The Digital Solutions Project, at the University Centre Shrewsbury, offers a minimum of 12 hours funded support to eligible SMEs in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin to develop digital innovations.
This week's Friday Focus explored how to create a VLE to support and develop your staff, it also gave great insights into how VLE and adult learning work, so if you missed it, take a look below. The notes for this session are available here.
Paul gave some great insights into how and why we should use a VLE system, but here are some bonus tips to help you even further!
1) Think multimedia
A key issue you may find with a VLE is engagement from those using the courses, so use multimedia options like sound and video to help keep those training involved.
2) Testing
Get someone else to test out your modules. A third party is always a great insight to make sure your message is being delivered. Try find someone who has minimal knowledge on the chosen subject, then this will give a good impression of how those using the product will find it.
3) Consider your Audience
Keep your audience in mind when writing the content, make sure examples or references you make are relevant and understandable to those using your service.
This may be less tips than usual but Paul gave so many insights in the actual stream that we don't want to repeat things! Next week we will be doing a summary stream of questions so far, a great opportunity if you have any questions!
This Friday we looked at Getting Started with Video Editing, our notes for the session are available here and the session is included below.
Here are our additional tips to consider when you start editing videos.
1. Storyboard
Some people just like to get stuck straight in and make it work, but if you've made a storyboard at first, you have a plan of where you are going which will make your life easier wen trying to piece together your clips.
2. The Right Tools
Linking back to storyboarding, if you know what you want from your video make sure you have the right tool to edit. If you know you need to create a video with text then make sure your editing software does text! This will save you time later, rather than end up putting your files through multiple software and wasting time exporting over and over again!
3. Know Your Limits
Video editing is a skill that will take time to grow! You also need to consider your computer limits, a basic computer isn't going to handle multiple 4K video files with multiple layers! Just start simple and grow from there. For most businesses a simple video with text and transition will be all you need!
4. Understand Exporting
This can seem complicated but having a basic understanding of your exporting options will help you in the long run. A video file for YouTube need's to be different to one you'd use on a TV. Luckily there are great explanations online if you want to know what settings you'd need for your purpose.
5. Experiment
So slight contradiction of the first point but have a play and an experiment! Video editing is a skill and takes time and practise to perfect. If you don't explore your software and try different techniques you'll never learn more! So experiment as you never know what you'll find.
Next week we will be looking at supporting staff with a VLE system! Something we help a lot of businesses sort so excited to share some knowledge with you. See you next week.
This week on Friday Focus we took a look at some basics to get you and your business started on podcasting. It's a great way to add another layer to your online branding, and can be fun and easy to do! The notes for this stream are available here and below is the catch up for the stream.
Feeling inspired to get stuck in, well then, here are some tips and advice for starting a podcast.
1. Know Your Topic.
Your podcast should be on something you are knowledgeable on and also enjoy. Those listening will be able to hear it in if you're not and that won't build the audience's trust and they probably won't return.
2. Get The Appropriate Gear.
To be clear, we are not suggesting go out and spend £100s on microphones and mixing desks, but have the right equipment for you. We looked at Anchor during the stream, maybe you want to invest in a better microphone to improve sound quality that the one you have in your phone. Sound quality and ease is important, therefore having the appropriate equipment is key. Maybe down the line you will want to invest in more advanced, expensive products but for now, just ensure you have appropriate, decent basic equipment.
3. Plan Your Format.
Your format needs to run between every podcast, think of it as another type of branding. Your listeners will expect to here A,B and C every week. Even the podcasts that seem like just a casual chat will have some form of planning behind them.
4. Consistency.
Similar to plan your format, but consistency is important particularly with time. Though there's no rule to how long a podcast should be, try keep your podcasts a similar length. If I know the episodes are normally 30 minutes long, then I can listen to that on my 35 minute commute. You suddenly post an episode 45 minutes then suddenly I don't have time to listen to the whole thing. This can cause annoyance to your listeners.
5. Have Fun.
If you are having it'll come across to your viewers. This is your podcast so have fun talking about a topic you're passionate about this could be anything from sports to sandwiches. Those listening what to hear about the topic so make sure you are passionate! There's no point doing a podcast based on what you think people want to hear on a topic, deliver the message you want people to hear. Have fun with whatever your subject is!
So these are some extra tips for your podcasting journey, do you think you'll get started after our stream? Let us know so we can listen in!
Next week's stream on the 29th will be Getting Started With Video Editting, another really great tool for your business to adapt. See you next week!
Yesterday, as part of National Mental Health Awareness Week, we looked at some tips to help whilst you work from home. Today we are looking at 5 wellness apps to utilise, though you are more than welcome to use these when you return to the real world!
This is an app to use when feeling stressed. Calm approaches stress using the 360 degree concept. It can help to calm a mind using meditation, help the individual sleep and acquire the skills and tools to help your own mindfulness. The app also includes audio session taught by mindful experts. A great app if you're starting on your mindful journey and want some of everything.
2.Headspace
Focusing again on meditation to help the mind, Headspace comes with celebrity endorsements from Gwyneth Paltrow and Emma Watson. The app encourages the user to do a 10 minute exercise with the app a day to help aid mood, attention span and alertness. It also offers sessions for sleeping, exercise and day to day activities such as cooking.
