In less than two weeks the registration will be LIVE for Craft Napa: Uncorked at Home–35 workshops over the course of four days with 19 teachers in January 2021. As this will be the first virtual event we are hosting, I have been doing a lot of research into the best formats, and also taken a lot of online workshops myself to see what it’s like to be a student. For me, it’s been awesome. I love being at home and having all my stuff right there (and the voyeur in me likes peeking into other people’s studios). 😉
I have also decided–once I get the registration up for Craft Napa 2021–I am going to teach an online workshop (or two) later this fall. It’ll be a surface design class that I have taught in the past in the barn that I’ll adapt to an online format. I feel as though if I am going to ask teachers to work at achieving the best lighting, Internet, audio equipment, etc., well then I should dip my toes in the water and do it too so I understand and can help them problem solve anything well before January.
So here’s my question: In prepping for a fun and meaningful virtual (live) event where you’ll learn something and also still feel a sense of community, I ask you…have you taken any online workshops? How has the format and experience been for you? What has worked, and what do you feel could use some improvement? Did you go away feeling happy and you got what you wanted from the class? No need to go into specifics re: teachers, just the general format and experience.
Thanks for taking time to answer, if you are able to.
Stay safe out there!
Pokey
Never taken an online class. I would love to know other’s experiences.
I have taken abstract painting classes online. Format has either been Zoom and/or a private Facebook group. Links sent in emails make it easier to access, IMHO. Occasionally trouble hearing or video stopping or skipping. In general, I have liked this format . I really like it when there has been the ability to replay.
Thanks for your feedback, Lynne!
I am taking design classes on line. What’s been helpful was a pre-class one time workshop on how to use Zoom with suggestions and troubleshooting from a tech support person who is also a quilter.
Great point. I had planned to host a couple of virtual orientations/ meet and greets in December to get people to test out Zoom and show a few features. I had also thought to send a list of best Zoom practices and a cheat sheet on how to make it work best for students.
This is a great way to handle our learning and eliminate problems during actual classes
Great point, Jan. I was planning on doing a few pre-workshops sessions for this very reason.
I have taken a number of classes online: painting, knitting/yarn dying, writing. Enjoyed them all and found something of value in each. Technology is always the dicey issue, so setting a reasonable level on expectation is important. Having someone other than the instructor monitor questions/comments is helpful because it adds extra attention to points of concern. Having access to the class (controlled, of course) following the actual presentation is also valuable.
Good advice, Constance. Thank you!
Hey Pokey,
I have really enjoyed taking a few on line workshops on Facebook and they were awesome..I find Zoom to be difficult to navigate and impossible to get onto on my iMac at present, until my son can come rescue me or one of the kids in the neighborhood~~ I am going to have Heart Surgery in 2 weeks for Aortic Valve replacement, so will be on the back burner for a short while..I love the idea of on line workshops, stay in your jammies!!
Susan, best of luck with your heart surgery!!
Thanks a bunch, Pokey.. It has been a long time coming, and now is the time..
I ask you…have you taken any online workshops?
YES!! I have taken 6 workshops/lectures virtually
How has the format and experience been for you?
Great !!! Love this opportunity. The formats work providing a thunderstorm or power blackouts do not shut down the electricity. UGH
What has worked, and what do you feel could use some improvement?
• Zoom, Facebook or YouTube & igtv sessions all worked for me. As president of CCQ Guild in Arroyo Grande I tested all formats to understand how virtual works.
• Some folks in my local Zoom “friendship meetings” have bandwidth issues with some tablets & iPhones or android devices. I found that research on YouTube & Zoom tutorials help with these topics. Strong modem signals & work near router helps.
Did you go away feeling happy and you got what you wanted from the class?
Happy !!! I can enjoy teachers in my own sewing room from anywhere is the world!!! I received the educational info : techniques or skills related to a pattern as expected. I walked away happy with all sessions to date. Different but a good way to learn and stay connected with Quilting.
