Tips for Trainers

Objectives
Know what user training resources are
available to you for AGORA
Consider your institutions training
resources and equipment and how AGORAs
materials might be modified
Review tips for successful training

AGORA Training Materials

4 interactive self-paced training modules
for individual users covering:
What AGORA offers and main features
How to open AGORA, register, log in and
navigate to find journals and download articles
How to use CAB Abstracts and publishers
websites to find citations and download articles
What other e-resources AGORA offers

AGORA Training Materials

PowerPoint training module of approximately
one hour
PowerPoint training modules of shorter periods
And video and PowerPoint self-running
presentation for groups or individuals covering:
What AGORA offers, main features, and appropriate use
How to open AGORA, log in and navigate to find
journals and download articles
How to use CAB Abstracts and publishers websites to
find citations and download articles

AGORA Training Materials

For those with no PowerPoint or low
bandwidth:
Word document on AGORA that users can take
away
All materials available on CD

You may modify training to fit your

particular institution and resources

Your resources
When planning for training consider the
following:
What facilities do you have for training?
What equipment? Projector? How many
computers? With Internet connection?
Enough for hands-on work? If not, how can you
make training interactive?
What level of Internet and computer skills do
your users have?

Tips for successful training

Prepare beforehand
Check the venue
Facilitate learning
Introduce training and participants
Handle questions and discussion
Troubleshoot
Keep participants focused
Ask open questions
Summarize and evaluate
Make improvements for future training

Preparation
Do background reading and get hands-on
experience
Dont have to be expert; OK to say I dont
know and research/ask AGORA
Read presentation notes and annotate for
yourself
Remember your own workshop experiencesWhat did and didnt work?

Preparation
Do the computer exercises and identify any
problems
Get list of attendees and information on their
skill levels if possible
Get contact details for venue and organizers
if off-site
Print out handouts and workbooks

Check the Venue

Arrive early
Know support staff and their contact information
and learn the layout if new venue
Set up and check computers and other equipment
Practice exercises again
Get computer log ins and bookmark web resources
Organize materials

Facilitators Role
To create conditions in which learning can
naturally take place
Encourage active learning-student
discussion and cooperative, hands-on
activities
Minimize passive listening and note taking
Be responsive to needs and interests of group

Facilitators Role
Dont sacrifice comprehension for coverage
of all material
Build rapport and find out background and
interests of participants
Provide short and varied activities
Check for signs of engagement and
comprehension (eye contact, posture, facial
expressions)

Facilitators Role
Dont talk to/read from screen
Make eye contact and try for conversational
style
Encourage, listen and positively respond to
participants comments, questions and
feedback
Listen to discussions but dont interrupt;
remember comments and questions for group
discussion

Getting Started
Introduce yourself
Tell participants what will be covered and
what they will gain
Explain the timetable and the activities
Point out the location of facilities (food,
bathrooms, etc.)
Find out what people already know and what
they are interested in learning
Make them feel at ease

Getting Started
During introduction, allow participants to get
to know one another (and you to know them)
through planned activity (icebreaker)
Increases comfort level with collaboration
Examples

Questions and Discussion

Use peoples names when addressing them
Tell people when you want them to ask
questions (during or at end of presentation)
Explain that questions increase learning for
whole group
Be enthusiastic and encouraging to all
responses

When Things Go Wrong

Overtime
Broken projector
Slow/no web connection
Difficult participants
No understanding for you and participants

Keeping Focus
Listen to groups
Clarify questions for individuals or group
If unrelated discussion or web browsing, ask
how participants doing and what
conclusions theyve reached
If questions are off-topic, save for breaks or
after workshop
Assistant facilitators can help

Closure and evaluation

Conclude activities with summary
Provide overall picture
Ask open-ended questions instead of Do
you understand?
Ask participants to reflect on their learning
Be positive about achievements
Hand out feedback forms

Changes for next time

Reflect on problems and successes
Look for trends in feedback
Make notes on changes to be made to slides,
exercises, handouts
Share notes with other facilitators and
AGORA (agora@fao.org)
Make changes immediately before you
forget or run out of time
Ask on where you did not really understand

Questions?
For training support from AGORA team:
In Africa, please contact Gracian Chimwaza at
Gracian@cyberplexafrica.com or gracian@itoca.org
For other locations, contact agora@fao.org

For training materials, go to CD, website or contact

us
Please let us know what you need (agora@fao.org)

Summary
AGORA provides training materials for your
use
Think about your own training facilities and
how you can modify resources to fit your
situation
Follow tips for successful training
Do own research on AGORA and user needs

Thank you.
Any Questions?

The source of much of this lecture is the INASP

Training materials on Introduction to the Internet from
http://www.inasp.info/training/internet/download/index.
html
:
All INASP training materials, unless explicitly stated
otherwise, are copyright INASP (International Network
for the Availability of Scientific Publications).
Used and modified according to the Creative
Commons license at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/