After-school, weekend and summer blitz workshops are often effective initial learning on how to use technology. But, this method can be considered informal training. The formal nitty gritty training needs to be in the classroom in real time done with the mentors. The mentor program requires teachers to job shadow teachers who use technology. Teams of teachers are created for the sole purpose of working together to form a support group.
Mentors are usually teachers at the school who have already mastered various technology skills.
However, an outside expert can also be brought in to train teachers to become mentors. The mentor program begins when teachers new to technology sit in classes where multimedia and presentation tools are being used well. After trying the software in the classroom, many teachers ask to take the programs home in order to practice. Often during the fall semester, the trainee observes and learns effective uses of technology in the mentor's classroom. Trainees see specific lessons that they can duplicate in their own classes, and sit with students and mentor teachers to gain hands-on experience.