More on Virtual Classes

I've been posting alot on the work I did in virtual classrooms in 2010 or so. I had no idea we were so cutting edge. We started a network of zoom classrooms in 2011 using Google Hangout and ran them every day for over three years providing safety and skills training. Each class, every day, lasted 8 hours and we had a new class start each week. It was rigorous to keep up with that much training and in that style. We learned a lot very quickly. 

We made sure everyone had a participant handbook, we had lockers in each of the 50 training rooms that had real-world implements that the learners could touch and feel and try on as we went over the tools, we had a variety of media to keep them engaged and entertained; lecture, PowerPoint, videos, case studies, interviews with experts, and we made sure everyone had a tablet or smartphone for intermittent quizzes with immediate feedback. 

In terms of technology, it was this last addition that seemed to have the greatest impact. That ability to utilize a smartphone to take spaced practice quizzes and see immediately how they did and how they performed in terms of the rest of the class, was a game-changer. I think it might have been the blend of being a part of the class and still being in their training room. It helped to break that 5th wall. 

Another technique, irrespective of technology, that we found effective, was to engage the learners in frequent talk-back moments from the very start. The learners were encouraged through different means to engage with the facilitator and the other classrooms, and this helped them realize that the entire class was based on two-way communication and they were not expected to be passive receivers of the information. Another technique, was during the videos the facilitators and the producer made sure to say something to the class "Mike in Detroit, we need you to stop leaving the classroom so much or we will have to ask you to leave" or "Robert, can you please put your phone away during the video?" These little moments where the learners were reminded that they were on camera and being watched helped to ensure there was engagement and that the learners were not drifting. 

Lastly, as I see more and more organizations using zoom classrooms, I have found two other aspects. First, we had a mixture of classrooms with learners and the single learner who might be taking the class at home on his own PC. We found the classroom atmosphere, even though they were a part of a zoom network, acted as a natural facilitator. Those people who were solo were generally the learners who drifted off the quickest. 

We found that we had to have a suite of tools and techniques to keep the learner engaged, and it wasn't just one or two things, but an entire online tool and technique set. Sadly, the project ended when the company became too successful and we had to hire more and more people. We reached a max-out limit and had to find more scalable means of training. 

Anna have you seen success with any tools or techniques like these? How have you seen these problems overcome?