Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2023 - 27

in the classroom to accommodate the
demand and available power to keep
the devices charged.
COMMUNITY HELPERS
It takes a village to successfully deliver
hybrid learning. To keep the facilitator
fully focused on the participant
experience, other people can support
and assist. For example, someone
should be assigned the " tech support "
role, to help any participants who
have trouble connecting or staying
connected to the virtual classroom
platform. Another can be the " chat
champion, " to keep an eye on the chat
conversations and alert the facilitator as
needed. I like to assign remote buddies
- a point person in the classroom for
each remote attendee to help them be
their onsite eyes and ears.
These roles can be assigned in advance,
such as an external support person
who will help with the technology. Or,
if needed, the facilitator can request
volunteers for various tasks at the start
of class. Either way, the more people
involved, the more it will be a truly shared
learning experience.
CALCULATED FACILITATION
As mentioned earlier, a skilled facilitator
can fill any technology gaps to create
an engaging class. But even if there's
a perfect hybrid setup with up-to-date
equipment, the success of hybrid
learning is less about the mechanics
and more about the learner experience.
It's about human connection and
conversation. A hybrid facilitator's job is
to enable relationship-building among
participants so that they can learn
together. This means encouraging
discussion and dialogue despite
location differences.
It may seem counterintuitive, but
to create space for conversation, a
facilitator needs to get creative. They
need to be more prescriptive, direct
and structured than they would be
in other settings. For example, when
asking discussion questions, they need
to specify how participants should
respond. This technique keeps the inperson
participants from just jumping
in and dominating the conversation,
which could easily happen without the
extra direction.
To illustrate, instead of simply asking,
" Who has prior experience with this
process? " a facilitator should instead
say something like, " Who has prior
experience with this process? If you
do, click on raise hand, if not just click
on no. " From there, the discussion can
proceed based on the input received.
Or, to help guide a conversation while
also avoiding uncomfortable audio lags,
a facilitator can designate the order
in which participants speak. Keep in
mind that it's not about controlling the
conversation, it's about enabling it. By
providing boundaries, the dialogue
can
flourish, leading to a
learning experience.
In addition, in the hybrid environment,
facilitators should always have a
" remote first " mindset, giving priority
to offsite attendees. It helps balance
out the deficiencies of not being in the
room with others.
This type of facilitation doesn't happen
by accident, it requires forethought
and planning. The facilitators who
successfully bridge the gap across
locations are the ones who carefully
plan out the methods they will use to
generate conversation.
IN CLOSING
It can be argued that hybrid learning
isn't worth the effort it takes to set
up the technology required to do
it
right.
That
offering
only
virtual
training programs and/or only inperson
programs is the best choice
for all. When everyone is together, or
everyone is virtual, then everyone's
connection is equal. However, with the
recent push toward hybrid work, it will
be difficult for many organizations to
avoid hybrid learning. It can be done
with intentional effort and support. So,
if you're going to offer hybrid classes,
then invest in the tech setup and
facilitator upskilling required to make
it work well.
Cindy Huggett, CPTD, helps organizations
and training professionals create
engaging virtual and hybrid learning with
lasting results. Email Cindy.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - WINTER 2023 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
better
HYBRID CLASS SETUP
CHECKLIST
Use this summary checklist
to help you set up your next
hybrid class:
Careful Setup
Plan ahead to create
a shared learning
experience.
Set advance
expectations with
participants.
Clear Audio
Place microphones
around the room to
capture the conversation.
Ensure remote attendees
use noise-canceling
headsets or
microphones.
Common Video
Set up webcam(s)
around the room so that
all are in view.
Encourage all remote
attendees to be on
webcam.
Take steps to avoid
video fatigue.
Consistent Devices
Give everyone equal
access to online
collaboration tools.
Ensure enough
bandwidth and in-room
power.
Community Helpers
Assign roles to
assist the facilitator.
Calculated Facilitation
Plan out discussion
questions with
specificity.
Have a remote-first
mentality.
| 27
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Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2023

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