In a previous post, Chris Atkinson talked about the need for training professionals to utilise platforms which have the added functionality required to run engaging, complex development programmes. In our latest interview, Kate Peacock, Director of Enthios Training and Development Ltd, talks about her own experiences of using Adobe Connect.
You have been working with Adobe Connect for the last 12 months. What were your early experiences like?
My first experience of Adobe Connect was with a global customer who wanted to transfer their leadership programme from a face-to-face design to online because of COVID 19. The company was also actively involved in the response to the pandemic, so they were incredibly busy.
And that was pretty much at the start of lockdown, wasn't it?
Yes, I was informed about it and had a little bit of time to prepare and panic. I was familiar with the client and the programme but not Adobe Connect. I’m quite a pragmatic learner and can have a bit of concern about new technology in the early days.
So, what was it like?
I would call it a bit of a baptism of fire. I did prepare and one of the things that I would say for anybody starting out with Adobe Connect is that it does have a huge amount of resources, to help you. There a whole range of videos online and it's well worth going in and experiencing those and actually watching somebody else do it.
I think in hindsight I would probably go and observe somebody, and it's also useful to experience it as a participant as well if you can. On my first day I got to the break and had my head on the desk saying, ‘If this is the future. I'm not sure I want it!’, but I pretty much quickly overcame that. But yes, it was a bit of a baptism of fire.
What have you learned over your experiences of the last 12 months?
I have learned to give it a go and not expect it to be perfect to begin with. It sounds really strange, but one of the things I would say, in terms of functionality, Adobe Connect is the best product that I utilised of the five platforms that we use because there's just so many things that you can do.
Now, I've got an acceptance that there will always be something that pops up that you didn't expect, so one of the things I've learned is just to be able to go with the flow and just as you would with face-to-face facilitation, it’s about handling the moment and not panicking about what could happen.
Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash
What are features about the Adobe Connect platform that are particularly useful for running complex training programmes?
They have such a variation of options. They were one of the first to come with breakout rooms. Breakout rooms are fairly universal now, but again, the functionality of the breakout rooms in Adobe Connect allows greater flexibility of learning design. Adobe works on a flexible ‘pod’ system for design. You can use different ‘pods’ so you can include notes, a PowerPoint deck, a chat facility and you can have the ability to utilise video and record and screen share all within the same breakout room. Now I'm not aware of any product yet that has managed to keep up with that, so I think that is really great. The new Adobe Connect version has the ability to run rotation sessions so if you've got breakout rooms where you want to build on another group's work, then you're able to rotate groups at the push of a button. This is great.
How much of your initial anxiety was to do with the sheer amount of what Adobe Connect can offer?
It's like patting your head and rubbing your tummy while reciting your ABC backwards. You have to be able to do multiple things at once. Where the complexity comes in is actually in the relationship that you have with your co-trainer or your tech. support. It’s because they have the same functionality in terms of moving screens, people and items around, so you’ve got to be seamless in that relationship around who's going to do what and when.
So there needs to be some clarity of roles?
Yes, because it's like driving a car. When you're learning to drive with a co-driver and they suddenly take over control, it can throw you off. This is especially true if you are doing the sort of front-of-house trainer role. The cameras are on and everyone can see what is going on. I just think having that clarity about who's doing what is useful.
Tell me a little bit how important tech support is for you when running the complex kind of programmes you deliver on Adobe Connect. How do you get the clarity of roles that you talk about?
So, at my first point of entry, I thought tech. support was essential because Adobe Connect is not utilised by that many customers at the moment so it's still new technology, whereas people seem to know MS Teams and Zoom. So, the tech. support, particularly for the first session, was absolutely essential in terms of getting people in to the platform and overcoming any technical issues that they may find.
I think that there is some pre-pacing that an organisation or an independent trainer can do to get their client ready, and there's also an opportunity to go in and experience Adobe Connect or even take a look on their website before the training day.
If I didn't know some of the functionality, then there is a pod which is a sort of private chat area for facilitators and support that can you use to interact with one another. The rest of the group don't see it, and basically if you get stuck you can actually send a message and then your tech. support can sort it, subsequently.
But lately I have been working with no tech. support at all. Instead, I have been part of the tech. support for other trainers that have been coming online. So, I would say it's particularly essential in the early days and I think once you become quite competent at utilising the product itself you just work it out with your co-trainer. But you pretty much do need somebody I think to have had some experience of it beforehand.
OK, how do you use the facilitator notes panel when you're actually running your sessions?
So there are two elements that tech. support or two trainers can use. One is the facilitation notes panel which actually can have a degree of clarity about who's doing what, like you would have on a traditional session plan, and then you have the chat facility, which is a more live-in-the-moment type of response.
Basically, if there are some things that need doing in the background as a preparation to something else, so it could be about organising people into particular groups, for example, then we would let each other know that that work had been done so that whoever is ‘front-of-house’ knows that they can just seamlessly flow into the next step.
That sounds to me that is one of the things that differentiates Adobe Connect from some of the other products that are out there? It really does allow you to have that separate sideline conversation and manage the situation more?
