The corona crisis is forcing many academies to rethink. Face-to-face seminars can no longer take place, so other ways must be found. For many, the so-called "webinar" is the most suitable and elegant solution. This is because a webinar makes it possible to replicate a seminar almost one-to-one. Furthermore, it offers the advantages of location-independent training. Find out in this article which important features webinar software should have for academies and companies.

Webinar, Online Seminar, Online Training – What exactly does that mean?

Anyone who is dealing with the topic of webinars for the first time will be confronted with a series of terms that often mean the same thing.

"A webinar is an interactive teaching unit that is broadcast live. Users can join online.

This clearly distinguishes the webinar from the so-called webcast. Here, seminar units are merely recorded by the tutor and made available to participants online. In other words, there is one-way communication rather than two-way. This is probably the greatest advantage of online training: the interactivity of face-to-face training is replicated.

Wait, that's it?

Of course, this is a very simplified description of a webinar, which only presents the basic characteristics. Because webinars are anything but new and were already enjoying growing popularity even before the corona crisis. There are numerous software providers. Anyone who starts looking will quickly realize: not all webinars are the same. Get to know a few important features now.

1. Ease of use

What sounds obvious is not always the case. You must assume that your seminar participants are not always so-called digital natives and may struggle with complex user interfaces. Good webinar software takes this into account and makes it as easy as possible for all users. This naturally also saves time, because not much needs to be explained about the webinar tool itself.

2. Device independence

There are numerous different hardware providers on the market. There are no longer monopolies in this sense. One person uses a smartphone with Android software for online training, another a MAC PC. The webinar should run without problems on all devices.

3. Chat function

It has already been mentioned: A webinar is interactive. This naturally includes the exchange between the participants themselves and the instructor. Good webinar software offers a text chat. Ideally, private conversations between individual participants can also take place here, as well as in the group.

4. Screen sharing & whiteboard

In a webinar, the familiar chalkboard (or whiteboard) is missing. But that's no problem if the screen can be shared. This means that all participants can see what the instructor (or another participant) is doing. You can use this to show websites, present examples, or actually write something on a virtual board. The advantage: No one has to clean the board at the end 😉

5. Recording of the webinar

In online seminars, things happen just like in face-to-face training. You can't write everything down, and you certainly can't remember everything. Good if the webinar can be recorded. This way, every participant can recall the content later.

6. Video conferencing

This should of course be a matter of course: the video function. Because nothing makes a webinar more personal than being able to see the other participants. Ideally in good quality, i.e., in HD.

7. E-mail invitations

Before a webinar can take place, the participants must of course know about it first. Make sure that the webinar software allows invitation by e-mail. This makes it easier for non-digital natives as well, because they only have to click on a link.

Is that everything now?

Not quite. Only a few of the most important features of webinar software have been presented. It cannot be said in a general way which tool is most suitable for you or your institution. Perhaps it is important to you that the live online training bears your logo/your branding? Or is European hosting of the software important to you regarding data protection? Here it is always necessary to ask exactly.

Get to know our webinar software here. We would also be happy to advise you in a personal conversation!

Find out more about our learning software here.

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Your team from keeunit in Mainz

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