Six hours of ADA refresher training completed [ADA in this instance stands for American with Disabilities Act]! Yes! In a previous post, I began to examine which mode of training is more effective-when [it's] live or in cyberspace. I've been letting the full experience "marinate" for a while so now it's time for the final review.
As I noted earlier, I have no doubt that training in cyberspace especially for a national group, is more cost-effective but do companies really get their return on investment? I don't think so. So what's wrong? First let me say that in this case we are talking about fairly dry material so the presenters probably could not have done a better job themselves if they were live. However, part of the process of learning during professional training involves the interaction that occurs between attendees something that doesn't happen in cyberspace. There are some similarities but as you might expect, there are clear differences.
Both employ a manual and PowerPoint presentations. However, in order to be sure everyone is really present for the entire three hours, they periodically quiz you on the information presented [they call it polling, trust me, it's a quiz!]. Polling may be one attempt to make the information more "sticky" but that's simply not my experience.
While the webinar has a limited capacity to be interactive, it's the interaction with my colleagues that I miss. Yes, we can all type in our questions but then they are edited, distilled & sometimes distorted by the presenters. It's a far more tightly controlled flow of information. I also miss the learning that occurs through role plays and personal dialogue both staples in mediation training. While it's true that we are an experienced group, there are always new things to be learned from each other, which simply can't happen in cyberspace.
Speaking strictly for myself, when training comes via webinar, there are too many other distractions. It's hard to give the training 100% of my attention when the phone is ringing and there's a constant stream of incoming emails, not to mention the fact that as far as my dog is concerned, I'm just working at the computer so if he has "other priorities," there's no apparent reason to him for me to ignore him [I still consider myself fortunate that for me, everyday is "take your dog to work day"].. None of these things are an issue for me when I attend a training onsite. Finally I have to say that after discussing this question with others, I agree with the growing consensus that when you are learning something requiring "action" on your part [as in mediation], it's best for training to be live. However, when taking in passive information [as in a work or school orientation], then training in cyberspace may make a biut more sense.
Since I do HR training, this has been an important experience. It tells me that there are some trainings that I will be reluctant to convert to an online format unless of course it's ultimately what the client wants. Nonetheless, now I am armed with the experience to assist clients in making the best choice to achieve their goals and that's what it's all about.