More effective presence time and sustainable online learning: This is what blended learning promises. But how can you, as a trainer, create the perfect workshop with online support? In the article, we show you the concrete steps using a practical example, from model selection to follow-up.
In theory, you are surely familiar with the concept of "blended learning": Continuing education measures such as trainings or coaching take place partly online and partly in a traditional face-to-face setting. This saves presence time and allows you, as a trainer or coach, to accompany the learning process of your participants longer in their everyday lives. Blended learning is not only excellent for training sessions with several face-to-face appointments. You can also effectively use online support in traditional one-day workshops. These 10 tips will help you plan your day workshops for digitalization.
But what do you need to pay attention to so that the concept of "workshop with online support" really works? For that, you will now receive tips from our expert: Colleague Dennis has regularly accompanied workshops with online courses on the blink.it platform for several years. Using the example of the successful "rocketday" workshop, you will learn everything you need to know for the support of your own workshops: In this workshop, trainers and companies learn how to create their own training videos for successful blended learning.
Overview
Step 1: Planning
Step 2: The online preparation
Step 3: The face-to-face workshop
Step 4: The online follow-up
Step 1: Planning a workshop with online support
Accompanying your workshop online offers you many advantages over a pure face-to-face workshop: “In almost all workshops, the prerequisites among participants are different,” says workshop leader Dennis. “The preparation allows everyone to be on the same page. A uniform knowledge base is beneficial so that no one gets bored during the face-to-face workshop and time is truly used effectively.”
The face-to-face phase mainly serves to show practical exercises and answer individual questions. Here too, online preparation is valuable to identify learning deficits and adjust your face-to-face time if necessary. Individual support in person also enhances your entire offering. Therefore, Dennis advises: “Definitely offer a face-to-face session – it can also be digital! Even if your topic could be entirely digital, participants are happy to pay more for personal support with blended learning.”
Basic thoughts for workshops with online support:
The goal is that all participants come to the face-to-face session with the same knowledge!
The online support should enhance your presence, not replace it!
The right model for workshops with online support: The Sandwich
Now, start by asking yourself the question: How should the workshop proceed? How many face-to-face phases do you have, and how many online phases? Expert Dennis recommends the blended learning model "Sandwich" for one-day workshops: online preparation, one face-to-face day, and online follow-up again. This model is simple and at the same time very effective. The rocketday is also structured according to this model.
Which workshop contents come in the online course, and which in presence?
Once you have decided on a model, you need to divide your contents: The distinction between synchronous and asynchronous content helps you with this.
Dennis advises: “Think about: What do my participants not need me for? That should be done asynchronously. Typical PowerPoint presentations with basic knowledge are better suited for solo preparation. And in person, I as the workshop leader give a mini-introduction and then dive directly into the practical deepening.”
Example: In the rocketday workshop, which is about creating videos for training videos, the division looks as follows:
Example: In the rocketday workshop, which is about creating videos for training videos, the division looks as follows:
Asynchronous content | Synchronous content |
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You know the goals of your online support, have decided on a model, and divided your workshop contents? Then it’s time for the preparation phase:
Step 2: The online preparation for the workshop
With the "Sandwich" model, the workshop begins with an online course preparation. This preparation not only has advantages for you as a trainer. Expert Dennis also knows the participant’s perspective: “When I prepare online as a participant, I can learn at my own pace. I can play videos at double speed and take notes at my own speed.”
To ensure that the preparation is ideal for you and your participants, you should plan it carefully and prepare it well. How long the preparation must be depends on the topic, of course. Dennis recommends: “The more complex the topic is, the more pleasant it is for the participants if the content is split: For highly complex topics, it is worthwhile to break the preparation into several sections and provide opportunities for feedback at shorter intervals, for example with short Q&A sessions. For simpler topics, a short preparation phase is usually sufficient.”
Example: In the rocketday workshop, the online course preparation lasts about one hour. Here’s what the preparation course for the rocketday workshop looks like in practice:
Insight into the preparation course for the video shooting workshop "rocketday" // Source: blink.it
At the end of the preparation, each participant has:
received all the information about the course
downloaded a guideline as a knowledge base
received helpful tips for video planning
developed a first own video concept
used a checklist to check whether all preparations are completed
With these preparations, an effective workshop day can now begin, where you as the workshop leader can build on the preliminary tasks and shared prior knowledge.
Step 3: The face-to-face workshop
How the actual workshop proceeds depends, just like the preparation, on your topic. Do you already have a finished workshop that you have conducted many times in person? Then you simply shift a large part of the basic knowledge to the online course. All practical matters such as exercises, feedback loops, discussions, and interactions remain as usual in the presence.
To create an ideal connection between the online and face-to-face phases, Dennis recommends: “Take a maximum of 15 minutes at the beginning to go over the contents of the preparation. This way, participants know exactly where they stand and what comes next.” – This also works perfectly for the video shooting workshop.
If you want to know exactly how the rocketday workshop proceeds, you can find a detailed report here: Report from the rocketday: Become a video pro in 6 hours
Insight into the rocketday workshop: Expert and workshop leader Dennis explains how to handle tripod, camera, and microphone. (l: Martin Wagner, r: workshop leader Dennis)
What to do if participants do not prepare?
Even with a good blended learning workshop, it can happen that some participants do not take the preparation seriously. Especially for mandatory training in companies, employees sometimes lack the motivation that the workshop management hopes for. Workshop expert Dennis has naturally experienced this as well, and emphasizes consistency:
“Make it clear beforehand that participation in the workshop without preparation is not possible. Best make an agreement with the client that you will not take into account people who do not prepare: They can participate, but the program will not change. Otherwise, the advantage of blended learning is for nothing: We want to make effective progress in the presence and not hold back participants who are well-prepared!”
How to make your in-person workshop maximally effective:
Make it clear that preparation is mandatory.
Stick to your program, even if some participants are not prepared.
Plan 15 minutes as an introduction to create a connection between online and face-to-face phases.
Step 4: The online follow-up to the workshop
A follow-up or long-term support is optional. Again, this depends on your topic and the chosen model. In the case of the rocketday workshop with the "Sandwich" model, a final online phase is provided:
Workshop leader Dennis particularly appreciates the flexibility of follow-up: “How the follow-up is used depends on the participants. In the course, specific questions from the live session can be addressed again, additional material offered, or also the results from the workshop collected. What helps participants with implementation develops most simply in the course of the day.”
The following formats are well suited for a follow-up:
Photos of whiteboards or other notes
Results from participants on tasks during the face-to-face
Answers to relevant questions from the workshop
Impulses and practice tasks for the participants' everyday life
Feedback surveys to optimize your course for the next group
With expert tips and a simple tool like blink.it, you can easily offer your workshops as blended learning. This way, you create real added value for your participants, optimize your presence time, and enhance your traditional workshops.
