{"id":625,"date":"2021-05-01T09:02:31","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T07:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/?p=625"},"modified":"2026-05-12T02:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T00:01:34","slug":"training-and-learning-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/?p=625","title":{"rendered":"Training and Learning at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.”<\/em><\/strong> – B.B. King (1925-2015, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The COVID-19\npandemic has resulted in unprecedented teleworking, including banks that used\nto disallow this for security reasons. In-person staff development training programme\ncame to a halt for a while, then picked up virtually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff development training is still arguably necessary in today’s world because competitiveness and changes are our society’s norms. Therefore, employers should continue providing this even during a lockdown or when their employees work from home. Governments in developed nations subsidise and consider such expense tax-deductible, which is an additional enticement. Though online training may not be cheaper as companies expect and more manageable as learners or participants like it to be, it is worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online training requires at least as much effort and time, and sometimes even more. Trainers need to buy or update their equipment, adjust their practices and style, and deal with disturbances from students’ family situations and technological hiccups. I have heard stories of participants cooking, texting, and feeding cats while on language training. It’s not the moment to multitask! I must admit that I cut my nails and did aerobics during boring webinars <\/strong>that did not allow participants to ask questions (guilty as charged!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual\ntraining can mirror only some face-to-face interactions (i.e. trainers going\naround the classroom and having water cooler conversation during breaks are\nimpossible to reproduce). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can teleworkers make the most of their online staff development training?<\/strong> My answer is WALPAH:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

W –     Working\ntechnology – A (hu) “man is only as good as his tools” is especially\ntrue when you are training online: high-speed internet connection, a computer\nor modern laptop, camera, microphone headset, mouse, etc. (Do you say “I’ve two mouses or two\nmice? I.T. specialists seem to prefer the former, but the latter is correct,\neven if this sounds like you’ve pets instead of handheld devices on a flat\nsurface in front of your computer).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A –      Avoid absences and late attendance (However, better late than never<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L –      Learning space should be quiet and tidy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P –      Participate\n– ask questions and make comments to the trainer and other participants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A – \n    Adapt your learning style \u2013 take\nnotes, listen to everyone, read shared messages, and discuss personal views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H –     Have fun \u2013 smile, share appropriate jokes\nand anecdotes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about trainers’ best practice?<\/strong> (I couldn’t come up with an acronym; perhaps you can help me with this).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Know and\nprepare your technology – Ensure a stable Internet connection, clean monitor,\nworking camera and microphone, and mobile and laptop ready on the side in case\nthe main computer fails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Conduct\nthe training in a quiet, disturbance-free and professional-looking environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Choose a\nplatform that allows for interactivity \u2013 Use whiteboard annotations, chat and\nbreakout groups (dividing learners into small groups of two or three). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Start\nthe training by welcoming the participants, then providing them with a clear\nunderstanding of the session’s scope and content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.\nMeaningful experience \u2013 Call participants by their names. When the training is\nfinished, encourage them to share contact information and continue improving\ntheir knowledge and skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Involve everyone\nthroughout the training by prompting them to ask questions and share anecdotes\nand knowledge related to the activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Stick to\nthe schedule \u2013 Your participants are professionals who have work and family\ncommitments; therefore, start and end the session on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head.”<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>– <\/em>Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790, stateman – helped draft the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” – B.B. King (1925-2015, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer). The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented teleworking, including banks that used to disallow this for security reasons. In-person staff development training programme came to a halt for a while, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-social-development"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=625"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":629,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions\/629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roladesocietalblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}