Facilitating live online and virtual-classroom sessions: A practical course for trainers

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 11 details that are specific to your organisation.

Length
35 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
When a team moves in-person training online
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Breakouts, silence and tech trouble
What would you do?

You ask a question and nobody answers for a minute

Try it: this is one of 19 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 35 minutes
  • Scenario, tabs, process, accordion and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 10 slides
  • Quiz, poll, word cloud, ranking slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 405.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessmentn/aWhole course
SO 405.1Plan a live online session with a clear purpose, short blocks, a second person for tech support if possible and a tool checkBest practiceWhole course
SO 405.2Open a session with a question or task and set simple online normsBest practiceWhole course
SO 405.3Choose polls, chat, questions and feedback tools that let quieter learners take part, and offer a non-camera way to joinBest practice; accessibility and privacy rules vary by jurisdictionWhole course
SO 405.4Brief, run and close a breakout activity with a clear task, time and outputBest practiceWhole course
SO 405.5Respond to a technical failure, a silent group or a frustrated learner, and know when to use the concern or adjustments route + your infoOrganisation's policies; best practiceWhole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 11 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 35 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

Why the room went quiet

3 pages

7 min
Before you beginNoteList
Two online sessionsTextImage
What changed?ChecklistKey factQuiz
2

Designing a live online session

3 pages

6 min
Five design choicesAccordion
Presence beyond the microphoneTabs
Spot the fixFlashcardsMatching quiz
3

A session flow you can follow

3 pages

6 min
Open to closeProcess
Put the flow in orderSorting activity
Plan checkChecklistQuiz
4

Breakouts, silence and tech trouble

3 pages

6 min
A breakout that worksTimeline
The silent groupScenarioQuiz
The sound dropsScenarioMatching quiz
5

Everyone included, and when to ask for help

3 pages

6 min
Include more peopleTabsYour info
A learner needs supportScenarioYour infoQuiz
When something is not a teaching issueScenarioYour infoNoteYour infoYour info
6

Close, follow up and final assessment

2 pages

4 min
Close and improveProcessYour infoYour infoNoteYour infoYour info
PracticeQuizKey factNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "a quiet room is a design clue
PollWhat happens in your online room when you ask a question?
Word cloudOne word for a really good online session
ContentA session flow in five steps and who does what (host, co-facilitator)
QuizNobody answers your question. Best first move? Answer it yourself · Lower the barrier with a poll or one-word chat answer ✔ · Call the quietest person · Move on
QuizBefore opening breakout rooms you should: (State the task, time and what to bring back ✔)
RankingPut a session flow in order
ScaleHow confident are you running a breakout activity online?
Open-ended / Q&AOne thing that goes wrong in your online sessions
Content · customiseClosing {{LD_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. What is your biggest challenge online? multiple choice
  6. I know what to do if my audio or screen share fails. 1-5 scale
  7. Do you tell learners before you record? multiple choice
  8. I can ask for help with a technical problem without feeling judged. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the approved tools and recording rules? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

11 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Ld contact{{LD_CONTACT}}
  • Training standards link{{TRAINING_STANDARDS_LINK}}
  • Learning platform{{LEARNING_PLATFORM}}
  • Recording and privacy rule{{RECORDING_AND_PRIVACY_RULE}}
  • Concern route{{CONCERN_ROUTE}}
  • Support and adjustments route{{SUPPORT_AND_ADJUSTMENTS_ROUTE}}
Show all 11 fields
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
  • Next course link{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}}
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run facilitating live online and virtual-classroom sessions: A practical course for trainers training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

When a team moves in-person training online, before a trainer's first live online session, and as a refresher when the approved tools change.

Who needs this training?

Trainers, facilitators, instructional designers and subject experts who deliver live sessions through a virtual classroom; run by the head of L&D or a staff-development lead.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.