How covid 19 sparked PCW online group engagement

Covid 19 was a massive disrupted for everyone and especially for those who relied on running live events. It was at times like waking up in a science fiction movie and created a host of frustrations. That said it also sparked a whole new way of working online. When covid first started I cancelled a huge number of live events across the globe and had to do a total rethink of what to do next. This lead to running events online and really paying attention to how to make best use of this very different learning environment.

The transition from live to online engagement and CPD

I’ve been running live trainings for decades and typically would opt for a 2 – 3 day course. Running such events requires a lot of time and energy and typically I’d run 8 – 10 events a year across the globe. When running events overseas I have to factor in working with different time zones and travel times. Some trainings require up to 26 hours travelling from door to door and then there can be a time difference of up to eight hours. I have learned to allow for jet lag in such situations and have a minimum of three days, before presenting! Typically I’d run an event and then the next one would be the following year. This means 300+ days in between events…

I settled on organising monthly trainings online on zoom over a one year period. This was a leap in the dark as most online events would be introductory events and a couple of hours at most. Online events give the opportunity for continual preofessional development and allow much more time for integration and skills development. Its a totally different environment for learning and means a total rethink about how to use the online medium.

The benefits of online engagement

The first one year online course was a total experiment with surprising results. Firstly a much longer training period allows for more skills integration and discussion. Secondly, there is a convenience of being able to click a button and work online across many time zones. No need for travel, booking hotels, figuring out food options and other considerations. Of course the trade off is the lack of live 3D engagement.

The results were really quite spectacular. The first one year training had participation from 16 different countries and it soon became clear that this is a very different dynamic. I was hugely impressed by how supportive people were of each other and the enthusiasm for maintaining momentum over a much longer period of time. We would start at 10am on a Saturday and conclude around 2.30 or 3pm with short breaks. Each training section would be no longer than 90 minutes to allow for maximum focus. I was so blown away by the initial training that I set up and ran further ongoing one year courses both for an international community as well as specifically for Japan and Spain.

Expanding the online approach

This October I’m running a new PCW generation three training that expands what we have done to date. The group will include previous PCW online attendees as well as new attendees. The key is to to bring together the benefits and experience of both groups to make for another really dynamic learning experience.