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Get a Sneak Peak at a Blackboard Certified Trainer’s BbWorld ’08 Pre-conference Workshop

By Eric Wilson, Technology Trainer/Part-time Faculty and Blackboard Certified Trainer, Orange Coast College

BbWorld ’08 is nearly around the corner now—it looks to be exciting and, as you know, what better way is there to learn about and share lots of different teaching and training techniques with e-Learning tools.

I look forward to attending this year’s users conference as both an attendee and presenter.  I’m thrilled to be able to present during a pre-conference workshop, on collaborative learning and how the Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License can be an easy and effective tool for this.  The title of my workshop is “Learning Together Online – Collaborative Learning.”  Check out the list of pre-conference workshops for details about mine and others.

My hands-on workshop will include a workbook I’m developing with lots of useful information, best practices and resources.  Here is a sneak peak of the topics I’ll be covering:

Remaining Cool in a Crisis: Tips for Blackboard Trainers

By Kevin Reeve, Blackboard Certified Trainer, Utah State University

I have always been told the key to being a professional and successful trainer is the ability to adapt and take control of the situation at hand.

Perhaps the Internet goes down, computers are not set up properly, a particular demonstration doesn’t go as planned or a certain participant dominates the conversation, trying to take the agenda off task.  All of these events can test the true skills of any trainer.  I have had my fair share of these problems.

Thanks to the training I received in the Certified Trainer Program, and hands-on experience, I have learned to always have a back-up plan and to stay cool in a crisis.  I’ll share here some of the tips I follow to make the best of any training or presentation.

Welcome to the Blackboard Training Blog!

Welcome to the first of our blog entries on the world of training.  Why blog?

Well, we have a variety of reasons for you to tune in regularly: first and foremost, to connect with peers in a meaningful way, and read about cutting-edge information on pedagogy and best practices in training and be able to answer these questions:

• What are my colleagues and peers doing?
• What new training resources are available to me?
• How can I leverage this training knowledge at my own institution or organization?

What won’t you see in this blog?

For starters, you won’t read posts written by just me each week.  You can breathe that sigh of relief now.  The Blackboard Training Blog will be an online forum for our Certified Trainers, training program participants, industry experts, and our very own Blackboard trainers to participate and share their knowledge and experiences.   

Interested in participating?  Excited to begin?  Start by bookmarking the Blackboard Training Blog page and get involved as we begin our grand adventure in blogging!  Next, mark your calendars – Thursdays will be our main posting day, so every Thursday you’ll find new content here.

Want to share your training experiences, tips and success stories here?  You can contact me, the Blackboard Training Blog coordinator extraordinaire, at kristen.cooper@blackboard.com.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with the training community!