{"id":5358,"date":"2017-08-29T15:28:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T21:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meetingone.eu\/eu-nl\/?p=5358"},"modified":"2018-12-05T13:37:31","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T20:37:31","slug":"online-training-vs-educational-webinar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meetingone.com\/eu-nl\/blog\/online-training-vs-educational-webinar\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Difference between an Online Training & an Educational Webinar?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s an old idiom you don’t hear much anymore: “An embarrassment of riches.” \u00a0When you have a lot of options to choose from and struggle to know where to start, you suffer from the embarrassment of riches. \u00a0That’s what it feels like with online training these days. There’s on-demand, self-paced, or mLearning. \u00a0Or it could be live training, in\u00a0a virtual classroom or educational webinar.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The ready availability of such training opportunities is terrific. \u00a0Workers can learn from their computer or phone anywhere in the world, and enhance their skill base or learn about a new product. \u00a0Can’t argue with that type of opportunity!<\/p>\n

Alas, all is not perfect in paradise. \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

An\u00a0issue has arisen for “live online training.” \u00a0All too often online\u00a0trainings\u00a0and educational webinars are used interchangeably. \u00a0That might not seem like a big deal, but it is.<\/p>\n

An online training and educational webinars\u00a0should<\/em>\u00a0serve different purposes and audiences. \u00a0\"online
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Identifying when you should use a virtual classroom vs. a webinar for instruction can be difficult. \u00a0At MeetingOne, we understand\u00a0this is a challenge. We’ve\u00a0been at this game a long time.<\/p>\n

For years, our\u00a0Customer Support team<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0has trained organizations intending to use virtual rooms for either online event, online training or educational webinar. \u00a0That’s on top of the frequent webinars we help produce and our own\u00a0MeetingOne webinars<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0that educate on various topics related to enhancing the online setting.<\/p>\n

We’ll help you better understand the differences between online training and educational webinars. \u00a0As a\u00a0bonus, we’re going to provide some design tips that will help you build out your virtual rooms to accommodate each type of event best!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Online Training vs. Educational Webinar<\/span><\/h2>\n

So, what really determines when we should lead an online training vs. educational webinar?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two factors: audience and material. \u00a0Dubbing a session either an “Online Training” or “Webinar” sets the basis for learners’ expectations. \u00a0Using these terms willy-nilly can get throw an audience off. \u00a0Consequently, the learning material must align to audience size and expectations.<\/p>\n

Let’s see how they play out in the contexts of an online training or an educational webinar.<\/p>\n

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Online Training<\/span><\/h3>\n

“Training” itself gives the impression the lesson will be “hands-on,” so to speak. \u00a0If you’re going to call it an “Online Training” or suggest “Training” will be involved, the learners attending will expect to participate with a smaller, more intimate class with full access to the instructor.<\/p>\n

\"AdobeThe environment you want is a virtual classroom. \u00a0Virtual classrooms utilize tools like chats, polls, web cams, white boards, and breakout rooms, among others, to get learners participating and responding to the material. \u00a0These features are ideal for driving interactions and instructing on specific topics.<\/p>\n

And that’s what online training is all about. \u00a0Online training in a virtual classroom\u00a0should<\/em>\u00a0be used to lead focused discussions on particular topics.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Topics that are pertinent to those participating. \u00a0Topics that learners can apply to their immediate work. \u00a0Topics where their opinion can hold sway in the conversation.<\/p>\n

Whatever you do, don’t pull people into an “online training” and then talk\u00a0at\u00a0them for two hours. \u00a0…Unless you’re hoping that participants won’t retain a bit of what was discussed \ud83d\ude09 \u00a0Online training should be learning focused and get participants engaged in digestible amounts of time<\/strong>\u00a0(30 mins – 1.5 hours is suggested).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Educational Webinars<\/span><\/h3>\n

“Webinar.” In today’s world, everyone knows that a webinar is an online event that will facilitate an informational session for a large audience. \u00a0People know when registering that it will be educational, and they will likely be just listening. \u00a0One other expectation to keep in mind: Time.<\/p>\n

Webinars can be held internally or externally. \u00a0Their purpose is to reach a large number of people all at once. People typically expect\u00a0webinars to be around an hour. \u00a0These factors impose the “restrictions” on content.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Webinar content should be broad when used externally. \u00a0They can provide basic guidelines for certain practices or thought leadership without being overly instructional. \u00a0Anything “high level” should be thought of in webinar terms. \u00a0And it should be lecture oriented with set engagement features like pre-set polls, file shares, and Q&A.<\/p>\n

\"Live<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s a good example. \u00a0We recently helped put on a webinar called, “Brain-Based Principles for Maximum Retention in Virtual Classrooms<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.” (Go ahead and watch the on-demand webinar.) \u00a0It covers all the bases we just discussed:<\/p>\n