From the first idea to implementation: Normen Ulbrich talks in the second webcam interview about the concept of Blended Learning with his online academy. You will learn about the types of content Normen uses at imnu Personalentwicklung and why he spontaneously shot a short video for his clients in Venice in this article.
For trainers, networking among themselves is highly valuable. Whether at conferences, in barcamps, or during private meetings – the personal exchange of experiences broadens horizons and provides space for fresh ideas. Therefore, we at blink.it regularly seek conversations with successful trainers or coaches, asking: What does your training concept look like? What lessons have you learned over the past years? And what concrete tips do you have for your colleagues? …
Normen Ulbrich is the owner of imnu Personalentwicklung and told us in the first part of his video interview why he chose Blended Learning as a tool for his training and what difficulties he faced at the beginning. In the second part, it now gets more specific about the type of content on his online academy and practical examples of his Blended Learning.
“The online academy serves as an impetus”
Normen believes that pure online training, known as E-Learning, does not work well. Therefore, he relies on Blended Learning, meaning the combination of in-person events and online content. Personal presence remains extremely important, the trainer explains, especially at the beginning. In these meetings, one can get to know each other personally and discuss all relevant factors for further training.
At imnu Personalentwicklung, Normen focuses mainly on very individualized training that varies depending on the client's topic and budget. One thing is the same for all: The first part takes place live and in person, only after that are online contents meaningful.
Normen refers to these online contents as “impetus” for the actual training. In his online academy, he can provide the client with suggestions and assistance after and between the in-person events. This way, the client feels supported in the long term and can actually integrate the training into their daily life.
This is especially important for topics that are designed for the long term, such as leadership development, as training often takes place over several months and sometimes even years. Covering such a long period is only sometimes possible – for both the trainer and the client – through in-person events.
Listen for yourself to how Normen describes his training concept in the webcam interview:
Note: The videos from our webcam interview have a lower resolution than would be optimal for a Blended Learning requirement. Unfortunately, no other type of interview was technically possible. However, we have consciously decided to use the recordings in this case – after all, the content is what matters most. We did not shoot an image video here, but only an interview about Blended Learning. We hope you can forgive us for the below-average image quality.
“I work a lot with short videos”
When asked about the type of these online impulses, Normen primarily mentions the medium of video. He initially selects a small content piece that he usually wants to provide to his clients about 3-6 weeks after the last in-person event or impulse.
He presents this content in one and a half to three minutes and films himself during the process. He then uploads the finished short video to the corresponding course of his online academy and informs the client about the new impulse.
For trainer colleagues who want to start using video content, Normen recommends three things:
A clear focus on the individual content – based on the idea of microlearning
Brevity – no longer than three minutes
A call-to-action at the end of his videos
What you need to consider for good quality in your online training during this selfie shoot has been captured by Michael from blink.it for newcomers to the world of Blended Learning in the online course “studio@home.”
In addition to videos, Normen also uses other content, such as his own essays or interesting articles from other authors. He also shares interesting YouTube videos with his clients in the online academy. In the coming months, Normen also wants to delve more into the topic of quizzes.
Especially exciting: In Normen's training, it sometimes happens that he trains different levels of management. This way, he receives feedback from one level to the next higher. In in-person training, it would now be challenging to convey this feedback conflict-free. However, through the simple anonymization in the online platform, he can turn this into an impulse. Thus, the online academy acts as a kind of “communicative medium”.
“During my vacation in Venice, I got the idea for a new video impulse”
The practical aspect of an online academy: As a trainer, you can also very spontaneously relay your own impulses to your participants or clients. Normen recounts a vacation in Venice when he was inspired by a gondolier to shoot a short video in St. Mark's Square:
The digital platform is not only a communicative medium but also a kind of “communicative accelerator”: Even on vacation, Normen does not need more than his smartphone or a tablet to produce valuable content within a few minutes – and share it directly with clients worldwide.
For this article, Normen provided us with his online impulse – many thanks at this point! This way, you can see for yourself how such spontaneous greetings and motivations can look in Blended Learning:
“With blink.it, I appear completely professional”
In addition to idea generation and conceptualization of online impulses, choosing a platform for the online academy is a decision trainers face when starting with Blended Learning. In the first part of the interview, Normen mentioned that he initially had too concrete ideas for a learning app. Only after he had abandoned his idea for the online academy did he find blink.it as a simple and cost-effective technical basis for it.
In response to our final question about what Normen likes about blink.it, he mentions on the one hand the professionalism and on the other hand the short paths and the quick problem-solving. "I simply find that great in combination," says Normen about blink.it.
His clients tend to be somewhat older, and a simple user interface is particularly important. That makes sense: after all, the client should participate in the personal training and not have to complete a course on how to use an online academy.
Lastly, Normen mentions the advantage of being able to personalize the interface so that it is "his academy" – including personal color scheme:
“For my own clients, it is not apparent at first glance and even at second glance that this is a third-party provider – and that certainly enhances my own professionalism.”
The videos embedded in this article are only parts of the complete webcam interview with Normen Ulbrich. You can find all the individual short videos in our YouTube playlist with Normen.
By the way: We recorded the interview as a continuous video and only then cut it into short clips as much as possible. Even if the image quality is affected by the webcam's resolution and is not optimal – you should understand Normen well and quickly get an overview through the division into short, thematically coherent videos.
How you can easily cut videos yourself and what else to consider during video creation, you can find out in our video guide!