Pokey: your daily igtv interviews have opened up new doors for me,our guilds, & my friends. THANK YOU !!!! I send all my local quilt friends to your igtv interviews to help them enjoy new teachers. Your interviews have saved me over this pandemic.
Thanks for all of your feedback, Barb! Very helpful!
Hi Pokey, I just took an online two hour workshop in mixed media and watercolor painting in the platform SkoolYard. Jane LaFazio (whom you know of course) pre-recorded her actual demo. Then during the online time frame, she and Danny Gregory were able to answer questions live. The students wrote down questions as the demo was going on and that way Jane was able to devote her live time to answering everyone’s questions . They stopped the pre-recorded video in between about 3 steps, to give students a chance to absorb, write in questions and there was a 5 minute break for this 2 hour workshop. Loved it and felt I got everything out of it that I wanted. Plus we get to keep the workshop recording forever.
That’s great, Rite!
I took the workshop last Saturday too – my first one. I agree with everything you said. 🙂
I love taking online classes, partly because like you said you have your stash, your sewing machine, etc. Zoom seems to be working well, my quilt guild has been using it for meetings, they even had our weekend long retreat on Zoom. It had fun breaks in between times when we were sewing/quilting, with cocktail recipes(in the evening), fun challenges, lunch breaks, etc. I think the one thing for people attending meetings is remembering to MUTE themselves, only because it will take viewers to their screen and it takes it a few seconds of them being quiet for it to come back to the teacher/speaker, and if you are demonstrating something you could miss. I find this to be an issue with my Zoom bootcamp classes. Hope this helps. You know I will sign up!
I so agree about muting. I took a class recently where a student was eating blueberries in a bowl over her kitchen sink during a free-motion class. Because she wasn’t on mute, instead of watching the stitch demo, we were watching her eat blueberries. I found it kind of funny, but it was a good lesson!
I have taken online classes via Zoom. It is best if participants know (or learn) how to use Zoom on their particular device before participating. Otherwise the instructor has to take time to explain how to use the gallery to see everyone or pin the instructor so only she or the project is seen, etc. During the classes, where appropriate, I found it helpful when the instructor had one Zoom window open for herself to talk/present and a second window showing the in-progress or finished project. I also particularly liked when an instructor paused during the session to ask each individual how they were doing and/or to show their work so she could comment or assist. This way nobody got left behind or lost. I was happy with the classes that I took, and felt that I got what I had hoped.
Hi Jackie, I agree about the teacher pausing to check in and see how people are doing. As she wont be able to “read” the room in-person, I think this will be very important. Thanks!
I’ve taken a few different classes, all through Zoom. By far Sherri Lynn Wood has the best live set-up I’ve experienced. Video/audio quality is excellent, virtually no glitches, great lighting. She uses three fixed cameras and an admin to keep track of real-time questions. Usually she sets aside a time in the middle of the class for individual sewing when she is available for one on one interaction, and at the end of class for group sharing. After class there’s often “community sew time” for those who still want to hang out. If there’s a way to improve on what she does I can’t think of it.
Other classes/teachers have been less successful, often due to hand held cameras, only one camera, poor audio/internet, lack of interaction, etc. If you have a chance, check out Sherri’s set-up.
I have a good friend who recently took Sheri Lynn’s workshop and she, too was glowing as to how Sheri Lynn did it!
Hi Pokey, I’ve only taken one remote class (watercolor). It was on Zoom, a couple of hours each week over the course of 3 weeks.
There was only one other student, and neither one of us was familiar with using Zoom. We seemed to unintentionally “talk over” one another, as if there were a huge time lapse, even though all 3 of us were in the same city. Don’t know if this is a typical issue with Zoom, but it made interaction a bit uncomfortable.
I like your ideas for limited # of students at remote retreats, and would definitely be interested. Thanks for your great, fun interviews on Instagram!
Thanks, Linda! And yes, I am going to be sending registered students a cheat sheet/ best practices/tips and tricks for being a student in the Zoom/live workshops so they run smoothly.
I used to do video conferences and also produced training videos. A lot of good info in comments already. I would suggest for your comfort and time factor that you do your demos on video tape and play as it works for your training. You can talk over the video and also answer questions. Having a set up that you can review for question time. A fixed camera overhead for your demos. Maybe, one for close up work and a fixed camera for head shots. Light needs to be set up so no shadows obviously for the over head camera. Think cooking show. Audio is important and usually the most trouble prone,
Zoom can be difficult, I’ve seen some good presentations over Facebook and YouTube. Good luck and I’m all for anything you’re doing 😊
Thank you, Linda!
I have taken a few workshops via Zoom. I like them – no lugging anything, and if I forget something, there it is! I miss seeing everyone else’s fabric choices, and I miss meeting new people. But the positives outweigh the negatives. I love that you are doing this, I have always wanted to participate in Craft Napa!
Thanks for your feedback, Eileen!
Audio seems to be the weakest link in the ‘teasers’ I’ve watched. And I would need a ‘learn how to Zoom’ beforehand. Accessibility after the class was finished would be nice, as it would be difficult to ‘craft’ with one hand and pay attention with the other. Trying to ‘teach’ and answer questions in chat at the same time seems to snarl everything up, so an assistant to keep an eye on ‘chat’ would be a good idea.
Thanks for asking, and all the work that undoubtedly goes on behind the scenes.
Hi Whiskers, (I love your name!). We will be hosting some pre-Craft Napa Zoom practice sessions to get everyone comfortable, as well am putting together a best practices cheat sheet for students to make things like audio work well, etc. The classes will be saved for 72 hours after the workshop so students can go back and look at anything that might bet a more technical/difficult step.
I have been on both sides of the online learning environment. Lots of great comments above but a couple worth repeating or mentioning.
Yes, audio can be an issue but giving explicit directions to attendees can help.
Depending on how interactive you want to be, or your assistant (yes, have someone else help with comments and problem solving), consider limiting your attendance to something smaller than you initially think. If you think 35, consider 25 or 30 max.
Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Keep a script handy to keep things on track. And that means keeping questions to specific times.
Like in-person meetings, keep a “parking lot” to return to ideas or questions that need further explanation.
Zoom is great! You’ll have a blast! And when you are, so will your attendees.
Hi Jane, thanks for writing. I Ama ctually limiting the classes to 20, some are limited to 15 or less. Only one teacher said she would prefer 30 so I’m accommodating that. I agree-smaller is better, and for this first time out of the gate I would prefer to give students an intimate experience, like Craft Napa, vs. a lecture-hall style online workshop.
I had a very recent experience that I thought may be helpful in this instance. I signed up for an online workshop with a teacher that I have taken 2 in-person classes with She is a wonderful teacher. I followed all of the pre-workshop instructions carefully and purchased all of the listed items.
As it turned out, the workshop was more of a demonstration of what to do. It was mentioned that you could work as she worked, but the format was so fast that it wasn’t really feasible to do that.
During the short time that she demonstrated her sketching and watercolor techniques (which were wonderful), I watched.
Although it was recorded and students could replay it and work on their own, I was disappointed that it wasn’t a “work while the teacher works” workshop.
There was an opportunity to send in your work to be critiqued by her for an extra fee and within a few hours, but I was only able to set aside the time of the workshop to work.
I did learn a lot, but didn’t get a chance to actually practice the techniques that I thought I would be able to do during the alloted workshop time. With everything else going on in my life, it is possible, that I will not be able to find time to try the techniques in the near future.
As I get promotional emails for other workshops, it looks as if the company that runs these workshops has an agenda of selling many workshops.
It is my hope that Craft Napa will be an interactive workshop where students can work ALONG WITH the instructor and come away with both information on the techniques AND something that they worked on in the workshops.
