A practical framework to design educational webinars in the age of COVID-19

Webinars are a relatively new technology initially adopted as a marketing tool for companies to promote their products and services. Other uses of webinars include training, group meetings and recently, during the COVID-19 crisis, delivery of lectures and tutorials in higher education. The existing literature in education shows webinars to be as effective as lectures but lacks a practical framework that would guide the design, delivery, and evaluation of webinars. This paper seeks to propose a useful framework to guide educational webinars. The authors identified six aspects that could affect the quality of the learning experience in webinars, namely: (i) pedagogical and instructional strategies; (ii) content; (iii) presentation style; (iv) platform; (v) netiquette; and (vi) evaluation. These elements align with educational principles that apply to online and blended learning environments. If webinar design considers those six aspects, an enhanced student learning experience is the likely outcome. The authors suggest empirical research to validate and improve the framework.