News (blog)

Challenge

• As AAA’s T&D team transitions to delivery of more virtual training programs, we have been challenged with providing our trainers with new skills needed to effectively deliver the training. 

Ideas and Suggestions

• Instructor Training
• • Allow instructors the opportunity to learn new skills in smaller chunks.  Start with basic webinar features and advance to the more complex (breakouts).
  • Create an online persona.  Attend acting classes, exaggerate gestures and facial expressions, or otherwise find a way to stand out in a virtual environment.
  • Create a certificate program for trainers that have mastered the art of delivering instruction in the virtual classroom.
  • Allow instructors to pair up during delivery.  Identify a strong virtual instructor and pair them up with a new virtual instructor to see best practices.
  • Google best practices for delivering in a virtual environment.  There are many articles.
  • Tie virtual delivery skills to existing training methodology (i.e. Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gagne, etc.).  This helps to draw connections to existing practices.
  • Online book: “Creating a Sense Presence in Online Teaching”.
• Practice
• • It is critical to give instructors ample try to practice using the tools associated with the specific webinar technology that they will be implementing.  (recognize the investment in training trainers)
  • Instructors should have time to practice delivering the content in the session in front of their peers.  This provides a safe environment to collect feedback.
  • Record practice sessions so that the instructor can review themselves and self-evaluate.
  • Give instructors the opportunity to attend a virtual class and be the student to gain that perspective.
• Instructional Design
• • Make sure that the course is well designed for a virtual environment before it is given to the instructor.  If the activities and class exercises are well defined for an online environment it will create a better opportunity for success.
  • Identify a “producer” role to assist the trainer during initial classes so that they do not have to do as much multi-tasking as they are learning the process.
  • Provide templates for the virtual classroom.
• Change Management
• • Demonstrate how achievement of these new skills will make an instructor even more valuable to the organization and marketable in the future.
  • Gain instructor buy-in by giving them the opportunity to participate in the course development process.
  • Communicate that many physical classroom skills can easily be transferred over to the virtual classroom.
  • Make sure that virtual delivery is not perceived as punishment for instructors that have always delivered in the physical classroom.
  • Provide research that demonstrates the impact of training in a virtual environment.
  • Create a logo for virtual training to make it distinguishable from run of the mill webinars.

Collected Feedback from the various meeting attendee breakout groups (their suggestions to address the challenge):

• Include a photo or picture of myself during the virtual class to simulate a live classroom experience
• Set expectations to the class, such as “I will be calling on you” to keep them “on their toes” and focused (set the ground rules)  Can do this directly or as one suggested, convey this indirectly to not turn them off
• Break up the large class (typical size: 60) into smaller groups for more personal interaction
• Set up incentives and competition for the students so they stay engaged
• Use a webcam to show myself live to simulate a live classroom and make it more personal
• If a large class size is unavoidable, use a support person to help handle chats and to increase the interaction with the students
• Ask frequent questions and interact frequently (every 10 minutes) to keep them focused
• Think about different teaching styles to employ to keep them engage
• Set objectives as to why it’s important for students to stay attentive…what’s in it for them?  
• Make sure they can commit  to the class so they will stay focused throughout
• Use relevant work examples that can apply to student’s work so they see the relevance in the material and would stay focused more
• Find out comments of past attendees (from surveys/evaluation forms) as to how they were engaged in the class and use some of their feedback in future classes
• Ask them “if you could learn one thing in the class that’s most important to them”, find that out and teach to that so they stay attentive to learn it
• Provide additional resources before and after class; have a video library to point them to for command details…this way you can give them more of a high level overview in a shorter timeframe so they won’t drift off if you spend a lot of time on detail they already know
• Have remedial and advanced skill level groups divided to not slow down the group which may cause some to become distracted.  State prerequisites for class before hand so keep the skills levels in the class more uniform
• Shorter time duration of classes/small modular approach
• Have more breaks and polling questions built in to the class; use chat tool more
• Share students screen during class to make it more personal and facilitate more of a “give and take” atmosphere
• Have students assembled into the same conference room if possible to minimize distractions that may come up if they take the class at their desk or from home.
• Use anecdotal information; simulate a live classroom by doing things like standing up to deliver the class; smile; Be yourself just like in a live setting
• Show entertaining video to class on the consequences of not paying attention in the virtual classroom and the benefits to them of being engaged
• Be entertaining, humorous in your own way, use “icebreakers”
• Use webex tracking tool to find out if students are using other applications other than the ones you want them to use.  This could help determine if they are being distracted by using other non- relevant applications
• Take an interest in them personally through knowing their names and finding out details about them before class; personalize delivery; use their names in your delivery
• Reduce “one way” teaching;  use more collaborative techniques to facilitate “give and take” during the class

• add separate password link for new members
• offer job board to non-members
• partner with job sites; post rss feed of relevant jobs to help draw in members
• grow mailing list by offering web content (white papers) by members, where we collect contact info
• make sure we have our URL on the LinkedIn Padla group
• add other to industry list in the member profile
• add title to membership list in addition to name and institution
• add member blog (public)
• arrange resources page better, divide into categories
• offer reduced fees to partners
• post training events from other organizations
• add "ask the experts" area for members only?
• put job 'teaser' on top page for public
• put up an FAQ
• adjust large text blocks to make them more readable
• move photo higher on profile
• create padla facebook page
• rss feeds from industry and professional development sites
• have rotating member profile on home pagea
• add separate forums on various technologies (LMS, design tools, etc)