Difference between revisions of "Hosting workshops"

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== How to host a Bloominglabs workshop ==
 
== How to host a Bloominglabs workshop ==
All members are welcome to host workshops, and we can accommodate non-members as well. Workshops can be members-only or open to the public. To host a workshop, first discuss your idea with the group. Once you have a solid idea of what the workshop is about and how it should work, we can schedule a date (or multiple dates) to hold it. We try to avoid our normal meeting dates for workshops (currently Wednesday each week).
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Members: we would LOVE to see you run a workshop on a topic you feel comfortable talking about (even if you are not a member). If you are unsure where to start, simply contact us at a meeting or send us an email and we can discuss your workshop (members should use the members mailing list, non-members can reach us at contact at bloominglabs dot org). Workshops can be members-only or open to the public. We will work with you to identify what needs to happen from Bloominglabs side for safety and liability concerns, and any other needs you may have. If you need assistance during the workshop it's on you to enlist helpers. Often other Bloominglabs members can be enlisted, but we make no promise of availability. We're a friendly bunch though and we want your workshop to succeed, so it's usually not too hard to get assistance. We try to avoid our public meeting hours for workshops, or Wednesday evenings at the very least. Saturdays public hours are more forgiving though.
  
== RSVP management ==
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== RSVP Management ==
We usually ask people to RSVP so we can get a idea of what attendance will be like, the address for this is rsvp at bloominglabs dot org. The person organizing a workshop can receive RSVP mail by subscribing to bloominglabs-rsvp at bloominglabs dot org once the workshop schedule has been posted (list access is restricted to members). Once your workshop has concluded simply unsubscribe from the list.
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For workshops and classes which have limited seating, we STRONGLY recommend only holding seats for attendees who have paid ahead of time. Numerous times in the past we've ended up holding seats for no-shows while at the same time we had already turned away overflow attendees. This ends up with us having a partly empty class which is discouraging and costs us valuable time and funds. Non-refundable pre-payment of workshops ensures our time is not wasted in these scenarios.
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== Advertising ==
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For advertising of events we have a number of outlets available, please see this page: [[Publicity_Outlets]]. This can include free on-air advertising since we are a non-profit. Generally the workshop holder is responsible for advertising their event. Our social media resources are also available for workshop advertising, generally someone at contact at bloominglabs dot org can get your message onto those resources.
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== Attendee Workshop Survey ==
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Post-workshop surveys allow us to collect important metrics not only for the instructors, but for Bloominglabs as a whole. Survey results give us feedback which we can use both personally and as an organization to improve our workshops. Below is a link to the Bloominglabs workshop survey which can be sent directly to attendees, if you have trouble viewing the survey or the results please send mail to contact at bloominglabs dot org and they will get you setup with access.
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* [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd49wXnA7gKyaPlHy1PWEdP-OCIDbcGJiw1O8yRE8hhDCyexQ/viewform Bloominglabs Workshop Survey]
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==Bloominglabs Workshop Report - for the workshop host==
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For reporting purposes we ask that anyone hosting a workshop fill out this survey AFTER the workshop has concluded. This allows us to produce annual tallies of workshops, attendance records, and financial records. This information is also vital for us to be able to collect and gauge impact metrics which can be used in grant and foundation applications.
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* [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcMsx5T0T40ktCAFfeLNVytr0lip8FwHk92xndsmOtgehWTQ/viewform Bloominglabs Workshop Report]
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== Setting up PayPal links for Workshop Payments ==
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When we run workshops we usually generate a PayPal button for each one on our front page which lets people pay for a workshop immediately. This is hugely beneficial and highly recommended for getting people enrolled in workshops. There are two steps for this. Firstly, someone with access to the Bloominglabs PayPal account needs to create unique "buttons" for each workshop (usually this will have to be the treasurer or president). Next, PayPal will give that person html code to embed in our website. The code will look similar to this:
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<pre>
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<html>
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<form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
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<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick">
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<input type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id" value="PLHKBNSXD46K6">
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<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_cart_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
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</form>
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</html>
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</pre>
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This can be embedded directly into our MediaWiki site and works just fine. You will need to add some text above the button to describe the workshop and such. All signups will be seen by the officers who get mail sent to treasurer at bloominglabs dot org. They will need to communicate signups with workshop holders to make sure workshops are not overfilled - ie: the buttons will need to be removed from the website if a seat limit is hit.
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== Other questions ==
 +
We try to help each other out, if you have other questions about holding workshops, just ask! Come talk to people during our weekly public night, or ask questions on our various mailing lists.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
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[[Category: Operations]]
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[[Category: Workshops]]

