Publish at April 07 2021 Updated June 04 2025
Creating links and interaction. But what kind of link? In training, whether remote or face-to-face, there's a lot of sharing going on. The more we exchange, the more we interact, the more we learn. We exchange visio glances and words, surveys, word clouds and post-its.
We'd like to suggest a few ways forward.
Talking face-to-face on our videoconferencing screens doesn't necessarily create a bond. The teacher often retains a central role. Students may feel as if they're watching a live broadcast, while professors may feel sorry to be lecturing to black boxes. The cameras stay off. Hundreds of people connected, and not a peep!
Teachers redouble their efforts to make students visible. Julien Bobroff from Paris Saclay, for example, has listed a number of animation techniques to get students to take the stage for a few minutes. His icebreakers are full of humor and creativity.
He's not the only one to create situations that make people smile or laugh. In a recent article, Saul Bogatti shows us how humor builds rapport, enhances reciprocity and demystifies the role of the teacher.
To foster a sense of presence despite distance, some trainers and teachers rely on voice. Paradoxically, while we are told that our society is built on images, sound, podcasts and audio messages are enjoying real success.
Vocaroo makes it easy to create audio messages. No login or password is required for this free application, which simply records your voice and edits a link that can be exchanged by e-mail or on social networks. What could be simpler than to propose reactions or contributions without having to write them down, and by playing up the spontaneity. In a correction, the teacher can speak directly to the student, discuss, qualify and request a response in turn. Vocaroo makes it possible to go beyond the formalism of e-mails and bring a little life to the messages exchanged.
A very recent social network, Clubhouse, has chosen to build interactions solely on voice. Gathered in groups of less than 5,000 people, participants listen to each other's contributions or exchange ideas. Nothing can be recorded or replayed. Everything is instantaneous and ephemeral. This is what gives value to the moment of the meeting and freedom to the participants. Flash in the pan or new trend? No one dares to bet. In April 2021, the application will remain selective, reserved for Apple users and based on a sponsorship system.
Whatever the commercial outcome, it will have demonstrated the importance of voice, warmth and humanity. It's the medium of support and intimacy. Numerous economic players, such as Apple, Audible and Majelan, are betting on its development, as are numerous radio stations broadcasting podcasts. Thibaut de Saint-Maurice and Stéphane Diebold have just proposed a podcast on the use of this medium in training.
Recognition means first and foremost taking account of learners, their difficulties and their context. It means paying attention to people, watching out for moments of slackness, and understanding their working and learning environment. Training teams need to be flexible and willing to listen. But recognition also means taking into account and valuing learners' skills and creativity.
Flipgrid organizes interactivity based on video production. The trainer proposes a theme, sends a link and possibly a password to the participants. They go to a page detailing the instructions, and can record their creations directly. Students can also comment on and evaluate the videos their colleagues have produced. This type of interaction is more demanding than exchanges via virtual classrooms or video platforms. Learners don't just ask questions or fill in online surveys, they shape content, invent, act out and are valued.
Learner-generated content is a form of engagement and interaction that many platforms have developed. The activity is of course highly formative, but it also allows the learner to show a part of his or her personality, through aesthetic choices, scripting and content. Such sharing reduces the distance that can exist within a training context. They encourage exchanges between trainers and participants, and between the participants themselves.
To achieve this, curation must be bottom-up or collaborative. It is not limited to a list of useful links provided by the training team. The Syfadis platform allows each participant to suggest resources, which can appear as soon as the platform is opened. Training and links between participants do not end with the course. From a pedagogical point of view, when it works, this indexing of content by learners enables continuity between training and the learning environment.
However, we shouldn't take this dynamic for granted. Trainees don't necessarily feel they have the right to produce or share content. Some who do consider doing so are absorbed by other activities as soon as they leave the course, and don't log on again... Unless it's integrated into the training and assessment program, or management is involved, commitment is not guaranteed!
"To love is to look together in the same direction", says Saint-Exupéry. So much the better, but we build more bonds by making something together, by designing, by debating, than by watching a trainer together on a videoconference. Fifty people watching the same images on a screen at the same time doesn't create a bond, and if they answer quizzes or surveys, they don't create one either.
Digital tools that complement platforms can encourage interaction on another level.
Links and interactions emerge from the learning situation. Meetings may or may not take place. E-mail addresses may be exchanged in these sub-groups, where teachers keep a low profile. Tips, knowledge and techniques are shared that were not foreseen in the "lesson plan".
https://www.clevelandart.org/learn/educators/prek-12-school-programs-and-resources/virtual-learning
Bealink - What is content curation in e-learning? consulted on April 3, 2021
https://bealink.io/la-curation-de-contenu-en-e-learning-cest-quoi/
Sylvie JEAN - être proche de ses apprenants à distance - published on August 24, 2020 - accessed on April 3, 2021
https://cursus.edu/21907/etre-proche-de-ses-apprenants-a-distance
Pédagoscope - Ariane - Julien Bobroff's tips for breaking the ice - February 21, 2021 - consulted on April 4, 2021.
https://pedagoscope.ch/les-astuces-de-julien-bobroff-pour-briser-la-glace/
Julien Bobroff - Des outils pour le distanciel - consulted on April 4, 2021
http://hebergement.universite-paris-saclay.fr/supraconductivite/des-outils-pour-le-distanciel/
Stéphane Diebold, Thibaut dd Saint-Maurice, Affen and co- What's podcasting got to do with training? consulted on April 4, 2021
https://formaradio.fr/quest-ce-que-le-podcast-vient-faire-en-formation-affenco-67/
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