Being close to your learners at a distance

The different modalities of distance learning (Blended Learning, E-learning) very often pose the question of the link for trainers. How to create and maintain the link with learners that one meets only or mostly through screens? How to make this formative experience "human"?

I hear these remarks from trainers very regularly:

"the links are not the same at a distance",

"nothing replaces a real meeting".

Effectively, the experiences are different and cannot be equal. For my part, it even seems utopian to want to make these encounters similar at all costs. This quest can only lead to disappointment or a feeling of personal failure. It can also lead us to reproduce, without thinking, activities to create the link, to reinforce the group dynamic, without taking into account the specificities of the digital learning environment in its planning. The opposite approach, just as problematic, would be to abandon any approach to fostering connection, under the pretext that it is impossible or too different at a distance.

To create connection at a distance, it is first imperative to better understand the particularities of this training modality in order to adjust our planning and facilitation methods.

Specificity of distance meetings

One of the specificities of distance meetings, especially video conferencing, is that learners welcome us in their environment - office, home - etc. This detail, which may seem insignificant, is interesting in terms of creating a link. Even if the learner chooses to blur their background, the small informal discussions that we regularly have with the group before the training begins take on a different feel when the training is not taking place in the classroom space.

Very often, learners talk about their surroundings, background noises, apologize for the possible eruption of a child or a pet, etc. Sometimes, it is an opportunity for a learner to present his or her work environment. Without entering the sphere of intimacy, the trainer can also share a detail of his/her environment to create a warmer and more informal atmosphere (for example, pointing out the noise of the birds or the street, showing a book lying around on the desk).

A second interesting aspect to take into account is the multiplication of links in the time of the training as well as their occurrence without the presence of the trainer. Indeed, during a distance training, whether mixed (distance and face-to-face) or entirely distance, the opportunities to meet, collaborate and exchange are often more important than in a training only in the classroom.

The trainer can thus easily design several small collaborative tasks, encourage moments of exchange and meetings between participants, outside of synchronous meetings, via the various digital tools (collaborative wall, forum, video, chat etc.) and thus multiply the opportunities to create a link.

Then, these meetings often take place without the presence of the trainer which has the advantage of promoting exchanges directed entirely between the learners and not intended for the trainer. Still, it is necessary, of course, that the proposed tasks have been well thought out upstream to promote collaboration and exchanges between learners!

Improving communication at a distance

Of course, this image may seem "ideal" because it is without taking into account the technical hazards as well as the problems and communication brakes related to remote interaction. Indeed, without the support of non-verbal and para-verbal language, communication is sometimes difficult, especially in groups. It is not uncommon to continually cut each other off. These communication problems have a direct influence on the group dynamics and sometimes, tired of this lack of fluid interaction, learners exchange less with each other and speak up less to ask questions, which has an impact on the creation of a bond. Yet, by modifying a few aspects in his or her course, the trainer can improve the quality of the exchanges.

1. First of all, initiate communication protocols: raising the hand (virtually or not), turn-taking, limited speaking time, use of chat to ask questions, virtual wheel to draw lots for the next people who can speak etc.
   
   
2. Institute also, as in face-to-face, a few informal minutes between the participants before the beginning of the course: video-conference discussion, quiz to know each other on an application, discussion on a forum before going to the exercises, etc.
   
   
3. Then, diversify the focus of attention: use communicative tools (virtual whiteboard, collaborative work page, quiz on another medium such as the smartphone).
   
   In fact, one of the particularities of remote video conference meetings is that our attention is maintained and focused on a full screen presentation or on one person (the trainer) whereas in a face-to-face setting we can vary our attention points by looking at the environment, turning our head when someone asks a question, etc. This loss of visual mobility can give learners the impression of being "stuck" and make participants more passive and therefore less inclined to communicate.
   
   
4. Finally, conclude the training with a collaborative work in large or small groups: common synthesis of the important points of the course, discussion on the difficulties encountered, setting work objectives for the next time.

Different links

The distance meeting can thus create strong links in the group, sometimes even more personal. During some mixed trainings (distance and face-to-face), I even noticed more significant bonds being created between participants, linked in my opinion to this meeting in a different space, more informal than the one of the training and without my continuous presence during the exercises and the exchanges.

Of course, this requires the trainer to create opportunities to encourage the creation of links by taking into account the specificities of the digital environment. It also requires not necessarily expecting the same links or the same speed of creation.

Finally, as in any training, face-to-face or distance, groups do not form, interactions remain poor. The trainer's ambition to have a united, tight-knit group every time is an ideal that is not always achievable!

References

Article: "Online teaching: the medium is the message" by Howard Ramos and Mark C.J Stoddart, UAAU, June 15, 2020.
Article:"Being more human online together," by Karin Brown, ETH Zurich, May 19, 2020.
Article:"Making virtual more human," by Glenn Fajardo, Stanford d.school , March 19, 2020.
Article: "Remote meetings: 10 tips for creating usability", by Pascale Belorgey, December 8, 2017, accessed May 14, 2020.
Article, "Starting a training session: reflections and proposals from a group facilitation perspective," by Daniel Faulx and Sophie Delvaux, CAIRN.INFO, February 28, 2012