Facilitation Tips

Facilitating a training session can sometimes be a daunting task particularly if presenting unfamiliar content. Preparation and the right tools can however help to ensure the smooth rollout of sessions. Below you will find a list of some best practices which can be followed when facilitating a course.

Prepare. Ensure that all logistics are taken care of ahead of the session. Items such as the venue, catering and equipment should be confirmed at least a week before the start of the session. Other items to consider are the printing of facilitator and participant guides, confirmation of attendees, ordering catering and ensuring that all necessary supplies are available on the day of the session.

Know Your Audience. Knowing one’s audience can be key when presenting, regardless of subject matter. Although jokes can be acceptable if used in good context, be aware that humour may not always garner the expected outcome. Steer clear of stereotypical and potentially offensive comments and try to stay focused on subject matter. As well, knowing how familiar participants are with the information presented can help you to gauge the types of questions to ask in order to help lead the discussion along.

State the Objectives of the Session at the Beginning. Adults like to know what they need to know. Having an idea of the agenda and the overall learning objectives can serve to make participants engaged and ready to share experiences on matters they may be familiar.

Provide Expectations of the Session to the Group. In order to maximize the productivity of time within the session setting ground rules can be an effective tool. This can be as simple as suggesting that participants wait till the end of a section to ask questions, and keep question and debrief periods to a fixed time.

To learn more about facilitation solutions offered by Pathways please visit our website at http://www.Pathwaysinc.ca

Traits of an Effective Project Manager

Project managers are tasked with leading diverse groups of individuals on the path to successfully completing a project. Depending on project size and scope, the task of the PM can be quite complex. In essence, the role of a PM can be deconstructed into multiple roles that include initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, controlling and closure of a project. As a result, project managers often have a particular combination of skills that enable them to be successful in the coordination of the projects they oversee. Below are some common traits of an effective project manager.

Excellent Communication Skills

It is imperative at the start of any project to clearly communicate project goals and expectations to all parties involved in the project. Effective PM’s are able to manage member feedback while ensuring that although all feedback may be taken into consideration, only suggestions which enable the project to move forward are put into practice.

Effective Team Building Skills

A successful project manager has the ability to inspire the team to work towards the end goal of the project. Ensuring that all members’ opinions are valued helps to create an environment where the vision of the project can be shared and where members truly feel that they have an equal role in achieving the desired outcome.

Mitigate Risk and Manage Problems

Being able to predict and create solutions to issues before they arise, increases the likelihood of an on-time and fruitful project. Preparing for worse case scenarios can prove to be an advantage even if things go as planned. If problems do arise, having a manager who calmly and collectively is able to manage issues serves to increase member trust and keep the team on task.

To learn about Project Management training and resources available at Pathways, please visit our website at www.Pathwaysinc.ca

Whiteboard Animation Tip

Nifty VideoScribe Trick

Typically we develop all of our Whiteboard Animations using Sparkol’s VideoScribe, and Adobe Illustrator. Assets are built using illustrator, are exported and then imported into VideoScribe.  Inside of Videoscribe settings are set such as: animation speed, entrance type and direction, pause and hold times, as well as transitions.  The final step is applying everything to the desired audio, which can be either background music, or specific voice over, to better explain the subject matter.

Overall these two tools make the processes quite enjoyable with very few hiccups in the pipeline.  However I would like to share a specific setting that could make everyone’s use of the software a little easier.

Intermittently when importing .svg files into VideoScribe I would get graphical errors on the vectors. The errors would be at random and I was unable to pinpoint which factors are causing the glitch.  After all there are a while slew of factors that make up an image/filetype that could be potential factors.

But I found a solution that so far, is working consistently (knock on wood).  From Illustrator export your .svg and wait for the SVG Options dialogue box to appear.  Ensure that Embed is selected under Options and that Presentation Attributes is selected under CSS Properties.

See the image left, for a visual guide.

The setting indicated seem to perfectly correct the errors I was experiencing previously.

 

 

 

Take a look at a before and after from VideoScribe located below.

 

On left you can see the error that was occurring with my vector image.  It is worth noting that the error did not correct itself when previewed or published, and strangely the line size was also altered.  Regardless the solution posted has stopped this error for me. Hopefully it helps your workflow as well.

If you would like to see whiteboards animations that Pathways has created or to  learn about whiteboard animations check out www.pathwaysinc.ca

 

Tips for Creating an Effective Infographic

Infographics are becoming an increasingly popular means of relaying information within the adult learning sphere. It allows for the simplification of complex and detailed information into manageable chunks which learners can easily digest. For the visual learner it can be a dream because of its graphical nature.

However although infographics they can really add to learning, not all are made the same. Below you will find some tips on best practices to creating an effective infographic that will truly stand out!

1. Gather relevant data. Data will be easier to collect for some topics than it will for others. That being said, don’t fall into the trap of gathering useless data. Remember, the purpose of the infographic is to present material in a concise manner and to tell a story. Having statistics or interesting facts about your topic can serve to draw the learner in.

2. Decide how you would like to display your information. Depending on the topic and data you have collected, there are ways of most effectively displaying information. For instance, for comparison’s side by side charts work well, and for percentages pie charts and bar graphs can be efficacious.

3. Choose graphical elements that work. Being guided by the topic and content of the infographic, try to choose images that amplify the point that you are aiming to get across. Shy away from filler graphics and pay attention to the colours of images to ensure that they all flow in the overall finished product.

4.  Add content to guide the learner. It’s great to include charts and images but                         what good is it without context. At the beginning and end be sure to include a                           short introduction and conclusion.

