Issue link: https://takingitglobal.uberflip.com/i/1542824
R. Adeboye, C. Flewelling,V. Ogbole, E. O'Sullivan 55 The 2024-25 annual teachers survey included a write-in question seeking teacher views on the Connected North platform, and while not all comments were clearly related to the booking tool, of the 103 that did seem relevant, 82% were positive (e.g., "It met my needs--easy to navigate and book. Clear descriptions about each session. Accurate search parameters."), 12% were more negative, (e.g. "The search feature is tricky. It can be hard to look at a session and then go back to the search list that came up"), while the remaining 7% were generally positive with caveats or suggestions for improvement (e.g., "I love the platform but it seems to get clunky sometimes and tends to show only certain sessions"). Issues with the search function seemed most common. With respect to booking, many interviewed teachers made positive comments about the utility of the booking features in Connected North's online tool. Some praised the function whereby teachers could choose their dates and/or see which dates were available, while one was especially appreciative of the ability to edit requests, a feature she had specifically requested. One teacher, who had encountered some challenges with booking across time zones, suggested that the online tool could include a field to indicate what time zone the teacher was in and synchronize booking accordingly. Although the web platform was the most commonly reported means by which surveyed teachers found sessions, other modalities were used as well. For example, one in five continued to use the printed catalogue; and although some interviewed teachers described the web platform as an improvement, a few continued to value the catalogue as a convenient means of "bookmarking" sessions; as a physical reminder to use Connected North; and to promote the program to colleagues. Although no specific question was asked on this issue, some teachers highlighted the quality and utility of the session descriptions, both to facilitate selection and to help both students and teachers feel prepared. Again, comments were positive, though one teacher did highlight the importance of precision to supporting session selection and preparation, and that occasionally session descriptions could benefit from additional nuance. After the web platform, 43% of survey respondents reported finding sessions through their school leads. This collaborative process was highlighted by a majority of interviewed teachers, who explained how they relied, often heavily, on their school leads to help them identify and customize appropriate sessions. This support ranged from school leads simply alerting teachers to upcoming events; to assisting them in choosing among options they had identified themselves; to searching on their behalf for sessions to meet specific needs; to developing a complete "They have made wonderful changes to their website and have really grown how they do things. And I think they've really also listened to the teachers feedback." -Teacher Interviewee