Tip 16 – Set the ground rules

If you have ever been a teacher like me, you'll know the importance of setting ground rules. Without them, children in a class don’t know what the boundaries are, misunderstand expectations and experience a lack of structure so things can get out of control quickly.

When I first taught children using Webinar software, I found I needed to convert my classroom ground rules into the online environment. However, I was not using webcams for a variety of reasons. So there were no visual cues at all and the ground rules had to work solely via the Webinar tools I had at my disposal.

I found tat I just needed to be clear which tools were used for what purpose. That way, everyone could get on with the session knowing what to do if they had a problem or wanted to contribute. Even more importantly, they knew what was not allowed.

Interestingly, I've also found that this is similar whatever the audience - even adults.
It's human nature that people like to know how a seminar is going to be run -