Adapting the activities for online delivery

Guidelines prepared by Samantha Wall, IPPF consultant on digital delivery of Sex education and director of ScarletTeen (https://www.scarleteen.com/ )

● 7.1. Safety and Privacy Considerations When Delivering Online Sex education

When you can’t control the physical space, it can be harder to ensure a safe space for discussing sensitive topics. It can also be harder to have safe exits out of the interaction.
We often don’t know the home situations of our participants, and whether or not it is a safe space for them to discuss issues related to sex, sexuality, or gender. In extreme cases, participants may be in a home situation where devices are being monitored.
When you’re in a room with all the participants, you can sense the overall energy of the group and the dynamics between specific participants. That’s harder to do when you’re remote, and it can make it tricker to see a conflict or issues coming.
Do you, the facilitator, have a private space? Even if you’re not giving sensitive information, you’re receiving it
It is much easier to covertly record an online session, meaning someone could disclose something sensitive only for it to get out to a large number of people.
Depending on the platform, it may be easier for non-participants to enter and cause issues.
If a participant wants to disclose something personal or sensitive, they may be less likely to ask for the help they need if they cannot approach a facilitator one on one. This is extra true if the platform is unfamiliar; they might be afraid of sending what they think is a private message only to discover it is gone to the whole group.

● 7.2. Creating a safe, welcoming space for participants online

Acknowledge in the community agreements at the start of the session that you are online and that respecting each other’s privacy looks a little different this way.
Pay attention to your own demeanour and try to come across as energized and friendly.
If you’re working with a co-facilitator, it helps to have one of you focusing on monitoring the energy and dynamics of the session. This can help you spot potential conflicts or issues before they become too big to deal with.
Designate a channel or time where participants can ask you things they may not feel comfortable asking in front of the group.
Check-in regularly with participants as you move through the sessions. This helps you answer any questions, offer clarifications, and check the overall energy of the group.
Set clear boundaries with participants about what topics you’re willing to discuss and how available you’re willing to be in asynchronous situations. For instance, you may reserve the right to not answer questions about your personal life or reserve the right to answer questions with “I don’t know” and direct them somewhere they can find the information they need.
Be proactive in managing conflict between participants. That may mean moderating debates, asking participants to take a moment to collect themselves or, in extreme cases, shutting off a participant’s microphone or removing them from the conversation.
Ensure participants are aware of the basics of keeping their online interactions private from other people in their lives. This includes:
- Using the private browsing setting or clearing their browsing history.
- Locking devices such as phones and computers with a password.
- Deleting conversations if they think or know their devices are regularly checked by an unsafe individual. This is not ideal, in that they may lose the information from the conversation, but their safety has to be the main priority.
- Keeping their camera off during video sessions if they are nervous about being recorded.

● 7.3. Considerations when choosing a delivery platform

Are there ways of preventing your conversations from being recorded by a third party (meaning if you are on Zoom, someone is recording the session through a program other than Zoom)? If not, does the platform at least alert you to the fact that a third party is recording? Does it prevent people from taking screenshots of conversations?
Do you have a way to provide a unique invitation or password for your sessions?
Do you have the ability to control who enters or leaves the space in which the session is being delivered? This could mean the ability to lock meetings after a certain point or having digital “waiting rooms” that allow you to see who is trying to join a session.
Does the platform save chats? If so, where does it save them to and who is able to see them?
What do participants need to have in order to join the session? Do they need a computer or will a phone or tablet suffice? Do they need to download an application? Do they need wi-fi?

● 7.4. Tips for Engaging participants online

Engaging participants online is indeed a very different experience than participant engagement that takes place in a physical setting. Online participation is often affected by other factors rather than pure interest in the topic or interest in the workshop, often including lack of privacy, the presence of a parent or partner in the space, being in a space where the participant’s safety is compromised and thus they can’t engage in discussions about sensitive topics, distractions from simultaneously multitasking on other platforms or the internet etc.

