I’m facilitating my course on Redesigning in-person Programs for Online. In the middle of the session, my computer turned off – every facilitator’s nightmare!
My Producer held things together as I got back online. I had some troubleshooting things in place but had taken a haphazard approach. I won’t anymore!
Backstory
Here’s the back story to set the stage. The session was the fourth in a five-module series for redesigning in-person programs for online delivery. I have an engaged and supportive group of participants. They’re all L&D professionals so understand the challenges of facilitating.
About 10 minutes into the session my computer turned off. I had no idea why and didn’t know for how long it would be off. Luckily it quickly started to reboot, but I was kicked out of the session and had to log back in. It was disruptive to the participants and very rattling for me!
Lessons Learned
Have a Producer
I’ve shared in other posts that I always design to include a Producer role. Today I learned firsthand what a lifesaver that role is – thank you, Paul Shields!
Here’s how we set up the session and why it worked well when my computer failed.
- The Producer is the host and the Facilitator is the co-host.
I do this because in Zoom I want the Producer to manage the breakout rooms. When my computer crashed, the meeting didn’t end because Paul was the host and was still operational. Paul stepped in right away with calming words that we’d be back online in a moment. - The Producer had the slides loaded and ready to share if needed.
I was able to log back in really quickly, so Paul didn’t need to share the slides. But, if it took longer, he could have, and we could have carried on from there. He would be driving the technology and visuals, and I would be facilitating via audio. This was also possible because we were using DropBox to save all the files, so Paul had access to everything. - Both the Facilitator and the Producer were recording the session.
Admittedly we’ve been casual about recording the session. One of us records, but we hadn’t been consistent. That morning as we were setting up, I started the recording. Paul asked if he should too and I responded with something like, “Well sure, why not? It can’t hurt.” I’m so glad he was recording so we can use his instead of my ‘failed’ recording.
Log in with a second device
I’ve been ad hoc about logging in with my phone as an additional participant. This time I did because I was going to be sharing slides and different documents and I wanted to be able to check my phone to confirm that participants were seeing what I wanted them to see. But, in the past, if the session had a more straightforward design, I didn’t log in with a second device. I will always do that now!
Here’s how a second device helped us recover during the online session.
- The Facilitator was still connected to the session.
I could see on my phone that the session was still running. I sent a chat message from my phone that I was logging back in and would be there soon. It helped my Producer know how he should proceed – that he didn’t need to start sharing his set of slides for example. - The second device provided an alternative option to facilitate.
If needed we could have facilitated with my Producer sharing the onscreen elements and with me facilitating the audio using my phone.
I had panicked a bit and was frantically trying to figure out how to connect the video and audio so that I could facilitate from my phone if needed. Next time I’ll have a set of earbuds handy.
In my panic, I took control of the session on my phone and reclaimed the host role thinking I could facilitate from there. Facilitating from my phone was a good option but taking back control was a mistake. I should have left my Producer as the host so he could share slides if need be.
Lastly, another back up would be to have a draft email ready to send to everyone. I typically turn off Outlook so it’s not distracting. I would still do that, but I’d create a draft with the Producer and participants’ email addresses loaded so that I could send a quick email if need be.
Curious to learn more?
Here is some additional information about how I’ve helped clients with online learning.
- Designing in-person for Online: Process, templates and support – 5 module online course (September 2020 cohort)
- Shad – blended learning (elearning and in-person) AWARD WINNER
- Communitech – Coaching Fundamentals – online design and facilitation (summer 2020)
- Coaching role-plays in a virtual classroom – online design
Check out the other services I provide to clients to help them improve employee performance.
