I wonder about the beginning ...

When you walk into a technology training session, what do you expect to see?
Do you want to want to see a preview of what the training is about?
Do you want to have something interesting to look at until the training starts?

As someone who leads professional development sessions, I am normally focused on what participants are going to see and hear during the session not before it starts. Recently I have been thinking more about the time between when someone comes to a session and when the training starts.

When I was a classroom teacher, I liked to have a calming atmosphere for students when they entered to class to try to set the stage for learning. There was generally instructions or a journal topic on the board/screen to get students engaged and focused. I liked to get everyone on the same page to prepare for the learning.

I have been in sessions where there is music playing when you come in. I have been in sessions where there are a list of questions or quotes for you to think about, and I have been in sessions where there is nothing to do. I am not thinking about requiring journal writing at the beginning of my training sessions, but I do think it might be a good idea to do or have something at the beginning of a session to get participants focused, thinking, and in the mindset for learning.

I think Wonderopolis does a good job or asking a big picture question accompanied with an image/video to encourage thinking. So I am thinking about creating something using screenshots of some of the Wonders of the Day to run on a continuous loop before certain training sessions start. That would expose participants to questions to promote thinking and possibly even encourage creativity.

I have some favorite Wonders that I might use:

• #129 Why are School Buses Yellow?
• #21 What Fairy Tale Ending Would You Change?
• #181 Who Invented the Knock Knock Joke?
• #381 What is Your Favorite Way to Exercise?
• #13 What Would Your Perfect Candy Bar Taste Like?
• #82 Do Reindeer Live Outside the North Pole?

I enjoy looking in the Wonderopolis archives to see what WONDERful Wonders from the Past I can highlight and share. I especially like to look at the Wonder of the Day from one year ago on that particular day.

I challenge you to go look at the Wonderopolis archives (and even at the current ones). Tell me about some of your favorites so I can add them to my collection to show at the beginning of sessions and lessons.

photo source