Online, participants may participate by often keeping their cameras constantly off, resorting only to typing their answers rather than verbalizing them or remaining silent for a long period of time. This indeed makes it a lot more difficult for ourselves as facilitators to ‘feel the room’ and develop a comprehensive understanding of what the participants may need. While this can be quite disheartening, don’t take it personally and don’t let it demotivate you. Online delivery calls for us to connect more deeply with our trust in ourselves, facilitation abilities, knowledge and skills, our overall resilience and our good cooperation with our co-facilitator(s).

Start by accepting that this is a different mode of implementation than what you normally do when you are delivering face to face workshops. Don’t compare this experience with a face to face one and liberate yourselves from unrealistic expectations. In an online space, the dynamics are different, participants engage in different ways and thus having the same expectations you have when you’re delivering trainings in an offline context only complicates things because those expectations are unrealistic. ‘Awkward’ silences are to be expected as some participants are more likely to be less engaged, less present or feel a stronger need to stay silent and just listen. Don’t take the awkward silences personally and remember that they are by no means a reflection that you’re not doing your job properly. Prepare some strategies that further engage participants such as energizer games, frequent breaks, check ins and encouragement.
Energizer and movement breaks: These can both bring the energy of the group back up if people are getting bored and can refocus the group if they are getting distracted.
Check-ins/ question breaks: These can keep group engaged. They also mean more than just the facilitators are talking. Check-ins tell you if need to redirect the discussion or clarify any points you have covered. This also helps with nay language concerns or confusions, since it gives participants a chance to ask you to clarify what you meant. Finally, these techniques also help you take the “temperature” of the group.
Reflecting, calling back, asking for help: These are all tools to help participants feel heard and empowered, which can increase engagement. Reflecting is repeating back a few words of what they asked or said, to highlight it and show you heard them. It works well in both written and verbal contexts. Calling back is when you reference something a participant said previously. This demonstrates you’re listening and makes participants feel like they’re part of the group. Asking for help can take a few different forms; you could ask “does anyone know X,” or for help keeping time, or for volunteers to lead breakout groups. Asking for help is actually a very good way of engaging participants who are high energy but low focus, as it gives them a way to channel that energy that also supports the activity the group is working on.
Provide opportunities for participants to write something. Invite participants in frequent brainstorming or discussion session and use online whiteboards (such as Zoom Whiteboard, Microsoft WhiteBoard, Jamboard, Padlet, Mentimeter etc) where participants can type their answer instead of verbally saying it. This way you can still get everyone to engage even though they are not technically speaking, something that may feel more comfortable for some participants especially if they are not in a space where they have complete privacy.
Encouragement: Positive reinforcement works wonderfully for keeping people engaged with you. Saying things like, “good question” “interesting point” “good teamwork,” and so on all keep people from getting bored or discouraged during a session.

● 7.5. An overview of adapting materials

There are two main questions to ask when adapting an activity: What are the goals of the activity? What information does someone need in order to complete the activity successfully? For example, if you are leading an activity about consent, the goals may be for participants to come away from the activity with an understanding of what consent looks like compared to non-consent. That means the activity will need to define the concept of consent in order for participants to do take part in it.

Further considerations when adapting activities include:

What is our own expertise and comfort level in facilitating this activity online? Are we feeling confident and comfortable to use certain methodologies online (such as quizzes, role plays, online debate etc.)? What is our comfort level with using the specific platform? For instance, do we have experience in using breakout rooms for small group work, or running an online brainstorming session to collect open-ended feedback? Do we feel we have the expertise to facilitate more complex methodologies (such as theatrical improvisations) online?
What are the available resources? How much time do we have available to prepare an adaptation? How much time do we have the group itself/ What is the duration of each workshop? How many facilitators can be engaged during the online delivery and who can help with logistics?
What practical or material parts of the activity need to change? This could include rethinking the usage of props or movement, deciding to divide groups up differently, or altering how a debate is run or a roleplay is performed.
How much do the facilitators need to monitor the group? How will they go about doing so? Are there enough facilitators to help with breakout rooms and other overall logistics during the implementation of the training?
What are the specific needs of our group? What is our group’s specific knowledge on the topic? What skills do they need to gain? How interactive or non-interactive is the group and what kind of ‘vibe’ are we aiming at creating within the group? What is our groups own level of comfort with the platform? Are there specific safety and privacy considerations we need to take into account with regards to this particular group?
Are we working with recurring participants? When working with non-recurring participants, we will need to add time in activities to run through definitions or concepts they may need. If we have a mixed group of recurring and non-recurring participants, we can ask if previous participants are open to explaining terms or concepts to their peers.
Is it better to choose simple, “surface level” activities? Is it better to choose simple, “surface level” activities? If we have limited time or experience with groups, it may be better to go with less challenging activities than ones that are complex or potentially emotionally charged, since you don’t have time to go in depth and/or you don’t have a strong sense of the group dynamic and what topics they can and cannot handle.