Yes, I would definitely agree and it has been an absolute life saver because If you need to bring in extra content/resources like a video link for instance, your co-trainer can be sourcing the link and posting it, or having a private chat with an individual in the group who is having difficulties with accessing the link, to give them another option.
How would you describe your attitude or feelings towards Adobe Connect 12 months on?
I'm so much more relaxed with it now. I feel much more comfortable about the amount and type of preparation I have to do. There is a new edition of Adobe Connect too; it’s got quite a new look and a lot more functionality. I'm going due to deliver a programme on the new platform soon, so I will watch a few of Adobe’s training videos just to catch up on what the new things are, but yes, I now feel now that having also done some design work on the platform, as a pragmatic learner I know that if I build it then I can understand how to navigate it more successfully.
What hints and tips would you give trainers for starting a session to set an atmosphere of cooperation and reducing anxiety for the participants?
I think just explaining what people are seeing in front of them, firstly. Having a welcome screen on Adobe Connect encourages this anyway. It’s called the lobby area, where people can play on things like a whiteboard or the chat facility. Get them to be able to use their cameras early and just play around with the functionality in a pre-start and then I do the official start.
In the pre-start I talk about some of the things that they might encounter; they might have some problems with bandwidth, for example. I also like to set up that if you get kicked out of the system, that's not you, don't feel embarrassed by it. It's going happen within the first couple of hours in particular, so if it happens just come back in and we will handle it. So, there's some pre-pacing in terms of what people might expect. You know, something about managing expectations on that early bumpy stage and where I've worked with groups on multiple sessions I find people just get it after the first hour and they're much more relaxed about the tech. They make jokes if they get kicked out and just take it in their stride. They're then much more amenable to receiving training online than they might have been if we'd not done the set-up work.
What do you think is the ideal length of a session for an online programme for leadership?
I've run full days, which I'm against, just in terms the amount of just screen time and looking after people’s well-being. But it depends what you're trying to achieve, ultimately. Four hours is a maximum, three is probably standard and depending on what you're doing, you can do something in in 60-90 minutes. Of course, these are rough guidelines. You should incorporate a break every hour. So, whereas on face-to-face I would typically work to a break every hour and a half, I think that time is reduced when you're utilising high levels of screen time.
And other things to consider that will help engagement?
Don't feel that you need to design a programme where you are expecting people to be on screen the whole of the time. So for instance, give people the option of having their cameras off if they are doing some preparation work. It's about breaking things up. Another example is where people are moving into a breakout room. They might decide that they all wish to knock off their cameras, but it needs to be a shared agreement around it. Remember that the programme you are going to deliver will form part of their working day; people may have already had a high level of screen time. Be mindful that what you're designing isn't a stand-alone. It's going to be slotted into a day. I think with face-to-face we've often had the luxury of having half a day or a day where other other business doesn’t get in the way.
As an experienced trainer, what do you think we're going back to? Are we going to go back to what we were doing before the lockdown? Are we going to stay online or is it going to be something else?
I think it’s going to be different. The reason I say that is, this isn't new, but as independent trainers and coaches I think more of us have been involved with face-to-face rather than virtual or blended approaches. We are going to be required to do more blended.
When designing blended programmes I would be thinking of, ‘Do we need a launch event where everybody is physically together?’. For the online elements, ‘Do we create shorter, punchier modules and integrate it with times when we come together?’ I would say blended for the longer term programmes, like a leadership programme, but where it is short-hit skill development work, I think it is probably shorter virtual elements where you do one or two skill introductions and the rest of the time is devoted to practise. The slight concern is where is the follow up on something like that? How do you check people’s application of the new skill? It’s one of the reasons why I favour longer, multiple points of contact with an organisation because I think they actually get more bang for their money; it's more sustainable and there’s a higher level of accountability there.
In talking with other trainers I get the impression that we would all prefer face-to-face activities, but we’ve found certain advantages of working online?
I wouldn’t say ‘prefer’; it’s what we’ve got used to and what we know, so I’m not sure that we have really hit the Golden Age of online learning. As the world gets back to normal and people’s family lives are less disrupted we may see something else emerge. The reason I mention family lives is that the one thing that disrupts online training at the moment is participants being concerned about having all the family at home. There are demands on bandwidth, there’s childcare duties for example. When we go back to blended ways of working where people are both home-based and office-based I think we will find it to be quite different because concentration levels will be higher/ better, therefore online learning could land even better than we are experiencing right now. Right now everyone is feeling that it’s a bit of a ‘make-do’. I don’t believe that. I think that it has some real benefits . I don’t think we will see these benefits until people can totally commit their time and attention to it without any other distractions. I’d like to see what this is like next year where people might be taking home office days. Virtual training could sit quite well with that model of working.
Contact Kate:
Find out more:
Click here to access Adobe Connect learning resources.
Click here for a short introduction to the new version of Adobe Connect.
Click here to go to the website of the Adobe Connect agent we partner with. Their service has been excellent.