What Happens When 50 People Gather To Learn From Each Other?

Last Friday I opened a Zoom meeting and waited. My reliable producer/tech support showed up on time. And then we waited. While he’s really good company, I began to worry it was just going to be the two of us.

And then you started to arrive!

And WOW, did you arrive!

I’m blown away by the Learning and Development Community. I’m blown away by YOU.

We discussed what’s working, what resources you’ve discovered, and what you need during these unprecedented times. The chat was moving faster than I could keep up with.

There were ideas, insights, and resources shared among everyone. I even saw a few email addresses exchanged between people.

I’ve gathered a few of the most common questions.

Can I Train In The Virtual Environment?

Yes. Yes you can! It is a different set of skills — pacing, timing, interaction, and engagement are different, but you can do it.

We need to start by identifying the most important objectives. Cover those in class and find other means — video, job aids, tutorials — for providing what we can’t cover together.

What we do in the virtual environment needs to be the most critical, most difficult learning participants need support with.

Design For How People Learn is an excellent resource if have time to dive into a book.

Keep reading!

How Do I Keep From Boring People?

This is an important in both the Instructor Led Training (ILT) and Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT) training environments. Start with your objectives. Which are most important? Which can be supported with micro learning? Once you’ve made that distinction you can pair down your training so people aren’t sitting in front of their computer for eight straight hours — no one can do that and learn effectively.

At the very least, have people get up and move every 50 minutes. At the best, keep training short and make sure your learners have something to do beyond just listening.

Consider using breakout groups for small group discussion, case studies, and problem solving.

How To Train With Kids In The House?

We are all out of our normal routines. We are all in our homes in less than ideal conditions. You might be in your kitchen, living room, or a makeshift office.

Plan your training in small chunks. It will help you and anyone else dealing with life’s interruptions that working from home presents.

I’m scheduling my training with work that learners can do on their own before, during, and after our time together. Blending your methods will help manage the other priorities you have.

And give yourself a break. No one can expect perfect, uninterrupted training. Be empathetic to others and kind to yourself.

How Can I See A Participant Perform A Skill Online?

This is not easy question, but possible dependent on the skill.

Here are a few ideas. Ask learners to:

• Record themselves performing the skill
• Share their screen as they maneuver a system
• Demonstrate the skill in small group breakout rooms
• Show the skill using a classroom whiteboard
• Share in training if the skill is verbal.

How Do I Keep People Engaged?

Engagement in the virtual environment is similar (and different) to engagement in the classroom environment. You’ve got to give learners something to do. Research supports learners involvement every three to five minutes in the virtual space.

Here are just a few ideas:

• Use polls
• Ask learners to respond with thumbs up/thumbs down
• Use breakout groups (available with most platforms)
• Ask them to share their work/answers/perspective
• Brainstorm to a virtual whiteboard

How To Move Classroom Activities To An Online Environment?

This was, by far, the most common question. We’ll be exploring this topic in deeper detail on Friday, April 10th in our next Learn Together (and lean on each other) gathering.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you’ll join me on the 10th. You can join my mailing list to find out about our next Learn Together. I plan on making this a weekly gathering to Learn Together and Lean on Each other!

Stay safe and healthy.