NACE online CPD: participant guide

Having run live webinars since 2017, we know online CPD is valued by many schools as a flexible, high-impact way to access specialised training, support and peer exchange, as well as making it easy to share CPD with colleagues through access to session recordings and accompanying resources.

Over the past few years we have extended the remote CPD and support we offer – bringing more of our courses and member meetups online, as well as offering on-demand recorded CPD sessions and additional phone support.

For online CPD we use Zoom, a popular platform which many schools will already have experience of. We chose this platform as it is user-friendly and offers a range of functions that allow us to deliver interactive, collaborative sessions – including presentations, break-out sessions and Q&As.

What to expect

Each session will vary depending on the CPD type, aims, focus, length, audience and group size. Elements may include:

• Presentation from a NACE associate, trustee or representatives of a Challenge Award-accredited school;
• Live Q&A – either by typing questions in or asking them directly using computer audio;
• Peer exchange – opportunities for participants to share their own experiences/ideas with the group;
• Break-out sessions – opportunities for participants to share ideas in smaller groups;
• Live polls – quick multiple-choice polls used to gauge participants’ current context/needs/priorities; the results can be shared with the group and used to inform future CPD and resource development.

What you need

To join an online CPD session, you will need:

• A computer, tablet or smartphone
• A good internet connection
• Headphones/speakers
• Microphone (if you want others to be able to hear you)
• Webcam (strongly recommended to support communication and collaboration)

How to register for a session

All upcoming live sessions will be published on our calendar. If you are a NACE member, you will also receive details in our monthly newsfeed and other email updates (log in to your NACE account to ensure we have the correct contact details, and invite colleagues to create their own accounts so they also receive updates – visit our “getting started” page for more on this). To register, simply click on the event details and complete the online registration form.

How to join a session

Ahead of the session, we will email you with a meeting ID and password. At the scheduled session time:

1. Open your internet browser and go to https://zoom.us/join (or download and open the Zoom app).

2. Enter the meeting ID and password.

3. You will then be placed in the session “waiting room” until the meeting host admits you to the session (this may take a few minutes).

4. Make sure you have your webcam and audio enabled. We strongly suggest participants have their cameras turned on to support online connection and collaboration. You may be automatically muted at the start of the session. Don’t worry if this is the case; we will unmute participants for the Q&A/discussion time.

5. If you are having problems hearing/viewing, or to ask a question or share a comment, type into the “chat” box. Take a look at our Zoom user guide below for additional guidance to help you get familiar with the software.

Note on attendance: The Zoom link issued for each course or event is for the registered delegate only. If you are unable to attend, wish to re-assign your place to a colleague and/or to register additional colleagues, please let us know in advance. For paid-for sessions, schools will be invoiced for any additional colleagues who attend.

All sessions are recorded for QA purposes.

Getting the most out of online CPD

To get the most out of an online CPD session, we recommend:

• Log in a few minutes before the session is due to start to avoid any last-minute hitches, and to give the meeting host time to check your details and admit you to the session.
• Make sure you are comfortable with your set-up. Ideally your webcam should be at eye-height, with window/light in front of you (to avoid putting your face in shadow). We strongly encourage participants to keep their cameras turned on, to support good communication and collaboration.
• Check your screen name shows your full name and school/organisation. You can edit this by clicking on the three dots which appear when you hover over your name on the screen.
• Keep yourself set to mute when not speaking, so other participants do not hear you typing or any background noise. But remember to unmute if you want to speak!
• Use “gallery view” to see all participants (you may need to click back and forth to see everyone for larger groups), or “speaker view” to see just the current speaker.
• Use the chat box to ask questions and to share ideas or useful links with other participants.
• If you’d like to share out-loud, use the “raise hand” option to attract the presenter’s attention. To do this, click on “Participants” and then select “raise hand”. (Alternatively, just raise your hand so the presenter can see clearly on camera.)
• Be prepared to take notes – either by hand or electronically (if the latter, you may want to use two devices so you can keep the online CPD session open on one while typing on the other).

Useful links