"...a thought leader in the Learning and Performance Improvement profession with a track record to prove it..."
-Jim and Dana Robinson
Dick Handshaw, President at Handshaw, Inc., is a consultant, speaker, and champion for real innovation and quality in instructional design. He is a pioneer in the field, with more than 30 years of experience as a learning and performance improvement professional and entrepreneur. Dick has served as a consultant for many organizations to help them establish a results-oriented learning strategy, methodology, and practice.
I’ve never written about Virtual Instructor Lead Training (VILT) before. I didn’t think I really knew much about it other than attending a few sessions about it at conferences. But after finishing my 27th one yesterday, and all since November 7th, I think I know something about them now.
One thing I know is they work better than I thought they would.In fact, I think the learning in the virtual session was every bit as effective as the live sessions I have conducted. I wish I had some data to back that statement up. I am merely stating an opinion at this point.
The one aspect of these sessions that intrigued me the most was the use of webcams. I conducted these sessions with two different clients: one of whom used webcams and another who did not. Both clients were taking the exact same classes. The topic was divided into four two to three hour sessions with a limit of six learners for role play sessions and fifteen learners for the explanation and demonstration sessions. The explanation took place with a few slides and lots of discussion and questions. The demonstrations were done with short videos to show good and bad examples of consulting meetings. Fortunately, the video presentations worked flawlessly in both virtual presentations, using a different system for each client.Role plays were conducted with one learner playing the part of a client and the other playing the role of the consultant.Upon completion of the ten to fifteen minute role plays, feedback was given by other participants and by me based on an eight principle check list.Although I had done this hundreds of times in face to face classes, I had never tried this instructional strategy in a virtual environment before.
It is my contention that the group with the webcams more closely simulated the face to face experience. I would propose that as human beings, we are still conditioned to look at faces when conversing for any length of time. Sure, we can stay focused for a short phone conversation of twenty minutes or so, but what about staring at slides for an hour or two, listening to a voice or voices, but never seeing the speakers? Again, my expectations of the webcam’s ability to bridge this gap were low. I found myself staring at the different faces and being completely involved in the conversations for two and sometimes even three hours. I was amazed.
Is anyone out there familiar with any research done on the topic of webcam use in virtual classes and its effectiveness? Or have you had any similar experiences you would like to share?
