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Webinars

Presenting subject matter to learners in an interesting way that ignites engagement is the essence of teaching. It is especially important in online learning. As discussed in Chapter 10.1007/978-1-4842-6864-3_6, presentations are used by educators to explain a particular subject matter topic to learners while being aesthetically appealing. They also not only organize content into digestible chunks but also guide the learner along a predetermined learning path. With numerous presentation application options available for free and a fee, educators can deliver their content in new and refreshing ways.

The New Meeting Place According to webopedia.com, a webinar, short for web-based seminar, can be defined as "a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the web using video conferencing software." 1 During the Covid-19 pandemic, webinars have quickly become the preferred way for many to safely meet while practicing social distancing. Although many organizations were already using webinars prior to the pandemic, many that were hesitant jumped on the webinar bandwagon. As a result, webinar usage soared. Organizations began using webinars to stay connected with remote employees. Educators began using webinars to connect with learners and deliver course content.

Webinar Advantages
Webinars do not require people to be physically present in the same physical room or location. As long as people have a fast Internet connection, they can attend webinars while being geographically located anywhere in the world. In online learning, webinars can be considered the modern-day college lecture hall or auditorium from traditional learning. Compared to traditional lecture halls or auditoriums, seating is virtual, and attendance is sometimes optional. Webinars occur at designated times. If learners miss a live scheduled webinar, recordings are often made available that can be watched at a more convenient time. In traditional learning, learners would not have this option. In addition to lectures, workshops, and seminars, you can use webinars to enhance learning by providing the following: Many webinar platforms provide accessibility options such as closed captions for learners that might need it. Webinars are an effective way to engage learners with customized content. However, there are some limitations. For instance, many free webinar platforms limit the webinar duration along with the number of attendees. It can also be difficult to keep learners engaged.

Webinar Requirements
Most in-person functions can be modified and conducted via a webinar. Technology advances have made it relatively easy and cost-effective to conduct or participate in webinars from any Internet-connected device. Most laptops and mobile devices already come equipped with cameras and built-in microphones that can be used during a webinar. To ensure good quality video and audio, you might want to use a high-definition (HD) webcam and a lapel microphone. However, one of the main webinar requirements is a fast Internet connection. Without a fast Internet connection, you and your learners can experience delays in video and audio quality which can interfere with the learning experience. Since most webinars occur within a web browser or a webinar platform's mobile app, educators and learners can participate from any Internet-connected device and from any location. All you would need to do is invite your students to the webinar via email via webinar platform or post an announcement in your LMS with the webinar link. Lastly, a clean and well-lighted background is essential. Many webinar platforms such as Zoom provide virtual background options that can help present a more professional webinar experience.

Webinar Delivery Strategies
Like the traditional in-person learning model, webinar platforms provide a medium for teachers and students to see each other in real time in the online learning environment. They also help to maintain some form of socialization. However, many educators struggle with effectively using webinars and their tools to present their materials and engage with their students. Webinar tools allow for more engagement than simply lecturing to your students with presentation slides. To maximize your students' learning experience, it is important to familiarize yourself with the features of your selected webinar platform. For instance, YouTube is a good starting point to gain tips and tricks on using a selected webinar platform. Your students consider you the expert. By not being prepared, you do not want to appear as a novice. Students will quickly tell and become disengaged. To prevent this from occurring, there are some strategies you can use to prepare.

Style and Tone
Before you conduct your first webinar, it is important to determine your webinar style. Your webinar style will greatly influence your students' level of engagement. Will it be a lecture with PowerPoints or more open discussion? What will be your tone? Will it be authoritarian, conversational, or entertaining? Many educators have started modelling their webinars after TED Talks. 2 TED Talks rely heavily on a presenter's message rather than PowerPoint slides. Images are often used to support points rather than PowerPoint slides filled with text and bullet points. The presenter must use tools such as storytelling, humor, voice, body language, and others to keep the viewers engaged. Reviewing several TED Talks is a good idea to see if this style will work for you and your students. Some other alternatives to follow for inspiration include: Polls Everyone loves polls. Students are no different. Webinar platforms such as Zoom provide the ability to create polls that can be displayed during webinars. However, this functionality is only available for paid accounts. Polls can keep your students engaged during the meeting or webinar. For example, before your meeting or webinar begins, you can create simple polls in the Zoom portal meeting management that can be displayed to students to cast their votes on various course topics. Once everyone has voted, you can reveal the results. Based on the poll's results, you and your students can participate in interesting discussions.

Whiteboards
Most webinar platforms provide a whiteboard feature that resembles those found in traditional in-person classrooms. In an online environment, a whiteboard can be used to illustrate difficult concepts. For instance, you could use the whiteboard to show students how to solve a math problem. You could also diagram a process to make it easier for students to understand. It can also be used for brainstorming ideas. Like traditional learning, you could call on a student and allow them to provide the answer on the whiteboard. All of this helps to increase student engagement and positive course outcomes.

Breakout Rooms
In traditional learning, teachers can divide students into groups for group work. Group work supports students not only to work together but also be open to others' points of view. The same concept can be applied within a webinar. For instance, Zoom allows you to either manually or automatically assign students to groups referred to as breakout rooms. Zoom participants can also choose to join a breakout room. These breakout rooms can be created when scheduling a meeting or during the meeting. While in these breakout rooms, they can collaborate on their assignment while you monitor each of the breakout rooms. Once their time is up, you can bring everyone back to the main webinar together for discussion. Breakout rooms can provide opportunities for socialization and interaction that many students and teachers need in a virtual environment. However, in Zoom, breakout rooms are only available for paid plans. Microsoft Teams offers a similar concept.

