Information technology is a foreign country to many people, especially those of a certain age.

During the lockdown, when I was being trained by relatively young adults in using Microsoft Teams for meetings and holding online training workshops, I was a little apprehensive as to how I would cope in a world of burgeoning technology. So many people – especially the savvy IT generation – seem so apt in paving and navigating their way in what is essentially a digital world.

So, I’d be the first to admit that surrounded by mass communication modes, I have often felt like an immigrant trying to make sense of the rising complexity and sophistication of social media and the growing possibilities for artificial intelligence.

Background: Boris Johnson to announce 'Lifetime Skills Guarantee'

Opinion: Online learning will continue – so we must do better

Coronavirus: '£3bn National Skills Fund must be released'

But I needn’t have worried because although it might appear overwhelming at first, online teaching/learning is becoming a vital means in maintaining a semblance of familiarity when the norm has shut down. To be honest – and despite my concerns about virtual classrooms – it’s often the case that using online teaching and learning platforms is a welcome relief in a world of masks, self-isolation and social distancing.

If, like me, you’re fairly new to presenting online sessions here are some rudimentary tips that will help you get started:

Learn some basic IT jargon

Spend some time in familiarising yourself with the language of your host country. It’s a given fact that we all have to abide by government restrictions and adapt to the changing work environment. Therefore, pick up the basic language and tools of online communication so that you can get by and survive. That’s surely what you would do if you went abroad for any length of time – pick up the language and customs of the place. 

Don’t punch above your weight

However, when you deliver the first few sessions don’t try and emulate those sophisticated users and workshop leaders who – in the past – have impressed you with their display of technopower and mastery over IT.  They have probably put in months if not years of practice. Remember KISS: keep it simple stupid! Keep the format and contents of your sessions relatively straightforward and easy to navigate – that way, you won’t get flustered and lost. 

Plan short components or activities

Split up your session into segments. Tell your audience what your plan is – what the terrain of your session looks like. This is particularly applicable to teachers especially those teaching difficult or challenging groups where attention span or behaviour is an issue.

Break up your session. Label your delivery – introduction, problem, government reports and statistics, solutions and any questions. Classroom teachers are already familiar with the importance of clear planning that takes into account a variety of activities that are designed to help their students to digest new information. Remember, there is nothing more off putting than someone droning on without a sense of definition or purpose. 

Permit time to reflect and practise

Give participants an opportunity to apply or practise their new knowledge or skills. Devise some simple activities on your PowerPoint or as an attachment in the form of a Word document which your audience can access and download. Again, if you’re using one of the many online platforms, such features are built in and are relatively easy to apply.

Allow for breaks

Give your audience time to digest information. They may be sitting in the comfort of their study or kitchen but they still require a break away from the screen. No matter how old or sophisticated you are as an adult – or how familiar you are with lectures and talks – you still want to know when you’re going to have your cup of coffee or make that phone call. Your participants are no exception. Therefore, remember that online training sessions are likely to a little bit slower than what you might do in a really face-to-face environment. So, think carefully about what you can get through during an online presentation and exchange.

Tools

The IT tools and features at your disposal will seem confusing at first but you will get used to them. If you’re a teacher, you will remember how nerve-wracking it was when you first entered a classroom during your teaching practice. Did you not quickly adapt to the environment and the tools that were available at the time such as the slow, rickety photocopier in the dingy corner of a staffroom, the overhead project, the whiteboard (or the blackboard as in my case!)? Did you not get used to standing in front of people observing every detail about you? Of course, you did. The same will happen with your engagement with online teaching and learning.

Be yourself

Some people, new to online delivery, may be intimidated by the camera. How we look and the sound of our voice are disconcerting at first but you do get used to seeing and hearing yourself as an outsider. Actors and radio personalities will vouch to this. How we look and sound to ourselves is slightly (and, sometimes, radically) different from the way the world perceives us. More often than not, the characteristics that bother you about yourself, the audience won’t even notice. It’s the case that the more sessions you deliver the more comfortable you will feel about seeing and hearing yourself. So, as they say in show biz, be natural; be yourself.

The world – for better or worse – is changing on a daily basis. We are, as our policymakers and commentators keep reminding us, entering a new phase, a new stage in our evolution. The current pandemic has merely propelled the process.

Roshan Doug is an education consultant.