NYNP blog post 3-9-09

Free resource for learning how to conduct training online
Nonprofits can save classroom training costs by learning to train with technology

In these economic times, resourceful nonprofit staff are looking for ways to do more with less by cutting costs, including costs associated with classroom training, such as travel, space, and supplies.

One way to cut these classroom training costs but still provide high quality training on needed topics is to replace some classroom workshops with webinars, which are essentially workshops conducted using an online conferencing service such as MegaMeeting, WebEx, GoToMeeting, iLinc, Adobe ConnectPro, or other.

To clarify: because webinars are still relatively new, people sometimes confuse them with webcasts. Webcasts are one-way streams of information, in which the viewer cannot communicate with the facilitator or can only communicate by sending typed questions. These are basically online presentations with one or more speakers and potentially hundreds or thousands of viewers, and they are not particularly effective vehicles for training because they are focused on providing information rather than changing behavior.

Webinars, on the other hand, are much more interactive and are therefore also called online workshops/training or live virtual workshops/training. They include two-way communication between the facilitator and the participants, and they can include many types of interaction, including taking polls with results immediately visible in charts or graphs, having participants type or draw on the screen for everyone to see, having participants instant message specific people or everyone, asking participants to break into smaller groups for activities or discussions in breakout rooms, asking participants to react to information by selecting emoticons, showing video, or just plain asking questions that participants answer by talking out loud.

These interactions are key to effective webinars, and a good rule of thumb is to include some kind of interaction with participants every few minutes at minimum. With participants logging in remotely and with competition from email, the Internet, and their surrounding environments, participants won't put up with boredom for long before tuning out.

This makes excellent webinar design critical, and fortunately there is a great free resource for learning how to do this. Twice a month, InSync Training offers a free webinar for beginners called Learn How to Learn Online, as well as additional free webinars to sharpen skills. I've attended both the beginner webinar and several additional ones and can recommend them as helpful, fun, and filled with practical techniques you can use right away.

The details on how to sign up for these webinars are available on the InSync Training website at http://www.insynctraining.com/calendar.htm