Thinking about how your online events might differ from your in-person events? Here’s ten differences and some suggestions on what you can do as a facilitator.

Accounting for time zones

Virtual trainings can allow for participation from individuals in many different time zones. This requires the facilitator to find times that allow for maximum participation without putting a very early morning/very late evening burden on participants living in particular time zones.

Engagement/Distraction

During in-person trainings, it may be easy for a facilitator to spot if a participant is multitasking, checking their phone, or is otherwise distracted. This can be harder to manage and spot with virtual events; building in frequent interactive components and breaks into a virtual training can help increase engagement.

Space and Space Requirements

In an in-person training, a facilitator (or organization) is responsible for finding a suitable space for all participants. A downside to virtual training sessions is that sometimes facilitators can assume that all participants have access to an adequate space for the training session. Some participants may not have access to their own space or a space free from distractions. This needs to be considered in offering the workshop and in setting ground rules and norms (i.e.-stating that it is okay not to turn your video on, etc.).

Equipment and Equipment Requirements

Not all participants may have access to a laptop with a camera or external microphone. Not all participants will have access to reliable, stable internet connections. This also needs to be considered in offering the workshop and in setting ground rules and norms.

Accessibility

While both virtual and online trainings require accessibility considerations, virtual events may require different considerations. One example would be live captioning for video conferencing tools.

Technological readiness of the audience

When choosing a platform or tool to use for online training sessions, it is important to consider if the entire audience is familiar with it or if the tool itself will be the cause of confusion and delays within the training.  Understanding the technological readiness of the audience can be accomplished by administering a short survey prior to the workshop.

Platform-induced unconscious bias

Use of video platforms can induce unconscious bias in multiple forms, including how participants interact with the platform (ex: Dr. Amy Bonomi from MSU talks about how custom backgrounds could reinforce particular cultural norms: https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2020/theres-an-unconscious-bias-in-virtual-meetings-heres-how-you-can-avoid-it/). Facilitators can suggest that participants try to find neutral backgrounds, but this may be influenced by space and space requirements and will require facilitators to balance their pre-training instructions with this in mind.

Participation Numbers

Depending on the type of training and the time it is offered, the number of participants and/or interest for a virtual event may be greater than for an in-person event. Given the impact of COVID-19 on many workplaces, this may remain true for the foreseeable future and may require adding additional sessions and facilitators.

Communicating preparation and expectation

Virtual trainings require additional communication from the facilitators. This can include (but is not limited to) information on the particular tool being used, a guide to that tool if it is new for participants, and some norms of participation (i.e., around cameras and microphones) that may differ from in-person trainings.

Nonverbal Cues

Nonverbal cues are one way that facilitators perceive how participants are engaging with a training in person and can be easier for a facilitator to notice and adapt to in person than online. For online trainings, it may be necessary for facilitators to build in regular check-ins with the participants.