Jennifer Hofmann, President of InSync Training, recently joined eLearning Guild’s Virtual Classroom Panel during their 2018 Learning Solutions Conference. Jennifer and other industry experts shared their insight into the challenges, realities, and best practices of live online learning. This post, the third in the series, recaps their panel discussion.

From instructional design to delivery to production, virtual learning requires special treatment. Accustomed to the face-to-face classroom, learners often perceive live online sessions as “less important.”

How can we fight this stigma and increase learner engagement?

Nina Talley Everflow, Senior Program Manager of EnCompass, Jennifer Hofmann, President of InSync Training, Karen Hyder, Principal of Kaleidoscope Training and Consulting, and Bianca Woods, Sr. Manager of Programming for the eLearning Guild believe in the approaches detailed in this blog post.

As the workplace continues to evolve, and training approaches evolve to support it, at some point it will be hard to distinguish the difference between working and learning. And that’s a good thing.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the modern classroom environment lately. And there is no doubt that modern learners have more options about where and how they learn. We also know that today’s workplace demands training be embedded in the workflow, with minimal disruption to the daily routine.

These tools can be used to build community and continue the learning conversation started in the classroom, or they can be used as a stand-alone “just-in-time” set of resources for training in the flow of work—or anything in between.

After almost two decades of “webinar” virtual classroom experiences, where the instructor lectured for 45 minutes while the phones were muted and the chat was turned off, virtual training is finally moving to a more facilitated model that recognizes the rare opportunity we have when learners from across the enterprise can meet together in real time.

Even with the increased availability and affordability of online training programs, participants don't seem to be particularly engaged in virtual learning. Jennifer Hofmann, President of InSync Training, believes the design of online programs is to blame.

Virtual classrooms require special consideration to ensure that learners can not only participate in the process, but also engage in the learning. Part of the responsibility of virtual learning designers and facilitators is to literally teach learners how to learn online. Simply assuming learners will easily translate their existing process for learning in the traditional face-to-face classroom is not enough. 

In order for virtual learning to be successful, we need to create environments in which people can effectively learn. Our participants need to be open to learning in this new way, and confident that their time in the virtual classroom is well-spent.

As you review the tips presented in this whitepaper, you'll see that motivation often comes down to answering the question, "What's in it for me?" The latest technologies and best designs won't mean a thing if you can't answer that question for your participants.

On second thought, don’t stop me.

It bears repeating. And worth hearing over and over and over again, at least until virtual learning is second nature to all of us.

When learning at a distance, whether in a virtual classroom or using eLearning, you need to create your personal learning environment - and it is probably not the same environment in which you work. If you want to learn effectively, you can't be disrupted or distracted by people, work, or to do lists. 

Using today's virtual classroom technology, it is easy to set up the online meeting and communicate the session details to your group of learners - but then they get reminder after reminder and often end up getting confused. Or they arrive at the session and discover they don't understand the tools or know how to learn in the virtual classroom.

At InSync Training, we deliver certificate programs for a variety of subjects, including designing and facilitating in the virtual classroom and designing blended learning programs. These certificate programs are usually held once a week, two hours per session, for up to seven weeks. In delivering these programs, we have discovered several best practices that we have found to be effective when communicating with our learners and preparing them for the learning experience.

Where would virtual training be without virtual learners? Clearly, we need to set them up for success. Although participants have a wide range of backgrounds, skills, and technical experience, all must learn to navigate the virtual learning environment. We must be aware that participants need to "learn how to learn" all over again in this new medium. But how do you prepare them?