Here is an example of a good infographic with all of these elements, that we recently created.

To learn about training and eLearning resources available at Pathways, please visit our website at www.Pathwaysinc.ca

COMPATIBILITY ISSUES

AN INTRODUCTION

With the news that browsers are going to phase out support for flash-based material, we’re not at a point where we’re hitting a crossroads on what platforms are usable for eLearning. The web, being the most obvious answer, only scratches the surface of the problem. What’s getting overlooked is the software platforms we use to deliver those learning packages.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

A vast majority of eLearning is actually Flash-based. A fact that flies largely under the radar. However, with a closer look, we find It everywhere like with Storyline, most animations, banners, and games. It served as a flexible way to deliver games to people without the prohibitive size of complexity of a game engine. The woefully unstable and insecure plug-in will be making its way out, and only now is software coming out to fill in the void.

A perfect example is Adobe Edge Animate. A software platform that takes animations and makes them entirely web-based, and in the process, gives them better responsiveness and creates a more flexible cross-platform solution. Find out more here: https://helpx.adobe.com/edge-animate/tutorials.html

EFFECTS ON LEARNING

Aside from the obvious answer of not being able to run it, we get into the programs being more versatile when they’re in HTML5. The embedding is much simpler, and the implementation can be more widespread than the desktop and without any middleware such as the Articulate Mobile Player, for example. Without which, people will be more secure in knowing they can take their learning experience with them and not have to worry about installing anything new on their phones or tablets. The issue of SCORM also gets simplified with a simple web wrapper and not supplemental programming, and again, middleware in order for it to work properly.

WRAPPING UP

If you would like to explore more about gamification, mobile learning and eLearning, take a peek at our company website: Pathways Training and eLearning, at http://www.pathwaystrainingandelearning.com/. We always look for fresh ways to engage learners and to make the learning experience as fun as possible!

EDUCATIONAL GAMES

AN INTRODUCTION

This segment of gaming is something that’s stayed relatively untouched since the 90’s. It’s a demographic that has tried very hard to fit educational elements into games but hasn’t come very far. As well, the highly successful games have all been targeted at younger children. The question then becomes: Where do we go from there?

HOW ARE GAMES EDUCATIONAL?

I went into some detail about this in my last post, but giving a more realistic example, we have the Carmen Sandiego series, or Reader Rabbit. These games provided a supplemental education tool for children in the primary grades for the most part. It was an easy way of giving children the enjoyment of a game’s objectives while also relaying valuable information. The experience was no longer about sitting in front of a teacher and listening, but rather tracking down Carmen Sandiego (for example) and learning about geography and history at the same time with the clues provided.

MOVING FORWARD

The main thing we’re missing now is more games that achieve the same goals, but with more alignment to current technology. There’s a niche to be filled with the advent of things like VR, social integration, improved graphics, access to information via the internet, and mobile computing… all things that were in their infancy during time of Reader Rabbit and Carmen Sandiego. It’s up to us to find a way to not only bridge that gap, but also create a new market where a more mature audience can get the same experiences from their games.

Adults love games, and the same gaming concepts that are used in children’s games can often be applied to help adults learn. In the future, the prediction is more corporate training departments will be adding gamification into their eLearning to help adults grasp key concepts.

WRAPPING UP

If you would like to explore more about gamification, mobile learning and eLearning, take a peek at our company website: Pathways Training and eLearning, at http://www.pathwaystrainingandelearning.com/. We always look for fresh ways to engage learners and to make the learning experience as fun as possible!

Tips for Leading a Successful Webinar

Webinars are an effective means for engaging multiple learners remotely over a vast geographical space. They can be developed to instruct learners on tools, processes, strategies, and can even be used as a sales or marketing tool depending on the industry and subject matter being discussed.

While they are delivered in real-time, there is the added benefit of being able to record content so that it is accessible offline to those who are unable to attend a session. As well, recorded webinars may be easily repurposed by organizations to be used as onboarding training for new hires.

When facilitating a remote session, there are some guidelines which can be followed to ensure the success of your webinar. See below for some tips!

1. Sending reminder emails to participants a week before, and on the day of can be a useful tool for making sure that registrants are reminded of the session and that they sign in at the right time.

2. Confirm that you have closed all personal applications and remember to delete any sensitive information and/or files from your desktop.

3. Call into the webinar number early in order to welcome guests. You may be able to answer any general questions participants may have at this time and troubleshoot any potential technology issues which may arise.

4. Introduce yourself to the group, making sure to speak about your role and how it relates to the information you will be presenting. Learners are more likely to be attentive if they understand your experience and how your expertise can help them better understand the subject matter.

5. Set up housekeeping rules at the beginning of the presentation. For instance, if there is a chat function through which learners can interact, let them know about this at the onset. Also, inform learners when throughout the session questions will be answered.

6. If using a PowerPoint presentation, design it in a way that it is not too wordy and provide as many visuals as you can to support the content delivered. Because learners will not be able to interact with you face-to-face, it is important that what you say is not identical to what is on screen. Visuals and interactivity help to make a presentation more engaging.

7. Be clear in the way that you present information. Less is more when presenting in a webinar. For describing procedures, be sure to carefully outline steps in a manner that is easy to follow.

8. Provide participants with your, or your organization’s contact information in case they have questions following the session. This is also a great way to receive feedback from participants who may have input into what worked and what could be improved upon in subsequent sessions.

For more information about the learning solutions that we can provide for your organization please visit our website at http://www.pathwaysinc.ca