Photo by: Fizkes via Canva
These days, it feels like almost everything has gone virtual—from banking to shopping, socializing, and, of course, learning. While many online tasks are a breeze to handle solo, when it comes to delivering synchronous or virtual classroom training for your organization, having a producer by your side can make all the difference.
As someone who’s part of a virtual classroom facilitation team—a producer, in fact—I can attest that having a producer as a co-facilitator is a game-changer! A producer can lend a hand with various tasks, allowing you to focus on delivering course content. Picture this: a producer can kick off with an engaging icebreaker, tackle any tech glitches that pop up, jump in if your connection decides to play hard-to-get, manage slides, run poll questions, and keep an eye on other visual aids.
Now, you might face some pushback from management about bringing on a producer for your virtual classroom courses. But fear not! Here are eight solid benefits to help sway them on why having a producer is totally worth it:
1. Troubleshooter
A producer can deal with a participant’s technical issues behind the scenes while the facilitator keeps the flow of the course moving forward. If you were on your own, you’d have to stop the course and help the learner, which would delay the class and limit learning time.
2. Save the Day Hero
When you teach virtually, the time will come when you’re conducting a class and suddenly you lose your audio and/or internet connection. When this happens, your class comes to a complete stop and people must wait until you re-connect before learning can continue. Having a producer in class means they can step in seamlessly and teach the class until you get back online—the “Save the Day Hero.”
3. Time Management Master
Virtual sessions often have tight schedules and packed agendas. Producers excel in the art of time management, keeping sessions on track, cueing transitions between topics or activities, and ensuring all agenda items are covered within the allocated timeframe, all without compromising quality or engagement.
4. Engagement Enhancer
Keeping participants engaged in a virtual setting can be a challenge. Producers rise to the occasion by incorporating interactive polls, quizzes, breakout discussions, and other engaging activities throughout the session, transforming passive listeners into active participants. If your chosen software has an engagement tracker, your producer can keep an eye on it and let the facilitator know if it appears the attention of the group has waned.
5. Question Watcher
While you’re busy presenting content, the producer can keep an eye on the chat pod for questions that may arise while you’re teaching. The producer can then choose how they want to proceed with the question. If it’s something as simple as a participant asking for a page number in the accompanying reading materials, the producer can quickly answer them in the chat pod. If the question is more content-focused and a bit beyond their depth, the producer can copy the question with the name of the participant who asked and place it in the Parking Lot for the facilitator to reference and answer later.
6. Breakout Room Facilitator
Your producer can assist in putting your learners into virtual breakout rooms, and help you monitor them to make sure everyone stays on task during an activity. This can be especially helpful when you have a large group—it’s impossible to manage multiple break out rooms by yourself!
7. New Facilitator Trainer
Facilitators-in-training can observe an experienced facilitator from behind the scenes, which allows them to gain mastery of the content, experience the “inner workings” of the course, and observe the types of questions and responses they can expect to get from participants. Additionally, this can allow the new facilitator to get more comfortable with the software and other tech aspects before running the show themselves.
8. Co-Facilitator
Depending on the length of your virtual classes, it’s nice to give yourself and your participants an audio break from listening to your voice all the time. While your producer is talking, you can take a sip of water and rest your pipes! You can also incorporate some back-and-forth banter or demonstrate examples of conversations between managers and employees while reading a script.
Enroll in our Instructional Design for the Virtual Trainer workshop to learn more about the value of having a producer in your virtual classrooms. Plus, you’ll find out what producer-related questions to ask when determining project constraints.
This article was first published January 23, 2017
One Response to “8 Benefits of Having a Producer in your Virtual Classroom Training”
I am a production engineer, and I started being an instructor in production 2 months ago. In my first class, I felt scared because I didn’t know how to start but, just now with some learning, my skill was improved.