TECH AND DIDACTICS
Basics – Zoom is the obvious example, followed by WebEx, GoToWebinar, Livestorm and Adobe Connect. They all have the standard options: screen sharing, chat, Q&A, polls and management of camera and microphones. The differences are at a detailed level for the outsider, but learning professionals often have a specific preference. For example, the tools differ in price, number of possible participants, integrations, reporting and customisation.
In terms of transfer or didactics, it depends more on how you use it than on which tool you choose. For example: specifically using and responding to the input you receive via polls, instead of purely telling your own story. And don’t forget your use of slides; make it visual, little text, no reading aloud and not too many slides (also known as: death by PowerPoint).
Additional – Often, video conferencing tools are reasonably useful, e.g. the Google Meets and MS Teams of this world. There is also a whole world to discover when it comes to presentation skills, energisers and picture and sound settings. During the webinar, you can also use tools such as Mentimeter (for extensive polls) or Kahoot (quizzes), but then you actually cross the line into virtual classrooms.
Integrated – If you are making the webinar a part of your blended learning programme, then integration with your learning platform or LMS is important. That way you keep it clear and easy to access. Moreover, you reduce the number of moments that your participants could drop out, for example because they have to look up an e-mail or instructions. There are also didactical benefits, e.g. by being able to activate prior knowledge. In the platform of aNewSpring you can easily integrate the most common webinar tools in your online learning journey.
