Everything was set up by Wednesday evening, 1 April for FireWare's first ever online evening exercise session. The trial run was performed in our Wieringerwerf studio, which was fitted out specifically for this purpose and the session was conducted for the North-Holland North Safety Region and dealt with gas meters. We share our initial findings.
The objective of the first session was primarily to share information. At present many emergency response bodies are struggling to keep their skills levels up to scratch, and we're certain that our initiative will also help others when it comes to making choices and balancing considerations. Meanwhile, we're also certain that there will be many ideas and tips they wish to share with us! It's too soon to be able to share all the results and considerations that arose from the course, so at present we will just be discussing the findings that emerged from the various roles played.
The points of departure of our trial run:
'If you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with something original,' said Sir Ken Robinson, a quote that has been mounted in one of the FireWare offices, and one that has never been more apt. We embarked on our evening course with the simple idea of seeing what would happen. By embracing imperfection, we are giving ourselves the space to learn – and that can only have positive outcomes!
What we did:
- We started an evening exercise session with a pilot group of 18 participants
- Our point of departure was to achieve the maximum degree of interactivity
- We based the session on an existing course on multi-gas meters and used an existing PowerPoint presentation
- The course lecturer tried, insofar as was possible, to stick as close to a standard evening session
- One technician was on set in order to operate the cameras and monitor lighting and sound
- One moderator was present to operate the software, in this case Zoom
- The transfer of knowledge was one of the objectives of the evening, while the point of departure was to gain experience in providing courses through this medium and learning from it
- We will be introducing the necessary modifications using the input received from the session. Next Monday we are ready to launch an improved version on a wider scale
- We are sharing our experiences so that other emergency response bodies can also gain from our experiment – this is part of a learning curve for us too
The role of the instructor
For the instructor the jump between teaching to a class and teaching to a camera is a very big one. The level of interaction is completely different, with that "feeling" being absent. An existing PowerPoint presentation and an existing course was used for the evening session to see how close we could come to approximating that "classroom feeling".
The first thing one notices is how different the sound is – you don't hear the participants unless they really speak up or ask a question. All the asides, comments and little jokes are absent. The entire set-up is very clean. This fact also makes it difficult for the instructor to make a joke or an aside, and the lack of interaction can create an uncomfortable feeling. However, this is something we will all get used to.
An automatic consequence of that lack of interaction is that the instructor automatically talks for an extended period. This is all the more true because we used a PowerPoint presentation that was created for a traditional class. This means that course preparations will have to be modified, and we will have to give closer consideration to the details that must be shown and increase the number of images shown. Being engaged on a practical level is enormously beneficial in courses and it also keeps them more interesting. The moderator also plays an important role in this respect, properly timing questions from the course participants and ensuring they are asked at the right time. The participants use the chat function and can turn on their microphones for this purpose.
What proved to be a setback at first was dealing with the cameras, although this aspect improved continuously during the training session. It's no disaster if the lecturer is not looking straight at the camera every time, and the occasional mishap is fine – after all, you are not going to look everybody directly in the eye when giving a physical lecture, but when teaching online it must be taken into account. Looking straight into the camera at the right time means that your message is transmitted more intensively. This will require practice, but we have the time for that.
In summary, lecturing to camera is not the same as lecturing to a class. This approach to virtual teaching is certainly not bad and is a great starting point, but being aware of the differences and modifying your courses accordingly will mean much improved lessons. In the months to come we will once again have plenty of time to work on this. And never underestimate the benefits of rehearsing.
The role of the course participant:
Much is different for the students too – instead of a sociable gathering for an evening course everybody is now at home, staring at a webcam and listening in with headphones or speakers.
A notable aspect of the session was how incredibly disciplined the participants were. Microphones were all muted and the chat function was properly used to ask questions. It was positive in all respects. The supporting role played by the moderator was also very important. It is to a large degree the students who determine how an interactive session or evening course goes, and they too must ask questions, make comments and share information in a different way. It is crucial that this be preserved.
The role of the moderator
The moderator is the person who operates the conferencing software and ensures that all the technical aspects of the evening run smoothly. For our trial run we opted to use a separate moderator.
He or she monitors the events. For example, is every participant's microphone switched on? The moderator watches out for incoming questions on the chat function and passes them on to the instructor. Simple technical issues and questions about the software can also be solved by the moderator without disrupting the lesson.
It is very difficult for the instructor to simultaneously check incoming questions on the chat function, which is why the moderator is so important and is able to provide real support to the instructor. Points for attention that the moderator learned from this session are to better control the video stream and to turn off their own webcam. The moderator will also change their screen name next time from their own name to “moderator”.
The role of the technician
In this trial run we opted for a multi-camera recording. A large proportion of the way in which we communicate is non-verbal, and a multi-camera setup allows for the instructor's nonverbal communication to be better shown. It also provides the opportunity to use the right emphasis at the right time – when to show a PowerPoint slide, when to show the gas meter itself and when to show the instructor, and what part of the instructor? And when should you combine two or all of these views?
We have learned that it is very difficult without a great deal of rehearsal. When the point-of-view is switched between different cameras at the right time, the entire process runs smoothly, but when the timing is wrong then the picture is off and it actually distracts the viewers. We must continue to work on this. Using pre-recorded snippets also helps. The entire process will require much attention, including many rehearsals.
One big positive was the large screen before the instructor, which allowed him to see the video streams of all the participants. It meant that he still had a bit of a feeling of teaching a class. The use of a separate speaker that allowed audio from the participants to be fed back to the studio in a very focussed manner also worked well.
The next step
The recordings of last Wednesday's session were watched from the perspective of the various roles. Knowledge was well-transmitted from the instructor to the course participants, which is very positive, particularly in view of the restrictions we are all currently facing.
But the biggest surprise was maybe what all the involved people – the instructor, moderator and technician alike – managed to learn. By watching the recordings with a critical eye and openly talking with each other, both the lessons and the way they are transmitted are seen in a new light (literally and figuratively). This fact means that there is space for reflection. We are convinced that when everything has returned to normal once again we will certainly be able to use these lessons in that "normal" world.
