We are looking to introduce Webinars within our Council to deliver a series of 1 hour (or so) sessions on areas withing Management Development. Would like to know if anyone has successfully carried this out within a large organisation? Where to start? How these have been used? any help at all to point us in the right direction! Many thanks
3 Responses
Webinars
Hi Helen,
There is so much to say on the topic I’m not sure where to start…
I’d advise anyone looking to deliver webinars/live online learning to start attending some themselves, to see what migth work for you etc. I regularly attend the free webinars from the LSG: http://learningandskillsgroup.ning.com/
Do you have a tool in place already? If not there is a comprehensive list of options here: http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/Tools/conferencing.html (I use Adobe Connect).
You may also want to consider training for people looking to facilitate online learning, I can personally recommend this course from TAP: http://www.tap-training.com/page/courses/elearning_facilitation.html
Are you looking to deliver webinars/presentations, or live online learning? There is a big difference and audience interaction is crucial for the latter.
Start with a small scale pilot, deliver short sessions to know associates/colleagues etc to get used to the tool and delivery method. Record the session and watch them back, share them with others for their feedback too.
Start exposing people to the tool and the delivery/learning method, so it isn’t alien to them when they are invited to a session.
We recently completed a pilot (I work in one of the largets Universities in the UK) and have started delivering webinars and live online classroom sessions to staff, so far very successfully.
I feel like I have just written a random list of my thoughts, so good luck deciphering them 🙂
If you have any questions, or would like me to talk about anything in more detail just let me know.
Phil
Thansk
Thanks Phil. Will go through the recommendations and come back to you if I need any further help. This is a great start for me. Cheers and thanks for your time. Helen
Webinars
Hi Helen
Great advice from Phil. Were are also using Adobe Connect and also WebEx at the moment. Adobe Connect is much better at creating interactivity with learners but WebEx is great for informational sessions.
Training for facilitators is also necessary, pairing facilitators so that one can manage the technology and respond to questions being asked whilst the other presents is also very useful. Instructional design also requires a different approach.
Finally – is it the right tool for the job? Webinars don’t replace face-to face training for many topics – anything that requires behavioural change/feedback/practices etc is still best done in face-to-face sessions IMHO. However webinars are great for reaching large audiences to build knowledge and awareness. For example; we use webinars to build understanding of our compensation philosophy. process and practices and to build an understanding of the role of the manager in this but we use face-to-face sessions to have managers practice the skills and behaviours of having difficult conversations about compensation decisions.
Thanks
Mark