Training Best Practices:
Synchronous Online Learning: A Firsthand Experience

If you missed the January meeting, you missed the opportunity to witness all sides of a live online training class from two different locations! From the Waltham location, we were able to witness the actual presentation done by Brittany Hudson of New Horizons, who did a very polished presentation on the challenges of the medium.

Our second location, the Boston group, was connected through Centra, a leader in the online meeting industry. The format was such that Brittany had us (Waltham) as live students in the room, and the Boston location as remote attendees. She had her hands full taking questions from both sides of the meeting! In Waltham, our own Andrew Spofford served as floor support for the technically challenged (and those who thought they weren't but...) and in Boston, ADAPT Program Director Peter Ward served as his counterpart.
Later Mark Sawyer of New Horizons did a short instructional segment on Outlook 2003 -- just enough to give a flavor of how online delivery works. In a very short time, students were focused solely on the subject matter. The newness and pain of working within this medium faded away amazingly fast! Made me wish that we used Outlook 2003 where I work!

In several open Q&A sessions, we learned from our peers about their own E-Learning tips and tricks. Then, as the pièce de résistance, Jean Whalen Raymond tried her hand as a first-time online presenter. Kudos to Jean for stepping up to the plate! She shared her impressions as a first-timer and revealed how strange it was to be presenting live to a monitor. But she forged onward with her own unique sense of humor and did an admirable job as a first-timer.

All in all, an excellent meeting for the new user and the old hand as well. It's always refreshing to get the new-user perspective when you have been on the other side for a period of time.

-- Sandy McArthur, The Hanover Insurance Group

About Our Speaker:

Brittany Hudson has been with New Horizons developing training solutions for some of the most well-known companies in America for the past 5 years. Specializing in multi-location and multi-national corporate training has naturally lent itself to growing to her knowledge base to incorporate eLearning resources as part of her training solutions.

Brittany has gained insight and sought guidance from some of the "best of the best" eLearning consultants to bring the most comprehensive eLearning solutions available to her customers and consults on marketing plans for eLearning for maximum utilization and employee satisfaction.