February’s installment of the InSync 20th Anniversary Team Insight series pulls the curtain back on virtual classroom stagehands: The Producer. Read the other blogs in the series to learn about modern learning instructional design, facilitation, and implementation from the best in the business! 

In 2020, we are sharing the lessons we’ve learned about the virtual classroom over the last twenty years, and we’ll link back to our more detailed content around these topics, in case you want to learn more!  Take a peek at the entire Lessons Learned series by clicking here.

In 1998, I envisioned that the role of the producer in the virtual classroom would be to “make the talent look good.” My reasoning was, the virtual classroom facilitator lost the ability to take the pulse of the class using body language and eye contact, so the producer added a second set of hands that help manage learner engagement and increase the quality of virtual lessons. 

You may have heard the news that the InSync Training team will spend all of 2020 celebrating an important organizational milestone: 20 years of driving digital engagement in the virtual classroom.

Innovation and thought leadership from founder Jennifer Hofmann laid the foundation for the success of the business, but she argues our longevity reflects a team effort. Over the last two decades, our team has grown to over 80 practitioners, modeling learning best practices from their home offices all across the globe. 

And as we look forward to continuing to design, deliver, and manage impactful training programs long into the future, we asked the InSync team to look back. What have they learned about learning during their careers? What do they wish organizations and learners knew about blended virtual training? What story sticks out to them as particularly memorable? 

Virtually There Session Recap

It’s that time of year – many of us have identified and are now trying to stick to New Year’s Resolutions. Whether these resolutions encompass lofty ambitions or seemingly small improvements to our lives, this type of goal setting calls for unlocking bold change in our behaviors and mindsets.

To start 2020 off productively, the Virtually There webinar series warmly welcomed Coach Monique DeMonaco, an expert in helping people reach their full potential, for a January 14 event. What insights did this one-hour session provide? Our team compiled highlights and next steps for readers.

In 2020, we’ll be sharing the lessons we’ve learned about the virtual classroom over the last twenty years, and we’ll link back to our more detailed content around these topics, in case you want to learn more! 

When organizations started to adopt the virtual classroom in the 1990s, the focus was on the technology-driven benefits it could provide - Reduction in travel cost, less disruption to learner schedules, and the ability to share subject matter expertise in a much more immediate and relevant way.

We could train everyone, when they needed it, and save money at the same time.

On January 3, 2000, I created a company named InSync Training. To answer a commonly asked question, the name WASN’T a play on the name of a popular boy band of the time - back then, virtual classrooms were called ‘synchronous classrooms,’ so I felt the name would be compelling. 

At that time, the U.S. economy was coming out of the Dotcom era, and organizations were investing heavily in web-based technologies in all aspects of their operations (including learning and development) without any real understanding of what all this new tech would do for them. It was just assumed that the virtual classroom was the right choice for all modern training. I entered the marketplace with the vision of providing foundational, proven practices for training professionals to use and maximize virtual live instructional technologies in delivering training programs.

Virtually There session recap

At some point in your career, you will have to give a presentation or run a meeting.

If you work in the Learning & Development space, there’s a good chance you will have to facilitate training content.

Regardless of whether you assume a role frequently requiring live delivery or one that very rarely demands public speaking, you should know how to capture people’s attention.

One of the most common questions my team and I receive about virtual learning events boils down to technology: how do you make sure glitches don’t cause learners to disconnect?

I love this question! It means that stakeholders, designers, and facilitators care about the experience learners have in a session. Plus, it also speaks to program success – people who want to prevent technology from derailing training from achieving the bigger goal of improving performance and developing participants’ skills.

You’ve probably heard by now that, for the first time in history, our organizations include five generations of employees. For those of us in learning & development, that means our training programs must address the skills gaps, professional development needs, and future goals of divergently different groups of people.

Before designing engaging learning environments, or facilitating content in an emotionally captivating way, or creating intellectually stimulating exercises and activities, understanding the fundamental characteristics of these five generations can set learning up for success.

With the Thanksgiving dinner trimmings put away in the states, the busiest time of year begins to take on a life of its own.

With inboxes and fireplaces equally a-blaze, personal professional development and corporate training can wind up on the back burner. What can learners and learning leaders alike do to keep missed training opportunities from piling up like snowdrifts? How can you make your next blend more magical than the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies?