The challenge: ensure quality training despite the distance

In early 2020, Hubert was preparing a training course for one of his clients to be given to a team of trainers to teach them about new so-called agile working methods specific to Design Thinking. To do this, he used the Klaxoon Board to map out a training pathway, and as a visual aid to improve learners’ understanding and concentration.

 However, it was quite a challenge:

• Train 7 people, who don't know each other,
• Gather these 7 people together, using a tool they’ve never used before,
• Train them remotely, while the training session was initially designed to be followed face-to-face.
• Find a way to make the training session as interactive and fun as possible: this is what drives all good training!

Hubert decided to rethink his training course so it was fully compatible with working from home.

The solution: a training course designed on a Klaxoon Board from A to Z

Creating the Board

The first step was to recreate the Board.

First of all, Hubert decided to create a single Board, which would be used for every stage of the training. At the end of the training session, the entire Board would be available to learners, who would be able to consult it again later. All the information sent to it would be centralized in the same shared space.

The layout was very simple:

• At the top, a presentation of the main goal of the training
• In the middle, details about how the training will work remotely, and a schedule for the two half-day training sessions on Klaxoon
• On the right, information about the 7 learners
• On the left, a more detailed description of the training course being followed

Hubert shared his Board in a Network. This is a collaborative workspace created directly in Klaxoon, which can be used to share different documents and activities with people in the same team quickly and easily. The trainer can share their Board and various documents too. These help learners to learn more about the training course, and they can consult these documents before they even start the training.

How the training works

The actual training session started with an icebreaker. Learners were invited to place their photo on a map of France and introduce themselves. This was an opportunity for them to say what they hoped to get out of the training. It was also a very good way for them to familiarize themselves with how Klaxoon Board works. They could move their photo, post ideas, be invited to react to the ideas of others etc.

In a few minutes, the ice was broken and everyone was on board. Now they could see just how easy it is to use Board.

For the rest of the distance learning, Hubert focused on the genuine needs of the learners. To do this, each of them produced an idea on the Board, which represented user stories. These were the actual goals of the learners that would be used as a case study to teach them about agile methods in project management - something they knew nothing about.

The next step was planning poker split into subgroups. This is an agile method used in project management to determine the workload for a project when working as a team. It‘s an excellent way to improve teamwork and look at several different scenarios.

For this distance learning session, this technique was perfect. Not only did learners consider different scenarios together based on the user stories that really interested them in their projects, but they also discovered an Agile technique for project management. Using the genuine needs of the learners and encouraging them to find a solution for their needs with the help of a new technique was an added bonus!

The next steps consisted of introducing the team to other agile techniques such as the Kanban method or the Retrospective. For each workshop, Hubert picks a ready-to-use Board template and teaches learners to use these tools, which are completely new to them, using genuine issues and needs.

Hubert has scheduled every aspect of both training sessions, but the team being trained can't see everything yet. He has hidden various steps of the distance learning using images which are revealed gradually. In addition, he also uses the Syncro feature to take control of what the learners can see and guide them throughout the training course.

What was the outcome for this training using Klaxoon?

Using Klaxoon Board proved to be highly effective for Hubert!

“In two half-days, I was able to remotely train a team of people who were not used to working remotely, or even together.”

Here are the top 3 benefits:

1. Thanks to Klaxoon, preparation time is reduced. Preparing for a training course like this takes a long time. With Klaxoon, you can use templates from the library or some others that have been prepared in advance. The outcome: you cut down on the time it takes to prepare your training sessions, workshops and meetings!
2. Distance is no longer a problem at all. Board has numerous features that mean users can interact as they would in a classroom. These features are simple and the interface is so user-friendly that a very short icebreaker, only a few minutes long, is enough to teach the basic features to an entire group.
3. Visual management is what Klaxoon Board is all about. All the information is centralized in a shared workspace, which makes teamwork much easier. This is an advantage of using Board, both face-to face and remotely.

If you too are looking for a collaboration tool to organize workshops, meetings or training sessions, or to use as a connected project management tool, both remotely and face-to-face, look no further than Klaxoon Board!