CNet Training’s President and CEO, Andrew Stevens, discusses CNet’s Remote Attendance capability and how the delivery of each CNet Remote Attendance program has been remodelled to further enrich the remote learning experience.
How long has CNet Training been offering Remote Attendance?
For the last three years, we have been delivering programs via live instructor-led Remote Attendance classes. We anticipated this would be driven by the need to operate in a more sustainable and environmentally sensitive way, we obviously did not anticipate COVID-19. Our Remote Attendance delivery has been tried and tested over the last three years, allowing learners to feel 100% confident that their learning experience will be professional, effective and of the highest quality.
How does Remote Attendance differ from online learning at home programs?
Remote Attendance is an entirely different learning style to traditional online learning or distance learning programs. Although these are great ways to learn, the content is usually only online-based with little collaboration with an instructor and the learner is responsible for their own learning schedule, motivation and meeting deadlines etc. Remote Attendance is a fully immersive and interactive experience that delivers the same rich quality content that you would experience in a classroom setting. The programs are also delivered in the exact same way a classroom-based program would run, set start and end times each day, break for lunch and constant interaction with the instructor and everyone else on the program.
How does remote learning work?
Smart Rooms are fitted with the latest high-definition, bi-directional audio/visual communication and collaboration tools so all learners and the instructor can see and interact with each other in the usual way.
How have the programs been remodelled to further enrich the remote learning experience?
CNet’s technical development team has dedicated a huge amount of time examining and implementing further changes to the program delivery to ensure all CNet Remote Attendance learners have the best learning experience possible.
For cable installation programs, practical demonstrations have been enhanced by exploiting on-board capabilities of the equipment being demonstrated. Multiple cameras are also utilised to ensure both the instructor and activity are clearly visible on learner’s screens, with optimal ‘close up’ capability to provide clear visibility of the smallest items such as the splice bridge on the fusion splicers and even the optical fibre itself.
For technician-level programs, the focus is now on functional online tools that can be used to evidence situational analysis, problem solving and decision-making. The use of virtual break-out rooms provides an opportunity for learners to undertake project meetings that would otherwise have to be achieved in a classroom environment.
For design level programs, where previously design drawings were undertaken manually, they are now completed in digital format using innovative methods on standard software applications. Using these methods enables learners to produce high-quality plans and elevations that are accurately scaled and provide a true reflection of complex data centre or enterprise network designs.
Use of virtual break-out rooms feature in all programs where group discussions, simulated meetings and collaboration are required. This provides the opportunity for smaller groups to engage, share ideas and determine collective outcomes.
Can learners attend a Remote Attendance program from home?
Absolutely. A lot of our learners join the program from the comfort of their home. Remote Attendance programs are designed to fit around the learner and for them to attend from the environment that best works for them. Some of our learners work in a mission-critical environment and so are not able to travel into a classroom, so Remote Attendance allows them to continue learning and remain close to their facility, others choose to learn from their office.
Is there much interaction between other learners and the instructor?
Learners experience the same if not more interaction than they would usually experience in a standard classroom learning environment. Remote attendees can see and hear everyone else attending remotely as well as the instructor, at all times. They can interact and engage with fellow learners, with the instructor on hand to ask for further assistance/explanation and to also take part in team activities in smaller virtual break-out rooms. This unique experience really does transport the learner into a learning group environment where they work and learn together in the exact same way they would in an actual classroom, but just from a working environment that best suits their current needs/requirements.
Are all CNet Remote Attendance programs delivered live?
Yes. Every CNet Remote Attendance program is instructor-led and delivered live on a variety of time zones globally.
Are Remote Attendance programs available in different time zones?
Yes. CNet has built the capacity to deliver from 15 Smart Rooms, therefore, allowing us to deliver 15 different programs simultaneously in different time zones across the globe.
The benefits of Remote Attendance:
- Save travel costs and time
- Save accommodation costs
- Save subsistence costs
- Environmentally friendly, a more sustainable and greener approach to learning
- Time zone flexible
- Learn in the comfort of your chosen environment
- Working from home friendly
