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Adapting Knowledge Exchange Activities for Virtual Platforms

April 16, 2020

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Anne Ballard Sara

Program Officer II

Sarah V. Harlan

Partnerships Team Lead

Brittany Goetsch

Program Officer I

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Anne Kott

Communications

Team Lead

Moderated by

Today’s presenters

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Our mission

We help the family planning and reproductive health community find, share, and use critical knowledge.

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What to consider when going virtual?

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  • Ask yourself: is it worth it?
  • Be clear on your objective.
  • Keep your expectations realistic.
  • Focus on your content.
  • Deliver a quality experience.

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Considerations

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Logistics, logistics

  • Overplan
  • Build in extra time
  • Use hyperdocs

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How to host a virtual peer assist

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What is a Peer Assist?

A systematic, participatory approach that focuses on “learning before doing” during which a person/group new to a process seeks advice from a person/group with relevant experience

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  • Best for small groups (no more than 20 people)
  • Best when there is a clear question or challenge (for example, at the launch of a new project or initiative)
  • Can be done virtually, with careful planning!

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When should I organize a peer assist?

Image from Peer Assist video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObmQyW3EiiE

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Benefits of a peer assist

Efficient

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Short activity, lessons can be implemented immediately

Targeted

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Targets specific, concrete challenge

Innovative

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Helps identify new, creative approaches

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Social

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Promotes knowledge exchange and network- building

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  1. Present the context (learning team)
  2. Consider the problem (sharing team)
  3. Brainstorm what knowledge is needed (sharing team)
  4. Reflect and discuss options (all)
  5. Present advice (sharing team)
  6. Discuss what was learned (all)

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How to do a peer assist in six steps

Learning team: Those soliciting advice

Sharing team: Those with more experience

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  • Use platform with video, audio, chat, and screen sharing functions
    • Examples: Zoom, Adobe Connect, GoToMeeting

Adapting the peer assist for a virtual setting

Image: blog.zoom.us

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STEP 1

Learning team shares slides and video, presents the context

Adapting the peer assist for a virtual setting

STEP 2

Sharing team asks clarifying questions via audio/video and chat

Photo: Pathways Experience

Photo: ZDNet

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STEP 3

Sharing team brainstorms what knowledge learning team needs via audio/video and chat

Adapting the peer assist for a virtual setting

STEP 4

All reflect and discuss options

Photo: Stop at Nothing

Photo: Stack Overflow

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STEP 5

Sharing team presents suggestions and advice via video, audio and chat

Adapting the peer assist for a virtual setting

STEP 6

Participants reflect on key learnings, discuss how to share documents

Photo: TMA World

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  • Set up planning calls with learning team
  • Carefully select sharing team (experts)
  • Make sure roles are clear
  • Learning team should practice telling their story
  • Brief sharing team in advance on learning team’s project, purpose, etc.

Tips for successful virtual peer assists

Photo: themuse.com

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  • Be sure to have a neutral facilitator and notetaker
  • Allow time at the beginning of meeting for introductions and icebreakers
  • Use video when possible
  • Schedule follow up meeting

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(More) Tips for successful virtual peer assists

Image from Peer Assist video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObmQyW3EiiE

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For more information on peer assists

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How to host a virtual knowledge café

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What is a Knowledge Café?

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A structured conversational process for knowledge sharing in which people discuss different topics at (virtual) tables, switching periodically

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  • Best implemented when you want participants to be exposed to and discuss several topics in a conversational format
    • For example, learning from country experiences or sharing effective practices
  • Small enough groups for conversation
    • Approximately 5-10 participants per table

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When to organize a Knowledge Cafe

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  1. Identify topics for discussion
  2. Assign one facilitator per topic
  3. Participants join a table
  4. Conduct the knowledge cafe
    • Each table discussion is between 20-30 minutes
    • The facilitator provides a short overview and poses guiding questions for discussion
  5. Participants choose another table and the process repeats

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Knowledge Cafe steps

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Zoom

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  • Breakout rooms
  • Screen share
  • Chat
  • Broadcast messages to breakout rooms
  • Host and co-hosts can visit multiple rooms
  • Participants can call the host to their room
  • Participants automatically rejoin plenary
  • Random or manual assignment to breakout rooms

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Why use Zoom for virtual KM Cafes?

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Potential Challenges

  • Only the host can assign participants
  • Participants have to accept the room
  • Cannot record individual breakout rooms
  • Have to join via computer audio (not phone)

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  • Participants are randomly assigned to a breakout room
  • Ensure there is a facilitator in each room (They will need to be assigned)
  • Each room discusses the same topic at the same time
  • Repeat: Re-randomize participants and discuss a second topic

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Randomly assign participants to a room

How to host a peer assist

How to host a peer assist

How to host a peer assist

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  • Participants select which topics they would like to discuss during registration
  • The host manually assigns participants and facilitators to the appropriate room
  • Repeat. Assign participants to a different room

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Manual assignment

How to host a peer assist

How to do KM virtually

How to use Mural

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  • Prepare
    • Have a clear objective
    • Prepare the facilitators
    • Develop guiding questions
    • Prepare participants & provide step by step guidance
    • Practice
  • Ask participants to sign in using their full name
  • Use video
  • Best when everyone is virtual

Tips

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For more information on knowledge cafes:

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How to do virtual team brainstorming?

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Why visual brainstorming?

  • Different types of learners/processing
  • Organization and connections
  • Exercises in teamwork and building connections

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Virtual Platforms

Trello

Uses a card sorting principle to create groups for ideas, displaying visual “cards.” Many people use this platform for project tracking or personal To-Dos.

Google Docs

Google Docs can be used simultaneously allowing for live updating during a virtual meeting. There are some limitations but most people are familiar with Google Docs and therefore this can be adapted for visual brainstorming with some advance preparation.

Post-It App

The Post-It App is a virtual platform from Post-It that allows you to organize sticky notes into boards. You can take photos of sticky notes that might be handwritten and add them to virtual boards or create sticky notes virtually.

Mural

Mural is an online platform that allows for participatory visual brainstorming using sticky notes and various templates.

“Murals” can be grouped into workspaces for different projects allowing for further organization.

Miro

Miro uses various tools such as sticky notes, smart drawing, widget functionalities, and templates to engage participants in visual brainstorming, product design, and project management.

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Visual Brainstorming Using Mural

  • Each account has a workspace, where you can create murals or participate in murals you were invited to.
  • Use murals as blank brainstorming canvases (similar to large flipchart paper)
  • The ability for multiple people to participate simultaneously
  • Feature availability and organization

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Tips

  • Think about objectives first
  • Use small groups
  • Send out links ahead of time
  • Anticipate extra time
  • Don’t forget visual brainstorming instructions
  • Think about different ways to engage

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For more information on visual brainstorming:

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Q&A period - Add your questions in the chat box!

Need to leave early? Visit us online.

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Thanks!

Moderator: Anne Kott, Communications Team Lead

anne.kott@jhu.edu

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Speakers:

Sarah Harlan, Partnerships Team Lead

sarah.harlan@jhu.edu

Anne Ballard Sara, Program Officer II

anne.ballard@jhu.edu

Brittany Goetsch, Program Officer I

brittany.goetsch@jhu.edu

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