Tips and Strategies for Enhancing Remote Learning: Lessons from SCALE’s Online Capacity Strengthening Efforts

The initiative, funded by USAID's Office of Food for Peace and implemented by Mercy Corps in collaboration with Save the Children, aimed to enhance the impact, sustainability, and scalability of FFP-funded agriculture, natural resource management, and off-farm livelihood activities in emergency and development contexts. Since online training requires long stretches of screen time and more self-guided learning, participants can become easily lost in the material or fatigued. To enhance participants' ability to absorb the content and successfully complete training, facilitators can consider a lighter agenda and shorter training. This can be achieved by sending short training videos ahead of time for participants to review or planning follow-up online lessons to cover additional topics. Regular breaks are also essential to increase energy levels and attention spans. Facilitators can budget time for regular breaks, even short two-minute breaks for participants to stand up, stretch, and step outside. Additionally, building flexibility into training modules and extending the amount of time between sessions can help increase participation. Some participants in SCALE trainings noted they were unable to keep up with the pace of the training due to limited internet access and competing priorities. To encourage and maintain participant engagement, remote facilitators can use breakout rooms or offer "office hours" for one-on-one or small group coaching outside of the training. For hybrid training approaches, having several dedicated co-facilitators in the training room can help manage activities, organize ice breakers, and provide daily feedback to the remote facilitators on the pulse of the training and informal feedback from participants. Tips for boosting participation include offering incentives, such as add-on certificates or a private lesson with the trainers, for completing key lessons. Extending deadlines when necessary to accommodate participants' schedules and heavy content can also be beneficial. Setting up challenges and competitions with participants can help keep them engaged and motivated. Dedicating a full day of preparation with the in-person and remote co-facilitators may also help improve flow and logistics. Starting with a round of introductions, ice breakers, and/or check-ins can build familiarity and connection within the group. Emphasizing group work, field experiences, and hands-on activities wherever possible can also be effective. Practical activities were the most useful, according to participant feedback from SCALE's training. Intentional engagement by the trainers is crucial for encouraging participation. Responding to participants' questions and concerns, providing positive reinforcement, and validating and encouraging participants as they go through the lessons are all important strategies for keeping participants engaged. While on camera, facilitators should stand and use body language to keep participants engaged. Don't wait until the end of a training to gather feedback. More frequent evaluations allow the training team to read the room in real-time and adjust their approach to meet participant needs. Quick ways to gather participant feedback throughout a session include using polling functions, platforms such as Mentimeter, reaction buttons, and the chat box. When engaging non-English speaking participants, reducing the amount of text on the slides and slowing the presenter's pace can help participants read and absorb both the subtitles and the slide text. This is critical to retaining their engagement. The choice of learning platform will vary based on cost, needs, and size of the group. However, there are a few important logistical matters to consider regardless of what platform you choose. Ensure adequate interpretation and sound to improve two-way communication between participants and facilitators. Use collaborative tools such as Google Docs, Miro, and Jamboard for online group exercises so that facilitators can view group work and provide real-time feedback to the participants via comments during these lessons. Develop PowerPoint slides to provide visual references for learners who prefer reading content over hearing it and share these ahead of the session. Self-guided learning using pre-recorded lessons can be a great hedge against power outages and allows participants to revisit content post-training as refreshers. Pre-record role-play scenarios and participatory activity videos to demonstrate key skills being taught during virtual sessions. Online training means that each session is recorded and available to participants afterwards, allowing for easier refresher learning, remote support, and cascading of training to others. Providing training content online opens up access to more participants, which can be an opportunity to foster cross-sectoral learning. Having a plan for learning both before and after online training is critical, since it can be harder for participants to follow along in a virtual setting. Mix up activities for different learner types and to keep sessions fresh. Reflection questions, photo/video activities, and knowledge checks can be effective ways to engage participants. A facilitator's checklist can help ensure that the training platform and approach allow easy access for participation, and that participants with limited bandwidth have alternative ways to participate in the course.