#WednesdaysWeekly - Virtual Facilitation Toolkit

Virtual Facilitation Toolkit!

In this series of #WednesdaysWeekly sessions, Action Together shared some of the platforms and methods in our virtual facilitation toolkit which help make meetings more engaging and collaborative. Each week we explored a different free virtual tool, when and how it can be useful in meetings or workshops, and gave attendees a chance to try it out and ask questions.

To catch up on The Virtual Facilitation Toolbox sessions which have been delivered, you can find the links for each sessions and some useful resources below:

Week 1 - Virtual Whiteboards

This week we focused on virtual whiteboards (Miro and Jamboard) which use some of the most useful parts of a facilitators toolbox – flipchart and post it notes. Virtual whiteboards are a great way to replace these in online meetings and make sessions feel more engaging and collaborative.

To watch the full session on Virtual Whiteboards, please click here.

To view the presentation from the session, please click here.

Here are some useful resources linked to the session:

• Here’s a good explainer on signing up for Miro 
• Here is a guide on setting up a board on Miro 
• And here are four miro videos including how to move around the board 

Week 2 - Polls and Wordclouds

This week we focused on tools to get everyone in a meeting engaged and participating. Polls and wordclouds are a great way to gather quick feedback from participants, re-engage a group or boost energy in the room. We learnt about two similar platforms – Mentimeter and Slido.

To watch the full session on Polls and Wordclouds, please click here.

To view the presentation from the session, please click here.

Here is a useful resource linked to the session:

• Simple is a guide to using zoom polls 

Week 3 - Creative uses of breakout rooms

This session focuses on how to make the most of the basic functions of Zoom and MS Teams. Breakout rooms are a great option to get people talking in small groups, but in this session we will use some of the facilitation methods in Liberating Structures to explore how they could be used more creatively.

To watch the full session on Creative uses of breakout rooms, please click here.

To view the presentation from the session, please click here.

Here are some useful resources linked to the session:

• Zoom’s overview 
• Self-select breakout rooms
• Recording breakout rooms 

Week 4 - Collaborative Note Taking

This week we focused on collaborative note-taking (Google docs and Google slides). This week we focused on ways to make note-taking, sharing information or decision-making more collaborative through creative uses of Google Docs or Slides. Both can offer an accessible, free solution to making meetings more engaging and participatory.

To watch the full session on Collaborative Note Taking, please click here.

To view the presentation from the session, please click here.

Here are some useful resources linked to the session:

• Guide to google docs 
• Downloading a google doc or google slides as a regular word or powerpoint file 

Week 5 - Virtual Facilitation Clinic

This week we focused on sharing our virtual facilitation skills and knowledge. Bringing live challenges in your work that you’d like help to think through, tips and tricks you have learnt, or people just came along to join the conversation and learn from others.

Here are some final resources to share:

• Adding a profile picture on zoom
• Sharing audio and video on MS Teams 
• The virtual facilitators wiki group 

Thank you to all that joined us for the #WednesdaysWeekly - Virtual Facilitation Toolkit series. To find out more about upcoming #WednesdaysWeekly sessions, please click here.