Discuss scheduling and implementation issues together and invite participants to submit ideas = new opportunities for participation
When do digital elements work particularly well? Plan a getting-to-know-each-other session before the online session Before the digital push brought on by COVID lockdowns, preparing exchanges mainly involved making arrange- ments for individual groups that then met for the first time in person. Although several tools were available for making contact before the first meeting, only few organ- isations made use of them. Now, the first meeting in a digital setting is easy to prepare, with a low entry thresh- old, thus enabling participants to get to know each other beforehand, to pass on information to each other and increase their level of participation. Issues around im- plementation and the programme can be discussed and ideas brainstormed with participants – a new means of getting them involved. Discussing these things after- wards in the project team delivers quick feedback and creates short decision routes. That can have a positive impact on the preparatory phase. Participants will then look forward even more to the first in-person meeting and get the sense that the exchange itself lasts longer. In summary, digital settings are an interesting option es- pecially at the start of a project and during the getting- to-know-you phase. Anyone who knows how challenging the first orientation meeting can be in a big group will value the available on- line options. Whether you have 20, 30 or 40 participants, you can divide them up into small groups at the click of your mouse and bring them back again punctually. A great alternative for group leaders who need to raise their voice to be heard in a seminar room or have to go in search of their participants in different rooms in an educational establishment. Can you join us for a while? People who organise exchanges want participants to meet other interesting people. And so they sometimes invite along experts and other speakers to talk about specific topics. If these have to travel a long way, you will usually have to do a cost-benefit analysis first. That is no longer necessary in a digital setting, because speakers can join an exchange for a shorter period of time, either as part of an online or a hybrid format. There are no journey times. This creates more – also international – possibilities. We are still in the process of learning what other options are available for enhancing online exchanges and what new opportunities they open up. From the practical point of view, online exchanges have great po- tential in terms of the preparatory and fol- low-up phases, meaning that the exchange itself can be experienced and shaped even more intensively.
selves. It is important to keep reminding our- selves that we learn and discover new opportuni- ties together. And it is a process where things can occasionally go wrong. We try things out and get to ex-
periment. By visualising the schedule for participants – a good idea even in shorter sessions – you both create structure and give them information. What’s the plan, and in what order will things be happening? When is what method planned, when will there be time to share insights and take a break? Where are we right now? This provides orientation and helps participants focus their attention better. Online exchanges add an entirely new element to youth exchanges in that the participants’ physical environment takes the place of a shared seminar room. You can dis- cover how to use this new context if you are sensitive to the situation. Participants can show each other objects in their room and find out more about each other and get talking. You could make a fun game of finding ob- jects of a particular colour, begin with a particular letter or are weird in some way. This gets participants up and moving and helps them find out interesting things about the others and their languages. One such method is de- scribed on p. 17. Plan time for informal chats Planning formal and less formal time poses a particu- lar challenge for group dynamics. During an in-person meeting we take breaks, which provide an ideal op- portunity for spontaneous interaction between partici- pants. During a break the team leader can be planning the following units. Contact between participants is not automatically established here either, but at least it is much easier to do so. During an online meeting, shared time ends when the video conference ends. Alternative- ly, you could try sharing a “break”, perhaps structuring it a little, for example by suggesting topic-related breakout rooms that participants can move freely between. An- other option is to use a pad to which participants can upload interesting information and photos. Social me- dia (e.g. Instagram, WhatsApp, Signal) can also facilitate networking by enabling participants to keep each other up to date. It is important to be aware of the option of planning informal time so as to use its potential and get participants involved. Team leaders should check – in-
cluding with participants – what suits the group and what can help support group dynamics.
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