Let’s unpack this…
Two years after the world came to a halt, many of us are still in a state of flux as far as working and learning online. So in my opinion, The Online Shift is just as relevant today as it was when everyone had to first pivot.
It’s still happening.
Some resisted, others shifted, and there were those who only wanted to work and learn online until they could get back to in-person. Some are thrilled to be working and learning in person again; others are still reluctant, but the time has come for many to return.
The hybrid consideration.
When you’re going to be working with a mix of in-person and online attendees, you must be mindful of keeping it engaging for everyone. Creating engaging experiences for a mixed or blended audience is more complex, but it just takes a bit more intentional thought and preparation.
Offer both plans.
If you have a program that you’ve created for online and have some great engagement tools, keep that intact, but think about how you can easily turn that into an in-person offering as well. Usually, a few small tweaks will work, like if an activity that requires annotation online, you might need to use a flip chart in person. Always be sure to keep both options ready so that you can quickly accommodate one or the other.
Give everyone a bit more time.
When you return to in-person training, you’ll want to schedule appropriately. Be sure to give people more time to get to their breakout rooms, have table changes for activities, and just enjoy being together in the same room.
They will get fatigued.
Be prepared for the fact that people may be tired quickly. It’s been a while since many of us have been in a crowd and interacted with others on a larger scale than those we live with. Be gentle with your attendees as well as yourself. However, some people may also really thrive in this context.
Backup options.
I can’t stress this enough: always keep your backup options open. You never know when the weather will turn, and there might be an issue with the venue or your participants. Keep your options open and have a good backup plan just in case.
Sometimes online and other times in-person.
There will be times when you are happy to work from home and other times when you’ll be thrilled to get out there to be surrounded by your participants. Either way, making small changes can create an exciting experience for yourself and your participants.
The Online Shift is relevant!
This is where the 101 quick tips included in my new book The Online Shift: 101 Pro Tips for Online Facilitators, Workplace Trainers & Virtual Speakers will help! Let’s see where you can make those small tweaks to improve, but more importantly, to see how far we’ve all come. The book has tips that you might not have thought of, and you can review the great things that you’ve implemented so far and done really well with.
Self Directed Learning and Online Courses
You may be considering Instructional Design when building blended programs that include self-directed asynchronous online courses and live training sessions (online, onsite or hybrid). Here are some additional tips for creating your self-directed online learning course:
- With online courses, less is more. As you curate your training topic information, consider the most important and relevant information. C and cut back the access words and information that does not give context.
- Create a value-packed course that is efficient to take but practical to implement. When creating your online course, focus on what matters most to the employees or learners and how they will use what they have learned.
- Great navigation information is essential to support learners through a user-friendly experience.
- Give a list of the most often used definitions and terms, and always expand on what an acronym means.
- Always name any documents or downloadable job aids with a name that reflects the content. Never name it ‘final’ or ‘latest’.
- Answer the question, “Why should employees or learners care about this course?
- Engagement, accessibility, inclusivity, and diversity are key values for building your online course or training materials.
- Evaluation could instead be questions that reinforce the learning, instead of a quiz, especially for adult learners.
- It comes down to facilitating or creating a learning experience that helps people walk away with useful knowledge.
- Engaging learning experiences help people remember what they learned. Often, this can only occur if learners or employees also know why they are learning it.
Meetings to come.
Returning to in-person meetings is exciting, scary, and a welcome change. Whether you are looking forward to gathering again or aren’t quite ready to embrace a large crowd, don’t discount the online experience. There will always be room for both, and we must make each option available for our clients.
Take into consideration…
Don’t throw out the online opportunities, because they will definitely still continue to have a time and place. And for those of you who resisted many of you are now realizing that there’s always going to be room for online. Providing workshops, training, meetings, and teaching instruction in this digital space, we must continue to do it well and create the opportunity to turn our audience into participants!
Hot Bonus Tip:
Keep your options open and have a good backup plan just in case. For example, if you will be in-person, what is the expectation to shift quickly online? How will you communicate the last-minute change?
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In Case You Missed It: How My Book Came To Be
Author
Patricia Regier, MEd is the Online Expert who’s built a career on the belief that training and online learning doesn’t have to be boring. As Owner of Regier Educational Services and with a Master of Adult Education, Patricia is known for making her audience feel empowered, engaged, courageous and confident. Her debut book and keynote, The Online Shift teaches newcomers to the online space and seasoned professionals alike how to optimize their online presence and maximize engagement. She’s tried, tested and refined using the latest behavioral science, research and psychology to make sure your next online experience is a hit!
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To book Patricia as a speaker or consultant: Please use the button above or email patricia@regiereducation.com
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