Work from Home, Learn from Home !

Besides working from home, the corona crisis has also forced us to learn from home. Hence, IT Works has changed its training content delivery process, while maintaining the core strengths that we are known for:

• we take training personal, and make sure every participant gets the most out of it
• we have passionate and expert trainers, and attract highly interested participants
• we bring together people with questions and people with answers into a very useful event for everyone
• we try to make our training events in virtual classrooms as interactive as in physical classrooms

Here Comes LiveOnline !

Together with several of our speakers, we have developed an interactive, intensive training format, and we call it LiveOnline.

The LiveOnline format tries to mimic the physical classroom as much as possible by creating an immersive, interactive environment, and by trying to match the group dynamics of a physical, in-person event. The only thing you'll miss is being able to shake hands with other participants, which is a bad idea anyway in times of covid-19.

How does this work ? What can you expect from a LiveOnline training ?

• Our expert trainers will teach live from their (home) office. They are skilled at communicating and presenting online, they reengineered their training for the online environment, and they make it more like a discussion than a presentation. They bring you less PowerPoint and more practical advice. And yes, it is truly live and not a recording: a LiveOnline session is so much more than a prerecorded webinar.
• Participants get individual joining instructions, including a Zoom Meeting link and a password. We use the Zoom Meeting platform because it has superb audio/video quality, including noise cancellation, supports many LiveOnline features such as advanced chat features, break-out room support for exercises and workshops, and has fixed the security issues that gave it so much (bad) publicity.
• You will be asked to turn your camera on during the training, and to unmute yourself to ask a live question, but you can only share your screen when allowed by the host
• We use the public/private interactive chat extensively to ask questions, give remarks, exchange ideas, communicate with colleagues, run a quiz, ...
• Every training session has a technical coordinator / co-host, who will follow the chat messages and pick out great questions or remarks
• There will be several breaks to have coffee/tea or lunch. A rule of thumb is to have a 10 minutes break after every hour of presentation
• We mix plenary sessions with brainstorms in break-out rooms, use collaborative whiteboards, have group exercises, one-on-one discussions, panel discussions, ... All forms of teaching have a virtual, online equivalent.
• We send out handouts in electronic format beforehand. You can use digital annotation tools, or print them if you prefer this.
• We prepare every LiveOnline session as if it was a physical session, going through checklists and optimising the in-person classroom experience for a virtual, online experience.
• The number of participants is limited to make sure every participant gets the attention (s)he deserves.
• We use Zoom's waiting room feature to personally welcome the participants, allow them in, and get a feel of what they want to get out of the training.
• LiveOnline sessions are normally not recorded, which means that whatever happens in the virtual classroom, stays in the virtual classroom.
• For "in-company" LiveOnline trainings, with participants from the same company, we can use alternative videoconferencing and meeting platforms, but this requires extra preparation and testing. Please contact us in you are interested in running a LiveOnline class in your company.

The Advantages of LiveOnline:

At IT Works, we have organised over 1500 (mainly physical) training sessions, and we really see many advantages of doing LiveOnline sessions:

• More interactivity: There is a high level of interactivity possible via the chat window without interrupting the presenter (not possible in a physical classroom). Asynchronous, disruption-free communication is really a bonus.
• Better collaboration: With collaborative online whiteboards like Mural, Miro, Google Jamboard or any other cloud-based tool, participants can write on them simultaneously, which is pretty difficult with flipcharts in a physical classroom
• Even more informative: The technical coordinator can post additional resources like pointers to articles about tools or techniques that are mentioned, and can also communicate directly with participants via the private chat. Again, we add value in a non-intrusive way. The most interesting chat messages are sent to the participants afterwards.
• More ergonomic: You can bring your own chair, and you can stand up and stretch, or even yell without interrupting the class
• Unlimited speaker miles: Teachers can come from anywhere in the world without the need to book flights well in advance
• Bring your own coffee/tea: Coffee and tea can be horrible in hotels, most people have better coffee making facilities at home, and now waiting line
• Less commute, more sustainable: Without having to travel, you'll have more time to either catch up with your e-mails, or spend at home. Plus, you don't have to battle with traffic jams or crowded trains and busses.
• Corona-proof: We don't shake hands at LiveOnline sessions, and we don't have to wear a mask, although you can, if you want to.
• Finally, LiveOnline events are cheaper because we pass our savings on a physical classroom, meals and travel on to you.

Busting the Myths of LiveOnline Sessions:

 

Myth	Our Response
I can't imagine sitting in front of a computer screen for multiple hours...	Yes, lots of people initially think that, but it is what you do when you work from home, or even work in an office. None of our LiveOnline participants complained about this so far, because we have regular breaks, and we make sure our sessions are practical, interactive, immersive, and not boring.
What if the technology fails?	This hasn't happened yet, but it's a good question to ask. The instructors and hosts always have backup plans in case they experience any kind of technological issue. These will be dealt with by the technical co-ordinator, who would work with you to resolve any issues, so that the instructor can go on with the class undisturbed.
I have heard online meeting software isn't secure.	Online meeting platforms have really upped their game recently. Zoom spent a whole month to find and fix the security holes in its product. Since version 5, Zoom uses AES 256-bit GCM encryption, so it is perfectly secure. Additionally, all LiveOnline courses are password protected. Please make sure you use the latest version (5.2 or higher) to take advantage of Zoom's most recent features and the highest level of security and privacy in the meeting software market.
I don't know if my PC/Mac will work with Zoom...	There's a very quick & easy test... Surf to zoom.us/test. If you have any problems, do not hesitate to contact us.
My company blocks my webcam/microphone	Ah, that's a pity... but you can still definitely attend. We recommend people connect with a webcam to get the full ‘immersive' experience, but if you can't, you'll still be able to take part. If you can't connect to the audio, you can always dial in via a regular phone line (however we recommend using a headset)
I'm too busy, I can't take time out of my (home) office	Then virtual training is an excellent option for you. Rather than spending a couple of hours driving to a physical training, you can be working right up to the start time, and can catch up with other work as soon as it finishes. Our courses have regular breaks, so you can return any urgent calls.

In-person events will probably never go away, but fully virtual trainings are great, and hybrid (combining online with in-person) events can offer the best of both worlds.

In the meantime, you can find an overview of our LiveOnline seminars and workshops here !