Freelance ID, Instructional Design / July 14, 2023

Instructional Design Strategies for Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT)

Virtual instructor-led training or VILT is exactly what it sounds like. Training led by an instructor in a virtual space. At The Instructional Design Company we design all types of training, including instructor-led courses (more info on those here). But we love the VILT format because it offers the convenience of online learning with the support of a live trainer.

What is VILT?

VILT is live, synchronous learning where both the learner and instructor are present simultaneously. However, in this case, the “same place” refers to a virtual environment. When designing for this virtual environment, we must consider the unique challenges it presents. Unlike in a traditional instructor-led setting, we can’t rely on physical cues like body language or eye contact to gauge engagement.

Adapting to this new dynamic requires thoughtful consideration and innovative approaches.

Facilitating VILT

The most critical factor in a successful virtual learning experience is the instructor. They must ensure that learners stay motivated and engaged using their facilitation style, technology, and well designed instructional materials.

In a virtual instructor-led environment, we utilize tools such as Zoom or Teams, which offer engagement features. However, these tools often have limitations in their capabilities. While we do have the option for some immediate feedback, the methods for obtaining feedback are also restricted.

We may ask participants to share their thoughts in the chat, use emojis, raise their hands, or conduct polls to gather their input. However, this differs from having a dialogue where we can directly address individuals and seek their opinions. In addition, managing distractions becomes more challenging in a virtual instructor-led setting. We may be unaware of these distractions since participants may not have their cameras turned. We can’t always tell if our learners are paying attention or if they are distracted by other tasks, such as checking emails.

This means, our virtual facilitators might be competing with various distractions that pull participants’ attention away from the learning experience.

Engaging Virtual Participants

Engaging participants in a virtual environment necessitates the use of creative instructional design strategies. While we may have fewer options compared to in-person training, we are continuously exploring innovative approaches.

Throughout the past year, I have witnessed the emergence of new and exciting methods, and I eagerly anticipate discovering even more inventive ways to enhance engagement. Now, you may wonder why I am discussing facilitation when our focus is on instructional design.

Let’s take a moment to address this.

As an instructional designer, you are responsible for crafting experiences for facilitators who will lead these sessions. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how to effectively design this learning experience.

Webinars vs VILT Experiences

Webinars and virtual instructor-led learning experiences may seem similar, but they have distinct differences. In a webinar, it is common to have large groups, ranging from 50 to 500 or even a thousand attendees, depending on the platform’s capacity.

Typically, webinars involve one-way interaction, where the instructor or facilitator primarily shares information. While some engagement may occur through chat, it is often challenging for them to address every message due to the volume.

Webinars may cover a broad range of topics or focus on a specific subject, but the level of interaction and engagement varies. Although there are tools available to track participant engagement, the primary goal is not always to maximize engagement.

The purpose and format of a webinar play a significant role in shaping its dynamics, which often resemble a lecture or informational session.

In a virtual instructor-led setting, there is a sense of intimacy and coziness. We gather on platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, where we can see and hear each other. We can engage through chat, ask questions, and even raise our hands to interact. It’s a different, cozier, and more intimate experience compared to traditional instructor-led sessions. Virtual instructor-led sessions often focus on specific topics or skills. Participants engage in discussions, sometimes in breakout rooms, fostering connections among themselves, the instructor, and the content.

Common Causes of Ineffective VILT Experiences

Now, let’s discuss some common causes of ineffective virtual instructor-led training.

Failure to Adapt Content

One major pitfall is attempting to directly transplant an instructor-led learning experience into a virtual setting without proper adaptation.

In a virtual setting, the classroom experience differs significantly.

Adapting to this space requires thoughtful redesign. Consider what engagement looks like, the level of interaction needed, and the pace required to keep virtual learners engaged.

Lack of Interaction

Another challenge is the lack of interaction with learners, a common cause of ineffective virtual training sessions. Merely delivering a lecture without thought-provoking questions or engaging activities can lead to boredom and distraction.

It’s important to remember that the human brain processes information faster than someone can speak. Finding ways to actively involve learners is crucial.

As instructional designers, we strike a balance between delivering information and actively engaging participants. We must gauge how much content individuals can absorb before requiring interactive elements.

Technology Issues

Another reason why virtual instructor-led sessions can be ineffective is due to technology issues. For example, during our last ID Accelerator Summit, we had the privilege of hearing from Marissa Leman, a certified career coach and resume expert who works with our students in our Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator Certificate Program.

