By P. Devon Schall, Ph.D., CISSP
Tired of Microsoft Teams and Zoom meetings yet? As a trained instructional designer, online college professor, residential (in-person) college professor, and Director of Training at BAI RMF Resource Center, I am opinionated and passionate about pedagogy and training delivery methods. 2020 has been full of unexpected challenges in all aspects of life, including education. We have seen DoD and most of industry embrace remote working and training organizations, including BAI, have been forced to pivot to primarily offering online training. We provide this in a live, instructor-led setting via our Online Personal Classroom. With all of this said, the title of this article says it all.
Having experienced both in-person and live instructor-led training from a student and instructional perspective, I have an appreciation for both delivery methods, and I think both can be done well. As an instructor, I personally enjoy the connection I make with students when I teach in-person classes. This may be selfish of me, but I feel like I can build a stronger rapport with my students when I meet with them face to face. Regarding quality of training, in my experience live instructor-led training is equally as effective as in-person training, as long as the student is comfortable with training in a remote virtual environment and the training provider understands the nuances of remote training.
It is important to realize that not all online classes are built the same, and research has shown the most effective online instruction is delivered through interactive, live, instructor-led training. I cannot fully stress the importance of interactive participation when students are trying to absorb a complicated cybersecurity process such as RMF.
As we begin to resume in-person classroom training, I suggest you ask yourself the questions below when making the decision between live instructor-led training in the Online Personal Classroom and In-Person Classroom training.
- Am I prepared to fully participate in a live instructor-led online class (this includes group work and turning your microphone on to participate in discussions)?
- Can I be free from distraction during the class if I choose to take it in The Online Personal Classroom™?
- Am I confident that I can access a laptop that can connect to the class free from firewall or other technology issues?
If any of the three questions above present challenges to you, I suggest you keep an eye on our training calendar for upcoming in-person RMF classes as we plan to resume in-person RMF instruction with the goals of continuing to provide you with the highest quality RMF and RMF Ancillary training available! Additionally, BAI can arrange a “private in-person class” for your organization. You will have a dedicated instructor who will travel to your location and meet your RMF training needs.