Virtual Instructor-led Training offers the essence of face-to-face classroom training with the convenience of online training for today’s generation of learners.
The World is Going Virtual!
While virtual games and shopping have been around for quite some time now, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in virtual teams, virtual meetings, and not surprisingly, virtual training. Most organizations are increasingly opting for online training and development programs to ensure uninterrupted learning. And this trend for virtual training is not going to go away any time soon, even in the post-pandemic world.
Now a few words on online training. Online training can be synchronous or asynchronous.
Synchronous online training requires both learners and the instructor to participate in the session at the same time (from any location).
Asynchronous training, on the other hand, can be accessed by individual learners at their own time and pace (wherever, whenever), without the instructor.
Introducing Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT)
Although VILTs have been around for some time now, there still is a lot of ambiguity around what exactly constitutes a VILT. To leverage this format optimally, it is important to have clarity on what it is and equally importantly, what it is NOT.
Introducing VILT
Virtual instructor-led training (VILT) is a form of synchronous online training that is delivered in a virtual environment with the instructor and learners participating in the session at the same time, but from different locations.
What VILT is NOT
VILT ≠ Webinar
VILT ≠ Online presentation with polls
VILT ≠ Conducting a classroom session using a conferencing facility
What Is Virtual Instructor-Led Training?
Virtual Instructor-Led Training or VILT is a form of synchronous online training that is delivered in a virtual environment with the instructor and learners participating in the session at the same time, but from different locations. It offers learners all the benefits of human interaction in a brick-and-mortar classroom without the hassles of travel, logistics, and space.
Organizations often use VILT as part of a blended learning strategy for employee training, especially for product and sales training and employee onboarding.
The main advantage of VILT is its ability to connect learners of different backgrounds from different locations on one platform. Other advantages of VILT are its:
Convenience and flexibility (learners can engage at work, at home, or on a mobile device, wherever they want)
Cost-effectiveness
Ability to upskill employees
Customizability
It’s a fact that classroom training can be highly engaging. But the good news is it is possible to replicate that experience in VILTs as well. Like the physical classroom, virtual classrooms also give participants the opportunity to:
Participate and collaborate actively
Engage in group activities
Share their learning
What Is NOT Virtual Instructor-Led Training?
Virtual instructor-led training is neither a webinar nor presenting classroom material in a videoconference. Why not?
Though a webinar is also a synchronous training format, it is mostly a one-sided communication from the presenter to participants. Participants are encouraged to share their opinions, feedback, or answer questions through polls, but the main essence of virtual classrooms – collaboration – is missing in webinars.
The 2 Pillars of the Virtual Classroom
The effectiveness of virtual classrooms hinges on 2 elements – Content and Technology
Content: Content is the most important component of the virtual classroom. If you already have classroom training material (PPTs, facilitator guides, manuals, etc.), you need to identify important need-to-know content from them to be included in the virtual session. It’s important that classroom material is not used ‘as is’ as the virtual classroom needs to factor for the absence of the instructor and collaboration. What you need to do is to organize the content and activities to be used:
Before the training session – to build rapport and trust
During the training for effective teaching – with different instructional activities
Collaboration activities – to be used throughout the session
Technology: Several technological platforms are available to help conduct your virtual classroom sessions. Popular ones include:
All these platforms offer a variety of tools to enable information sharing and collaboration (replicating the environment of a physical classroom) – each with its own limitations and strengths.
Unique Challenges of Virtual Classrooms
The virtual classroom has very different challenges when compared to the physical one.
Instructional Methods for the Virtual Classroom
Establishing goals and ground rules is important for any classroom, and the virtual classroom is no exception. In addition to being courteous in their communications, ground rules in a virtual classroom would include:
Turning off phones (both office and personal)
Not sending or responding to e-mails
Actively participating in chats
Asking questions
When we try to replicate the physical classroom training experience in the virtual classroom, some things may differ slightly because of the delivery format. However, the main principles for delivery stay the same. Let’s consider how Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction can be used in VILT with the aid of technology.
1. Gain Attention
Ice breakers and creative introductions
Sharing of experiences
Thought-provoking questions
Compelling stories or shocking statistics related to the topic
2. Inform Objectives
Videos of work challenges (which training will address)
‘What’s in it for me’ Videos
Audio/visual clips from management on what they hope from the training
3. Stimulate Recall
Polls and micro quizzes
Open-ended questions on what they already know and how it connects with what’s to come.
Articles, pictures, or facts related to the topic
4. Present Information
A variety of tools to present content
Videos to demonstrate processes/ explain concepts
Chats to answer questions
Polls to check learners’ understanding
5. Provide Guidance
Breakout rooms for brainstorming
Instructor guiding with screen shares
Opportunities to practice the new skill
Role-plays based on scenarios, case studies, and simulations
6. Elicit Performance
Quizzes with hints if necessary
Breakout rooms to analyze case studies
Worksheets for individual/ group exercises
Learners to respond to ‘what-if’ scenarios
7. Provide Feedback
Chat to answer questions
Breakout rooms to encourage and correct
Main room for groups to share learning
Discussions on common questions
8. Assess and Evaluate
Polls to test learners
Peer-reviews for small groups
Tools (Breeze Presenter, Poll Everywhere) to help deliver full-fledged assessments
9. Enhance Retention
Downloadable job-aids and links to resources
Contact details for additional help
Details of upcoming sessions (on the topic)
Session recordings of on LMS
Converting ILT to VILT
With a little bit of planning and sound instructional design, you can make the VILT as effective as an ILT. However, there are a few things you need to put in place, such as making participants familiar with the technology platform, “planning” your spontaneous activities, and so on.
