Conducting Effective Training in a Virtual

Classroom

Michael CoghlanNewLearning29/1/10

TODAY’S AGENDA

• Introductions• Tour of the tools• What makes a good online trainer?• Possible applications• Visit(s) from remote guests• Questions

PERSONALISE THE EXPERIENCE

WHO’S ONLINE TODAY?

Welcome to our Elluminate Session

While you are waiting please type your name beside a chair by using the text tool ‘A’.

SHOW US WHERE YOU ARE...

Sample Activity

activity courtesy of LearningTimes

Quiz – Multiple Choice

Are you:

A) In your office?

B) In a computer suite?

C) At home?

D) Other?

MULTIPLE VENUEPRESENTATIONS(MVPs)

remote students guest

lecturer

CLASSROOM/F2F VENUE

publicspace

MVPs: Implications

Participants can be in a variety of locations:

• F2f classroom, lecture theatre• PC suite• Office (at work)• Home office/study• Other (café, beach)

Participants can:

• Participate in 2 way voice chat• Participate in 2 way text chat• Use the whiteboard (compose text,

draw pictures, upload images)• View slides and URLs• Take part in polls• Work in groups• Share applications• Stream live video (webcam)

Presenters can:Do all the things a participant can do PLUS• Upload content• Make participants presenters• Create new screens• Display URLs• Create polls and quizzes• Create break out rooms• Share applications• Show videos • Stream live video (webcam)

PURPOSE?:

• a presentation tool?

• a collaboration tool?

What kinds of synchronous activities can you use in virtual classrooms?

TEACHING/TRAINING• ‘straight lecture’• Guest lecturers• Oral presentations• Group work• One on one (eg

pronunciation)

OTHER• Office hours• Social: student -

student

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Attend online conferences, seminars, workshops

• Meetings (much more cost effective than teleconferencing)

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES?

Skills of the Live Online Presenter

• Golden Rule: 6-8 minutes talking at a stretch maximum• Intersperse presentations with questions, polls, other

speakers (from the floor), whiteboard activity• Decide how to handle text chat – will you

monitor/respond? Or ignore it? Dip in and out of it?• Consider working with a producer/co-presenter• More at

http://users.chariot.net.au/~michaelc/fll/blog.htm#skills

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewblank/3919454433/sizes/s/

HOW MIGHT WEB CONFERENCING/VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS BE USED IN YOUR WORK PLACE?

SOME OF THE BETTER KNOWN WEB CONFERENCING TOOLS

Proprietary: (costs very ‘flexible’; somewhere in the vicinity of $1000/yr/user)

• Elluminate (offers free Vroom for 3 users)• Centra• Adobe Connect• WebEx

Free: • Wiziq• DimDim• Vyew

Some Resources:

• TRAINING COURSE (March)

http://www.learningtimes.net/cstp• Interactivity in Virtual Classrooms

http://www.slideshare.net/michaelc/interactivity-in-virtual-classrooms

• Moderating Live Synchronous Sessions

http://synchfacilitation.wikispaces.com• Finkelstein, Jonathan; Learning in Real Time

http://www.learninginrealtime.com/

Thank you!

Contact Michael Coghlane: michaelc@chariot.net.au