facilitating a whatsApp training
BY PHIL WILMOT
Since the Covid19 pandemic proliferated across the globe, almost all of the workshops and trainings I have facilitated have been hosted digitally.
In most cases, we used Zoom or another video conferencing application. Although I appreciate the benefits of such software—and the ability to see my comrades without the expense and hassle of international travel—using these tools was creating a rift between those living in places with strong internet infrastructure, and those with poorer connectivity. Some participants would get kicked out of gatherings multiple times due to limited bandwidth.
I’d often leave our gatherings feeling defeated. My morale for online trainings was restored, though, when I was invited by Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) to facilitate a guest workshop session over WhatsApp.
ARTUZ had been using this pandemic period while teachers are at home to build the skills of its underpaid members. They invited me to share strategic campaigning principles from case studies of resistance movements in East Africa.
how it is done
1. The union leadership designated a union member to serve as a kind of MC or host of the program. The MC reached me to firm up a time within the slots of their pre-planned calendar, and we agreed on a date and time that worked for all of us.
2. Members of existing WhatsApp groups of ARTUZ members were notified to invite any nearby teachers who did not have smartphones (or lacked data) to join them for the session.
3. The MC met with me one hour prior to the training session via WhatsApp message to troubleshoot any last minute questions.
4. The MC temporarily added me to a WhatsApp group consisting of those attending the training.
5. The MC introduced me and then reminded members of the structure and timing of the session. In our case, 30 minutes was allocated to me to share a case study and learnings through audio messages. 15 minutes was then allocated for Q&A. This structure repeated itself thereafter for the second case study, for a total of just over 90 minutes for the session.
6. I shared audio notes to explain the case studies. Each voice note lasted no longer than 3 minutes, so that members did not need to listen all at once. This allows those who are multitasking at home to follow along at their own pace.
(Listening to audio offers a sense of emotion and intimacy that text does not offer, but I do suggest using a voice-to-text app such as Speechnotes to supplement audio messages with written words for those participants who are not able to afford to spend much of their data.)
7. After conclusion of the first case study, the MC reminded members to share their reactions and questions.
8. I swiped individual reactions/questions and replied to them with text or links to articles, tools, or resources where possible. I only used audio responses where my response needed to be very nuanced.
9. When the Q&A period was about to elapse, the MC privately messaged me to continue with the next case study.
10. We repeated a similar process for the second case study.
11. The MC concluded the session by thanking everyone, and reminding them that I would stay in the group until the following morning, should any other questions arise. I took a handful of questions that arose in this period of time and welcomed individuals to reach me privately.
12.The MC removed me from the group the following morning
simple tech is the best tech
Occam’s Razor suggests that the simplest solution is usually the right one. Such is true when holding virtual sessions with comrades in places with slow and expensive internet.
Instead of dragging your teammates to unfamiliar digital lands, find them in the places where they already gather. A good political educator knows that a local home, shade tree, or house of worship offers a better learning environment than a fancy hotel hours outside one’s own community. The same principle applies to digital space.
