Why is Online Training so Lonely?
If you think online training is lonely and isolating, you are not alone. If you Google the phrase, “Why is Online Training so Lonely?” you will get over 60 million results.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
Here are some comments we have received on evaluation forms after our live online bronze online certification program:
“I was concerned that the on-line program would not be as effective as a classroom program, but I was wrong. It was incredibly helpful and I am looking forward to continuing on my certification journey!”
“Thanks for an enjoyable experience and providing a terrific learning atmosphere (which can be a real challenge virtually.)”
“I think you do a great job of keeping people engaged and making the content interesting and relevant.”
If you are wondering how we get that type of feedback, here are some things we do:
- We always have at least two facilitators for each program. We cannot take credit for this as an original idea; watch nearly any newscast, and they mix it up with a duo of anchors who take turns presenting short news segments.
- We get participants typing as frequently as possible. If you ask for one volunteer, you have only fully engaged one person. But if you ask everyone to simultaneously type a response to a question, everyone can participate and stay interested.
- We take a break every hour. While this does add to the length of the program, some learners really need it.
- We ask for feedback after every session, and we share the feedback and our responses at the beginning of the next session. We believe that showing our active interest in feedback and immediately responding to it keeps people with us. We get great ideas, too, and we incorporate them into the program to continually improve it.
- We leave the chat area open and invite people to use it. This way, they can ask a question as it arises, and they don’t have to wait until designated question-and-answer time periods. It also allows people who like to multi-task or are faster learners to amuse themselves and stay focused on the class, and not wander over to email or other windows.
Many of you probably have great ideas to maintain engagement as well. Feel free to login and share them in comments, below.
If you would like to experience the course for yourself, here is a link to the schedule of upcoming programs.
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