And lastly remember that you’ve got this! Fall back on your existing expertise, skills and knowledge. Our values, philosophy, framework and skills needed in implementing activities related to SGBV do not change, regardless of whether we are facilitating a group online or offline. Remember that if you already have the skills to facilitate such activities offline, you can always employ them when you are facilitating online; same skills only using a different medium.

Facilitating online activities that have to do with sexuality and sensitive issues depends a lot on our mentality and our overall approach to online learning. Try to keep an open mind, be positive and think creatively about solutions when implementing an activity online. Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks. If you allow yourself to envision facilitating these activities online with as few limitations as possible, you’re most likely to think up many different ways to do so!

In reality, while some activities may require higher levels of adaptation than others, all activities presented in the toolkit can be adapted. Some extra attention needs to be paid to more complex methodologies that would need more adept approaches in adaptation and more specific expertise, as for instance :

Explicit and more complex theatrical games (such as image theatre, forum theatre, theatre of the oppressed) , especially if you don’t have the experience in facilitating them online. You can alternatively adapt these into scenarios which can be discussed in plenary or in small groups or you can turn the improvisation into a written script rather than enactment. In this end, you can ask participants to brainstorm on the possible reactions of the different characters, write them down (either on paper or an online board) and then present them in plenary.
Debates can be difficult to implement in the traditional format (i.e. timed responses, need for arguments to be presented as ‘for’ and ‘against’ between two groups) because they may carry a higher risk for conflict escalating, especially if the statements to be discussed are touching on very sensitive issues. Implementation of a debate in this form would largely depend on facilitator’s expertise and comfort level. An easier way to administer debates is to use the statements in online quizzes or polls and then discuss them in plenary.
Videos explicitly depicting abuse or very sensitive content are best avoided if you’re running an online adaptation especially if you’re planning of administering only one ad-hoc session with participants. Opt for ‘milder’ versions and videos that aim to generate a discussion rather than merely to create empathy. Remember to include ‘content warnings’ prior to showing the videos so as participants can be prepared beforehand and pace themselves if they need to. Also remind participants of the possible exit strategies (switching off their screen and mic and taking a 10-minute break or not returning to the session all together, state your availability contacting you or the co-facilitator via a private message during the session or right after the session, mentioning that you will be checking in on them etc). A possible way to deliver a content warning is by saying something along the lines of: ‘Much of what we will watch in the videos can be emotionally challenging to engage with. Some videos present some graphic content of violence which could be considered as intense for some people. Following our group agreement in the beginning of the workshop, we have tried to make this a safe space where we can engage bravely, empathetically, thoughtfully and respectfully with sensitive content. I’m reminding everyone of their right to ‘pass’ if they feel that the material may be too challenging to work with. Feel free to take a break and leave the session for some time if you need to take care of yourselves. I also invite you to maintain confidentiality and to avoid judgement of any feelings or reactions that may arise during the discussion of the videos. I and the cofacilitators will be here to further discuss any aspects of the videos right after the workshop, if anyone of you feels the need to discuss them further. You can contact us via a private message.’

● 7.6. Some useful tools in adapting activities for online implementation

For any online tool /adaptation to work, it is important that you first create a safe, inclusive and trusting space within your group (you can refer to sections 5.4,5.5, 5.6, 5.7 5.8, 5.9, 7.2 and also to the Safety and Privacy Considerations listed above in section 7.1 for more details). Even methodologies or topics that sound ‘harmless’ or ‘easy’ may result in disclosures of abuse or participants feeling upset or uneasy. You don’t know who is in the (virtual) room and it is important to ensure that your group will be a safe space for all. Ensure you also have your exit strategies ready (in the event that they are needed) and decide how you will provide referrals.

