Your cart is currently empty!
Going Virtual: Tips for Moving Instructor-Led Training Online
As more and more corporate training moves online, designersare increasingly tasked with converting face-to-face training to eLearning. Twoexperienced virtual classroom instructors and online event producers, KarenHyder and Cindy Huggett, offer some tips for ensuring a smooth transition.
Where to start? “Remember everything you already know aboutreally great training,” Huggett said. Teaching adult learners on any platformstarts from the same basics—good design, strong learning objectives, cleargoals.
Next, Huggett said, look at all of the content and divide itinto what needs to be done in a live, synchronous virtual classroom session andwhat learners can do on their own.
Hyder expanded on that idea. “Do not try to make an eight-hourclassroom session into an eight-hour virtual classroom session. Assess whichobjectives require a live online group session and which can be relegated toanother delivery format. Focus your live event on relevant, engaging activities,”she said in an email interview. “You might determine that some content can bedelivered more conveniently, or learners might benefit more by listening to orwatching a recording, reading a document, or interacting with asynchronouseLearning modules. Once you’ve pulled out the tutorials, readme files, anddefunct activities, focus your attention on improving the course content thatbest suits live, instructor-led, virtual sessions.”
Huggett uses the analogy of learning to drive. “How did youlearn how to drive a vehicle? Well, some of it was observation, just being apassenger in a car for however many years before you got your permit,” shesaid. “The education part of it was, most of us got a book from the DMV thathad all the signs and the rules of the road, and we read that. We got familiarwith the basics. The point is, you do some learning on your own to get familiarwith the basics through reading. Then you get to the hands-on part,” where youneed a skilled driver to teach you. The point is, she continued, “you do someof it on your own.”
Choosing the eLearning format
So, which pieces of eLearning should learners do on theirown, and which elements of a course merit a synchronous session? And, whenproviding instructor-led sessions in a virtual classroom, what format shouldthe instruction take? These decisions are tied to both the learning objectivesand the makeup of the learner community.
- If learners need to learn information and beable to recall it—product specs for sales or customer service reps, the finerpoints of a new compliance policy—a presentation style could be appropriate. Apresentation is easily delivered to a large audience and can includeinteractivity in the form of poll questions, quizzes, and games. But, Huggettcautioned, a large-scale presentation with hundreds of attendees will notproduce the same learning outcomes as a smaller training group. “Just becauseyou can put that many people into a virtual classroom doesn’t mean you should!”
- If learners need to master a skill—operate apiece of equipment or use software—or they need to practice interpersonalskills, such as dealing with an irate client or role-play having toughconversations with direct reports, a smaller group is ideal. These learnerswill need opportunities to practice with one another, using chat or “breakoutrooms” or engaging in live discussions. A skills-focused session should have alimited number of learners, maybe 20, as it would in a face-to-face classroom.
- Linked, curated content, videos, and readingswork better as asynchronous assignments than as part of a live session.
What about scheduling?
- Are learners scattered around the country?Around the world? Will it be hard to get them together? If so, multiplesessions on a single day or even a single session might be the best choice.This will limit the amount of material covered, though. And, Huggett cautioned,make sure to take breaks so that learners will stay engaged.
- If learners are busy but could block out an houra week for several weeks, a series of virtual classes might be optimal.Depending on the subject matter, assigning asynchronous work—on projects,readings, or working with a partner to practice skills—might be feasible tokeep learning going between virtual classroom sessions.
Virtual eLearning needs structure
A common mistake is getting into what Huggett calls“presentation mode.” This happens when designers and instructors do not knowhow to use the tools and features of the virtual classroom platform—or do noteven know that they exist. “Facilitators tend to err on the side ofpresentations because they can’t see their audience,” talking to fill up thesilence, she said. “It’s a mistake; it’s not making the best use of theplatform and what we can do on it.”
Virtual instruction generally requires more preparation thanin-person teaching. “You’ll find that structure becomes more important andwinging it becomes less manageable,” Hyder said. “I add up to 50 percent moreslides to a presentation deck by including software tutorial slides, questionsand response prompts, and instructions for activities. Better to be redundantthan ambiguous, especially when audio sometimes cuts out.”
Instructors should add in lots of questions and prompts to draw learners in andkeep them engaged. “Rather than saying, ‘Here are the five reasons why this newprocedure will improve efficiency,’ include a question and prompt learners torespond. ‘How do you see this process improving efficiency?’ Promptparticipants to type responses in Chat,” Hyder explained. “This keepsparticipants focused on the topic and invites them to participate in the discussion.The prompt makes it clear how to participate.” (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1: Use questions in Chat toprompt learner engagement
While planning for interactivity can make the lesson moreinteresting, don’t overdo it, and be mindful of technical limitations. “Keepthe interactions simple,” Hyder said. “Just because you can have breakout roomdiscussions doesn’t mean you need four of them in a 60-minute session. Instead,have participants respond in Chat or take turns speaking up. Yes, you canshow video in a virtual classroom session, but keep files small and durationsshort.” Long videos can trigger frustrating technical issues.
Speak the language
Teaching in a new environment requires learning a newlanguage—and teaching learners how to behave in the new environment. This canmean prompting learners with specific instructions, according to Hyder: “Promptfor feedback by saying, ‘If you have experience with this concept, pleasechange your status to Agree by clicking the green checkmark icon. No experience?Change your status to red X, or Disagree.’ It’s an awkward but accurate way totalk, and it takes getting used to!”
