•8/22/2007

connecting communities with opportunities through technology

Web Conferencing:
Running Effective Online Trainings &
Meetings
Facilitated by Lindsay Bealko

If you haven’t, please join the audio portion* of the conference:

Press the 6 key
Phone: 1 (888) 617-3400 on your phone
h
Passcode: 101 0541 to mute your
line. Press again
*If you have difficulty connecting, send a question via the Question & to un-mute.
Answers window in the lower right portion of your screen.

We’ll begin at 10am. Thank you for coming!

connecting communities with opportunities through technology

Running Effective Online

Trainings & Meetings

Lindsay Bealko
Toolkit Consulting
For NPower Seattle

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What is CCN?

A statewide coalition of public & private organizations

collaborating to build the capacity of community
technology
gy providers
p in WA

Lead partners:

connecting communities with opportunities through technology

Why are we here today?

Learning Objectives
By the end of this workshop you will be able to…

1. State your primary goals and objectives for

leading online trainings or meetings
2. Identify your high priority web conferencing
features
3. Use features, key questions, and available
resources to compare web conferencing
providers
4. List the key steps in preparing for an online
training or meeting
5. Choose two to three techniques you will use to
make your next webinar more engaging and
interactive

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Workshop Agenda

• Lay of the Land: How tech is transforming training

• Getting Started with Web Conferencing

• Planning a Seamless Online Training/Meeting

• Tips for Delivering an Engaging Online Training/Meeting

• Action Planning

• Q & A and Wrap-up

Wrap up

What’s your experience with webinars?

I’m a Rookie - this is the 1st online I’m Comfortable - I've attended a I’m a Regular – “Webinar” is my
presentation I've attended: few online meetings or middle name!
presentations

Directions: Using the white board tools on the upper right of your
screen, place a stamp in the box that most closely defines your
experience and comfort level with webinars.

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LiveMeeting: A 3-Minute Tour

Minimize,
restore,
close

Attendee
list

Seating
Chart

Q & A Box

Anything else you’d like me to know

about today’s workshop?
My hopes for the session: My concerns for the session:

Directions: Using the white board tools on the upper right of your
screen, select the text tool shown, click in the boxes above, and
begin typing your hopes & concerns for the session.

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Workshop Agenda

• Lay of the Land: How tech is transforming training

• Getting Started with Web Conferencing

• Planning a Seamless Online Training/Meeting

• Tips for Delivering an Engaging Online Training/Meeting

• Action Planning

• Q & A and Wrap-up

Wrap up

The World of e-Learning

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What’s In It For Me?

The Promise of e-Learning Tools

& Support different learning styles
& Expand reach
& Can be cost effective
& Consistency & quality of training delivered
& Convenient and flexible for learners
& Learning happens on the job instead of “separately”
& Rich
Ri h iinteractive
t t t Æ teach
ti content t h concepts t d
dynamically
i ll

What to Watch Out For

The Reality of e-Learning Tools:

8 A lot of tools to sort through
8 Poorly used,
used can subtract value
8 Dependent on tech-comfort of your participants
8 Managing costs and time to use tools
8 Not a quick fix or silver bullet
8 More self-accountability in hands of learner (i.e. to pay
attention))

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Making Sense of the Options

Asynchronous
AKA: “recorded” y
Synchronous
“on--demand”
“on AKA “Live”
“self--paced”
“self •Discussion
boards
•Screencasting or •Webinars
•Collaboration
webcasting
tools/spaces •Video conferencing
(“tutorials”)
•Recorded •Remote PC sharing
•“Staged,” recorded
“Live”
webinars •Chat
Ch t or “IM”
webinars

Learning Management Systems help you manage

multiple modalities

Today’s Focus: Web Conferencing

Web Conferencing: AKA virtual classrooms; e-meetings,

webinars, web conferences, etc.

+ +

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Think About It
How might you use web conferencing?
Indicate your response below:

To lead meetings between remote

participants

To lead software skill workshops for our

constituents

To lead "soft-skills" or concept-based classes

for our constituents

Other (write in):

Real World Applications of Web Conferencing

• Teach software skills

• Recordings so you don’t

don t have to re-teach
re teach the most
popular courses

• Volunteer or program orientations

• Meetings with board or coalition members from

across the state

• Build a virtual collaboration community between

remote peers or colleagues

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Workshop Agenda

9 Lay of the Land: How tech is transforming training

• Getting Started with Web Conferencing

• Planning a Seamless Online Training/Meeting

• Tips for Delivering an Engaging Online Training/Meeting

• Action Planning

• Q & A and Wrap-up

Wrap up

First Things First: Set your target

1. What are your goals for a web conference?

• Education
• Collaboration
• Enrollment/Outreach
E ll t/O t h

2. Who is your audience and what is their level of tech comfort?

3. What do they need to learn?

4. What is your training approach?

• One time or ongoing?

