We just hosted a remote training session for a team in New Jersey from our home base in Vermont and WOW! It went great.
The problem
Our client, a government department, wanted to set a standard for high quality forms that need to be filled out electronically by the public. We can all relate with the challenges and inefficiencies of paper forms, or even sub-par electronic forms!
The solution
We taught 10 employees on their team how to work with a form in Microsoft Word, then move it to Adobe Acrobat Pro and convert the form fields to fillable fields. They found us through our popular blog post on Adobe fillable forms.
We will also be showing them how to leverage the power of SharePoint by having the forms submit directly to a SharePoint document library and trigger a workflow. This is a great use of modern Office 365 functionality that we suggested, on top of what they had originally requested.
The remote training solution was based on our standard curriculum (W101: Mastering Tables and AA201: Fillable Forms and Excel Analysis) but then customized for their specific situation.
What was it like?
I was helping facilitate the online classroom technology, so I was able to listen in on the remote training experience. It seemed to be truly engaging and useful for all participants, including the instructor.
Our top-notch instructor, David Thibault, had multiple monitors set up to run the class, as well as sophisticated voice conferencing equipment with a web cam for visual and audio interaction.
Here are 4 reasons that this remote training was so successful.
1. Content that perfectly fit their needs
While the class was loosely based on some of our standard curriculum, it was tailored to the organization. We even used one of the department’s forms for the demonstration and practice exercises during the class.
2. Minimal disruption to work schedules
We structured the training in two 90-minute sessions with a lunch break in between. This means that employees only had to arrange for 3 hours total away from normal duties.
3. Undivided attention from an expert instructor and guided practice
The class started out by showing our instructor, David, on the web cam so that everybody could get to know him. He introduced himself and gave an overview of the class.
Then, he connected each participant with a lab computer which was specifically set up so that they could follow along and practice the skills as the class progressed. He alternated between presenting material, and then allowing everybody to try it themselves. Practice like this is key to good learning!
While participants were practicing, he monitored each person’s progress and provided immediate, targeted feedback. From his "command central" (over 300 miles away from the students) I could hear David saying things like, “Nicole, you want to use the Eraser button. It’s about 2 inches to the left of where your cursor is…That’s right. Nice job.”
4. No travel costs
Remote training eliminated the need for the instructor or the client's employees to drive (or fly) anywhere special. Their learning investment into this custom training went 100% toward high quality instruction (instead of, say, gas mileage or a hotel stay).
Webinars vs. online classes
With this type of hands-on class, we are able to accommodate up to 12 participants at a time. Webinars are a different type of online training option. Webinars tend to be a broadcast of the instructor with less back-and-forth interaction; guided practice exercises are not provided, but webinars can accommodate large crowds of hundreds (or thousands) of participants.
If you can picture this type of online training fitting well into your needs and your budget, we would love the opportunity to work with you.
Call 1-800-831-8449 or email education@knowledgewave.com
Who knows...you might even get David on the phone!
