When to Use "Face Time" and When to Use Webinars and Virtual Meetings - Tip #171

Online learning affords learners more independence in learning content at their own pace. However, the need for expert guidance is still a critical factor in the learning process. An expert can read a learner’s performance and provide immediate feedback. A trainer’s expertise helps them see patterns that determine what the learner needs--things a computer just can’t do. Thus, "face time" with learners is more important in online learning than ever. But, it can also be easy to overdo.

"Face Time": Scarce Resource or Default?

"Face time" energizes online learning but only if used effectively. There’s such a thing as “hangout creep”--we know it better as “cognitive overload,” a failure of attention. There can be so many things going on during video face-to-face time that learners can get easily distracted. That’s why it’s essential to treat "face time" as something scarce and precious, and “balance it with something equally important: quiet heads-down time.”

Using “Face Time” Effectively

Preparation is key in making the most of your "face time" with learners. This means spending time to think about the training’s goals and what you want you and your learners to take away from your time together. So, ask yourself: What is the best use of face-to-face time in my online course?

A useful tactic is to provide resources ahead of time. This eliminates silent reading or the time used to go over a doc “together” over video. Learners can review the resources beforehand and you can use “face time” for something more valuable, like Q&A, experimentation, etc. This may sound familiar if you’ve come across the concept of “Flipped Classroom.”

What Zone are Your Learners In?

Click here for the enlarged view.

Source: Sam Kaner’s Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision Making

Group dynamics still apply when conducting “face time” with learners. So, it’s important to "read the room" and know what zone you’re in. The image above illustrates Sam Kaner’s five zones, also known as the Diamond of Participation.

Divergence Zone

This is the idea generation phase, characterized by learners being open to and sharing ideas. It’s where learners express multiple perspectives and divergent opinions.

Tip: Create a comfortable environment. Try using icebreaker questions or encourage learners to come early to play or familiarize with the webinar tools like chat or annotation tools.

Groan Zone

In the Divergence Zone, individuals shared their ideas. In the Groan Zone, learners struggle to integrate what they learn. Success here means the group generates new ideas as a whole.

Tip: Ask thought-provoking, open-ended questions or start curiosity conversations. Package them in fun mini-activities.

Convergence Zone

Whereas there was a lot of uncertainty and struggle in the Groan Zone, the Convergence Zone is where clarity builds, and meaning and decision making are made.

Tip: Use the whiteboard (or other tool) and allow learners to brainstorm. Encourage and guide them to arrive at their own conclusions or resolutions.

References

Francesca Burns. The Importance of “Face Time” in Teaching is Crucial. The New York Times The Opinion Pages Room for Debate, udpated June 27, 2014
Brie Anne Demkiw. Hangout Life. Automattic Design, February 13, 2018
Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps. Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology. John Wiley & Sons, 2008
Tip #100 - Spur Learning Through “Curiosity Conversations”
Tip #102 - Cognitive Tunnelling: How to Achieve Focus Through Stories
Tip #143 - How to Use questions to Immerse Larners in Your Lesson
Tip #150 - Using Intuitive and Deliberate Learning in Story Lessons
Sam Kaner. Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, 3rd Edition. Jossey-Bass, 2014
Tip #156 - Five Sure Ways to Prepare for High-Impact Webinars
Tip #159 - 21 Things To Do Before a Webinar
Tip #162 - How to Create Context-Setting Learning Objectives

Ray Jimenez, PhD
Vignettes Learning
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

How to Leverage Opportunities for Microlearning Impacts - Tip #170

Back in 2017, the Association for Talent Development (ATD) conducted a survey on microlearning. According to their research results, 92% of organizations are already using microlearning and planned to do more of it. More than 67% of organizations not using microlearning planned to start doing so in 2017. Undeniably, microlearning was the focus of the training industry last year.

"Microlearning" web search trend for the past 5 years.

A screenshot from Google Trends

This year, that focus isn’t expected to shift. Microlearning is predicted to continue leading discussions in 2018. Where can microlearning make the most impact? Here are some of the opportunities I think training and development professionals should watch out for:

Opportunities for Microlearning Impacts

Crisis, urgent, rapid answers needed.

With the dynamic and fast-paced nature of work in an organization’s environment of rapid change (vortex of the workplace), employees must use their time efficiently. When a problem arises, they must be able to solve it quickly. Microlearning tools enable this by providing information when and where the need arises.

As-it-happens need for answer.

Microlearning helps workers obtain solutions to their problems in real time. That is, the right information can be quickly accessed in the workplace when learners need it. And, this is essential because “we all have a Google-search mentality now,” not just Millennials, says Stephen Meyer, president and CEO of the Rapid Learning Institute. “The internet has changed the way we think. … We expect to get the information we need now.”

Customers teaching themselves and employees gaining new knowledge from experience.

Because microlearning provides the right information at the right time, it allows employees (or customers) to rapidly acquire skills that will help them solve problems themselves. This method of problem-solving sticks in their memory because research has shown that we retain more when we recall information from memory. It obviously builds up valuable experience knowledge.

Constant updates make it easy for microlearning content to adapt to changing needs of workers.

In an age where workers heavily rely on technology to get the job done and where that technology is constantly improved and updated, learning tools and content must keep up. Unlike traditional learning resources, microlearning content can easily be created or revised/updated to help address problems and issues almost as soon as they come up.

