12 STEPS TO WEBINAR SUCCESS Before
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During What type of session is it?
You have to be clear on what the aim of your webinar is before you start planning it. What level of knowledge do you want your teachers to leave the session with? Is it a presentation, workshop, training session, drop-in session, a meeting or something else?
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Post a set of rules on the whiteboard so participants know what’s going on from the moment they log in.
Get the message across
Most decent online rooms allow you to give and take away certain tools for participants to use during the session. For example, you may want to only allow two microphones to be enabled. This prevents a deluge of audio responses all at once.
Use every way possible to advertise the session. We use Eventbrite which is a free way for participants to sign up to events and allows you to track who has signed up as well as send reminders. On top of this, we use emails, newsletters, our websites, blogs and social media.
You will get questions about the online classroom software throughout the session; have an extra person on hand to answer questions in the chat box.
Prepare and remind your participants Advertising your webinar once is not enough. I recommend you send reminders a week before, a day before and a few minutes before your webinar. On top of this, it makes sense to send your teachers clear instructions on how they access the online room. If possible, ask them to check they can log in a few days before the session.
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Practice run for guest speakers Similarly, if you have a guest speaker for your webinar, give them the chance to do a practice run with the same computer and software they will use on the actual day of the webinar. This can put the guest speaker’s mind at ease as well as highlight any potential issues which can be resolved before the day of the webinar.
Have sound sound Sound is as important as internet connection for webinars. Check your sound with someone else before your give the webinar.
Manage your participants! If you’re giving a webinar with a large number of participants, it’s worth thinking through how you’re going to manage them. Here are some suggestions based on my own experiences of giving webinars:
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Materials Online presentations need to be even more visual than in a face-to-face presentation because you’re not in the room with your participants. Don’t make the whiteboard an e-book to solely be read by you and the participant, you are there to present and explain and the material you use is there to assist you. Make your material professional and where possible use branding. Screensharing is the best way of explaining a new website or platform. If you wish for your participants to continue their training after the webinar, share worksheets with them either during or after the session.
Go slow Speak slower than normal when presenting and when screensharing move slowly between web pages to make sure the participants’ screens can catch up with yours.
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Macmillan Practice Online gets a new look
Launch of the Young Learner portal
The Macmillan Practice Online platform gets a fresh look, more functionality and free teacher access.
Designed especially for teachers of young learners, the portal offers free resources and fun tools for the classroom.