[#facilitation] ‘So what does a good online workshop look like for you?’ - I was asked this question the weekend before by Alex Gray for the #InternationalClassroomPodcast. While there are lots of measures of success for a good online workshop, in this snippet I mention just one thing:
✨That it’s a good workshop when I manage to get everyone on the call to engage - in some way, at least once.
It seems really simple, but if you have 50 people online, or sometimes even smaller ones where you can’t necessarily see the participants, it is a real challenge.
The reason I gave this example, is because to get that engagement from every participant means you need to have a lot of things in place for that outcome.
So here are some of thethings that help that engagement happen. To me, these are all more indicators of a good online workshop:
👍🏼Contrast
Lots of different types of activities - high cognitive demand ones contrasted with lower ones, things like fun moments mixed with serious ones, loud moments mixed with quiet ones, different visuals (e.g. switching from screen share > video only > video off)… lots of contrast! A session designed with balanced contrast keeps participants glued to the workshop because it’s so engaging. I often say a good workshop online should be just like a great movie - you are immersed.
👍🏼Tech:
Making sure all relevant tech works for you, and is ready to go, and participants can use it easily too.
👍🏼Consideration:
Informing participants well in advance what your expectations are, whether you want them on video or audio and then having them all ready and engaging the way you envisioned. This really helps with engagement and achieving the outcomes of the session. It’s the equivalent of sending an agenda ahead of a meeting. It helps everyone prepare!
👍🏼Logical structure, shared frequently:
A clear map of what will be done or learned in the session and how we’ll get there, and it’s shared often with participants is so helpful for a good online learning experience.
👍🏼Good vibes:
When participants share and tell you what they got from your workshop, they tell you how they feel at the end - and it’s good - that is a good sign. The best workshops are when many of the participants want to meet again soon and share more and learn more.
👍🏼Practical application:
Another sign of a good workshop is when someone is inspired to try something you talked about or taught, and it worked for them. That’s one of the best things IMO!
…and that’s not all!
In the video podcast, I talked about just one element - engagement. As you’ll know and see from the above non-exhaustive list, there are so many indicators of a good online workshop. It’s a constant WIP!
#overtoyou: #Teachers & #Facilitators - What are some signs of a good online workshop for you? Do you agree/disagree with any of the ones above, or that I talk about in the video?
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