Understanding the Target Audience
Welcome to the Understanding Your Target Audience module of our course.
Blended Learning Champions, training teachers in the use of Blended Learning, need to take into consideration the needs and expectations of their trainees across various education levels.
Any teacher can blend, from primary school to university, but their context, objectives and types of expertise will vary. It’s important that you familiarize yourself with the context of your trainees in order to support them in tailoring their transformation to Blended Learning.
In this page you can find a set of guidelines and resources that will support you in identifying and understanding your target audience.
Guidelines to understand your target audience
1. Identify their needs and expectations
Start the training by understanding your teachers better.
Surveys, questionnaires, and workshops can be effective tools for gathering information on their IT skills and familiarity with Blended Learning.
Identify their specific needs and expectations, considering the range of IT tools they are comfortable using. Don’t take them for granted!
You might think data collection is especially useful when you don’t know your trainees and their context, but it is also crucial if you are already familiar with their context. Their answers might surprise you!
Here are some resources you can use:
Download Co-Design Templates
The file contains a template for the creation of Personas and Empathy Maps. Personas are semi-fictional characters aimed at representing a person and Empathy Maps are tools that allow you to gain insights on how that person feels and thinks. You can develop the templates together with your trainees, asking them to create Personas that describe a typical teacher that operates in the same context as them.
Transformation Plan
The Transformation Plan provides a series of questions a teacher can use to reflect on the motivations, objectives and options they have when embarking on a Blended Learning journey. Although this resource is primarily designed for teachers to plan for blending their courses, as a Blended Learning Champion you can use the Transformation Plan as a tool to better understand your trainees, their needs and expectations. Carefully review their answers and modify the content of your training accordingly.
2. Consider diversity
Tailor your training content to the diverse context of your teachers. Recognize that educators from primary schools, high schools, and universities have unique challenges and opportunities.
Learn from our experience
Access our case studies and learn from our experience. Our case studies provide examples of embedding Blended Learning at different educational levels. You can search or keyword related to audience (e.g. try searching for “primary education”) and learn about the different experiences of teachers in very diversified contexts.
3. They might be teachers, but they are also trainees!
Your trainees work as teachers, but they attend your training to learn. Acknowledge the variety of learning preferences and try to incorporate diverse instructional methods within the training sessions, providing a mix of hands-on activities, group discussions, and online simulations to cater to different learning styles.
Download "Universal Design For Learning"
Use the slides to learn about representation, engagement and expression in the learning environment.
Download "Learning Styles"
Recognize and adapt to the diverse learning styles present among educators. Tailor your training methods accordingly.
Download "Personas"
Learn more about who your audience is using personas!
4. Get familiar with the available technologies
As a Blended Learning Champion, you need to be able to provide guidance on what technologies are more effective in each context, taking the IT skills of the teachers and their students into account.
100 tools for Blended Learning
A list of the 100 most used tools for Blended Learning. From interactive assessments to collaboration platforms, here you will find the right tools for most common educational needs. Familiarize yourself with these tools to be able to provide guidance to teachers in their Blended Learning journey.
5. Establish a feedback mechanism
Establish a feedback loop to continuously improve the training program. Gather input from teachers during and after the training to understand what worked well and where improvements can be made. Use this feedback to refine future training sessions and ensure ongoing effectiveness.
Activity
Develop a preliminary audience profile for your blended learning education course. Use the tools and strategies discussed in this module to inform your decisions.