The training industry is currently searching for the best formats for live online learning. In a short series, we would like to introduce you to the different formats.
Fundamentally, it can be said that much of what applies to in-person events also applies to live online learning. This includes, for example, the different formats. Currently, there is not enough differentiation in this area.
Just as we distinguish between lecture, seminar, training, coaching, and workshop in physical training, we should do the same online.
Webtalk. Webinar. Live Online Training
The lecture in the online space is called a Webtalk. This is a keynote that lasts 30 to a maximum of 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A session.
A Webinar is, as the name suggests, somewhat like a seminar on the web. For us, it has a duration of a maximum of one hour. There is usually a presentation, somewhat more interaction with polls or small tasks, and often a Q&A session or discussion at the end. The duration is also a maximum of one hour.
A so-called Live Online Training can be significantly longer. For in-person events, the rule is: A training session has 60 to 80 percent participant interaction or participant activity. This also works online, but requires a good plan, flexibility, perfect mastery of the technology, the ability to divide into small groups, use whiteboards, have results presented, etc.
All the things we also know from training in the real world.
A live online training session typically has a duration of perhaps two 90-minute sessions or, in extreme cases, four 90-minute sessions. Always with plenty of short breaks in between and, for a full day, a regular lunch break.
Online Coaching. Online Course.
Then there is Online Coaching, which is becoming increasingly established in Germany. Here, coach and coachee meet online and do everything they would do in a personal meeting in the real world.
And finally, there is the Online Course, which combines various formats from digital learning with live online formats. An online course can, in principle, have any duration, from a few days to several months or even a whole year. Distance learning programs even last several years.
We should get used to differentiating these different formats in practice and explaining the differences to our clients clearly. Currently, webtalks, webinars, and live online training sessions are still being mixed up. There are webinars that are actually webtalks. And some use the term live online training only for marketing reasons, when in reality it is a webinar that is far too long and consists mainly of a presentation.
Would you like to experience a live online training session, webinar, or webtalk from edutrainment? Then check our events page to see if there is something for you.
Overall, the rule is: Only when we clearly differentiate our learning formats can we select the right formats for the respective target group, occasion, and learning objectives, and develop a tailored learner journey. This has nothing to do with COVID-19, but applies in general.
I will describe how a good live online training session can work in the next episode. Stay tuned.
