There has been a major change in the world, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic happened. Although the changes introduced have not been so negative, the way companies used to work has changed. Now, the training sessions are not conducted with the learners present face-to-face across the trainer, rather there are online sessions for them.

This is how the training companies have been imparting lessons now.

No feedback in a webinar

Now, how come a webinar is different from virtual instructor-led training? Communication happens between the trainer and the learners and there is no two-way instruction. A webinar is just about sharing documents with the learners like PPT presentations and web pages.

But a virtual instructor-led based training allows participants to share their feedback through the Feedback tab.

This option can also be used in a webinar but it’s not allowed so that participants have maximum listening because the purpose of a webinar is to just present information.

Make sure learners are given interesting activities

To make the virtual instructor-led training it’s better to keep drawing the attention of learners. This can be through allowing them to participate in a poll. You have to set up questions for the poll in Zoom Meetings then click on Launch polling, and then End poll when you feel that a sufficient number of participants have answered questions. This not only lets you know about viewer’s opinions but also about how much they are present during the VLIT training or they are just dozing off. The instructors can download the poll report to check how many participants have answered correctly.

What skills to teach through virtual training?

The Virtual instructor-led training needs to focus on special skills because it requires a lot of time from the instructor and the learners. So, technical skills can’t be taught through VLIT because the learners can’t see the display of the working of machines. However, you can easily teach soft skills through a virtual classroom. In fact, for software-based training virtual based instructor-led training should be combined with screencasts shared to the learners either before the interaction or after it in the form of recorded videos.

Make your training interesting

There should be a proper use of training materials during the virtual instructor-led training sessions. You can use Canvas by Instructure for example, where you can create content using brushes and then share the slides with the learners. The students can also draw on these slides if some blank slides have been inserted. So this is how you can brainstorm with students because Canvas can be integrated with Zoom.

Take feedback from learners

It’s better to ask all the participants what they think of the training. Once you have AI statistics to support you, you know where the training is going wrong. You can gather this information through polls.

Such polls provide strong feedback from learners who might not be willing to share feedback in person but share it online where they stay anonymous. They are encouraged for the virtual training in this manner.

Virtual instructor-led training is becoming quite popular with learners because of the widespread Covid pandemic where they don’t want to get out of their houses. Even though safety precautions are taken, they still want to get trained from home.

Instructor-led training has changed now. In the case of instructor-led training, more efficiency can be imparted to training where there is the use of webcams to make a specific trainer address the class. There can also be PowerPoint slides shown to the students through a projector during a class. Now, however, instructor-led training no longer happens in a classroom. It’s known as virtual instructor-led training which happens through a video conferencing tool.

This kind of training can be given through synchronous models where the learners and trainers are present in front of the webcam at the same time or through recorded lectures which are in an asynchronous form. There can also be more efficiency introduced in virtual instructor-led training.

There can be the use of dedicated software for this purpose such as scheduling classes and informing the trainers and the learners. The software can also be used to manage the cost of classes because trainers might have to be accommodated. The training companies can make sure that they can handle their training budget well with the use of such software.

A company however needs to keep some factors in mind while organizing virtual instructor-led training(VILT).

• Designing content:

It is of utmost importance in any kind of training. You have to make sure that the following elements are a part of your VILT program. For example, you can have facilitator guides for the demonstration of a process. There can be handouts given to participants so that they know what the training is all about.

There can also be an introductory webinar to make sure the learners get informed about the goals and the content of the training. In the case of content, decisions also need to be taken about the use of existing content, whether it can be reused or new content needs to be designed from scratch.

• Choice of technology:

Technology is also important for choosing the right format for delivering VILT content. It’s important to choose the right kind of communication software etc.

• Activities to be designed:

Activities are an important part of an elearning module. Therefore, they must be designed carefully. You have the choice of activities before you such as polls or chat.

The polls need to be designed carefully because they will decide how the opinion of the learners will be sought. The polls need to contain pertinent questions.

How to go about designing the elearning content?

The ILT project can be designed into proper segments. Apart from that, you can also do a sample test for making sure that you have the right material. This kind of test can be done from among the audience.

Finally, after the material is finalized, it’s time to get in touch with an elearning vendor who has ample experience in this domain.