Revision as of 11:06, 25 April 2019

Contents

How to host a Bloominglabs workshop

Members: we would LOVE to see you run a workshop on a topic you feel comfortable talking about (even if you are not a member). If you are unsure where to start, simply contact us at a meeting or send us an email and we can discuss your workshop (members should use the members mailing list, non-members can reach us at contact at bloominglabs dot org). Workshops can be members-only or open to the public. We will work with you to identify what needs to happen from Bloominglabs side for safety and liability concerns, and any other needs you may have. If you need assistance during the workshop it's on you to enlist helpers. Often other Bloominglabs members can be enlisted, but we make no promise of availability. We're a friendly bunch though and we want your workshop to succeed, so it's usually not too hard to get assistance. We try to avoid our public meeting hours for workshops, or Wednesday evenings at the very least. Saturdays public hours are more forgiving though.

RSVP Management

For workshops and classes which have limited seating, we STRONGLY recommend only holding seats for attendees who have paid ahead of time. Numerous times in the past we've ended up holding seats for no-shows while at the same time we had already turned away overflow attendees. This ends up with us having a partly empty class which is discouraging and costs us valuable time and funds. Non-refundable pre-payment of workshops ensures our time is not wasted in these scenarios.

Advertising

For advertising of events we have a number of outlets available, please see this page: Publicity_Outlets. This can include free on-air advertising since we are a non-profit. Generally the workshop holder is responsible for advertising their event. Our social media resources are also available for workshop advertising, generally someone at contact at bloominglabs dot org can get your message onto those resources.

Attendee Workshop Survey

Post-workshop surveys allow us to collect important metrics not only for the instructors, but for Bloominglabs as a whole. Survey results give us feedback which we can use both personally and as an organization to improve our workshops. Below is a link to the Bloominglabs workshop survey which can be sent directly to attendees, if you have trouble viewing the survey or the results please send mail to contact at bloominglabs dot org and they will get you setup with access.

Bloominglabs Workshop Report - for the workshop host

For reporting purposes we ask that anyone hosting a workshop fill out this survey AFTER the workshop has concluded. This allows us to produce annual tallies of workshops, attendance records, and financial records. This information is also vital for us to be able to collect and gauge impact metrics which can be used in grant and foundation applications.

Setting up PayPal links for Workshop Payments

When we run workshops we usually generate a PayPal button for each one on our front page which lets people pay for a workshop immediately. This is hugely beneficial and highly recommended for getting people enrolled in workshops. There are two steps for this. Firstly, someone with access to the Bloominglabs PayPal account needs to create unique "buttons" for each workshop (usually this will have to be the treasurer or president). Next, PayPal will give that person html code to embed in our website. The code will look similar to this:

<html>
<form target="paypal" action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
<input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick">
<input type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id" value="PLHKBNSXD46K6">
<input type="image" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_cart_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!">
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1">
</form>
</html>

This can be embedded directly into our MediaWiki site and works just fine. You will need to add some text above the button to describe the workshop and such. All signups will be seen by the officers who get mail sent to treasurer at bloominglabs dot org. They will need to communicate signups with workshop holders to make sure workshops are not overfilled - ie: the buttons will need to be removed from the website if a seat limit is hit.

Other questions

We try to help each other out, if you have other questions about holding workshops, just ask! Come talk to people during our weekly public night, or ask questions on our various mailing lists.

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