APPLIED COACHING RESEARCH JOURNAL 2021 , Vol . 7
Reflect : Select an activity that you have delivered in a face-to-face environment . Have a go at creating an interactive activity using slide design and your system interaction tools to replicate this .
Perhaps at this point you may be thinking that it requires a lot of work to create an interactive virtual classroom . In fact , it was revealed that a 1-hour interactive virtual classroom takes on average nine hours to design and develop ( Huggett , 2020 ). Nevertheless , I would encourage learning designers to invest the same level of time and energy in your virtual classrooms , as you would with your face-to-face classrooms .
Implement
After you have designed and developed your interactive classroom , it ’ s showtime ! Consider the following to ensure that the facilitator and the learners have the best experience possible :
The environment - An important starting point is the physical environment that the facilitator and the learners are in . Is this the best environment conducive to learning ? Follow simple steps such as finding a quite space or pre-warning other members ( if at home / in the office ) that you will be facilitating / taking part in a virtual classroom and require the internet bandwidth to be stable . As a facilitator , you may wish to plug directly into the router to try to avoid Wi-Fi signal interferences . Have your comfort notes next to you but avoid reading from a script - if you lose your way this can be distracting .
The support - When delivering in a virtual environment , there are a few roles that are required . Often it may be one person undertaking all three roles , or perhaps you can ask for additional support to help . The main roles required to help facilitate a successful virtual environment are :
• The host - who typically is the compère , interacts in the chat and brings learner contributions to the attention of the presenter .
• The presenter ( s ) - whose main role is to focus on presenting . Much like a face-to-face classroom or event , the presenter would be there to focus on that , with the support of others to help with elements outside the presentation .
• The technical support - the role of the tech support is to assist with queries relating to audio , visuals and log-in difficulties . As a golden rule , the larger the audience then the more important it is to have multiple people to support the smooth running of the virtual session .
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