Engagement strategies and suggestions for online and in-person learning

1. Top 10 Tips for more interactive webinars/learning experiences
After planning with the end in mind and deciding on your big-picture outcomes to ensure your activities align with your
deeper-learning takeaways, try some of these in-person or remote strategies!
 Start with a question at beginning that is related to your learning outcome (in other words, beyond sharing
where you are from, etc.).
 Rather than reading what is on the slide (if a ppt.), ask participants to share in the chat area their insights about
the content on the slide.
 Use break out rooms (available in most webinar software) to get 5 or less people talking on a subject. This
works well for people who may not want to ‘chat’ with group-at-large.
 Gamify the content (Can you do a True/False question way of providing the info so people engage in different
parts of the content? Or, do an interactive poll using webinar poll tools? Or, trivia quiz for the poll?
 Do a poll on familiarity with content or to establish where your learners are starting from.
 Use images rather than text on some of your slides (a rule of thumb for text in ppt. is that less is more.)
 To develop rapport online, display photos of presenters and share a brief personal story.
 Send content ahead of time so the online can be a discussion
 Every 5 minutes interject an activity (even if just a simple question or short story hook) to engage your learner
Bonus insights:
 Let your attendees know at the outset that the session will be interactive and you are relying on their input
and expertise.
 (Bonus) Learn to be ok with some silence as your users are reflecting and preparing responses.
Good Webinars to review for ideas for planning engaging learning:
1) Design It For Learning
Mary Beth Faccioli
connect.enetcolorado.org/p1w23mkqu44/
Consideration for visuals in presentations
2) Making Learning Stick - Learner-Centered Training
Gail Griffith
connect.enetcolorado.org/p539ekjadz5/
Activities and ideas for using techniques in training – including online
For example, notice how she uses the poll tools at the beginning to cover the list of learning outcomes.
3) Sharon Morris’s “Lead from Where you Are” for ideas on how she designed an interactive webinar
http://connect.enetcolorado.org/p40mgorzrka/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal
Links to hand outs from yesterday’s session.
http://www.slideshare.net/beckyjorussell/presentation-framework-for-engagement
http://www.slideshare.net/beckyjorussell/adult-learningcharacteristics
Need help in designing interactive trainings/webinars? We’re happy to help!
Our e-mail
Becky Russell, Russell_b@cde.state.co.us
Sharon Morris, morris_s@cde.state.co.us
Christine Kreger, Kreger_c@cde.state.co.us