As an aside, I have purchased many workshops on DVD and other formats where Pokey was involved, and learned a LOT. There is no way that I could make it to California for Craft Napa, so I am selfishly glad that it is being held online this year. Although I am NOT happy about the pandemic!!!
Pat, I appreciate the time you took to write this, and it is very helpful to me. So what I have planned for Craft Napa, is it is a live event, with embedded video where appropriate to demo the uniques, very briefly. I am limiting the workshops to 20 students, except in one instance a teacher feels she can easily handle 30. In other instances some teachers wanted to limit to 15. I really want to replicate a live event as best I can: teacher welcomes everyone, students give a brief hello and introduce themselves, teacher introduces the class and gives the first step to the process, and students go work. During this time there would be the normal discourse that happens in a class. People can work and chat, and ask the teacher questions. In many (if not all) I am getting a monitor to help navigate and bring the questions for teachers if a student is stuck. There will be a lunch break, and then resume, similar format for the afternoon, and then students can do a show and tell at the end of the class. It is very likely students won’t finish their projects, but there will be a closed FB forum for students to further share. The class will be recorded and available for 72 hours after the live class. I have looked into a lot of ways to make this work, and this just felt the best way to replicate Craft Napa, virtually. I bet there will be glitches, I am trying to think of all angles ands ways to keep glitches from happening, but I am also hoping that by January most everyone will be pretty well-versed in ZOOM and the like. Again, thanks so much for your comments!
I like what you are saying & doing. I have taken 3 classes on Ruzuku and find having access to them after helps make info more valuable. 72 hours will be difficult if you are taking a class each day and may not be able to look at the Thursday one you just completed as you have another on the next 2-3 days. It would be better for them to be available for one week after CraftNapa ends while we are finishing what we started in class.
Great point! I Will extend beyond 72 hours.
Pokey, it sounds as if you are covering all the basis and I’m confident your classes will go well.. I have taken many online courses, but only a couple of zoom classes. The first one was probably the best. All of us were learning this new technology together and proper etiquette and the ins and outs were outlined beforehand as you mentioned, which was quite helpful. This particular teacher had an aid that kept everything running smoothly. There will always be someone that is not attentive which holds true with live classes. One person in particular could not sit still and constantly bent over in front of the camera which was actually quite funny. I’m sure she would have been quite embarrassed if she realized it. In another class it was interesting that the teacher said she had control over muting people. I’m not familiar with how that works. I was thrilled to read Maryjo’s remark above and your response to extend access to the classes a bit longer. That was my only concern, other then hoping I can get all my classes :). I should mention too that we were given the option to type in questions, but mine along with others were ignored or overlooked for whatever reason. I was a bit camera (and audio) shy. In fact I did not have a camera at that time. In conclusion I enjoy zoom for obvious reasons mentioned and I think it will only get better as we all become more comfortable with it. I am certainly glad it’s available to us and I hope to take one of your classes soon. See you in January!
I haven’t taken a workshop online, but have attended a couple guild meetings via Zoom. After the first one, our moderator discovered she can mute everybody but herself, and then choose speakers. The rest of us could communicate via typed comments, either to a specific person or to all!
I love online classes, the ones I can afford. Some are so expensive as a retiree I have to budget. However, I love being able to see people in this time of COVID, even if it is through a computer. I learn so many new techniques from Journaling to Textile work. Your Instagram interviews are like a class to me, I learn about other artists and it gets me out of my rabbit hole.
I am loving on-line classes. MJ KInman did a 7 week format where we got an email each week with embedded videos. Here class was hundereds, but I felt like it was just the instructor and me. I could watch them several times if needed and her text in the email gave us detailed instructions and photos. We could email her and got quick replies back. She also set up set a facebook page so we could share our work with others in the class
Irene Roderick did a great job with a small zoom class. I think there were 7 of us. It was 3 sessions and we were able to participate in her critique/suggestions/comments of each persons work.
I loved both classes.