written by Nicolás Peña, Learning Content Coordinator
It is undeniable that, for most organizations, online learning has become the new norm. At Spur Change, some components of our program were very dependent on in-person interactions and learnings between small and medium-sized organizations (SMOs), teachers and youth. A year ago, we were just closing our first national conference and planning our upcoming in-person national training for small and medium organizations in March 2020. They would have been implemented in 8 locations across Canada in partnership with provincial and regional Councils for international cooperation.
As a national program, we work closely with our provincial and regional partners to coordinate each step of our in-person national training: selecting training themes, selecting coordinated dates which work locally, managing the registration process, and providing guidelines for consistent data collection about participants for logistics and M&E needs. These are some examples of the complex coordination required while implementing in-person learning events with multiple partners in a decentralized way. Our inclusive and coast-to-coast-to-coast approach, also calls for equitable access to our training sessions. Consequently, travel subsidies are available for participants living outside large cities to participate in person. A subsidization process is in place to allocate these funds as equitably as possible knowing that organizations who need to travel would dedicate significantly more time than urban participants due to travel days. Our training facilitators also travel across provinces and regions to deliver these training opportunities.
On March 13th 2020, when COVID hit in Canada and public health agencies recommended confinement and travel restrictions, the Spur program was in the middle of delivering its national training program across Canada. The facilitators were in-between Halifax and the prairies provinces where they were about to deliver our training sessions in Regina, Winnipeg and Calgary the following days. After coordinating with our implementing partners provincially to cancel the training sessions (communicating with participants, venue rental, hotels, event caterings) and bringing our trainers home safely, we started to reflect on our next steps. How would we pivot our learning opportunities for those who registered? Being forced to move online brought some limitations such as reducing networking opportunities, but also provided advantages in terms of increased accessibility. Rural participants, which represent an important portion of Canadian small and medium organizations, would no longer be disadvantaged: with decent internet access they could now attend, learn, network and share their own experiences at the same cost as any organization. Moreover, Canadian SMOs could now invite their international partners to the same learning opportunities. These are some great wins!
While there isn’t a recipe for success, we had to adapt quickly by modifying our pedagogical approaches to create and deliver effective learning opportunities. Coordination challenges are less predominant with online events, nonetheless, engaging learners online in a participatory manner requires innovative approaches and designs to replace what would have been more natural interactions over lunch or break-time during in-person events.
Since the start of the pandemic, we have tested different learning formats and online engagement activities and are still grappling with key questions such as: How do we continue meaningful connections within the online world? How do we make sure that online learning is adapted to SMOs’ needs while providing a human-centered approach for observation, reflection and action? How might we create an environment that is Zoom-friendly and not Zoom-exhaustive? How do we create accessible and safe online learning spaces?
What follows is an ongoing review of some of our key learnings on maintaining a collaborative, peer-to-peer and experiential learning environment online.
1. Consider changing one-off learning events into a series
Most of our Spur Change learning opportunities are offered for free. As we reflected on how to engage in new ways online, we also remained conscious of not to reinvent the wheel.
As part of our Spur Change program, we learned that, by turning one-time events into a learning series, we could increase the participation of many SMOs, particularly those participating for the first time.
Some key considerations when creating one-time events or learning series include:
2. Manage online learning expectations
A common concern for online learning is identifying the best possible format of our learning opportunities (i.e., time frame, reading material, breakout discussions, etc).
Drop-out rates can be high with online events. Registrants need to be engaged ahead of time to increase their level of participation. One good practice we have found at Spur is to provide future learners with clear and direct information. For instance, when offering asynchronous learning material, we make sure to specify how much time it will require to review, read and digest the information prior to the live session. During our Data Collection Training, we made sure participants had at least a week to review all the information.
Some key elements to keep in mind :
3. Identify your IT capacity well in advance
Upgrading to an online learning experience starts with addressing IT capacity. At Spur Change, we quickly realized that without the logistical burden of in-person training (i.e., booking venue, catering, printing materials etc), distance learning provides ample opportunities balanced with the need to pivot to a new set of skills and technological considerations, in order to enhance the learning experience.
Nonetheless, as the old phrase goes “technology is just a tool and not the goal”, here are some considerations to take into account:
4. Set up friendly reminders:
Certain online platforms such as Eventbrite or Mailchimp provide automatic reminders for your participants. At Spur, we found that sending tailored and friendly email reminders keeps participants engaged, rather than another “automatic message”.
Some key practices to consider:
5. Facilitate small group discussions
At Spur, we have recognized that online group discussions can make a big difference during a learning opportunity. While we cannot chat with our neighbour over Zoom (like we used to do in physical gatherings), it is important to consider how you can facilitate a breakout room in a way that makes participants feel welcome and safe to share their experiences.
As one participant said, “there is nothing more uncomfortable than joining a breakout room without a clear set of instructions”. Here are some our own key learnings:
6. Build safe spaces and strong relationships
Building a safe space requires a clear set of housekeeping rules or ‘operational guidelines’ on what is the space about and why it is important. By focusing on creating a safe environment, learners feel comfortable and welcome, which is especially important in online learning settings.
At Spur, we understood very early in the process that building an online space where others can connect and build upon each other’s practice takes time. Therefore some key practices in developing such a space of reflection, observation and action include:
7. Foster a peer-to-peer (P2P) environment
One key element that has differentiated our programs from others is the peer-to-peer learning structure. P2P learning is understood as learning from each other in informal ways with an emphasis on the collaborative part of the learning process. At Spur Change, we have been able to cultivate a peer-to-peer learning environment by hosting small group discussions, inviting participants to share real-life examples or practices, and creating tailored content that meets their needs.
At Spur, our general practice is to host three different activities where learners can have multiple reflections and interact in various ways. Using this model, SMOs not only learn from each other, but also reflect how their roles are shifting in their own project/program.
Key learnings to consider include:
8. Provide ongoing support
One of the most challenging aspects of online learning is providing ongoing support to our learners. Identifying the right formula to accommodate learners’ future needs is the big quest, apart from providing post-event surveys. Some participants are very engaged, while others are ready to move on to their next activity.
Our role as learning providers is to ensure that our content, technology, and overall outcomes are accessible and sustainable and participants can decide what engagement works best for their needs post-event. Some of our key practices include:
A roadmap towards future learning opportunities
As many organizations continue to rebuild and reinvent themselves in response to COVID-19, there is an opportunity for us at Spur Change to accelerate the thinking on how to best support SMOs through online capacity building learning opportunities. Online learning can’t entirely replace the human interaction and networking opportunities which come with in-person events. That said, at Spur Change we see a value in online learning when designed in a participatory, thoughtful and engaging way.
In the months ahead, as we continue to support SMOS projects/programs, new learning opportunities will be offered to meet their demands. Responsibility and accountability has to be shared across the spectrum.
We will continue to provide learning approaches that are inclusive, transformative and serve as spaces to strengthen the sector’s collective work.