Its been an interesting time adjusting to online program both giving it and participating in it.
Firstly, the basics haven’t changed. Discern what is needed for the audience you are serving then select the course.
Then start promoting the same way you always have, hopping on the phone and sending personal emails. When we promote to everyone in a general blast we usually inspire no one.
Some things I have learned doing program online:
Zoom is a great medium you don’t need to pay for webinar just the basic paid meeting service is fine (US$14.95 a month)
Go through and learn most of the settings (some are still beyond me ?)
Activate Breakout rooms, you don’t need Zoom rooms that’s very different.
Deactivate Chat between participants and allow it with you and all participants.
Prior to starting your zoom meeting load up your course slides only put into full screen mode after you have started the zoom meeting. Now when you screen share the slides they come up as full screen automatically.*Ensure your meeting settings are set to always show.
Set screen share so participants can’t start screen sharing when you are screen sharing.
The white board is very handy also. You can save this so you can go back to it as you last left it and add more if you wish.
With the breakout rooms you are able to send messages to the rooms like:
– “Come back when you have finished sharing”
– “Start to wind it up now”
– “One more minute”
– “Come back to the main room now”
It is best not to close the room on the participants. Close it once they have all returned.
It is fine to start sharing in the main room even if everyone is not back yet.
Now, one thing that is very different is that as an instructor in a person to person program you can gleam many things watching participants sharing amongst themselves and that is not available with the break out rooms. Yes you can go into the breakout room and listen but that is the same as joining a sharing circle in a course which I wouldn’t do. So it is then about tuning into your guidance more than in a face to face class and listen to any clues that may help you as an instructor.
You can set up the next breakout room while they are reading the slides.
Keep your participants list open and off the side expanded down wards so it fills the height of the screen and bring in the width as small as it will go.
When reading slides ask who would like to read them with mic open and then tell all others to close their mic. They all read aloud at home with that one person reading with their mic open. Feel free to delegate if people do not respond immediately.
People can sometimes be concerned about the “time delay” and “keeping the participants waiting” while you set up the next element , i.e. – screen sharing or breakout rooms or bringing up the slides etc. Don’t be concerned…. a 20 second pause while on zoom may feel like a long time but its not. Think about how often in a course there are moments that are quiet…. Walking over to the whiteboard to write something up . Walking back to the front of the room turning on the projector etc so when you are changing over elements during the zoom meeting don’t worry if it takes 15 seconds and no need to apologize just continue on. You be comfortable with the elements and how you are conducting yourself and so will the participants.
When doing long courses over multiple time zones suggest that everyone sets their watches to the same time zone it helps with meal breaks .
Enjoy
John Shortell VPFI
Clear Direction Is Gentle At The Speed Of Light