How to deploy TheWell effectively
Learn more about how you can use TheWell in your context.
Understand the context
You can’t just dump a new piece of technology and expect it to work. It is critical that you invest time in understanding your context. What is the general level of technology in the country? What can you expect from the people who will use TheWell? A fairly low level of technical expertise does not mean that you won’t be able to deliver digital learning through TheWell. You just need to deliver the product with a sufficient level of training and maybe avoid using some of the more advanced parts of the product (e.g. the LMS). Using the media interface and a projector or monitor to share content to a larger group might be the best first step.
How many users do you expect have access to a smartphone? You can do a simple online research, and based on that you will get a pretty good idea of what to expect.
In some countries the smartphone users are maybe just 20% or less. This means you shouldn’t probably expect people to have a smartphone available and therefore you may need to think of alternatives.
Try not to make the smartphone a requirement but just an advantage.
Even though a country may have a low percentage of smartphone users, we know that this can change rapidly. We have seen exponential growth in the numbers of smartphone users in many parts of the world. You can get very affordable phones produced and designed for the majority world.
How old are the users? A rule of thumb is that those below 40 are more likely to “catch fire” and learn new technology faster.
Understanding the age group helps you design the training you need to offer during the product deployment.
Design a strategy
How are you going to use TheWell?
TheWell is designed as a multi-purpose tool. It can be used for evangelism and for different types of structured learning. You need to understand how you intend to use TheWell.
If you want to use TheWell for evangelism, you may want to setup the device as an open network, so people will get easier access without password protection.
If you are using TheWell for enrolled training programmes you may want a password protection on your boxes, so they won’t be accessible for everyone.
Sometimes the same box can be used for different purposes, but we do recommend that boxes are setup for a specific purpose. It is also important that you consider the type of content you want to deliver through the box. Though you can have many different content collections on a box, it may be counterproductive to have have high-level theological resources next to evangelistic resources.
Be intentional on how you will use TheWell and the people you want to impact through TheWell.
If you wish to use TheWell for evangelism or in a training scenario you may need to add other equipment to display content to a larger group of people.
TheWell has an active HDMI so you can easily display media from the media library using a projector or monitor. You can plug-in a USB keyboard and mouse.
It is very important to make sure that the sound is of good quality. Many projectors do not have good integrated loudspeakers. Therefore it is a good idea to think about external loudspeakers.
Are you operating in closed countries or in countries where you can’t easily share Christian content?
You may want to consider security issues.
We are offering white label boxes for those purposes.
Please reach out to us, before you deploy in a high security context.
Identify the right people
It many cases it is an advantage to have a supervising or sponsor network behind TheWell. This could be a church, an institution or an organisation. This network will be responsible for the high-level training and administration.
It is absolutely critical to choose the right people who are motivated to use technology and passionate to learn new things. A box operator may not be the evangelist or trainer. Sometimes it is an advantage to see the box operator as an assistant to a trainer. Often trainers are older and less likely to easily adapt to digital learning. But using a younger assistant will be a great advantage and it will most certainly reduce some of the stress associated with learning new technology.
TheWell does not require high technical skills – at least not on an operator level. We are suggesting that operators are chosen based on their general user-skills when it comes to smartphones.
Teach and train
Plan your training well. Embed the training on how to use TheWell in the general ministry training, where you will actually use TheWell. Never separate the technology from its purpose. TheWell is “just” a tool to enhance the learning experience.
Skilled mobile users may only need a few hours to get fully familiar with the product. People with less experience on technology may need days to learn. You need to assess the audience and design your training based on that.
Face to face training is the best way to deliver. You can see where people are struggling and support them directly.
Identify a strategic location where you are able to gather people from multiple locations.
When offering training you need to be mindful of how technology is changing the training dynamics in a class-room. Some teachers (especially older generations) my feel threatened by technology, because they are not mastering the technology at the same level as the younger generation. It is important to really bring them onboard and invest time and energy in training the older generation, even if they are not going to serve as operators. They are often the decision makers and can become a serious stumble block in the deployment of new digital strategies if they not involved.
Let the younger generation be trained alongside the older generation to build the bridge between the two groups for mutual support and respect.
Follow up
Once the training is completed and the teams have left, it is important to have a platform for ongoing communication. There will be need of support – especially during the early stages. But it is also encouraging to receive news from the teams in the field.
You can used different platforms, but in many places WhatsApp is a good platform. Setup a group, where the teams can share questions but also their testimonies.
There is fixed rule regarding communication. But it is very important to share encouraging words and continue to motivate operators to share their experiences in the a chat. Be pro-active in your communication strategy with the operators.
Motivation is obviously very important. Having local teams working together is always a motivation, but it is certainly also motivating to learn what others are doing. If you receive testimonies from other people, then share to inspire and motivate.
If you notice that a box operator is very inactive in the group, it may be a good idea to reach out on a more personal level. Maybe he or she does not want to share the issues in the larger group.
Technical support will also be required from time to time. Please make the operators aware of the training videos that are made available on the website.
Evaluate and adjust
Don’t wait with your evaluation, but evaluate along the way. You need to have an agile approach to your deployment. If you can see something is not working, then you need to adjust straight away.
The real experts are those who are actually using the product in the field. If something is not working – either in the strategy or the technology – then it should be reported and changes made.
TheWell team is open to listen to your suggestions on how we may be able to improve our product, so it serves better in your context.
Don’t accept failure. If something is not working the first time you try it, you may need to adjust your approach. Sometimes we are just very quick to conclude without investing the time it takes to rethink.