Experience the Difference

Traditional synchronous training vs. The GRID®

There are some similarities between traditional synchronous training and The GRID®. For example, students attend class together as a group for on-line training, and the instructor uses slides and other instructional materials to facilitate the content. However, there are a lot of crucial and significant differences that have an impact on how much knowledge is transferred and understood.

Collaboration & Interaction

Synchronous:  Web-collaboration tools are the foundation for success. Application sharing, multi-user whiteboards, and chat windows are the primary form of interaction between instructors and their students. Public chats and polling are utilized when asking opinions and questions of the students.

The GRID®: State-of-the-art video and audio collaboration are the foundations for The GRID®’s success. Studies show the 80% of communication comes from body language. With The GRID®'s 2 way video capabilities, instructors can ask questions of all of the students and monitor all cues for understanding vs. relying on chat windows and on-line polls.

The goal of The GRID® is to give you the same training experience that you expect from our face to face programs. SetFocus invests the same time and effort, the same instructional design resources; the same needs analyses to every student whether attending physically in our classroom or from home (remotely). The design of The GRID® pays attention to all the components of successful knowledge transfer — support materials, visuals, communications, interactions and collaborations, and more — to make it your success.

Scheduled course times:

Synchronous:  Though you do have a set schedule of when a class will run, programs tend to be shorter in duration (no more than two hours), and curriculum tends to be spread out over a long period of time.

The GRID®:  Remember, you are attending a live class running out of our physical location. Courses vary in length depending on level of difficulty and time of day. However, no course is compromised or shortened due to the nature that it is on-line.

Target Audience:

Synchronous:  Studies show that synchronous skill building can be more realistic than traditional face-to-face methods for certain audiences and topics because of the jobs the participants’ hold. For example, a telephone sales rep will experience a more realistic training when taught synchronously than when sitting in a training room with 30 other reps.

The GRID®: Our research reveals that knowledge transfer for developer training has a higher bandwidth when communication and interaction is face to face and hands on with immediate feedback regarding written code.

Use of Video:

Synchronous:  Some synchronous solutions do utilize live video to engage participants, but use it sparingly — perhaps at the beginning of a session to introduce the facilitator, then at the very end for Q&A.

The GRID®:  Live video and audio are on throughout the full duration of a course. When the instructor speaks, you see him. When he is at the whiteboard covering a solution, you are engaged. If the instructor is projecting a slide, it shows up on your PC as you watch him from your TV. With The GRID® there is an emotional impact that an in-person connection carries, eye contact is made and body language is read.

Faculty / Staff Ratio:

Synchronous:  One advantage of synchronous training is that you can train hundreds of people at one time. However, it’s difficult to create true ‘learning’ with a large audience. With traditional synchronous scenarios, when the audience is large, the event becomes more of a ‘presentation’ – not training. Participants are being exposed to content, not being given the opportunity to practice, apply, or evaluate what they have learned.

The GRID®:  Because you are attending a live instructor led course, there is a limit to the number of people that SetFocus will allow to attend, to ensure an appropriate faculty to student ratio. As with all of our courses, a standard is set not to exceed more than 25 people per class. Instructors and Teaching Assistants are available to answer questions, hold one-on-one or group mentoring sessions or assist with projects –by voice, by video, or by instant message.

Student engagement:

Synchronous:  Since the introduction of the virtual classroom, bad design for live synchronous sessions has inadvertently taught participants that synchronous sessions are a "free hour" — an opportunity to listen intermittently while checking and responding to your e-mail and taking care of other light duties.

The GRID®:  There are expectations of every student. Accountability is crucial to full knowledge transfer. Throughout the course of a day, all students are engaged, asked questions, and encouraged to participate. Questions are asked and responses are expected as in any instructor-led training scenario. Remember - two way video is on at all times, so the instructor can see you - no fooling around here!