In-between formal learning and applications.

Microlearning happens outside a classroom setting. Within just a small amount of time, learners can consume learning content in the form of one-page articles or 10-minute videos or even snippets of information they can quickly access.

Self-driven, continuous learning.

“Employees want more than structured corporate training and development programs. They want to discover and define their own personal learning journeys,” says John Hiraoka, chief strategy officer at Saba. “They expect learning to be available everywhere and at any time, across a broad range of modalities and content, within the flow of their day-to-day work.”

Microlearning motivates workers to pursue learning on their own. This self-driven, continuous learning is empowering for workers and translates into operational excellence, improved efficiency and reduced training and development costs.

There are more opportunities for microlearning impacts, such as rapid, no-wait time onboarding; obsolescence of knowledge; spaced-out learning delivery; subscription learning, and many others.

What other opportunities do you predict for microlearning? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

References

ATD Research. Microlearning: Delivering Bite-Sized Knowledge. April 2017
Biz Library/Association for Talent Development. What Trends are Going to Shape Employee Training in 2018?
Annie Murphy Paul. How to Make Microlearning Matter. Society for Human Resource Management, May 1, 2016
Greg Blackburn. Microlearning in Learning and Development: The Digital Industrial Revolution. eLearning Industry, February 16, 2017
Susan Mazza. Develop More Leaders with These Three Microlearning Opportunities. SABA Blog, January 12, 2018
Tip #42 - Provoking Learners with Story Questions
Tip #134 - Microlearning Leads to Rapid Skill Acquisition
Tip #158 - What Happens If There Is a Chip on Your Windshield? Cases of Microlearning Impacts
Tip #164 - Vortex of the Workplace and Microlearning Fix

Ray Jimenez, PhD
Vignettes Learning
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

How Story Characters Help Learners Learn Difficult and Sensitive Topics - Tip #169

Sensitive topics, like sexual abuse or harassment, dealing with personal failures (where learners have an emotional stake) and handling "no correct answer" situations (gray areas at work), can be difficult to teach.

These topics create in learners the following:​

• Discomfort​ - Even if they are in learning mode, they become uncomfortable since many people have strong emotional sentiments on issues like social justice, protection of the environment, and other "political" and spiritual beliefs​.
• Uncertainty​ - Real life at work consists of many uncertain situations. There are areas where "the worker looks bad if he does it or if he does not do it" situation. This uncertainty makes lessons hard to learn. Since we teach perfect answers--meaning to say, we teach in the ideal world--we often do not address the gray areas.
• Fear of consequences, ridicule​ - They feel that there might be personal consequences if their bosses knew of their answers.

If not done right, difficult and sensitive topics could result in uninterested learners and discouraged trainers. Fortunately, story characters can rescue them both. Story characters can help trainers teach difficult topics at a deeper level and create interest and motivation to learn among learners.

Characters as Teaching Moments

One day, HR received a complaint from Nancy. She said she was harassed by another
employee, stating: “He cornered me in his room and started abusing me.” The details
aren’t very clear, but Nancy’s boss, Julian, after learning of her complaint, took it
personally. He became violent and threatened to file a suit against Nancy. Was this
the best move for Julian?

While reading the story above, learners would quickly imagine themselves in a character’s shoes, which is a natural response. According to experts Roger Schank and Michael Corballis, people tend to create versions of the story and insert themselves as a character in it--they become part of the story. This creates a great opportunity for designers to pose the challenge or dilemma to learners.

That’s why our use of characters in stories shouldn’t be accidental; it needs to be intentional. Because every story has a moral lesson, the characters' personalities and quirks, and the specific situations and dilemmas they’re in can teach learners important lessons.

In fact, characters can represent the content. They depict issues in real life. Their actions and behaviors can portray ideas. When characters “do the talking,” they instantly connect with learners and help initiate discovery (vs. spoon-feeding).

Characters Evoke Empathy

John’s boss, Jane, always does things in specific, and sometimes peculiar, ways.
She always insists on following her procedures. One day, John encountered a
situation where Jane’s procedure was wrong. John is concerned about following
and pleasing Jane or doing what he thinks is correct. But, Jane was not there to
help him. What should he do?

Framing the story from a learner’s perspective allows learners to feel what the character feels and imagine possible options. What would they do, or not do, in this particular situation? And, because it’s easy for learners to imagine a character doing something, they can also smoothly emulate or follow what the characters do.

Learners feel less anxious if they see that characters in real-life situations face the same or similar challenges and dilemmas as they do. They can envision the consequences of their actions based on what happens to the characters.

They also feel reassured that although topics are difficult and sensitive, they are learning, privately and allowed to deal with the issues in their own pace and time and allow their own emotions to play.

References

Tip #55 - Discover the Secrets that Make the Story-Based Lesson Tick
Robert C. Schank. Tell Me a Story: Narrative and Intelligence. Northwestern University Press, 1995
Michael C. Corballis. The Recursive Mind: The Origins of Human Language, Thought, and Civilization. Princeton University Press. 2011
Tip #59 - The Brain and the Stories We Tell: Top Reasons Why Stories Change Our Behavior
David Holt. Professional Education Using E-Simulations: Benefits of Blended Learning Design. IGI Global, September 2011.
Is It Spoon-feeding or Discovery Scenario Learning?

Ray Jimenez, PhD
Vignettes Learning
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"