Planning is important to get the most from the virtual training you attend

With people stuck at home due to COVID-19, the world has seen an increase in the number of virtual training. With more time at hand, people are gaining new knowledge by attending a variety of courses which include pre-recorded video training, instructor led virtual training, e-learning, etc. With India being in a lock-down, and nowhere to go, I recently attended a few and here are five things that either helped me make most of those, or I could have done to ensure I get most from the virtual training. The ones I did were instructor led virtual training. 

1. Be prepared: The first one I attended, I just ambled in. Mid-way I realized that I was so unprepared that I could not ask any questions beyond the obvious ones directly based on the course material. However, in the session there was this one person who had read up quite a bit about the subject and was asking questions that were beyond the course material. Finding the student, a nice challenge in an otherwise boring session, the instructor took time to answer the queries. No guesses who got most bang for their buck from the session
2. Long intervals between question sessions: There was this course where the instructor would have everyone on mute and open the session for questions only at specified intervals. Between taking notes and trying to keep a tab on the questions to ask, the questions got lost in the notes. At the end of the session, I felt that there should have been a lot more opportunity to ask questions and clarify doubts. The session left me asking for a lot more. For the next one I attended, I made it a point to get the trainer to reduce the time between questions. One even made it ‘ask as you go’.
3. Opening multiple tabs and windows: As adults, the instructor expects us to be attentive. After all we are not in primary school anymore. Having multiple tabs and other programs open on the laptop is a sure shot way to distraction. The same is true for taking water breaks when the instructor is speaking. One might miss out on something important.
4. Attending a lot of courses: With the COVID19 happening all around, work from home is looking at becoming a new normal. With this people have time which they can utilize by doing different courses. However, one needs to be careful of not committing oneself to too many of them which can result in a feeling of being overwhelmed and thus burning out. One needs to understand the priority areas and choose courses wisely which fold in with the person’s overall ambition. Do not just do 10 free courses because they are free. Do just one paid one but ensure that it is both worthwhile and ties in with your overall goals. And ensure that it comes from a reputed organisation or person who would have put in a good amount of time, effort and thought in developing the course rather than just slapping together some slides.
5. Ignoring the assignments or pre/post coursework: Coursework including pre, during and post are important to ensure well rounded knowledge. While pre-coursework makes you dig deeper into the subject being handled by the course, exercises after the course, test your knowledge and understanding. Ignoring them just because they will not be evaluated can create a false sense of understanding which can fall flat in times of need. 

Bonus tip: Look up the content creator and the instructor credentials: One of the primary concerns I have with the internet economy is that anyone with a bit of experience is now becoming a trainer or an instructor looking at monetizing their skills. One needs to be very careful before attending the course. A course from a reputed organisation would mean that they have put in much more effort into developing the course rather than one from an individual - let us say me for example. When an organisation with a dedicated training division creates a training, they stake their reputation on it. Thus, there is no half cooked, half researched stuff being put out. Also, the same thing goes into ensuring the trainer is well versed with the material and has enough knowledge to answer the participants queries.

In the past, I have come across training material from one organisation being used by another. A simple change in logo, hit the find button on PowerPoint and replace the company name – technology has made it that simple. What technology cannot do is allow the acquisition of knowledge and data at the click of a button which is the core of the training and the trainer. 

So be wise while choosing your training – your time is valuable. Use it wisely and do not be a certificate hoarder. A knowledge seeker sounds so much better.