Tag: virtual work

MY VIRTUAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Posted on by Marketing

by Lillian Dickman

 

Growing up, I was a typical student in a traditional learning environment. I sat at a desk in a physical school building, learning from a teacher in a classroom full of other students. This was my norm until my third year of college in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic turned the educational world upside down. The sudden shift from traditional schooling to a virtual environment posed a learning curve for many students, including myself. Amidst the chaos, I adapted and found positivity in this new world of eLearning. As a recent college graduate, here are my lessons learned and key takeaways from the virtual learning experience:

Easily Connect with Others: With eLearning, we connected with course instructors and students without physically meeting. Courses were able to be conducted through virtual meetings where it did not matter where people were located. This made it easier for students to be able to meet with others to get work done from the comfort of home. We could also reach instructors through online chatting at any time rather than scheduling time to visit in-person during specific office hours. Although virtual environments will never quite replace in-person experiences, I learned that it is possible to still connect when physically distant.

Learn Self-Paced: Online courses can be self-paced, and they are designed to be more flexible with your time. In the traditional classroom setting, all students must try to work and follow along at the same pace. Because everyone has different learning styles and schedules, eLearning accommodates for all these variances. Students can either fly through lessons or take more time to digest it. I was an involved and active student on campus, so it was helpful to have the flexibility to progress in certain online classes on my own time. Instead of needing to run across campus to make it to class, I could review class content, re-watch lectures, and complete coursework when I was ready to. Although I had never been able to take courses on my own time prior to COVID-19, the self-paced learning was beneficial because I was able to tailor my course completion timeline to my learning style as well as gain a sense of independence in my education.

Embrace Change: If 2020 taught us anything, it was to be adaptable. While everything was shutting down, we became more open to change around us. After being suddenly sent home from school in the spring of 2020, spending my last year of college constantly battling a pandemic was not how I expected my college years to end. It was a rollercoaster of change or, as many have described it, “unprecedented times,” with no way of knowing what the future held. Despite this, I am grateful that modern technology was still able to bring some normalcy to the world. Universities and schools began offering eLearning services to be able to continue to provide an education to students. Students then embraced this new way of learning as a way of bringing a little consistency back into our lives. Although there was an adjustment period of learning the ins and outs of how remote courses operated, I was able to find positivity and embrace change.

Prepare for Remote Work Environment: Not only were schools pushed to virtual environments, but workplaces were as well. Employees also had to go through the same learning curve with working a job from home. Instead of having people visit your desk to speak with you, coworkers ping you in Microsoft Teams Chat. Rather than sitting in a big conference room for a meeting, you sit on a Zoom call while someone shares their screen for a presentation. COVID-era students were able to prepare for this new way of working by learning the technology and software used to support remote environments while in school. As a student during the pandemic, I regularly used Zoom and Microsoft Teams as my main resources for connecting with teachers and classmates. Young professionals and recent graduates have the upper hand in having the best understanding of these online tools compared to older employees who did not have the same opportunity to study in these virtual spaces while in school. Learning things as simple as how to create and join virtual meetings or knowing how to turn the mute button on and off are things that seem intuitive but still require some training.

Since graduating from college in 2021, I have started my career in a remote environment that still heavily relies on these technologies. I am thankful I had a solid foundation of how to use these tools prior to starting my full-time position. Learning how to efficiently work from home is a skillset that has taught me the significance of both independence and time management. Overall, my biggest takeaway is that technology is an incredibly powerful and crucial tool for not only the academic world but also the corporate world.

CountryIntel Online Distance Learning Solutions: Country Intelligence Group has specific expertise in remote learning services. From curriculum design and development, eLearning, training delivery in all modes, and training/education program management, our team can craft the perfect solution for your needs. CountryIntel can help your organization easily connect with others through eLearning platforms, regardless of physical distance. I have learned through my experience with remote education that no matter how course content is delivered, students are still able to be trained and educated at the same level of excellence. Embrace the changes in today’s cutting-edge course delivery and partner with Country Intelligence Group for optimal results.

 

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CREATING A TEAM IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Posted on by Marketing

by Leezan Omerbell

Our company’s pivot to remote work was mostly seamless when the 2020 pandemic hit. We already implemented digital workplace tools to help manage virtual teams prior to the pandemic, and the leadership team organized efforts in the earlier days of the pandemic which provided a solid foundation to build upon. Therefore, we were ready when the opportunity for growth presented itself.  

Tools:

 First we audited our existing tools. We assessed the tools  capabilities, dependability, and ease of use. To address gaps in our capabilities, we explored which pre-existing tools could be upgraded and which tools needed to be purchased to help better manage our virtual team environment. For example, we needed a project management (PM) tool; however, not all prospective tools fit our business needs or budget. Through our research, we discovered that a simple upgrade to Microsoft 365 provided the team with SharePoint for internal document sharing and Microsoft TEAMS for communication and collaboration. We also discovered that TEAMS offered a PM-like tool called “Tasks by Planner,” sufficient for tracking and managing workloads. Auditing the current capabilities of your company saves the company money and prevents your team from having to train on a completely new product.   

Schedules:

This meeting could have been an e-mail. We have all heard someone say this, type it in a group chat, or share it as a meme. Organizing schedules is no easy task when managing a virtual team. Even when teams are not physically in an office together, you want them to be communicative and collaborative without overburdening employees with too many meetings.  How do you do balance this act? We realized our team functions best if we have a Monday staff meeting and a Friday “weekly topics” meeting. The Monday staff meetings focus on the schedule for the week, the scheduled client meeting, outstanding tasks from last week, and due outs needed before the end of the week. The Monday staff meeting begins with the Program Manager sharing his/her schedule, and then each team member provides their own schedule for the week. The Friday “weekly topics” meeting always starts formally but transitions to a more relaxed environment. In the formal portion, we discuss outstanding taskers or issues of interest across teams. To give each team member the opportunity to lead, communicate, and demonstrate organizational skills, a different individual is chosen to facilitate each of the four Friday “weekly topics” meetings for that month. These individuals are responsible for coordinating end of week topics across functional teams and capturing them on appropriate slides.  

Collaboration: 

This word has been used so much lately. You can find the definition for it easily by doing a quick search, but I would add that you, the management, set the tone for the team and ultimately influence the team’s interactions with one another. Common courtesy is important; use “please” and “thank you” often with your team. Understand your team members’ strengths and blind spots. Most of this knowledge will come with time, but having team members provide a biography combining professional accomplishments and interests, hobbies, and fun facts can provide a jump start. Making the bios accessible to the team allows members to better know one another. Use the information in the weekly meetings to get conversations going. You might have more than one team member who is very good at photography. Start a reading list of books your team members have enjoyed reading. Start a cooking club where they share their favorite recipes. Get to know your team. Be creative and have fun. Managing virtual teams comes with its own set of unique circumstances, but with the right preparation and flexibility in approach, it can add a whole new set of tools to your management arsenal.  

Be Available: This is easy enough, right? Be available for your team if they have questions.  

 

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