Online learning has largely focused on delivering content, but has had challenges bringing people together to learn, share, and engage with each other. This fun, hands-on session will help participants build in the human connection and engagement that’s so important for online learning—but often so hard to deliver.
When people gather for conferences, surveys tell us that half of what drives them to be there is content and learning. However, what we see as often an even bigger driver is the ability to connect, share, and meet other people engaged in the same field or topics of common interest. Regardless of where learning takes place and with what audience, when we bring people together to learn, so much of the value comes from just that: bringing people together.
While there has traditionally been a disproportionate focus on just providing the content—often in the form of dry PowerPoint presentations—with in-person events, online learning struggles with this conundrum even more. A lot of online learning—at all levels and with all audiences—has delivered only half the equation: it has provided lectures and slides but hardly any ability for students and learners to connect, share, network, and engage with each other.
Based on actual work in the field that incorporates human-centered design elements and Liberating Structures group facilitation methodologies, this fun, hands-on workshop will walk the talk and not just present the material. Instead, it will allow you and your fellow participants a chance to actually interact with each other! After all, this often where the magic happens. Together, we will cover a few plug-and-play techniques that combine established practices and new technology.
Inherently, this topic shines a light on the functionality—or lack thereof—of online meeting platforms. After all, most are designed with one-to-many models in mind and do not adapt well to group participation and breakouts. Working within the confines of the platform, we’ll highlight what works and what to look for with online meeting/teaching systems.
Level of Participation:
Although dependent on the conference technology (and to what degree sessions are blended), the goal of this session is to be highly participatory and co-creative. This may involve a range of short, medium, and long small group sessions, use of built-in functionalities like chat, and third-party collaboration technologies.
Session Goals:
Participants should expect to:
- See and experience 4-6 human engagement techniques to employ in their own work.
- Understand the value that connectivity and collaboration play in online learning environments.
- Be able to better assess online meeting/learning platforms for their suitability beyond one-to-many presentations.
- Meet and engage with knowledgeable peers, learning from them, and expanding their network of online learning colleagues.