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Choosing a Web Conferencing Provider

Features/Requirements to look for

Common features: Possible features:

• Sharing slideshows • Polling
• Chat • Whiteboarding/Annotation
• Q & A forum • Synchronous web surfing
• Raise hand/provide feedback • Sharing control w/
• Application sharing attendees
• Recording • Phone control panel
• Scheduling meetings; inviting • Streaming video
participants • Handles registration
• Custom branding

Prioritize Features You Need

Before searching for a web conferencing vendor, determine your

priority features.

NEED TO HAVE
HAVE: NICE TO HAVE
HAVE: “FLUFF”
“FLUFF”:

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A Snapshot of the Players

• There are many providers ranging from free to

moderate to expensive
• This
Thi market
k th
has a llott off comings
i and
d goings
i

The Freebies: You get what you pay for

WebHuddle:
• Open Source tool in Beta form
• Completely free
• Not as “shiny,” but good functionality,
including application sharing

SaveOnConferences:
• N
No bells
b ll & whistles
hi l
• “Free” w/ paid audio conference at
$0.085/min
• No application sharing available

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Temperature Check

How is the webinar going so far?

Too slow! Let’s Just right! Keep Too fast! Let’s

dive in to more doing what take the time
ti e to
content ASAP! you’re doing. review before
moving on!

Middle of the Road

ReadyTalk:
• Highly-functioning tool
• Available on TechSoup Stock for
nonprofit discount but complex
pricing model could get spendy w/
more than 3 participants
• Has most/all key features

Adobe Connect:
• “Personal” version of this tool from
Adobe is affordable & functional
• $395/yr. gets you unlimited
conferencing for 15 people
• Not able to record, however

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Pricey but Powerful

LiveMeeting:
• Expensive but “feature-ful” and flexible
• Not part of MS donation program
• May not be a good value unless you have
constant online conferencing needs

GoToWebinar:
• Flat-fee,, predictable
p pricing
p g model w//
impressive functionality
• More affordable tool for those w/
considerable web conferencing needs
• Great canned reporting, dashboard &
registration features

Choosing a Web Conferencing Provider

Additional considerations when choosing a provider:

• How long have they been in business?
• How is their tech support/customer service?
• What documentation & training materials are available?
• Is it technically compatible w/ your systems and those of
your target audience? (i.e. downloads required)
• Pricing structure
• # of seats in each conference

Always insist on a demo or trial-period with a system before

making a big investment. It is the best way to evaluate it.

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Resources to Learn More

Want to learn more about various systems available?

• Visit the CCN Wiki for a spreadsheet comparing some of

the most common tools:
http://communitiesconnect.wikispaces.com/

• Check out the articles and links on the Resources for

Further Learning handout

Workshop Agenda

9 Lay of the Land: How tech is transforming training

9 Getting Started with Web Conferencing

• Planning a Seamless Online Training/Meeting

• Tips for Delivering an Engaging Online Training/Meeting

• Action Planning

• Q & A and Wrap-up

Wrap up

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Four P’s to Planning a Seamless Training

1) Practice
Know your web conferencing system

2) Plan Ahead
Proactive planning will pay off come conference day

3) Prepare Participants
Give attendees
d the
h information
f they
h need
d to participate

4) Prepare Yourself
Being prepared will let you focus on engaging attendees on the day of

Step 1: Practice

Know your web conferencing system

• Practice and test key features from both the presenter and
attendee perspective
ƒ Scheduling meetings & inviting participants
ƒ Uploading slides & navigating through them
ƒ Recording
ƒ Application sharing
ƒ Question & Answer manager
• Know your phone system
ƒ “Chairperson” features 1) Practice
Know your web conferencing system

ƒ Mute functions 2) Plan Ahead

ƒ Operator assists
Proactive planning will pay off come conference day

3) Prepare Participants
Give attendees the information they need to participate

4) Prepare Yourself
Being prepared will let you focus on engaging attendees on the day of

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Step 2: Plan Ahead

Proactive planning will pay off come conference day

• Consider best meeting days and times for your audience

• Time frame for advertising/outreach
• Use of extra staff to help handle questions and technical issues
• Consider use of registration to collect key information about
participants
• Prep teaching materials for use in online format
• Reserve a quiet room from which to run your call
1) Practice
Know your web conferencing system

2) Plan Ahead
Refer to the handout Workplan for Leading a Web Proactive planning will pay off come conference day

Conference for a checklist of pre-conference tasks 3) Prepare Participants

Give attendees the information they need to participate

4) Prepare Yourself
Being prepared will let you focus on engaging attendees on the day of

Step 3: Prepare Your Participants

Give attendees the information they need to participate

• Send confirmation email with clear directions about jjoiningg

phone & web portion
• Ask participants to test browser compatibility ahead of time
• Have an alternate way for participants to get slides/handouts
• Encourage people to join the conference at least 5-10
minutes early in case they have difficulty joining

