After Albrecht Kresse explained the difference between webtalks, webinars and live online training sessions in the first part, today he takes a closer look at what preparation for a live online training session looks like.
Live online training sessions require extensive preparation. The technology has to work, which is not always easy these days. Until recently, we used Adobe Connect, but the solution was no longer stable. So we switched to Zoom, which is currently very hyped and at the same time criticised for data protection reasons.
Zoom does indeed have many advantages, especially if you are convinced that learning should be fun. In addition to the well-known features from virtual classrooms, such as splitting the group into breakout rooms, Zoom also offers the option of changing your own backgrounds. You can use this to appear professional, but also to add a few jokes.
The classic setup is that you have a webcam and a computer. We are currently testing how it works to use multiple cameras and a mixer, so that we can switch back and forth between different views and also use a few special effects.
You can run polls with the tool itself or integrate other well-known tools such as Mentimeter. For proper quiz formats, we use Kahoot. And for a whiteboard, we do not use Zoom’s built-in tool; instead, we have integrated Mural.
In Zoom, there is not only a chat, but also a Q section. Whether this is enabled depends on the format you have selected in Zoom. This is a bit complicated, and the trainer is required to master the technology or get support—which I would recommend to everyone anyway. For example, I always have a technical moderator with me.
Ideally, have a technical moderator with you
Because neuroscience teaches us that nobody is capable of multitasking. I certainly am not, and I am glad when I can focus on my content and the group. In a live online training session, I already have enough formats to manage, because, for example, I also use a flipchart and objects that I use in training as well. I send participants tasks in between, sometimes spontaneously to a single participant who is then supposed to do an exercise with the whole group. I cannot also manage the technology perfectly on top of that. I believe a good live online training session always requires two moderators, one of whom should be the tech-savvy one.
[note note_color=”#f9f9f9″ text_color=”#333333″ radius=”3″] Would you like to experience a live online training session, webinar or webtalk by edutrainment? Then take a look at our dates page to see whether there is something for you.
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Do you need PowerPoint? No. If you do not use PowerPoint otherwise—and I do not—you do not need it in a live online training session either. I believe that is the biggest risk: that some people suddenly think they need a presentation.
Especially for real trainers who do a lot of interaction and therefore are attached to in-person formats, live online training offers a wonderful opportunity to bring creativity, spontaneity, quick-wittedness and improvisation into online training as well. Anyone who has experienced this once will be completely surprised at how well it works. This applies both to trainers and participants. This is also the feedback from many events that are currently taking place: we are all experiencing that much more is possible than many of us thought.
You now know the difference between different online training formats and how to prepare for a live online training session. In the next episode, we will go into more depth and I will share my experiences from the actual delivery. Stay tuned.
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