When it comes to designing and facilitating Virtual Classrooms, there are a couple of easy things you can do to create an easy and accessible learning experience for your participants.

Here is our list of 5 simple, practical tips to ensuring a smooth Virtual Classroom experience:

1. Make sure you’re comfortable with the technology you’re using.If you haven’t facilitated a Virtual Classroom in Zoom, MS Teams etc, run a few pilot sessions with friends or colleagues first. Participants feel much more relaxed when the facilitator is comfortable with launching breakout rooms and setting up activities. 
2. Prepare a leader guide for the facilitator to refer to if needed during the Virtual Classroom.This is simply an outline of the topics of discussion and range of activities you want to facilitate and will help you stay on track and on schedule. 
3. Experience a Virtual Classroom as a participant prior to facilitating one.This will allow you to get a sense of what it’s like, and become familiar with any issues or concerns learners may have in a live online environment. 
4. Always run a ‘Tech Check’ at the start of your Virtual Classroom (or better yet, in advance of it).This will allow you to make sure participants have their devices and applications ready to go before the learning begins. 
5. Keep a consistent scheduling structure and flow.If you have several Virtual Classrooms in your programme, make sure they run at the same time, on the same day of the week. This makes it easy for your learners to remember when the sessions are, and when they need to complete any pre-work.