George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
For those of us who are now working from home or have been impacted by cost reduction measures, we may find that we have additional time on our hands that we did not have before. However, I know the opposite may be true as well, where some find that they are working longer hours, or spending more time on family/home concerns.
In either case, in what ways are you enhancing your professional skills/knowledge/brand during this crisis? Saving Changes...
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Jason OrloskeProject & Portfolio Management Consultant, CEO| Bridge the Gap Consulting, LLCFargo, Nd, United States
George,
As you state, everyone's situations are different. I've been learning how to be a better teacher by helping my 7th and 4th graders do their homework. With that, patience and admitting I don't know certain things (i.e., STAR math).
I have been doing "virtual coffee" with LinkedIn connections, which I would probably not have been able to do otherwise. Also, I've been reading books and sharpening my PMO skills as that has been a career strategy of mine.
Jason
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1 reply by George Freeman
Apr 13, 2020 12:17 PM
George Freeman
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Hi Jason,
It looks like it has also provided you time to be an active participant on PMC (Project Management Central), welcome! By the way, I really like the name of your LLC, “Bridge the Gap…,” if I had an LLC, that name would have been at the top of my list.
it is through necessity, but learning virtual collaboration tools and migrating our in-person course exercises to use those tools has been the big addition so far to my toolbelt.
I'm also doing more virtual presentations to keep my "brand" out there - with virtual course delivery, this is a good "hook" to line up some potential learners!
Kiron
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1 reply by George Freeman
Apr 13, 2020 12:38 PM
George Freeman
...
Hi Kiron,
It would be great to hear what you have learned regarding:
- Refactoring of courseware for online audiences
- Approach and style changes needed to migrate from physical to virtual course delivery
- Collaboration tools
That would make for an interesting blog posting and also be an opportunity to expose your offerings (indirectly).
George
Saving Changes...
George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
Apr 13, 2020 10:55 AM
Replying to Jason Orloske
...
George,
As you state, everyone's situations are different. I've been learning how to be a better teacher by helping my 7th and 4th graders do their homework. With that, patience and admitting I don't know certain things (i.e., STAR math).
I have been doing "virtual coffee" with LinkedIn connections, which I would probably not have been able to do otherwise. Also, I've been reading books and sharpening my PMO skills as that has been a career strategy of mine.
Jason
Hi Jason,
It looks like it has also provided you time to be an active participant on PMC (Project Management Central), welcome! By the way, I really like the name of your LLC, “Bridge the Gap…,” if I had an LLC, that name would have been at the top of my list. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Hi George!
This has been a wild ride thus far. Working remotely is not new for me, however, I am not a fan and rarely do so. Now, of course, there is no option, but absolutely thankful that I have one.
I have unfortunately not had the extra capacity for professional development as of yet, but do plan to incorporate some soon. I have an upgrade exam to prep for and look to have a focus area as well.
Hope all is great! -Drew
- Saving Changes...
George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
Apr 13, 2020 11:30 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
...
George -
it is through necessity, but learning virtual collaboration tools and migrating our in-person course exercises to use those tools has been the big addition so far to my toolbelt.
I'm also doing more virtual presentations to keep my "brand" out there - with virtual course delivery, this is a good "hook" to line up some potential learners!
Kiron
Hi Kiron,
It would be great to hear what you have learned regarding:
- Refactoring of courseware for online audiences
- Approach and style changes needed to migrate from physical to virtual course delivery
- Collaboration tools
That would make for an interesting blog posting and also be an opportunity to expose your offerings (indirectly).
George
...
1 reply by Kiron Bondale
Apr 13, 2020 1:30 PM
Kiron Bondale
...
Thanks George -
There are a ton of similar articles out there from folks with varying degrees of experience delivering live virtual training so any blog I wrote would be a "me too" piece.
I've learned three key lessons over the past few weeks while preparing for and then delivering my first live virtual course:
1. Increase the frequency of breaks and the ratio of break time to class time. While people are working, they are also at home - they will have urgent matters to attend to, they will want to get up and stretch their legs, and it is better to have engaged learners for half a day rather than disengaged ones for a full day. I went with 45-50 minutes of instruction followed by a 10 minute break for a full day course.
2. Making exercises engaging online is not just a case of migrating in person exercises "as is". Given the different interaction model when using a virtual collaboration tool, you have to re-think some exercises from the ground up by focusing on what the purpose of the exercise is and then designing the best way within the constraints of the tool to meet that.
3. Be mindful of the number of context switches you are imposing on your audience. At a minimum, a collaborative class will require two environments - a video conferencing platform and a collaboration platform. If you are also having the learners consult some reference materials there could be an additional 1-3 context switches. At some point this becomes overwhelming.
It would be great to hear what you have learned regarding:
- Refactoring of courseware for online audiences
- Approach and style changes needed to migrate from physical to virtual course delivery
- Collaboration tools
That would make for an interesting blog posting and also be an opportunity to expose your offerings (indirectly).
George
Thanks George -
There are a ton of similar articles out there from folks with varying degrees of experience delivering live virtual training so any blog I wrote would be a "me too" piece.
I've learned three key lessons over the past few weeks while preparing for and then delivering my first live virtual course:
1. Increase the frequency of breaks and the ratio of break time to class time. While people are working, they are also at home - they will have urgent matters to attend to, they will want to get up and stretch their legs, and it is better to have engaged learners for half a day rather than disengaged ones for a full day. I went with 45-50 minutes of instruction followed by a 10 minute break for a full day course.
2. Making exercises engaging online is not just a case of migrating in person exercises "as is". Given the different interaction model when using a virtual collaboration tool, you have to re-think some exercises from the ground up by focusing on what the purpose of the exercise is and then designing the best way within the constraints of the tool to meet that.
3. Be mindful of the number of context switches you are imposing on your audience. At a minimum, a collaborative class will require two environments - a video conferencing platform and a collaboration platform. If you are also having the learners consult some reference materials there could be an additional 1-3 context switches. At some point this becomes overwhelming.