While we’re implementing the activities over a different medium (i.e. an online platform) the overall flow of activity does not change (at least for the most part). In general terms, follow the flow as already provided in the outline of the activity in the section ‘step by step process’. Remember to hold plenary discussions in the end of each activity using the questions provided in the section ‘Facilitation questions for reflection and debriefing’. This helps to ground the knowledge and the experience of participants, without leaving things hanging. Moreover, as you would have done face to face, it is also important to wrap up the activity, using the key messages, as outlined in the section ‘Take home messages and activity wrap up’ and ‘Tips for facilitators’.

Using visual cues

Incorporating audio-visual material (pictures, drawings, songs, videos, posts, quotes etc.) are an easy way to adapt an activity. Audio-visuals tend to capture participants’ interest and further engage them in the process. Select audio-visual material that can be used to both generate awareness and kick start a follow up discussion in the direction of our topic.

Brainstorming

You can use brainstorming to introduce a new concept or to explore participants reactions after a visual cue. To run a brainstorming session online you can use various tools to capture participants’ thoughts such as

the ‘Whiteboard feature’ (e.g. in Zoom/WebEx )
web-based platforms which allow capturing and organizing open-ended responses e.g. padlet(www.padlet.com), scumblr (http://scrumblr.ca), mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com) slido(https://www.sli.do) or quiz based platforms such as Quizziz (https://quizizz.com) . You can also have a look online for different platforms that you could use. Most of these platforms are paid, however they have free trial versions that you can use for a certain period of time or there is a limit to the number of activities/slides/quizzes you can use.
using a google doc (also useful for asynchronous deliveries).
or going the ‘traditional’ way and write on a physical whiteboard behind you which is visible on camera.

Using online game-based learning platforms

Online game-based learning platforms are great to use because of their diverse and versatile implementation. For instance,

they can be used as a ‘hook’ to energize participants while you’re providing some background knowledgeabout a topic (i.e. asking participants to identify if something is GBV, or what is consent etc..)
are useful when testing attitudes/values/stances (such as using online quizzes to ‘vote’ on myths and realities, to signal “traffic lights” when classifying healthy/unhealthy behaviours in a relationship, to distinguish ‘harmless jokes’ from microaggression incidences etc.) and
come in handy when we want to explore different options for taking action in a certain situation (i.e. how could a person react in an incidence of cyberbullying , sextortion, sexual abuse etc.)

Popular options of quiz-based platforms include:

Kahoot (https://kahoot.com/),
Quizizz (https://quizizz.com/ )
Quizlet (https://quizlet.com)
mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com),
slido (https://www.sli.do),
howspace (https://www.howspace.com/)
(please note that most of the online quiz platforms are paid, however they have free trial versions that you can use for a certain period of time or there is a limit to the number/type of quizzes you can use)

When running an online quiz, a game code is generated which the participants need to enter when they go to the platform to access the quiz. Most platforms allow for both the question and the possible answers to be visible when playing the quiz. The only exception is Kahoot. If you’re using Kahoot, ask participants to keep two windows open on their screen: i.e. the zoom window where the facilitator presents the question and the kahoot window where they can view and select their possible answer. Online quizzes are also great to use asynchronously as well: you can send the ‘game code’ to the quiz beforehand so participants can play the game on their own time.

Voting

You can introduce ‘voting’ to capture participants’ opinion regarding a specific stance/behaviour or with respect to a particular action that can be taken to address SGBV. Voting can take place in different ways including:

using online quizzes (as described above)
using the ‘poll’ feature that is already integrated in certain platforms (Zoom, WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger etc.) or the ‘poll’ feature of online quizzes
asking participants to vote using the ‘thumps up’ icon of the platform or by using coloured sheets of paper in front of the camera to show their preferred option or by or using coloured effects on their background.

Using scenarios, case studies or written script (such as quotes, poems, song lyrics, posts etc.)

