Generally speaking, yes. A lot depends upon the individual participants and the effort they put into it. With an “in-person” workshop, the trainer has a high degree of control over the environment. Distractions are eliminated and cultural norms create pressure for participants to be attentive and engaged. With the virtual classroom, the environment is controlled by the participant.
If a participant is in a closed office, with all electronic devices and cell phones turned off, and other applications on the computer shut down, and he or she exercises the self discipline of being attentive and engaged, the effectiveness and outcome of the training will be nearly identical to the outcome from the same event presented in person. The curriculum is designed to be extremely interactive with abundant role play – so participants are called upon constantly and are pressed to engage in the conversation throughout the duration of the workshop.
We have had a number of participants who have attended both in-person and virtual classroom events.Some have reported back that they found the virtual classroom more effective and others reported that they found it less effective, but we have yet to get a report that it is ineffective as a training medium.
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