VIDBE-Q Volume 69 Issue 4
return on investment beyond the initial training event. Based on a study of 505
TSVIs in the U.S. and Canada, there is already a known and positive relationship
between TSVIs' membership to a CoP and their level of AT proficiency (Siu and
Morash, 2014; Morash and Siu, 2016; Siu 2016). When considered within a train-
the-trainer model, CoPs are critical to the successful facilitation of efficient and
strategic program operations. Most importantly, CoPs can impact how well a TSVI
can keep up with the technology knowledge that students need for us to have.
From an operations perspective, CoPs provide a maximum return on
investment (ROI). Similar to a multi-level marketing strategy, a single investment–
in this case one AT training event–can perpetuate cascading tiers of impact beyond
the initial workshop participants. This happens when workshop participants are
provided with initial training resources, ongoing support to train others, and feel
empowered with adequate knowledge to share. Empowering every workshop
participant to leave with an engagement with a CoP helps ensure they have
ongoing professional development to sustain new skills; can expand the reach of
their expertise; and develop a unique support system to troubleshoot new
challenges. The result of building communities of practice as part of a train-the-
trainer program is a system that becomes more effective and efficient over time,
with multiplying levels of impact without needing increasing levels of resource
investment.
