Webinars - what about them?

Did I watch all 3 hours of webinars? No. Only partially.

Would I watch them if I actually were interested in the content? Definitely yes.

And this is why I feel like webinars are awesome. You get to see the content you want in the comfortability of your home. But there have to be very specific conditions for webinars to take place. I feel like they are the last resort if you don’t want to spend money travelling or if you don’t have the time to. Because this is what a webinar does best – connect people unable to attend a physical learning class, and enable them to actually experience learning in a very cost effective way.

The challenges are huge, attending one as a student and especially as a teacher. If it ever crosses your mind that it is easier learning online, you’re wrong. It requires a lot of motivation to concentrate and a very established peace of mind. Because either the topic has to be highly engaging or the students have to be highly engaged in order to not lose track when the subject is boring. Even though it is true that you can still go back and rewatch it when the webinar is done and saved, and it is so flexible you can even pause it if your baby is crying or you feel like taking a break. After all, more frequent breaks are something we could all use in a physical class, and you can even grab a cup of coffee to maintain your alertness during a webinar ;)

Back to challenges – from the perspective of the teacher, I would mention that a lot of preparation is demanded to be done, as it is necessary to have good knowledge in technology to undertake the right steps and use the proper tools to create the webinar, like audience polls, Q&A chat functions, and whiteboards and to later work with them virtually as the students contribute. Even though there is no special equipment needed, which would count as a positive aspect, there can be incompatible system configurations and other downsides like the fact that a bad internet connection means distortion and delay, so both parties have to be well set in order for it to work. So a good internet speed is the real deal. There is also a lack of one on one interaction with the students, so you don’t really get to know them, and the other way around, unless the webinars are rare and you see them other times in class. Knowing them means you feel when something need to be explained otherwise because you see that in their eyes – and other limitations.

A good thing about webinars is that the teacher doesn’t have to worry about motivating students. It it is taken for granted that they want to be there and want to learn, unlike the physical class where if you’re not interesting, there are going to be students disrupting the learning process, and a good amount of time may go to waste. With webinars and you can also have an unlimited amount of audience to attend since it is online, and there is A LOT of space in the web.

So after all, even though I re-state it – webinars are awesome – I wouldn’t choose this method for students that can easily travel to class, as long as I am aware of the all possible pitfalls. I’d use it if my teacher was in the US or I were in Japan, but not close to. And it is method you can only use if all of your students agree to. So it is not all up to you.

[θæŋk jʊ fə ˈriːdɪŋ, lɛt ðə ˈkɒmɛnts fləʊ, ɔː nɒt]