I recently was able to engage in Said Saddouk's Virtual Facilitation Masterclass and how he helps us facilitate like magic. If your role involves teaching or facilitating events online, I can't recommend this experience highly enough.
One of the many take-aways I have from the class is learning how to use the free, open source tool: OBS Studio. I created different ‘scenes' to use across various contexts. One scene could be for showing students how to do something technical, but still wanting them to be able to see me, as well. Or, I could have a scene to show during a break, which includes a count-down timer.
Watch my video where I recommend the Virtual Facilitation Masterclass and you can see some of the skills I learned in action.
I also now can make much more use out of something I already owned, the Stream Deck. I've owned it for a long time now, but pretty much only ever had used it for launching apps (pressing its buttons is oddly satisfying, even though I know perfectly well how to launch an app without my fingers even needing to leave the keyboard). Now, thanks to Said, I know how to bring up the various scenes I've set up in OBS, as well as use reactions in Zoom and mute/unmute myself.
Plus, I extended my learning about more effectively configuring Zoom for when I'm teaching or giving an online keynote. Said offers a guide on his website for how to improved our Zoom video and audio quality: Zoom Optimization Guide. I still have more that I want to do to continue to extend the learning from Said's course, but the beautiful thing is that I can continue to do so, without feeling overwhelmed and therefore risking inaction. I've got a core set of skills and tools to put to use right now, as I continue to grow and learn by being a part of Said's community of facilitators.
For more information about Said and the other resources he makes available, visit his website: The Facilitainer
