Right now, the state of the world demands a transition to virtual classrooms and remote work. Whether or not your organization started 2020 prepared for the rapid modernization of teams and training, the time has come to make the change.

Facilitators, instructional designers, managers, and learners all have to adapt to a new normal – a stressful process under standard change management conditions and a seemingly insurmountable task given today’s pressures.

Virtually There Session Recap

Think back to the first time you ever facilitated a webinar, virtual training session, or a meeting. How did you feel about it? Most people, including members of our experienced team, found the process stressful. The very technology that allows for creating connections across great distances, intimidates seasoned pros. And even if the virtual classroom platform works without a hitch, we often wonder, “did learners get anything from that experience?” 

Karen Vieth, InSync’s lead facilitator, joined the Virtually There series on February 19 to share her insights into how advanced delivery can mean the difference between simple interaction and true learning in the virtual classroom. 

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? 

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.

This is the last post in a series of six which examines how to enable virtual learners. The first post introduces the series.

Adoption of educational technologies isn't just new to our learner audience, it is often a new experience for the people facilitating the process. Ensuring that facilitators are ready to support the process will go a long way towards maximizing the return on investment of time and budget. 

The facilitator is the glue that holds the other four considerations together: learner motivation, opportunities to collaborate, a blended experience, and usable technology.

The virtual facilitator plays a vital role in ensuring that learners are successful. Whether participating via a traditional, virtual, self-directed, or blended approach, learners need to feel as though they have developed a personal rapport with the facilitator.