|
Facilitating Synchronous
Learning - Certificate Program
More and
more, organizations are using synchronous training platforms such
as Web Ex, LiveMeeting, and others to deliver live, online learning
to remote groups of participants. This program, presented by ASTD
in partnership with synchronous learning experts’ InSync eu’
Training, provides ten hours of live, online instruction along with
opportunities for application. Participants will learn to maximize
the engagement of remote participants and manage the logistics of
facilitating synchronous learning.
Audience
This program
is for professionals who want to build their skills in delivering
effective synchronous (live and online) training, including
engaging remote participants and techniques to take your online
training sessions to the next level. Instructional designers who
develop programs for this medium will also benefit.
Course
Description
The term
synchronous means happening at precisely the same time, and refers
to an online learning experience in which an instructor and a group
of participants speak and interact in an online classroom.
Delivering training in this environment requires a facilitator to
engage their audience and create interactivity in non-traditional
ways, be sensitive to how they use their voice, and be comfortable
multi-tasking in a new technical and logistical
environment.
This online
program, presented by ASTD in partnership with synchronous learning
experts InSync Training, provides ten hours of live, online
instruction. Participants will learn to maximize the engagement of
remote participants and manage the logistics of facilitating
synchronous learning. The workshop also includes a two-hour
practice facilitation session where each participant, along with an
assigned partner, is given a piece of content to deliver live via
the virtual classroom using the techniques that were modeled during
the previous synchronous sessions. Participants will leave this
program with the skills and confidence to successfully facilitate
synchronously learning events.
By the
end of this program, participants will be able to:
- Apply
proven techniques for maximizing learner engagement, energy, and
motivation in the online learning environment
- Use
their voice as their most powerful instructional tool and read the
non-verbal “body language” cues of participants
- Leverage
the support of a producer or assistant facilitator to ensure
seamless, stress-free sessions
- Manage
the various technical and participant difficulties that can and
will occur in synchronous learning
- Prepare
themselves, prepare their learners, and prepare the technology via
rehearsals, participant communication, logistical set-up, and
post-session follow up
How Does
the Course Work?
Online
sessions
Live online sessions will be
conducted once a week for five weeks. Each session is two hours in
length. You'll participate via the Web Ex Training Center platform
plus a teleconference for audio. Special software is not required.
All you need is a standard web browser and a telephone to
participate!
Discussion Board
A
discussion board will be available as a support tool
throughout the program. The instructor will post information and
discussion topics. Participants may post questions for the
instructor and topics for discussion as well.
Resource Materials
Participants will receive a
downloadable participant guide to accompany the online sessions, as
well as a copy of The
Synchronous Trainer's Survival Guide: Facilitating Successful Live
and Online Courses, Meetings, and Events by Jennifer Hofmann to
serve as an ongoing resource.
Opportunities for
Application
In addition to the weekly
online sessions, participants will also have the opportunity to
deliver on their own to gain practice in a virtual classroom
environment during the practice facilitation session at the end of
the workshop.
Course
Outline
Week 1 -
Creating Audience Engagement
This two-hour
session explores how the role of facilitators has changed with the
introduction of learning technologies. Participants will learn
proved techniques for keeping learning energized, focused, and
motivated. Best practice tips and guidance for facilitating in the
synchronous medium will be explained, modelled, and
reinforced.
After this
session, participants will be able to:
- Describe
the job description of an online facilitator
- Identify
the steps necessary to prepare to be an online
facilitator
- Identify
key techniques for engaging participants without the benefit of
body language and eye contact
Week
2 - Being a Broadcaster
In the
synchronous environment, voice is the most essential instructional
tool. Interactivity and learner engagement are driven by the
facilitator's and participants' voices. This two-hour session will
uncover how synchronous facilitators can use their voice and
questioning techniques to maximize engagement in the audio
environment and read participants' "body language in
bandwidth".
After
this session, participants will be able to:
- Use
their voice to effectively engage participants
- Create
an effective audio environment
- Craft
questions to which participants can effectively respond
- Identify
participant cues that take the place of body language and eye
contact
Week
3 - Synchronous Team Teaching
A
producer, or assistant facilitator, can help transform synchronous
programs into trouble-free, fast moving, interactive events that
keep learners involved and facilitators on track. Through numerous
practice exercises, this two-hour session provides insight on how
facilitators can stay focused on content while the producer takes
care of everything else.
After
this session, participants will be able to:
- Define
the producer's role
- Demonstrate
and practice how the producer can support the synchronous
facilitator
- Identify
ways to create a more interactive session when a producer is not
possible (which may often be the case in the real
world)
Week
4 - Disaster Recovery
In the
synchronous environment Murphy's Law applies! What do you do when
things start going wrong? This two-hour session covers live
techniques for effectively addressing and recovering from
participant issues, audio problems, and hardware/software trouble
shooting.
After
this session, participants will be able to:
- Discuss
various ways to manage audio issues
- Solve a
variety of technical issues that may occur in the virtual classroom
software
- Manage
disruptive participant behaviours before they turn into
disasters
Week
5 - Preparing and Practicing
As with
physical classroom training, preparation and practice are the keys
to successful learning events. In this two-hour session,
participants will discover the numerous off-line activities that
need to be completed before and after an online learning event,
including marketing and communication, participant preparation,
technology considerations, logistics, rehearsals, and post-session
follow up.
After
this session, participants will be able to:
- Create a
checklist to manage the planning, production, and follow-up of an
online learning event
- Communicate
with participants, managers, and other parties about their roles in
supporting the successful online event
If
you are comfortable facilitating learning in the virtual classroom
environment or want to focus on design rather than delivery, we
recommend our Designing Synchronous Learning - Certificate
Programme.
For more
information contact:
info@thelearningsanctuary.co.uk
Telephone:
0845 833 1178 or 07886 559 669 | 