Soul Session: Ignite, Inspire, Amuse

As a CORE eFellow this year I was privileged to attend a "Soul Session" as part of our Master Class days run by DK at CORE HQ in Christchurch earlier this year.

This was a really neat time when all CORE staff present gathered around on couches and chairs to share in some learning, humour and inspiration together.

I've since adapted this concept and used it with our teachers to begin our Staff Meetings. I have used the tagline "Videos to Enthuse, Amuse or Inspire". 

The idea is that each week, groups of teachers (eg. a syndicate) contribute a link/URL to a video online. The videos are used to kick off our staff meeting and are a great way to get all teachers to contribute. Before their video is screened we usually get the person who chose it to give a brief overview or pose a question to ponder while we are watching. We usually show up to 4 videos of approximately 3 mins each so the whole process takes less than 15 minutes. It has proved to be such a great collegial way to begin our meetings. Such a simple, yet brilliant idea.

Staff have commented on their high level of enjoyment and that they also have been sharing the videos to their classes (where appropriate) as well as their friends and families. Each week I also collate all the videos shared by staff on our eLearning PD wiki and email the page so staff can review any videos if they wish. 

So what do you think? 

Could this have any merit if used with your staff? 

Have you tried something similar?

I'd love to hear your ideas, questions or comments.

Once again, a huge THANK YOU to DK for the inspiration to add this special element to our PD programme.

(Image Credit: Saxman B&W)