadsheet to manage the group work and responses from participants. Nevertheless, despite of the pre-workshop preparation, the network played us out! (more seriously than our encounter at Teck Ghee Primary last year). Sigh!

Fortunately, created the blog just 15 minutes before the (1st) session began. Well, luck seemed not at our side that day! To our shock! only the teacher's PC and a couple of other stations work! Oops! Really 人算不如天算！This was all because the network was switched-off because there was CPA coursework in the morning.

Luckily (in fact we had never get ourselves so well-prepared for continguency!) we still have post-its! hahaha... 天无绝人之路. Phew! Hm... now: Whenever we go for workshop, we shall bring along with us the emergency pack!

Because of the technical problems, the overall impression was really Chaos! Halfway through the presentation (at the beginning), all the participants' systems 'froze' ('cos WK solve the network issue - one learning point: Never never meddle (or explore!) with anything that we are not familiar with... This prevents unnecessary disruption)

迟到大王
Another observation:
Hey, many (well, must emphasize the point that it's not all) Maths teachers tend to be late! Hey! where's this value of observing punctuality? In fact, we had a group of teachers (more than 5) from a school who were late for almost 20 min. Yet, did not take to heart that they disrupt the flow/on-going of the workshop. Oh yes, another point I don't quite understand - not all teachers from the hosting school were punctual! Indeed, we had teachers from the far north arrived ontime!

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Something we did (for the first time)... before the 2nd session...

• To address the latecomers issue... it's the first time we sent an email to all participants that we would be starting the 2nd session punctually because of 'additional skill building' built into the workshop. {So, this is the 'plan'}
• On the day, we kept to our words to execute the plan. at 2.35 pm, we started... despite only about 5 were here... Think the participants were a bit surprise... but we carried on. Of course, those who came in this time came in quietly... hahaha... seems working :P