TTT Soap Box: Breaking the Ice!

BrianFord · Oct 11, 2023

Greetings Fellow Instructors!

In advance of the upcoming Security+ TTT series I wanted to ask the Instructor Community for their ideas, thoughts, and opinions about some of the tools of our instructional trade.

How do you 'break the ice' with the students in your classes?

What do you do as the instructor to tell the students about yourself and your experience?

How do you facilitate helping your students learn about others in the class?

As I teach virtual classes over Zoom and Webex I often use a start of course survey. I briefly introduce myself (please call me Brian; I'm your instructor; this is my email; and I'm in the eastern time zone) and ask then questions such as: their name (sometimes my registrar or Zoom/Webex inserts email addresses in class list); what they like to be called (nickname); where they are from (optional); and where they are in their journey (getting started or testing after last class). This isn't a mandatory survey and I get about a 75% response rate. I reach out to each student who doesn't respond within the first 2-3 days.

What do you do?

Brian

Gregory Childers · Oct 11, 2023

With the introductions, I try to accomplish the following:

Establishing my own credibility to teach the class
Learning their background/experience
Learning their objectives/expectations
Discussing the agenda for the class

Fanuel · Oct 11, 2023

Learning their expectations and discussing the agenda can easily break the ICE

Rick Butler · Oct 11, 2023

1. Break the Ice: For security +, I love starting off with this statement, "Attention: If you are not paranoid as ______ by the time I'm done with this class, you didn't hear anything that I said and are doomed to live in cyber ignorance". Wait for reaction, then "Now that I've got your attention, let's go through some intros..."

2. Not much, really. I've never been one to talk about myself. I may spend, at best, 30-60 seconds on myself.

3. One of my techniques is to intersperse intros with regular content. Sometimes it works to change things up faster.

/r

Carnegie · Oct 12, 2023

I use personal introduction and participants introductions to break the ice for the cohort. I share relevant information from my career experience to establish credibility. And, as part of the intro survey I ask open ended questions like, "What do you want to get out of this course?"

Robina · Oct 12, 2023

Hello Brian,

It's great to see your proactive approach to engaging with students in virtual classes. Breaking the ice is a crucial step in creating a comfortable learning environment. Here's my take on your questions:

Ice-breaking: I often start with a fun, non-academic question to loosen up the atmosphere. Something like "Share one interesting fact about yourself" encourages students to interact in a lighthearted way.

Introducing Yourself: Sharing a brief bio or personal anecdote related to the subject matter can make you more relatable. It shows that you're not just an instructor but also a fellow learner.

Learning About Others: Encouraging students to introduce themselves to the class, perhaps sharing their background, what they hope to gain from the course, or even a unique hobby or interest. This fosters a sense of community.

Your start-of-course survey is a practical approach, especially for larger classes. Reaching out to non-responders individually demonstrates your commitment to their engagement. It's all about creating an inclusive and participatory learning environment.

Keep up the good work!

Mark Anthony Germanos · Oct 12, 2023

I ask "What is your compelling WHY in taking this class?" Students need some time to digest the question and then issue a response. Patience is a virtue on this one.

Jarrel · Oct 19, 2023

BrianFord said:
Greetings Fellow Instructors!

In advance of the upcoming Security+ TTT series I wanted to ask the Instructor Community for their ideas, thoughts, and opinions about some of the tools of our instructional trade.

How do you 'break the ice' with the students in your classes?

What do you do as the instructor to tell the students about yourself and your experience?

How do you facilitate helping your students learn about others in the class?

As I teach virtual classes over Zoom and Webex I often use a start of course survey. I briefly introduce myself (please call me Brian; I'm your instructor; this is my email; and I'm in the eastern time zone) and ask then questions such as: their name (sometimes my registrar or Zoom/Webex inserts email addresses in class list); what they like to be called (nickname); where they are from (optional); and where they are in their journey (getting started or testing after last class). This isn't a mandatory survey and I get about a 75% response rate. I reach out to each student who doesn't respond within the first 2-3 days.

What do you do?

Brian

Ice breaker - check the news. there are lots of 'cyber' news nowadays that you can link to your topic

Introduction / Learn about others - Students typically dislike introducing themselves hence, we do an OSINT activity. Draw-lots. Know your target. ? Then we talk to the person who we searched for, then share the info that we gathered to let them know how much public info about them is available. We don't share it to everyone.

Mark Anthony Germanos · Oct 19, 2023

During CertMaster Session 2 today, I said I would post my HASH video here. The file is too big. Download from my OneDrive at https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjHHnHZd4hCAiY04K21GTRiWVVRWYQ?e=IIfWOd.

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TTT Soap Box: Breaking the Ice!

BrianFord

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Gregory Childers

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Fanuel

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Rick Butler

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Carnegie

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Robina

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Mark Anthony Germanos

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Jarrel

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Mark Anthony Germanos

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