In the toolkit on how to use Participatory Video against discrimination [LINK TO THE TOOLKIT] we have given you an overview of what PV is and how you can implement a PV workshop with examples of how to design the workshop.

This blog entry is an important addition to the toolkit and will deal with facilitating a PV workshop in the online sphere or in a hybrid fashion with online and in-person physical sessions. We recommend using the information here in addition to all the information in the toolkit.

Through all the events of the past years, we all had to reset our way of thinking regarding our regular work patterns. Because plans were thrown overboard and we had not much control of what was going to happen next, everyone did their best to make all our ideas and projects work in the most unusual circumstances. This rethinking reframed our work and skillset. At first, it was unimaginable to the teams of the project to facilitate PV or theatre workshops online but the circumstances forced our hand and we had to adapt. We think there is great value in some of the learnings we had in the online workshops and want to share them with you here.

In this blogpost, you will find an example for the design of a hybrid workshop with specific tips for the facilitator, a focus on online collective editing of video material, and some general tips for online workshops and supportive web tools.

Hybrid Workshops – exemplary design and notes

Session 1: 1x3h (online) Getting to know each other, introducing the topic
Session 2: 1x5h (in person) Group building, film and camera tasks, working on the topic
Session 3: 1x8h (in person) Working on the topic, planning and filming
Session 4: 1x3h (online) Watching and discussing videos

Note: In this variation, editing is done by the facilitator/a technician. If the editing is done collaboratively, it can be inserted between the 3^rd and 4^th sessions. Further down below we will give you tips on how to facilitate collaborative editing during online sessions.

In a hybrid flow of online and offline sessions, the 2^nd step can be done online and the 3^rd step offline.

There is a number of work exercises that can be done in the course of a PV workshop. The Word Cloud is especially suitable for online sessions.

Exercise example: Word Cloud

Step by Step:

1. Ask participants to think of words that come to their mind when they think of discrimination and write them on a shared online platform
2. Share your screen as more and more words appear
3. The group looks at the word cloud together and participants can share the reason why they put these words

Hint for the facilitator:

This exercise can work well on the first session, in order to map the experiences of participants related to discrimination, introduce the topic in a personal way and start to build trust within the group.

There are numerous online tools, like Menti or Slido that can be used for online mapping. Make sure to give participants enough time to familiarize themselves with the tool that you propose in case they do not know it yet.

Notes on the Learning Process

Using these tools helps to make an online workshop setting participatory and keeps the session more dynamic.

Online collective editing

Group editing was an outstanding challenge during our online and hybrid workshops and is therefore a special focus in this blogpost. We have prepared a step-by-step guide on how to facilitate collaborative editing in online sessions.

Step by step:

1. The first step for a successful editing is the technical script or storyboard which not only allows filming in a more orderly way, but also makes editing easier.
2. Ask each group of 5-6 participants to divide the following roles:

• Scene selector
• Assembler (cutting videos and linking them together)
• Sound manager
• Special effects and video transitions manager
• Raccord manager and director
• Export and upload manager. If there is no unanimous decision on who does what, the tasks can be distributed randomly using slips of paper with each task.

1. Use an online editor tool that allows you to work simultaneously with different participants, like Invideo. (https://Invideo.io?ref=topesdegama).
2. Once registered, the tool allows you to add members and change the status of the member to editor or administrator. We recommend leaving them as administrators.
3. Once in the interface, you will find different video options and their dimensions. Choose the one that suits you. The most convenient is to use the option “Blank Canvas”, Wide (16:9) and then click on the “Make a video” button.
4. Begin by importing the videos. Cut out what you do not need and start working. It is a very intuitive interface that allows us to do many things.
5. When the video is finished, export it in the “Download and share” section. This way, once the programme exports it, you can download it and share it with as many people as you want.
6. Let each group of participants meet in a video call session in order to be able to share their screens and see how the others are working.

Hints for facilitators:

Tutorials for online video editors can mostly be found on YouTube, like in our case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqca_pinFA.

We work with a very intuitive tool that allows us to work simultaneously with different participants, as well as adapting the video to different formats. In this way, in addition to seeing what changes someone else has made, we have the latest version of the document ready for editing.

