This page contains information regarding Learn @ On Stage Lighting workshops, particularly on-site training in your venue. You may have already discussed training workshops at your venue with me, this guide will give you some more information about how we’ll get organised. If we aren’t already in touch, this information will also help you understand what I’ll need to know in order to make meaningful suggestions regarding your needs. This means that you can gather some of it before you contact me and speed up the process at the initial point of contact.
In short, you’ll find info on:
- How training workshops are designed and delivered.
- Information I’ll need from you.
Learning Design
All training packages delivered at your venue are bespoke to you. I will put together learning content specifically addressing your immediate needs and also those in the future. To do this, I take information from you and formulate a overall theme and skeleton plan for your approval.
Diagnostic Assessment
Early on in the process, I will usually send you some form of diagnostic assessment in the form of a short survey of questions. You should ask the proposed workshop attendees to take a few moments to fill this in. The purpose of this is to gauge the current level of individual learners, any previous experience and their aspirations for the learning ahead. This helps me plan the most appropriate content.
Pre-Workshop Engagement
(If you are familiar with educational terminology, the following describes what what is called ‘flipped learning’.)
In order to deliver the most ‘bang for buck’, many of my on-site workshops are actually the final session of a learning loop. The live workshop is the culmination and practical application of learning. Attendees will have already benefited from pre-session work which is delivered online. This takes the form of a few hours engagement, building concepts and knowledge to then be experimented with and applied later. The pre-workshop may involve some self-directed tasks which will be within the grasp of the learner and the results of these tasks often forms part of the workshop. This allows for clarification of concepts that were not quite understood and inquiry into things that were easy or hard.
An example of the power of pre-session engagement is a recent CAD client who, when I arrived for the days training, had a roomful of former novices who could already use the software to a good basic level by the time we’d even met. This was due to the pre-session engagement and a quick diagnostic task on the day ensured that we could then move on to the harder stuff. In this way, my clients only have to book all their learners and facilities for one day but benefit from the equivalent of many days learning.
Information That I Need
I benefit from as much information about your training needs, learners and hoped for outcomes as possible. However, I realise that my clients don’t have time to put together large packages of stuff so here is a list of basic needs in order to move forward.
For pricing and availability:
- Your training location
- Hoped for dates of workshop or generally good potential availability.
- Number of attendees and rough idea of the group’s current level.
- 1 or 2 major learning outcomes from the learning. What do you want attendees to be able to do by the end of the training?
For design and delivery:
Once we’ve agreed on a booking, I’ll need some more information. I rarely need to perform an on-site visit to the training venue, but I do benefit from understanding your space and technical facilities prior to design of the learning. This makes site information an important part of pre-planning.
- Booking Deposit, usually 50% of final total. This ensures the booking and allows design to begin.
- Venue technical spec (if you have one). Relevant equipment makes and models where possible.
- Weblink to your group’s/venues upcoming season or a short list of upcoming shows.
- Digital photo of the inside of your venue, showing basic layout/type and lighting positions (where possible)
- Digital photo of your lighting control desk, ideally in situ. I should be able to recognise the make and model but will ask for further details if required.
- Digital photo of a technical area where possible, particularly your venue dimmer racks or power supply.
- Indicative digital photo of your equipment stock (if you don’t have a technical spec). This allows me to see the kit you have.
- Details of vertical access to lighting positions. Is it possible to work from ground level for some tasks or does everything have to be done at height? If so, what access equipment is available?
- If you hoped to hire equipment specifically for learning on and for the future, details of your chosen hire company and hire budget for the session.
- Any relevant information on food, water and other welfare facilities for attendees.
The Workshops
Workshop start time is usually 0930 or 1000. A slightly late start works quite well if learners needs to settle once at work, check emails and deal with stuff that needs dealing with before they can concentrate on the workshop. My experience is that by about 4:30pm, learners are basically ‘full up’ and struggle to concentrate so we usually wrap around that time. We take a few coffee breaks and a short or working lunch break, there are also regular ‘change ups’ during the day to keep us all focussed.
Workshops are led by myself or one of my training associates, all of whom are experienced industry professionals and good communicators.
Post-Session
Session notes are usually updated and available to you online after the workshop, reflecting particular things that happened during the session. There is also the opportunity to clear up answers to specific technical questions that arose during the workshop that we were not able to fully cover.
Get in Touch
If all that sounds good to you, send an email to learn at onstagelighting.co.uk with your organisation’s training wishes and I’ll get back to you with suggestions and costs. Don’t forget to send me some information to base my answers on too!
Rob