Understanding Terminology used

It is 13. In two days the last two regions of Toastmasters launches, together with all the Undistricted clubs and all the Online clubs. In a few hours, we will be all beginners. The most, some of us have one year experience. 

Many of us are not “Absolute beginners” in giving a speech, leading a club, organizing a meeting. We have a lot to transmit to newcomers, if... we speak the same language. Basecamp comes with some new words to learn. 

Even “Basecamp” is new! It means in Pathways in a way, where all paths start, all information is stored. True? Not totally. 

All starts at the Toastmasters.org, who does have and retain a lot of information about us, and where someone from the club committee, using Club Central has still to add the levels after we completed them.

Levels? In each path there are the same 5 levels, inside them 3 Projects. 

Paths? Projects? Farther I go, more I realize I begun to talk a new language. 

In Pathways, we can choose now from 11 path, soon more will arrive. Inside the Path’s Levels, they are Projects. Not speeches, even if at the end most have a 5-7 speech. 

There are Required Projects depending of the path from Level 2 to 5, and Elective Projects, from which we can choose - if we are going through a web based path. From 27 Electives, we have to select a minimum of 4. More? We can if we want. 

That is not enough. When Base Camp opens, we find a box called My Educational Transcript, another name I wondered about why was named the place where all our paths and classes are. 

Those Active, those Completed and those Archived, separate. We can also choose to see only our paths, Curriculum they are called for now. 

If all those names did not yet make still your head spin, first we arrive to a path or Project, we have to Activate them first, then Launch them, which will as I understood downloads them into our Educational Transcript in the right Level of our Path we work with. 

Does it stay Launch all the time? I wish. No. When finished, from Launch goes to Evaluate, which is not you being evaluated, but us tell our opinion about the project, when we did write it then only become Launch again. And do not try to launch second time the same project: look if its window is not hidden behind another window.

Here I can see my 5 levels from one of my current path, Motivational Strategies. After just have finished the Icebreaker, I activated and begun to read the two next Projects. In the screen bellow, I did finish the Evaluation and Feedback and I was working on the last project. Research takes time, Presenting in a good order the most important of it this time, takes me even more.

At the end, when we did signal we finished the Project, after all assignments done, it becomes Evaluate. Again, be aware, here Evaluate means not what we think at first, but for US to give feedback what we did think about the project. Once we did express our views, and send or saved it well, I do not remember which name is used, then again, Evaluate transform into Launch. We can open and look at our finished Projects, as all the projects at our level, any time we want later. 

Inside a Level, except for the Icebreaker, we can study and do any project in any order. Till the last level where Reflect on your path has to be the last Project. 

That is not ALL the Glossary, look for it also on TMI FAQ or even inside Basecamp at the Tutorials and Resources. But that is as far I go today. 

Pathways has to be experienced to be really understood. That is one reason to begin all, to speak the same language. To understand what the others mean.