For Virtual Convenings and PD

Overview of Virtual PD Pilot System

The 50 State Afterschool Network has expertise and resources across the states to provide virtual professional development to the afterschool workforce. This effort seeks to leverage resources and build infrastructure for both the short- and long-term for the afterschool field. The goal of this Virtual PD Pilot System is to ensure afterschool professionals have opportunities to learn and earn income while programs are not operating, networks need to offer (or coordinate) high-quality virtual professional development quickly.

Guiding Principles for Online Learning for Afterschool Networks

It is our hope that any training being offered to the afterschool field through this National Training Cadre will model and reflect the way we want afterschool staff to interact with the children and youth that they serve. As such, the Virtual PD response group has put together guiding principles as a starting point.

Virtual PD Trainers for Afterschool

Networks can nominate or recommend trainers to provide virtual PD through this online form. View the full list of recommended trainers and their area(s) of expertise at: https://bit.ly/3b4UXGZ

Virtual PD Training Materials and Opportunities

https://bit.ly/2zWNpt1

The Goodman Center: The Webinar on Webinars

To save time and money, more organizations are conducting trainings and meetings online, but most of us have not been taught how to run a successful “webinar.” As a result, these virtual gatherings are often boring, plagued with technical problems, and waste the time they’re supposed to be saving. View the Goodman Center slides from The Webinar on Webinars and learn more about:

• How to keep participants engaged from beginning to end

• The fine details of creating a good online experience

• How to overcome “the loneliness of the long-distance learner”

• How to use your two assets (voices and visuals) to maximum advantage

• What we learned from talk radio that makes webinars better

The Goodman Center also put together a report based on a survey of more than 1,200 public interest professionals about Dialing In, Logging On, Nodding Off: The True Costs of Teleconferences, Videoconferences and Webinars.

Collaborative: Tips To Guide Decisions About Your Event During the Coronavirus

Collaborative’s Events Team put together a blog post focused on event tips to help you navigate this turbulent time, and make a “societally” responsible decision that, under the circumstances, best serves your organization’s mission and goals:

1. Prepare for changes.

2. Know your contracts.

3. Work with your funders and sponsors to see what flexibility they may offer.

4. Consider moving (at least parts of) your event online.

5. If you postpone your event, rebook as soon as possible.

Beth Kanter: How to Facilitate Effective Virtual Meetings

As nonprofits and other organizations are impacted by COVID-19 and need more virtual meeting skills, Beth Kanter shares what she has learned from working remotely since the early 1990s. Her best practices for virtual meetings include:

1. Co-create your team’s rules of engagement or virtual meeting norms

2. Virtual meeting design is more than agenda planning

3. How to avoid technical and time zone scheduling snafus

4. Always do a virtual icebreaker or check-in

5. Create a line for participants to follow

6. Techniques for virtual brainstorming, voting, feedback, and energizers

7. Ways to evaluate and continuously improve virtual meetings

8. Hybrid meetings: mixing virtual and face-to-face participation

9. Send meeting notes that people actually read

Education First: Making the Most of “Going Virtual” in Response to COVID-19

Education First was founded intentionally as a virtual organization more than a decade ago, and has compiled resources for consideration to build your team’s culture and set your staff up to make the most of the virtual environment. Key takeaways include:

1. Establish norms and make sure your teams know them

2. Use your calendars to communicate

3. Use tech to support continued collaboration

4. Don’t compromise on great meeting design

5. Pay close attention to best practices for adult learning

National League of Cities: Virtual Events Playbook

(Draft 4.27.20 - Not for Public Distribution)

NLC has developed a Virtual Events Playbook to provide an overview of NLC's new organization-wide process for virtual events, best practices to utilize when planning and executing virtual events, and some tips and tricks to consider during the process. The playbook is the result of six weeks of intensive research via webinars, demos, articles, and conversations with experts in the field of virtual events.

A growing number of organizations across the country have stopped all in-person meetings, trainings, and events, and wherever possible staff are working remotely in efforts to help prevent virus spread. See sample language regarding these policies:

• Schools Out Washington update around how it will align with public health recommendations.

• Partnership for After-School Education overview about March events, online offerings, and policy for working remotely.

• Heinz Foundation posted a piece about taking these steps as a show of leadership and responsible governance.

Holland & Knight: Temporary Teleworking During COVID-19 Outbreak: Guidelines for U.S. Employers

As the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak continues, many employers are increasingly thinking about what steps they might need or want to take to manage the impact in their workplace, including utilizing temporary telework arrangements. Holland & Knight shared relevant questions employers should consider when determining if teleworking is appropriate, including:

• To what extent is temporary telework appropriate for our employees?

• At what point should we offer or implement temporary telework arrangements?

• How do we adequately monitor temporary telework to ensure performance expectations are met?

• What are the implications of temporary telework for compliance with applicable wage and hour laws?

• What are the options for employees who hold positions that aren’t suitable for telework?

• How will the parameters and expectations for a temporary telework arrangement be communicated to employees?