Introduction

The world of work has changed and so too have methods by which employees access new IT skills and techniques. The challenge is how to make it possible to deliver live class based experiences simultaneously to groups of students in different locations.

Traditionally participants and trainer set aside a day or more to travel to the training location, have the training delivered, go home and resume their lives. This approach is both expensive and of dubious value, but does have the advantage of facilitating interaction with the tutor and networking opportunities for participants. 

Online training on the other hand offers the participant the opportunity to study at their own pace, time and location of their choosing. Unfortunately for most who have tried this type of training, it can be a tedious experience. Working in isolation following text and videos without any interaction or live support is hard work. 

Live Online

Our new Live Online training approach merges the benefits of both traditional and online training so that participants can take part without travelling. They can practice at their own time and pace but are always only a click away from the tutor if help is needed. They can observe the tutor performing tasks and then practice those tasks as the tutor monitors their actions. During class tutorials the tutor can monitor all class participants simultaneously so the class can be paced to suit.

Session Structure

Live online courses are typically composed of a number modules, each one building on the last to build a robust solution. We use the View / Do then Review technique, where participants view a short video, practice what they have just seen in the supplied Excel practice file, and finally review the module during a live session with the tutor. All course materials are supplied before the session and the participant has minimal upfront preparation.

For a typical session participants open their practice files, follow the video as techniques are explained, after which they practice on their local file. If any participant has difficulties they just raise their virtual hand after which the tutor talks them through or demonstrates the technique again.  Here is a sample video clip covering the the creation of Excel tables.

Security

The screen sharing system is very secure as the tutor can never take control of the participants computer. Participants may leave the class at any time and sessions only ever begin after a participant has given explicit permission by means of a “Join Class” dialog box.