The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
CASE STUDIES How could trainers walk the floors at the same time we offered extended classes, without additional resources? Leveraging some clever classroom management software called CrossTec SchoolVue, we found a way to do two things at once. At its heart, SchoolVue lets the trainer watch all the students’ screens as they work through lessons. The trainer also can share her screen directly on the students’ computers, or even share a particular student’s computer screen to teach by example. To help students stay on task, the trainer can also block student access to the Internet and other applications. Before class, SchoolVue helps trainers reboot the machines, log them in and start applications. We even extended SchoolVue’s capabilities with scripts for opening documents and for resetting the machines after class. Ultimately, for our students in extended training, we set up a virtual classroom containing a few machines from each office. Most attended this virtual class by sitting at a workstation in a physical classroom, but some students in smaller offices connected to remote student machines from their desks. Each trainer typically taught only one of the virtual classes every other week, so the trainer’s important floor support effort was minimally interrupted. At the same time, this strategy allowed us to provide seven extended classes each Thursday and Friday on rotating topics like MacPac templates, DocXtools, Excel and PowerPoint. This setting also enabled the use of an improved learning strategy. Lessons followed this format: “I’m going to show you, and then you are going to try it.” To show students, the trainer took control of their screens using SchoolVue and demonstrated the lesson. Then the trainer relinquished control for the students to try it. While the students practiced with the help of a workbook, the trainer watched their screens and helped anyone who needed assistance. FACING THE CULTURAL CHALLENGE Picture yourself in our trainers’ shoes. Each week, you face rooms full of students who want to hurry. Many want the “fast demo” approach, but you have been asked to control the pace: to show the students and then ask them (even the attorneys) to try it. On top of this, you have been asked to use new training software while conducting your class. You now must remember when to display your screen and when to release control, and then somehow watch many small screens simultaneously to detect anyone who needs 44 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer “We thrived on these positive comments and learned from many of the negative ones.” assistance. And, after many years of teaching only the people in your office, you have been asked to start training people in other offices, whose faces you can’t see and whose personalities you don’t know. This made our trainers more than a tad apprehensive. Now, picture yourself in our students’ shoes. You arrive for some extended training and no one is in the room. You discover your familiar trainer isn’t there. Instead, a faceless stranger in another office is going to teach you paragraph numbering. You might feel uncomfortable. At first, many of our students did. For a while, I heard objections almost daily. The training management group reevaluated the choices, but we arrived at the same conclusion: given our situation, these tools and strategies worked best for the firm’s needs, even if some people didn’t realize it yet. So, we focused on refining the system. For example, video conferencing (to allow faces to be seen) proved impractical, but we alleviated some apprehension by adding greeters who helped students get situated, introduced them to the remote trainer and then left when class started. When we began the upgrade pilot, trainers struggled to integrate the new strategies into their classrooms. They all had challenges using SchoolVue, and SchoolVue itself had technical issues that required attention. In addition, although essentials classes were full, few students were attending the extended training. When the pilot ended, we asked for feedback. “The combination of being told how to do things and then performing practice exercises was very helpful,” a Washington, D.C. secretary wrote. The report from a Dallas feedback group session noted, “SchoolVue was universally well liked for a variety of reasons. All thought it was a good tool.” An extended class evaluation read, “I was hesitant about taking a class via conference call, but had nothing to worry about . . . excellent instructor and information.” And everyone, to a person, liked the floor support. We thrived on these positive comments and learned from many of the negative ones. At this point, near the end of the rollout to 2,000 users, the positive feedback has stacked up, and hundreds have attended our follow- up extended training. We don’t have every training issue solved — many steps lie ahead as we continue to improve — but the Fulbright training team’s work on Office 2007 has transformed our future. Training will never be the same. ILTA