Online or hybrid sessions can be challenging for facilitators who want to engage remote participants and create a collaborative learning environment. How can you design and deliver sessions that are interactive, inclusive, and effective for both in-person and virtual attendees? Here are some best practices to consider.
Before you plan your session, you need to decide what tools you will use to communicate, share, and collaborate with your remote participants. Depending on your objectives, audience, and budget, you may choose a combination of video conferencing, chat, polling, whiteboard, breakout rooms, and other online platforms. Make sure you test your tools beforehand, provide clear instructions and support for your participants, and have a backup plan in case of technical issues.
To ensure a smooth and productive session, you need to establish clear expectations and norms for your remote participants. This includes defining the purpose, goals, agenda, and roles of the session, as well as the ground rules for participation, communication, and feedback. You can share this information in advance, and review it at the beginning of the session. You can also invite your participants to co-create and agree on the norms, such as how to mute, raise hand, chat, and ask questions.
To keep your remote participants engaged and motivated, you need to use a variety of activities and formats that suit their learning styles, preferences, and needs. You can mix different types of content, such as presentation, discussion, demonstration, and practice. You can also use different modes of interaction, such as whole group, small group, pair, and individual. You can also vary the pace, duration, and intensity of the activities, and include breaks, energizers, and check-ins.
To foster active participation and collaboration among your remote participants, you need to facilitate effectively and flexibly. You can use open-ended questions, prompts, and challenges to stimulate thinking, reflection, and dialogue. You can also use polls, quizzes, surveys, and games to elicit feedback, opinions, and ideas. You can also use breakout rooms, whiteboards, and shared documents to enable collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving.
Make the participants part of the whole process. Let them guide or lead sections of the program. A collaborative approach is also learner-centric. As trainer/facilitator you're monitoring the process & dynamic but also adapt to the needs of the group.
To respond to the group dynamics and the needs of your remote participants, you need to monitor and adapt to the situation. You can use verbal and non-verbal cues, such as tone, facial expressions, gestures, and chat messages, to gauge the mood, energy, and engagement of the group. You can also use check-ins, polls, and feedback forms to solicit input, feedback, and suggestions from the participants. You can also adjust your plan, pace, and style according to the emerging needs and issues.
To reinforce the learning outcomes and the relationship with your remote participants, you need to follow up and evaluate the session. You can send a summary, a recording, or a transcript of the session, along with any relevant resources, links, or action items. You can also invite your participants to share their reflections, insights, or questions after the session. You can also collect and analyze data, such as attendance, participation, satisfaction, and learning outcomes, to measure the impact and effectiveness of the session.
Learning transfer is key in any upskilling approach. Not only offer additional resources after the training and sending an evaluation form. Building learning tandems and give them a transfer task to meet 1 - 2 in 4 - 8 weeks after the intervention to reflect and exchange about their learnings. What went well and could integrated into their routines, what is still challenging. Getting peer feedback how to tackle the challenges. I also offer a check-in session with the group 4 - 6 weeks after the intervention for about 45 min to reflect and discuss as a group.