3. My Possible Self
My Possible Self is a great tool for tracking where you currently are mentally and where you would like to be. The app has been featured in the NHS App Gallery and has been clinically proven to help aid stress and anxiety. The app is goal driven, but not competitive, but teaches you to cope with changes and issues in your life.
4. Happify
This app uses science based activities and games to try change your negative habits for positive ones. The app doesn't take itself to seriously and really focuses on optimism to motivate the user to complete the tasks and boost their happiness score.
5.Sleepio A good nights sleep can really help your wellbeing, but also a struggle to do so when we are suffering from stress and anxiety! Sleepio was designed to help those with insomnia but also includes wellness features. The app is modelled after CBT practises and using the apps sleep diary can help the user improve their sleep patterns.
What are some wellness apps you would recommend? Have you started to use anymore since the lockdown began? There's so many more out there than what we mentioned, do some research into what you want and hopefully aid your well being.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and we thought this would be a great opportunity to discuss mental health whilst working remotely. As many of you may be finding that working from home brings a new range of challenges to the individual, with the effects mentally being on one them. So here are some tips try help you whilst working from home. 1. Set a routine.
Without clear time constraints it's easy for a day to seem overwhelming and the lines between work and home life become blurred. Set yourself a routine for each day so your body gets used to the routine. You could even match this to your typical going to work timings and use the commute time to read a book or exercise. 2. Take breaks.
Taking breaks can boost your productivity! But it's also important that we just 5-10 minutes to stretch our legs, take a break from the screen and just relax our mind. Even better for go for a walk and run to really relax and disconnect. 3. Socialise.
You may feel alone but the likely hood is everyone else in your team also is so reach out to catch ups or organise work socials. There are also lots of virtual networking events, a good way to see some other human faces and who knows what opportunities you may discover. 4. Dedicated work space. This isn't possible for everyone and we know some days just working on the sofa seems like the best option but try and have a space for working. Over time your brain will relate this area to work and being productive. Then once you are out of this space, you know it's time to relax. 5. Switch off
It is so important to make sure you do switch off at the end of the day. A work and home life balance can he hard to strike when they are both happening in the same place. The previous mentioned points of a schedule and work space can help separate the two but you need to resist the email check past your working hours. Give yourself the time to relax and recharge before the next day.
The last point and possibly most important is to be kind to yourself. We will all have bad days, just focus on things will get better and we all have days where we don't feel like we are coping. Just know you're not alone and we will all get through this.
This Friday we looked at creating a web based app using the program Glide. The useful perk of this platform is that requires no coding knowledge, just basic understanding of using a spreadsheet. You can read the notes for this session here and the catch up of the stream is below.
Now here are some of our top tips for using Glide to make an app for your business:
1. Utilise the templates. For some diving in head first may work, but if you want to have a play, Glide has some great pre built apps ready for you to populate.
2. Experiment. Unless you try you never know! Glide has a diverse rang of tools to use, you may end up using something you never thought of.
3. Test! Make sure you test as we go, although there is a lot less room for errors than coding a whole app, we all make mistakes. Luckily Glide does update in real time so if something does go wrong even when your app is live, it's quick fix.
We hope we will see you again next Friday where we will be looking at getting started with podcasts!
This week's stream focused on ways we can support and train others whilst we work remotely. Although a necessary tool whilst we are in lockdown, this is a fantastic tool to know when working remotely. The notes for the session are here and the stream is included below!
In the stream we looked at using Chrome Remote Desktop as the tool we demonstrated, so this week's top tips will be for training and supporting others with technology as remotely we know it can be a difficult task!
1. Motivate. A key part of training is to motivate the person being trained, they need a reason as to why learning this new programme or whatever is useful for them. People do not want their time wasted and need justification of why this is a good use of their time.
2. Communicate. Despite demonstrating on someone's screen, they still need clear, concise communication as you would if training person. Likewise make sure the person you are showing, communicates back, the signs of someone being confused are harder to see virtually.
3. Understand Learning Styles. A live demonstration may not be the most useful tool for training for all your team. People learn in different ways so this may not be effective for everyone. If someone is struggling you could type them up bullet point instructions or send a screencast they can rewatch. Everyone is different.
4. Feedback. It is important to receive feedback to make sure the software you are trying to implement is suitable for your team. Without discussion you will be unable to either help train someone further to help fix the issue or having, or even realise maybe the software wasn't suitable. Whilst in lockdown having effective and suitable tools in place is key, and just because something works for you, does not mean it does for everyone else.
5. Group sessions. If possible, teach everyone as a group. This can sometimes aid questions other's wont think of at the time, as well as demonstrate who has a clearer understanding and can assist others when having issues. This could be done on software like Microsoft Teams, where during a group call the trainer can broadcast their screen.
Since lockdown many businesses have had to adapt quickly into using digital platforms to help their business, that doesn't mean your team can't become an expert in it and still use it after the lockdown.
Due to the bank holiday next week, our next stream is on the 15th May, and we shall be focusing on creating web based apps using Glide. If you cannot wait two week, we have previously done a similar talk which you can view here. See you in two weeks!