In the case that the editing part is done virtually from each person’s home, it is recommended that the participants and the facilitators meet in a video call in which they can share a screen so that everyone can see how that person works, see what changes he/she makes, what effects he/she applies, etc. In addition to that, it is advisable to ask them to save the file in a folder in the cloud so that the trainer can see how they evolve, give tips and suggestions. It also makes their work easier, as they have the latest version of the file to edit at all times.

With this tool, it is even possible that the editing is done separately, at different times. In this case, we recommend that the participants create a shared document in Drive, in which they indicate who has done what at each moment. Even so, we recommend using it live, having constant communication.

We also recommend always including the facilitators in the account, so that we can see how participants are progressing. If you see that there is a problem, you indicate it to them via slack, offering them the possibility of meeting via Zoom.

Notes on Learning Process:

By designating roles, all participants will have an assigned task that will be an important part of the final video. In addition, the dedication and commitment of each participant will be verified. Although the tasks are divided, this does not mean that the final decision has to be taken by one person. All decisions should be agreed upon as a group. Dividing up the tasks helps us to ensure that everyone has a compulsory task to do and cannot get out of it. Even so, it is recommended that the tasks are done together and that the people who “don’t have to” do the task are present to help the person who has to do it. In this way, as well as helping in decision-making, you learn by seeing how someone else works.

General tips and helpful web tools

Combining face-to-face sessions with online sessions makes the task easier and more difficult for facilitators in equal measure. On the one hand, it allows us to work from home and to monitor the tasks carried out closely as they are all recorded, but at the same time, it is difficult to know if any of the participants are lost, need help or are not participating sufficiently. Hence, communication tools are key for these workshop sessions.

When starting the session in person, it is very important that we transmit confidence and closeness so that when the time comes to start the online sessions, the participants feel comfortable to write to us or ask us their doubts.

Monitoring the process:

It is important that we know that participants are working and remain motivated. For this, we asked them to make a technical script of what they will record. This is a task that can help them in the future to know what they have to record, where, who will appear, what they will say, etc.

In a few words:

• Create sessions in which participants feel comfortable
• Offer useful tools
• Provide extra information, links or videos to help them better capture their ideas
• Create effective communication using the tools available (Email, Sack and WhatsApp)
• Follow up the process, but do not invade their space
• Provide answers to their questions
• Allow them to make mistakes and offer help

Zoom

The most common approach to online workshops is to have the whole session in a video call, like zoom. Online meeting platforms offer many possibilities to create a workshop session, like screen sharing, poles, break-out sessions etc.

These video calls can be combined with other tools like Miro, Menti, Slido, etc.

Slack

It is also important to use tools that allow fluid communication and not as formal as E-Mail. That is why we decided to use Slack.

Slack (www.slack.com) is a very useful tool that allows you to chat. This conveys immediacy and trust. Slack is an online chat tool that allows you to talk individually or in groups. It also allows you to create subgroups to talk to specific groups. It is very useful to solve doubts, provide extra information or send tasks. In addition to the chat, it also has a forum or common chat, which allows common doubts to be resolved in a single message, which makes the work easier for the facilitator. In addition to the aforementioned tools, it also has these others:

• A private chat
• A common forum
• Possibility to share different files (word, videos, pdf, images etc.)
• Email notifications
• Search engine
• Forum creator for specific topics

In short, it is a very powerful tool that facilitates communication with the participants and allows for an exhaustive follow-up of the process.

We combined the use of slack with the use of E-Mail to communicate with participants. We used Slack to give them more information about specific topics such as: “Do we experience internalized discrimination against certain people?” We used this tool to follow up and see how they are dealing with the issue.”

Invideo

In addition to the need for communication, there is also the need to control that all participants are equally involved in the editing of the videos. For this reason, we proposed the use of a tool called: Invideo (https://Invideo.io?ref=topesdegama). This tool allows several users to view and edit at the same time. In addition, it collects all the changes made. It is a very intuitive tool that makes editing much easier as it offers: effects, video transitions, titles, credits and most importantly it can be used online and is multi-user which simplifies the task when editing.

When creating an Invideo account, we can ask workshop participants to include us in their projects to see how each one is progressing and if any of them needs help in the process. This will help us a lot, as we will know at all times how each one is doing and how we can help them.