This weekend I read an article, How to Work with Adult Learners: What to keep in mind when teaching your peers.

Applying adult learning principles to peer-based interactions is interesting to me, so I thought I'd give it a quick read. The author was speaking to individuals who are preparing for presentations in meeting type settings. It contained typical advice for individuals new to creating presentations:

• Adults want to know the "why.” 
• They want their prior knowledge to be respected. Relevance is of the utmost importance. 

Good stuff.

Whether presenting an informational webinar or facilitating a multi-part virtual learning series that’s part of a larger blend, teaching live online requires pizzazz and purpose.

As more corporate L&D programs move online, a tried-and-true facilitation process can set you up for success (in fact, we offer a comprehensive train-the-trainer program to help practitioners create a comprehensive toolkit).

In the mid-1990s, virtual classrooms (then known as ‘synchronous’ classrooms) were new. (Don’t believe me? Read some history here!) So new, most people had never heard of them.

But the people who HAD heard of virtual training were very excited. Soon, they proclaimed, none of us would ever have to go to a brick and mortar classroom again! All the ingredients were present to disrupt the Training & Development industry: trainers, participants, and PowerPoint slides! What else did we need?

Adoption of virtual classrooms for training delivery has become a critical component of an organization’s learning strategy. Unfortunately, we’ve been delivering one-way webinars for so long, it is difficult for facilitators to make the transition to a more collaborative instructional approach. 

New facilitators need to start with the basics, including being able to:

• Use collaboration tools to support communication between everyone in the virtual classroom;
• Work effectively with a producer to effectively manage the experience; and
• Be able to effectively manage any technical or instructional problems that arise.