The Process of Converting ILT Material to VILT
1. Plan
Scope the project and agree on timelines
Decide on training materials
Decide on meeting software and facilitators
2. Review Content
Review ILT PPTs for unnecessary content and gaps
Identify activities that need to be broken into smaller ones and across two modalities
Identify content to be animated
3. Develop
Fill in gaps
Rewrite content
Add references, do QA
Design PPTs
Tips to Get Started
Set up a GETTING STARTED session for facilitators and participants to get familiar with the virtual format and tools.
Ensure all reference materials and prework are sent to the participants.
Explain how the sessions are structured and what participants can expect.
Share a roadmap of the entire program, with clear timelines and the road ahead.
Specify community expectations and etiquette.
Introduce participants to their smaller groups.
What do You Need for a VILT Session?
An introductory Getting Started webinar with opportunities for hands on practice
Facilitator PPTs
Facilitator Guides with:
All content rewritten for the virtual session
Information on how to use the chosen platform
WebEx training center/GoTo
Teams
Poll Everywhere (or whatever Poll they want to use)
Participant materials
Reference materials for activities/post work/next steps
How do You go About Converting ILT to VILT?
As with any other training initiative, we need to have a robust process in place when converting ILT to VILT. The process has three main phases as shown below.
Planning
Scope the project and agree on timelines
Decide on training materials
Decide on meeting software and facilitators
Factor technology into the design
Reviewing Content
Review ILT PPT for unnecessary content and gaps
Identify activities that need to be broken:
Into smaller ones
Across two modalities
Identify content to be animated
Development
Convert PPT to Word
Fill in gaps
Simplify larger activities or split across modalities
Rewrite content
Add references, do QA
Design PPTs
Activities to Maximize Engagement
Not all classroom activities can be translated into VILT. Some of them may have to be rewritten or replaced. Engagement in virtual sessions needs more planning and effort because you cannot have spontaneous activities. For a successful VILT session:
Replace activities that can’t be converted and add appropriate transitions.
Perform periodic “pulse checks” on attendees by telling them to use “raise hand” tool
Don’t forget to provide breaks in between!
Polls
Polls help collect learners’ opinions and feedback. They can also be used to:
Stimulate recall of prior knowledge
Recap/summarize a learning point
Quiz learners on a topic just covered
Tips to use Polls
Decide on the kind of polls you want – Open ended/ Word cloud/ Multiple choice.
Check if you can integrate the Poll Everywhere link into the PPT as a plug-in.
Plan how to minimize disruption when using multiple polls.
Chat
Chats enable textual communication between learners and instructors. They can be:
Private to facilitate one-on-one interactions
Public to share global updates and instructions
Tips to use Chat
Clarify chat etiquette at the outset.
Establish how participants will communicate during the session.
Specify how volunteers can volunteer (raise hand).
Identify activities that require unmuting participants and give instructions in the FG accordingly.
Breakout Rooms
Breakout rooms are perhaps the most effective feature that replicates the collaboration and peer-to-peer interaction of a physical classroom. They are virtual rooms where small groups of learners can meet to discuss, share opinions, or participate in group activities.
Tips to use Breakout Rooms
Decide on the group size and composition.
Establish ground rules for small breakout group activities.
Make sure participants introduce themselves within Breakout groups.
Include instructions for appointing a spokesperson to share group learnings.
Decide on moderated discussions, which will need to be facilitated.
Determine how you will:
Conduct breakout room sessions
Share breakout room instructions (participant guides or Teams)
Summarize learnings from breakout rooms with a larger group
Whiteboard and Annotation Activities
In its simplest form, ‘annotations’ enable learners to type an answer or pick favorites from a pool of alternatives and display the results in creative ways.
Tips to use Annotation Activities
Get familiar with the Text Annotate Tool in your Meeting center.
Give participants a chance to try the Annotate tool for a simple activity in the first session.
Use the whiteboard to create a grid for learners. Let them use annotation tools (pen, pencil, text box, draw) to share anything that is relevant.
Plan how to make annotations work if the group is large.
Make provision for capturing learning for Annotations. (Post pics of the slide on the Chat.)
Worksheet Activities
Worksheet activities in the virtual classroom have been an all-time favorite for learners to have fun while brainstorming on strategy and planning, team building, communication exercises, leadership exercises, and more.
Tips to use Worksheet Activities
Identify Worksheet activities and ensure all participants have workbooks.
Decide between hard copies or soft copies (in editable format).
Provide instructions in the FG if participants need to share snapshots of the worksheet activities for discussion.
Decide if learners need to share snapshots of the worksheet activities for discussion. If yes, share the instructions in the FG and inform learners what they need to do.
Decide where participants will share the snapshots – maybe a separate Teams channel?
It’s but natural to have misgivings about learner engagement in VILT. But, thanks to advances in technology, VILT now has the know-how to offer tools and features that help replicate the real classroom, virtually! And with COVID-19, digital learning is certainly transforming the way organizations are looking at training.
And, before wrapping up, here are some tried and tested best practices to convert your classroom training to VILT.
Best Practices for ILT to VILT Conversion
When converting ILT slides to VILT, factor for more slides than those in the ILT version.
Organize the ILT content into appropriate chunks for eLearning or VILT if opting for a blended approach.
Determine content that can be consolidated/repurposed as job aids or reference material.
Conduct a pilot test for inputs to enhance the VILT materials and test activities.
Ensure adequate interpersonal interactions.
Use the same channel for sharing materials before, during and after the sessions.
Integrate multiple mediums to provide a seamless experience.
If outsourcing, look for a vendor with a background in both ILT and VILT.
Here’s an eBook that’ll help you understand VILT better – Virtual Instructor-led Training: A Beginner’s Guide – Explore the Art and Science of Replicating the Real Classroom Virtually.
