Virtual Meetings
(VER-t-you-al ME-teen)
SOLID
What is a Virtual Meeting Platform?
An online platform that allows for live, instructor-led learning experiences.
Other Common Names for Virtual Meeting Platforms
You may not call it a virtual meeting platform due to the many brand names that are common:
- Zoom
- GoToMeeting or GoToTraining
- Microsoft Teams
- Adobe Connect
Key Properties of Virtual Meeting Platforms
- Internet-based software that allows you to conduct meetings and learning experiences from anywhere in the world, with participants who are also located anywhere in the world
- Core capabilities of voice, video, screen share, and text or chat.
Facilitating Virtual meetings
While almost all of these were developed for online meetings, many have now improved their functionality to support online facilitated training. You can see more about how to use these platforms work (or don’t) for training by checking out the Training Guides.
Resources From The Train Like a Champion Blog
Insights about virtual meetings that brian has shared on many virtual meetings
- "If you’re able to conduct your virtual meeting sessions with a colleague who can serve in a producer role, you’ll have a lot more opportunity to focus your time and attention on your content and delivery. A producer is someone with whom you can partner during your session and who can set up and broadcast your polls, monitor the chat for questions, and help participants if they’re having technical difficulties. They can also serve as a backup facilitator in the event you experience catastrophic internet failure (for example, in the event that you are suddenly dropped from the meeting due to a power outage or Internet bandwidth issues)."
- "It’s one thing to be aware of and familiar with the features available to use during a virtual meeting, but it’s another thing to design activities that best take advantage of the features of your platform. Table 4-1 offers some ideas and examples that may be helpful when trying to connect your learning objectives to the features available in your virtual meeting platform."
- "Remember, not all virtual meeting platforms were created the same. Some are basic and only allow you to use voice or chat functions. Others have all sorts of bells and whistles and allow you to use polling, on-screen annotation, breakout rooms, and quizzes and tests. You’ll want to confirm which features are available and active with your IT department as some organizations turn off certain features even though the platform’s marketing materials suggest they are available on the platform."
Elements that bond well with Virtual MEetings
PowerPoint
Almost all virtual meetings incorporate PowerPoint as the primary visual aid to walk participants through content. Making sure you’re designing your slides to be as engaging and useful as possible will be one key to holding the participants’ attention.
Soapbox
While the use of virtual meeting platforms is growing, it can still be difficult to string together a series of activities (beyond just talking at your audience). Soapbox, which you can learn more about by visiting that element’s page or reading this article here, can help generate a sequence and flow of activities customized to the platform you’re using.
Lesson Plan
There may be some temptation to open PowerPoint and begin generating slides when you know that you’ll be delivering a virtual session, since that will be your primary on-screen visual aid. However, taking the time to completely develop a lesson plan with a sequence and flow of appropriate activities can help ensure your session will run on time and the learning activities do not grow redundant.
Icebreakers
Since we know that not everyone is comfortable using the technology and features of a virtual meeting platform, try incorporating an icebreaker or two to help your learners grow more comfortable with the features; this can help them get to know the technology, each other, and can be helpful for engagement later in your session.
Dialogue Education
Dialogue EducationSome virtual meetings are designed with the mindset that because people are not all together in the same place, allowing participants to learn through dialogue with one another may not be possible. Nothing can be further from the truth. Incorporating principles of dialogue education, such as safety, praxis, immediacy, teamwork, and learner engagement, is not only possible in a virtual environment, it’s also essential.
Other Sources of Information on Lesson Plans
- Impromptu Networking
- How To Facilitate Effective Virtual Meetings
- 27 Great Ice Breaker Questions and games for Remote Teams
Books on Virtual Meetings for Training
