What are the most common mistakes when adapting a workshop for online delivery?

Breakout rooms are a must for many workshops. Let teams build, let people stand out as group leaders. It is hard to stay interested in a digital presenter and their jokes don’t land the same way they might in person. So utilize the group and the tools for breakouts.

This is why massive training courses are such are problem. Keeping the audience size to a reasonable size can also help. You want your instructors and moderators to be able to fully engage with the students. I recommend that if only 1 instructor is slated for the course, try to keep the participants to 30 or less. This gives you enough to have activities and use the breakout rooms while not overwhelming the instructor. After that I recommend 1 moderator for every 15 additional students of possible. So yes, add games, polling, slides and breakout rooms but also keep your classes to a reason size so that everyone gets a positive experience and is able to fully participate.

Traditionally workshops are considered in person event. Online workshops are now a reality. Engagement, Content and Participation are now the key ingredients for a successful online workshop. Topic of workshop and the speaker always have been key. I have observed speakers adding some key additional components in their sessions which otherwise are natural in face to face interaction. Communication with participants are now more important for active participation. Through a period I have seen transition from traditional ways of a workshop to more involved audience. We must remember,online is new norm and even the participants have improvised. I have seen acceptance on both ends although often challenging in the expected outcome.

You can test all you want, but it only matters during the class. I always sign in 30 minutes ahead of time. I ask a colleague to test audio and video and ensure they are able to see the presentation. We also test the polling, Q&A, and ensure the breakouts room are ready. I then have a sheet ready to send out as well in the chat that has common issue and their fixes. If need be I will also display the sheet on screen as students arrive. I have a second sheet that shows how to access the breakout rooms, participate in polling, games, and use the Q&A. This is added to the chat and can be easily emailed if needed. Anticipating for the technical issue and user problems and having as much support ready, can ensure a smoother class.

Show don't tell! I like to follow the 10/20/30 rule of presentations and minimize the amount of slides used, with fewer words. I like visual aids like videos, images, and infographics. For technical training, I try to use demonstration as much as possible if the subject matter allows for it. If not I use prerecorded video to support. Keep the lectures to a minimum, use activities to keep people engaged, and use video and demos as much as possible.

Online workshop moderation is often tricky as participants are not focused as in normal workshops as we know. It is challenging for the speaker to breakdown content into consumable nuggets and weave communication around each nugget depending on need. There are no fixed rules now. Small knowledge nuggets help the speaker evolve and innovate through the workshop for engaging and facilitating content consumption for an online audience

I can also add that it's important for the participants to know that they can actually apply what they are learning. A small action plan can be prepared at the end. A group activity/challenge/exercise can also be given to be done during the days that follow.

Consumption of content has become more selective based on audience need / applicability and background. Traditional workshops are normally embedded with feedback and response management through the session. Online workshop poses newer challenges in terms of participant's communicative strengths. Forum formation has been a new method which may not be very effective though time.

'ADAPTING" a workshop for online delivery !!! QED

In my view, a prevalent mistake in transitioning workshops online is neglecting engagement. Overcoming this requires interactive elements, breakout sessions, and multimedia. The absence of these, as seen in a study on virtual training by Stanford, can lead to disengagement and reduced effectiveness, hindering the learning experience.