Scenarios and written scripts are a great way to kick start discussions on various topics because they place participants in specific situations that instigate response. You can use the scenarios as they are already presented in some of the activities, paying attention to the more lengthy ones which may need to be shortened so they are more easily followed online. You can even turn role play scripts or the descriptions of short incidences that are already included in some activities into scenarios for discussion.

Scenarios and written script can be facilitated online in different ways:

If you’re using an asynchronous mode, you can send the links to the scenarios/case studies beforehand so participants work on them in advance.
In a synchronous mode, if you’re running the activity in plenary only (without breaking up the group in smaller groups) you can present the text on PPT and ask one or two participants to read the text in the large group, for more engagement.
A good option is to use smaller groups (“breakout rooms”) which can discuss different scenarios in a smaller setting. The option is feasible in most platforms such as Zoom, WebEx, Teams. If you’re using ‘breakout’ rooms it is good to decide beforehand how you’d like to split your groups and prepare the breakout room breakdown in advance so it will be ready to ‘launch’ without delay during the training. For instance, would you prefer a random fall out of participants in each group? Would you prefer to have gender balance? Are you splitting participants by age? and so on. Remember that breakout rooms are quite ‘logistical’ and would you require the assistance of a co-facilitator during the online implementation. Lastly, to avoid awkwardness and silences, remember to pre-select a spokesperson for each group, who can present the group’s discussion on the scenario back in plenary when the whole group convenes.
Scenarios and written script (quotes, poems, song lyrics, posts etc.) can also be incorporated in online quizzes where participants can individually work on the questions following each scenario. If the scenario is too big, you can decide to first present it in plenary on PPT and provide some space and time for participants to read through it before they go into the quiz.

Role Playing and theatrical improvisations

Role playing and theatrical improvisations are feasible to implement online and are very successful, however, because they constitute somewhat more complex and less-straightforward methodologies, some prerequisites are needed :

Similar to offline implementation, running activities with theatrical improvisation entails certain expertise on behalf of the facilitators and also confidence that they will be adept to handle any sensitive issues that may arise after the improv.
Participants need to have access to video cameras and microphones and the group needs to be really keen and positive to engage in role playing. Don’t try to push participants into it, because it won’t work.
Always invite volunteers for taking onboard certain roles; don’t pre-assign them yourself and keep the number of characters to engage in the role play small).
To enhance participants’ openness to role playing and ease their concerns for ‘exposure’ during the improvisation, make sure that a safe and interactive environment has already been created in the group. Participants would most likely step into a theatrical improvisation if they already had a chance to interact with their group, brainstorm and discuss certain issues and felt safe to do so. Smaller group settings (such as breakout rooms) are also more conducive to theatrical games, however a plenary discussion afterwards is always necessary to ground the experience and help participants absolve any feelings that may have arisen.

If you feel that the group may not be positively inclined to enact a role play, you can develop the improvisation in written form rather than enacting it. You can ask participants to think and write down what the characters could potentially say (i.e. write down possible scripts on paper) which they can then read out and discuss in plenary. This can also be done in small groups in breakout rooms and then discussed in plenary.

Adapting creative activities

Activities such as drawings or crafts can still be used online so you don’t have to forego artistic expression. For instance, participants can individually create their drawings/artistic expressions during the online workshop and then share their visuals in front of the camera if they are keen to do so. Alternatively, creative activities can be given out as ‘homework’ beforehand , in the event that you will be working with a certain group for a few consecutive workshops. The facilitator can make a slide show of all or some of the contributions (anonymously too) and display them on PPT.

Additional resources that may be useful for online delivery of workshops

Overcoming barriers to student engagement (Online Learning Consortium): https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/news_item/ten-ways-overcome-barriers-student-engagement-online/

Teaching Sex Ed from Afar (Maine Family Planning): https://mainefamilyplanning.org/sex-ed/teaching-sex-ed-from-a-distance/

The Digital Facilitation Playbook (Howspace) https://www.howspace.com/digital-facilitation-playbook

Scarleteen message boards (https://www.scarleteen.com/bb/ ) for examples on how to address sensitive topics in an online group setting.