During the midst of the pandemic, schools were transitioning to online learning. As the technology trainer, I collaborated with my supervisor in determining the staff's needs to support the transition to a virtual classroom setting.  During the kick off meeting, I conducted a needs assessment and was able to determine that the organization needed to move forward with using Zoom to conduct virtual instruction versus using Google Meet.

Teachers and staff that were conducting virtual instruction using Google Meet complained that the platform was not secure. Unwanted participants were hacking the Meet links by making inappropriate comments, sharing offensive content, and causing distractions. After interviewing stakeholders, many stated that they were hesitant to try and learn "just one more thing" and were stressed that there would be a large learning curve to using Zoom.

To mitigate these issues, it was essential to take proactive measures. I collaborated with my supervisor and we determined a VILT would be the best solution for training. I had to ensure I designed the VILT to consider teachers' stress, time constraints, inability to meet in person, and ensure new hires were trained in a timely manner. 

Based on the participant survey, teachers and staff reported that they felt confident and thought the training was useful. Participants were likely to move forward with using Zoom because of its advanced security settings that users can modify. Teachers reported that they would like specific examples of how to use the tools to enhance student learning versus just listing the tools. Learners continued to apply the use of Zoom even after students returned to school for in-person instruction which became helpful for conducting parent-teacher conferences for parents that could not meet in-person.