Studying Online Doesn’t Have to Mean On-Own

Studying personal training online can be challenging on your own, but at the Australian Institute of Fitness we have an online community and virtual classrooms’, explain NSW eCoaches Kate Cheyne and Ben O’Connell.

Virtual classrooms are a great way of ensuring you don’t feel like you’re studying your online personal training course alone and have no one to bounce ideas off or ask questions. Here are some steps to follow to get the most out of using this exciting tool.

What is a Virtual Classroom?

A virtual classroom is an interactive, online class where you get to learn, collaborate and interact with your Coaches and with others in your state that are at the same stage of the course as you all from the comfort of your own home.

You don’t even need to be a computer techo’ to get yourself online and enjoy the FUN!

Equipment

You will need the basics; a computer or laptop and an internet connection, which you will be using for your Personal Trainer online program anyway. We will give you a link to download the virtual classroom software. It is free, it doesn’t take up a lot of memory space, and once you have it downloaded once you will just need to sign in on the link each time.

One of the key parts of your virtual classroom is your ability to hear the eCoach and the other eFriends. You will learn by utilising the eCoaches’ knowledge and actively participate in questions or instructions, so ensure that you have a good set of speakers or headphones so you can hear the coach and other eFriends loud and clear.

Participation

When attending a virtual classroom for the first time you may be a little nervous, but there is nothing to fear as we make the classes as enjoyable and relaxed as possible, and encourage everyone to become involved.

You learn not only by listening but also by asking questions. There is never a silly question in this classroom! During the class you are able to communicate with everyone through the text box as well as via your microphone.

The ability to speak and be heard by your fellow eFriends only increases the face-to-face aspect of these classes; with the use of a microphone the only thing separating these classes from a real class is cyberspace!

Recording

Another great feature to a successful virtual classroom is that you can put your full attention into what is happening in the class at that point in time. If you miss a slide or a comment from an eFriend or eCoach you are more then welcome to ask to go back.

A recording of the class will be sent to all those who participated in the virtual classroom so they will have it to look back on when ever they feel the need to.

Being Prepared

A vital part of your success will to being prepared and ready! This will involve:

• Giving yourself adequate time before the class to access the link to the class and log on! Note: The first time you log on you will need to download the appropriate software, which may take 15 minutes or so, after that it takes about 5 minutes.
• Completing an audio check to ensure your speakers and microphone are working properly.
• Having any questions handy with reference to the modules that are being covered in the virtual classroom so you can ask when the opportunity arises.
• Checking you have adequate space around you to move as you don’t know when the eCoach may ask you to jump up out of your seat and follow their instructions through some exercises.
• Ensuring all connections to your computer or laptop are properly connected, as there is nothing worse than your internet or battery dropping out mid-class.

See You There!

You will be amazed at the energy and excitement that is felt during the online classroom, even though we cannot see each other, everyone feels much more connected.

You will not only have a better understanding of the content but also a building block to form connections with others in the class that you can also continue to interact with online outside of the virtual class when studying.

These classes are run by at different times and days of the week depending on which state you’re in. There are two compulsory virtual classrooms for Certificate III in Fitness Communication and Anatomy, and Gym Programming and one for Certificate IV in Fitness. You are welcome to attend these as often as you like, as different eFriends attending ask different questions, plus just hearing the information again can make it all click together and get the light bulb flashing.

If you haven’t yet enrolled to the Master Trainer eCampus program, get in touch!

• Bio

AIF

The Australian Institute of Fitness

The Australian Institute of Fitness (AIF) is the largest and longest established fitness training organisation in Australia, with dynamic training methods and expert course coaches nationwide - spanning fitness, massage and nutrition. The AIF qualifies more fitness professionals than any other provider in Australia, as well as offering a broad range of continuing education courses (CEC), upskilling resources and partnership programs for existing industry.