Questions and Answers (Q&A)
Students like to ask questions, so why not let them? Within your webinar, you can allow students to do so. Many webinar platforms such as Zoom provide a raise hand button that students can click to let you know that they have a question. Once you acknowledge them, you can either ask them to hold the question until the end of the webinar or unmute one student's microphone at a time to speak. You can also encourage students to type their questions in the chatroom. However, you want to make sure that you are monitoring the chat so you do not miss any questions that might arise.

Videos
Sharing a video about your course material in your webinar is another way to connect with students and keep them engaged. You can share a video from your computer or YouTube to help students understand the course material. Be careful not to select a long video. Remember that your students have short attention spans, so keep the video under 2 minutes. You also want to make sure that the video is engaging and provides closed captioning. Since your Internet speed affects the video's playback speed, it is a good practice to test your Internet connection speed with www.speedtest.org before any online meeting and webinar.

Gamification
Regardless of age, everyone loves games. Remember the Angry Birds and Candy Crush craze? Games are fun and relieve stress. They are also educational. Why not keep your students engaged by incorporating games that supplement your lesson into your webinar? You can create games such as Family Feud or Jeopardy by using PowerPoint templates available on the Web. You can also find free games online that can be used during your webinar session. Once you select your games, you can assign your students to teams or have your students play against other students online. Likewise, you can also include digital badges with tools such as www.accredible.com to celebrate your student's success. Some good sources for online games include • American Museum of Natural Historywww.amnh.org/ explore/ology/games Livestreaming When was the last time you watched a Facebook Live event that was recorded with Zoom or another webinar platform? Livestreaming is available on the following social media platforms: • Facebook • LinkedIn • Periscope

• Instagram
Over the past few years, livestreaming has become increasingly popular. What is livestreaming? Livestreaming provides anyone the ability to broadcast their video message using the Internet. Social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and others provide a free option. Livestreaming also saves time by allowing you to reach a wider audience on social media platforms who might not have registered for your webinar.
Webinars can be simultaneously broadcast to multiple social media platforms with the help of livestreaming software. Livestreaming software is available to allow you to livestream your webinars to various social media platforms simultaneously. Prior to livestreaming, you must have social media accounts on your targeted platforms. You also must have your RTMP URL and stream key that are available from your social media platforms. The stream key is generated by each of your social media accounts and is provided to your livestream software for simultaneous broadcasts. Some popular livestream programs include Before using livestreaming software with your webinars, you should decide which social media platforms you will target. Next, you also need to have a computer with a fast processor (i5 or higher) and ample memory (8GB or more) to handle the livestreaming needs. A fast Internet is also a requirement. Likewise, it is a good idea to practice your webinar delivery to correct any issues so that it appears polished.

Webinar Platform Options
Now that you know how you can make your webinars engaging, it is time to select a webinar platform. Many free and paid webinar platforms are available that share some of the core functionality along with providing different features. Let's review a few.

Zoom
Since the Covid-19 pandemic forced closures of schools, businesses, churches, and other businesses, Zoom usage has skyrocketed. At the time of this writing, Zoom offers a free account that will allow up to 100 participants for either a 40-minute time period for three or more participants or unlimited one-to-one meetings (Figure 7-1). It can be used either within a web browser or via their Zoom app which is available in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Most educators and learners are already familiar with Zoom. It is easy to use. For those unfamiliar with it, it does not have a steep learning curve. However, security has been an area of concern. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Zoombombing has become a new normal. According to howtogeek.com, Zoombombing is "when an uninvited person joins a Zoom meeting in an attempt to gain a few cheap laughs at the expense of the participants by providing inappropriate content or comments". 3 As a result of Zoombombing, Zoom has increased its security and suggests that meeting hosts perform the following: • Provide passwords for meetings With Microsoft Teams, everything revolves around a team concept. Before you can schedule a meeting, you must create a team. Once your team is created, you can assign members and invite them to online meetings with audio and video. Microsoft Teams also provides real-time captions based on what is being said in a meeting which is helpful for learners with accessibility needs. However, those captions are not saved once the meeting has ended. Since it is part of Microsoft 365, it offers security to protect your meetings and its materials from potential Zoombombing as experienced in Zoom.

AnyMeeting
Another available webinar option is AnyMeeting. It is a videoconferencing software that is available via a web browser (www.anymeeting.com) or through their app in Apple's App Store or Google Play Store. At the time of this writing, it is free until December 31, 2020, with no meeting time limits (Figure 7-3) and allows access to all pro features. Similar to the other webinar software mentioned, AnyMeeting offers the same functionality. Previously called Google Hangouts, Google Meet is another option. It is operated by Google and requires a Google Account. Like the other options, it offers free and paid plans (Figure 7-4). It also can be used within a web browser, through Gmail, or via its app that can be downloaded from the Apple Play Store or Google Play Store. At the time of this writing, a free account can have a meeting with 100 participants for 60 minutes. Organizations and schools have increased participants along with meeting time but must have a G Suite account.

Summary
Webinars are an effective method of bringing a personal touch to an online learning environment. They allow you to connect with learners all over the world using the Internet. As you have seen, there are many options to choose from. However, there is no right or wrong webinar software solution. It all depends on the number of learners, the time limit, budget, and your purpose as to which solution will work best for you.