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Paula Colwell and Dean Landry September 26 th , 2008 – San José, CA

The Virtual Armchair: Innovative, Informative and Interactive. Paula Colwell and Dean Landry September 26 th , 2008 – San José, CA. We are:. Paula Colwell Blended Learning and Development Specialist Dean Landry Armchair Discussion Program Manager. Background – Armchair Discussions.

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Paula Colwell and Dean Landry September 26 th , 2008 – San José, CA

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  1. The Virtual Armchair: Innovative, Informative and Interactive Paula Colwell and Dean Landry September 26th, 2008 – San José, CA

  2. We are: • Paula Colwell • Blended Learning and Development Specialist • Dean Landry • Armchair Discussion Program Manager

  3. Background – Armchair Discussions • Weekly Armchair Discussions • For all Canadian public servants • Opportunity to interact with professionals and academics • Network with colleagues and fellow public servants across departments • Have been offered for last 15 years as an “in-person” event

  4. Why Webcasting? • Increase accessibility • Public servants working in regional offices • Other government departments • Offer access from work station within National Capital Region • Increase number of participants

  5. Our Selection Criteria for Vendor • Product with strong track record • Available in both official languages (English and French) • Easily accessible by users both within and outside of Canada School of Public Service • Good support • Available to test a “proof of concept” without a lengthy procurement process

  6. Getting Started • August 2007 • Bandwidth test • Security issues • Dry run on location • Train A/V staff *

  7. Behindthe Scenes • Conference and Special Events developed promotional campaigns * • Worked with registration to include webcast choice for participants when registering • Support • Training

  8. *

  9. Showtime! Sept 6 07 First live webcast

  10. ParticipantFeedback Supportive: “…Thanks so much for thinking about us in the regions.” “… I think this is a great initiative, really wonderful for engaging the regions and also for reducing our transportation burden within Ottawa, as well as making it easier to fit into our schedules” Mixed Feelings “Yes, I did experience some problems but with something new we have to expect bumps along the way” “… During the web cast the video froze for a few minutes and then I lost the audio for about 5 minutes… Other than that, the technology was really neat and the ability to participate in the Q&A session is a wonderful feature.” Impeding “The sound quality was so poor that I had to abandon the conference” “… There were no instructions on how to troubleshoot...”

  11. Ongoing • Resolved technical issues identified by participants • Provided demos for participants prior to webcast • Offered webcast on a weekly basis

  12. 2007-2008 Session Statistics • Over 50 webcasts • Over 2,500 participants • Average of 50 participants per session (30-130 range depending on popularity of event) • Stayed on-line for average of 50 minutes • Increase of 114 per cent participation!

  13. On the Road • Webcast from 3 different regional offices • Increased regional involvement • Technical set-up

  14. Overall Success • Increased regional participation • Increased visibility • Able to recycle past broadcasts • Adoption of methodology by other groups within the Canada School of Public Service • Greener approach

  15. Challenges • Technical problems • Human error • Interface

  16. Crossroads • Stay with current provider OR • Look to improve based on feedback from participants and staff

  17. New Lobby Page

  18. New Interface

  19. Lessons Learned • Expect technical difficulties (bumps along the way) • Match product to needs of participants • If possible, have team of people: • to administer and host sessions • troubleshoot with participants • provide demos

  20. Next Steps • Over 50 Armchairs planned for coming year • Archives accessible on website and iTunes • Explore integration with ILMS • Explore using webcast as part of blended learning products • International

  21. QUESTIONS

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