1) Practice
Know your web conferencing system

2) Plan Ahead
Consider sharing a tips sheet like Making the Most Proactive planning will pay off come conference day

of Online Training to prepare your participants. 3) Prepare Participants

Give attendees the information they need to participate

4) Prepare Yourself
Being prepared will let you focus on engaging attendees on the day of

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Step 4: Prepare Yourself

Being prepared lets you focus on engaging attendees on the day of

• Post a picture
• Post dial-in information on first slide for convenience
• Attend to your basic needs
• Go hands-free
• Consider setting up a second computer in “Attendee view”
• Be prepared for the vacuum

1) Practice
Know your web conferencing system

2) Plan Ahead
Proactive planning will pay off come conference day

3) Prepare Participants
Give attendees the information they need to participate

4) Prepare Yourself
Being prepared will let you focus on engaging attendees on the day of

Workshop Agenda

9 Lay of the Land: How tech is transforming training

9 Getting Started with Web Conferencing

9 Planning a Seamless Online Training/Meeting

• Tips for Delivering an Engaging Online Training/Meeting

• Action Planning

• Q & A and Wrap-up

Wrap up

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Tips for Delivering an Engaging Training

You’ve got the basics down, but your webinar could still be Boring.

Techniques for Engaging Participants

• Are you out there? Checking in at key points
• Play along: Engaging participants along the way

Best Practices for Online Training

Best Practices for In-Person Training

Techniques for Engaging Participants

1) Check in at Key Points

• Ask folks to use the seating chart or hand-

raising features as responses to Yes/No
comprehension checks

• Use polling slides as opinion polls or

comprehension checks/ quizzes

• Use graphics and “spectrums” to assess

your audience and do temperature checks

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Techniques for Engaging Participants, cont.

2) Let Them Play Along

• Use application sharing to give attendees control

• Chat questions or key points to all students

• Use web slides to let students explore key resources

• Let participants “brainstorm” with white boarding

Best Practices for Leading Online Trainings

• Use discretion with student introductions

• Carefully choose your Q&A approach
• Orient students to key tools in the system
• Nip noisy callers in the bud
• Call on people directly (by name)
• Show and tell
• About every 4th slide, have interaction

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Best Practices from the Classroom Still Apply

• Stay focused; asides bomb in online environment

• Speak clearly and with inflection
• Use graphics on slides
ƒ Text alone is extra-challenging in this format

• Address questions throughout session

• Request feedback and learn from it

Your Turn to Share

Do you have any ideas from leading or attending online

training that have made them more engaging?

Our Tips:

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Workshop Agenda

9 Lay of the Land: How tech is transforming training

9 Getting Started with Web Conferencing

9 Planning a Seamless Online Training/Meeting

9 Tips for Delivering an Engaging Online Training/Meeting

• Action Planning

• Q & A and Wrap-up

Wrap up

Action Planning

Which 2 - 3 engagement techniques will you try to use

in your next online meeting or training?

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Action Planning

What 3 steps will you take to explore or expand your

use of web conferencing in the next 30 days?

Workshop Agenda

9 Lay of the Land: How tech is transforming training

9 Getting Started with Web Conferencing

9 Planning a Seamless Online Training/Meeting

9 Tips for Delivering an Engaging Online Training/Meeting

9 Action Planning

• Q & A and Wrap

Wrap--up

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Questions & Answers?

• You can ask questions over the phone by

pressing 6 to un-mute your phones

• You can submit questions via the Q&A manager

on the bottom right corner of your screen

Did we hit the mark?

Learning Objectives
By the end of this workshop you will be able to…

1.. State your primary goals and objectives for

leading online trainings or meetings
2. Identify your high priority web conferencing
features
3. Use features, key questions, and available
resources to compare web conferencing
providers
4. List the key steps in preparing for an online
training or meeting
5. Choose two to three techniques you will use to
make your next webinar more engaging and
interactive

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Resources for Further Learning

• CCN Community Site:

• Workshop page for resources and discussion, software
comparison spreadsheet,
spreadsheet timeline/work plan guide
guide, copy of
today’s slides: http://communitiesconnect.wikispaces.com/

• More FREE CCN training:

www.communitiesconnect.org/about-ccn/event-calendar

• More about available web conferencingg tools:

http://www.thinkofit.com/webconf/realtime.htm

• Tips for engaging your audience online:

http://www.insynctraining.com/a101tips/index.htm

Thank you for coming!

Please fill out an evaluation

For further information about the CCN

program, please visit our site at:
www.communitiesconnect.org

If you h
have questions
i or are iinterested
d iin
learning more, contact Peg Giffels at:
pegg@npowerseattle.org

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