Investigating the effectiveness of webinars in the adoption of proven school wellness strategies

Abstract

Objective: Recent federal legislation in the USA highlights the role schools play in student health by requiring the utilisation of wellness councils for policy development and oversight. One barrier to developing good-quality wellness policies and wellness culture is limited knowledge of resources among school professionals. This article describes an approach to webinar delivery to improve school wellness efforts. Design: Eight webinars, 30–60 minutes in length, were delivered on topics designed to enhance school wellness environments. Setting: Webinars were delivered using an online meeting software platform to school professionals, who participated from their respective school buildings remotely. Method: Webinars featured content experts for the selected topics and were promoted to school professionals and wellness organisations. Attendees were invited to participate in a post-webinar questionnaire regarding satisfaction with the session and intent to act on knowledge gained from participation. Results: Webinars reached 280 school and wellness professionals (teachers, administrators, nurses, etc.). Participants who completed post-webinar surveys (n = 78) rated the webinar’s ability to enhance their knowledge in the respective topic area with an average score of 4.3 out of 5.0 (1 = poor, 5 = excellent). Most respondents (n = 69) intended to share the information gained with a colleague. Conclusion: Webinars provide a viable method of instruction and education for school personnel interested in strategies for improving a school’s wellness environment. Further investigation is necessary to determine the best strategies for promoting webinar engagement. Future research should also explore the link between webinar participation and positive changes in school wellness environments.

Utility and perceptions about web-based academics among physicians during COVID-19 pandemic

“…Webinar was also found to be significantly useful to augment the knowledge of participants in a survey investigating the effectiveness of webinar. [ 21 ] Our study has strengthened the idea of brighter aspects of webinars. At the same time, it has emphasized the hindrance due to untimely and poorly prepared mushrooming of webinars on physicians.…”

Assessment and Valuation of the Northern Grapes Project Webinar Series

“…Motor vehicle operating savings = d $1987.50 Total green impact = $826,292.26 One major consideration for developing and delivering webinars is reducing or eliminating the need for costly travel (Allred and Smallidge, 2010;Hoke et al, 2018;Rich et al, 2011;Verma and Singh, 2010). Reduction of travel results in additional indirect benefits by reducing environmental costs.…”

“…ebinars are a technology that has advanced greatly among researchers and extension workers in the past decade (Verma and Singh, 2010;Zoumenou et al, 2015). Various groups have championed its use as a way to conveniently disseminate research outcomes to stakeholders (Allred and Smallidge, 2010;Formiga et al, 2014;Hoke et al, 2018;Pulec et al, 2016;Rich et al, 2011;VanDerZanden, 2013;Zavell et al, 2017). Although the technology has been available for several years, challenges to successful implementation still exist.…”

Training teachers to implement physical activity: Applying social cognitive theory

“…To address these common barriers, researchers have identified technical assistance and training as an opportunity to help teachers with PA session implementation including in-person training, one-on-one support and web-based resources (Erwin et al, 2011; Hughey et al, 2014; Lonsdale et al, 2016; Lynch, 2015; Resaland et al, 2016). Studies show that these inexpensive methods of teacher training are viable and effective at facilitating teacher implementation of classroom PA (Erwin et al, 2011; Hoke et al, 2017). However, to our knowledge, there is no research that has examined the most effective type of teacher support or training to increase classroom PA outcomes.…”