Buy one lesson, get one free!

I went to see a training session this morning and like a lot of this type of class that I see, it was very competently managed and enjoyable. The phrase that used to be bandied about was 'death by PowerPoint' and that seems to have gripped the training community in a fear of being labelled as boring. In order to make training sessions enjoyable for people who would otherwise be at a desk there is a tendency to use ice-brakers, games and fun activities to keep up the momentum. I started to wonder today though where the line was between utilising these things as energisers etc. and swamping a session with so much of it that the point of being there is somehow lost. In the space of an hour the group was introduced the the course mascot (a cuddly toy whose function was lost on me), the 'askit baskit' for suggestions and private queries, the racoon line, the 'I'm the only one who' post it note activity, the shared intro and a free raffle! In one hour! All expertly managed and enjoyable and a long long way from sitting through slide after slide but I kept wondering when are they going to find something out? When will they learn something?

In some ways I think it's also part of the zeitgeist that currently afflicts kid and 'yoof' media which assumes a 2 minute attention span and insists on layering background music and image or video montages onto everything. Sometimes it's better to to work out what you want to say and say it. The biggest worry I have though is that as a teacher trainer who offers new ideas about variety and the importance of enjoyment in learning then maybe it's actually all my fault when the balance tips too far that way.