Oprah’s Online Training - live experience review
Well, I was on the live session tonight (read about my experience with last week’s recorded session). For the most part, as I expected, the experiences were the same. There were some bumps in the data stream early on (and once later), but it got ironed out within about 15 minutes, so I was satisfied with the transmission itself. I was very worried at the beginning because the resolution was dropping significantly at times to the point where I couldn’t make out faces. They took care of that, but then there were instances where the audio and video froze and I lost part of the conversation for 5 seconds at a time. As I said, though, those issues were pretty well hammered out quickly.
I loved that they ran segments from the previous session prior to the live session, along with a countdown to the live session. Excellent reinforcement and review, and great setting of expectation.
It’s a seriously slick production, visually, and I really wouldn’t expect any less from a TV production studio. There have to be at least 3 or 4 cameras in that studio. I have to imagine they’re using at least the same amount of production staff for this that they use for Oprah’s TV show - probably more to accommodate the internet interface.
Overall, all of the “good and bad” points I mentioned in my last post are still valid, except the audio for the commercials, which were included in the stream - and only at the very top of the show, instead of sprinkled throughout as in the recorded session - so there was no volume incongruity.
I was disappointed that there was no back channel chat, though it can be distracting.
The interface for asking a question was imposing. You had to enter your full name, full address, email address, and phone number - all required. There was no “email” link that I saw, so it’s very possible that the producers would call you to ask your question on the phone (a possibility with which I was uncomfortable). That’s one way to cut down on the questions you get, which I suppose would be important for an audience of this size.
Oprah did plug a follow-up XM radio show immediately after the session for members with access to that. That’s pretty cool that they are extending the conversation that way, but really, as I said before, why not promote the online interactive pieces? They’re more widely available and easier to participate in.
I did spend some time on the discussion board today as well, in the Aha! section. There was certainly plenty of participation. Much of it was on point, too. There was some noise, and arguments flared up here and there, but with a topic this controversial that’s to be expected. I haven’t gotten out to the blog yet. It should be interesting to see how that’s being run.
Overall, looking at this experience from the perspective of a corporate training professional focused on online delivery, it has been an interesting ride so far. I’m picking up some ideas for how I’d like to run a program internally that I hadn’t thought through previously. The online workbook is an “aha” experience for me, for example. Don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. There are obviously some things I’m not going to be able to do - the multiple cameras and nice studio, for example (heck, even live streaming video is out of my reach at the moment) - but there are also things I think our team can do better. Structuring the sessions and moderating the discussion forums come to mind.
Technorati Tags: Oprah, A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle, distance learning, e-learning, online
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Tags: A New Earth, corporate training, distance learning, e-learning, Eckhart Tolle, online, Oprah
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