As she began speaking, her microphone started to produce garbled sounds, making it extremely difficult to hear her. Despite our patience and hopes for improvement, the audio quality remained poor, leading to disengagement and frustration among participants.

We ultimately had to interrupt the Summit and have Marissa switch out her headset and microphone to ensure that the participants could hear her and actively engage in the session.

Undoubtedly, technology issues like these can significantly impact the overall learning experience.

Poor Visuals

The final example is ineffective visuals. When we refer to ineffective visuals, we are often talking about slides where there is an excessive amount of information displayed on the screen.

Excessive amounts of information can result in cognitive overload. When a bunch of information is displayed at once, it can be overwhelming.

The sheer volume of information can lead to learner shutdown. If you’re designing slides for VILT, check out these best practices for slide design.

Tips to Enhance the Design of VILT

Now, let’s explore some valuable tips for enhancing the design of virtual instructor-led training.

Tip #1

Tip number one is to encourage learners to activate their learning prior to the session. This can be done in a few ways. Often, sending out an email before the session can be effective. For example, “Join us on Wednesday, April 12th, for a session on virtual instructor-led training. Here’s what you’ll be learning.”

By providing this information, you ignite curiosity and anticipation.

Alternatively, you can ask a question such as, “What topics would you find beneficial to learn about virtual instructor-led training?”

To engage participants and stimulate their thoughts prior to the session, consider posing thought-provoking questions. These questions can serve as prompts to encourage reflection and anticipation.

Tip #2

Tip number two is all about promoting high interaction in a virtual instructor-led setting. It’s crucial to engage participants as much as possible without going overboard and causing distractions.

There are various ways to achieve this.

You can encourage chat conversations, ask participants to unmute themselves, and invite them to raise their hand or use their favorite emoji.

Conducting polls, using whiteboards for annotations, and facilitating breakout rooms for discussions, activities, and exercises are effective strategies as well.

Despite the limitations of the virtual environment, it’s important to maximize the available opportunities for engagement.

So, let’s think creatively about how to make the most of this virtual space!

Tip #3

When delivering virtual instructor-led training, it’s important to chunk your content just like you would with in-person training. However, in a virtual setting, you may need to break it down into smaller chunks, perhaps around five minutes each.

After each chunk, engage your learners by asking them to reflect and participate. This doesn’t necessarily mean taking a long break, but rather giving them a moment to absorb the information and interact with you and their peers.

Remember, breaks in virtual training are about pausing the delivery of new content, allowing participants to breathe and engage, before moving on to the next topic.

Tip #4

Let’s move on to tip number four, interaction and engagement. It’s crucial to make the most of the chat feature by encouraging questions.

For example, “Out of the four tips shared so far, which one resonates with you the most? Which one would be the easiest to implement, or have the most impact for you? Feel free to drop your thoughts into the chat.”

These examples demonstrate how to create an experiential learning environment in the virtual space.

Remember to keep things varied and avoid excessive repetition. You want to keep your audience engaged and intrigued. The brain craves novelty, surprises, and new experiences.

Let’s inject some excitement and creativity into the instructional design of our courses!

Tip #5

Let’s move on to our fifth tip. It’s important to schedule breaks during your session to rejuvenate yourself.

Whether it’s a two-hour training or a 90-minute session, make sure to incorporate a break in the middle.

During these breaks, encourage participants to get up, stretch, and move around. This movement sends oxygen to the brain, reenergizing and refocusing them for the remainder of the training.

Hydration is also crucial, so remind everyone to grab a drink of water.

Additionally, vary your on-camera and off-camera presence. You can choose to be on full screen, have a slide up, or even use a split screen like me. This variety keeps the session engaging and dynamic.

Wrapping it Up

The key to designing and developing a successful virtual instructor-led session is to build in interaction and engagement.

By building in points for the facilitator to ask and encourage questions, creating activities for participants to do individually and with others, scheduling breaks, and including facilitator notes to vary their on-camera and off-camera presence, you can ensure that you design learning experiences that keep audiences engaged in the virtual experience.

Keep these tips in mind on your next instructional design project to ensure that you develop virtual instructor-led sessions as effectively and successfully as possible. If you’d like step-by-step support to create your own VILT assets for your instructional design portfolio, check out the Instructional Design and Tech Accelerator System.