Helene Simpson joined the Physioplus Instructor team during the COVID-19 pandemic and, after a steep learning curve and with plenty of humour, she now shares with us her tips for becoming an online presenter.
When the world went into lockdown in the first quarter of 2021, Helene Simpson, a physiotherapist from South Africa, was required to vacate her clinic premises. Like many other business owners, she was distressed about how she was going to make ends meet following the indefinite closure of her business. It was during this time that Helene decided to explore the option of presenting courses for Physioplus.
Learning the differences between presenting a course online and in-person
As an expert in her clinical field, as well as having vast experience in teaching, Helene felt fairly optimistic about the idea of teaching and delivering courses, but she soon realised that presenting a course online is quite different to in-person.
I could not have done it without you [Physioplus]; your patience, encouragement and amazing effort to get it all together – Helene Simpson, Physioplus Instructor
The technology used for recording an online presentation is often foreign to clinicians at the outset of the process. As Helene discovered though, it is simple once you know how – she didn’t need any previous experience in presenting online courses, or any special equipment, just a willingness to learn and a sense of humour!
Most Physioplus online course videos are recorded on a simple mobile phone and can be done from your own home – a far cry from the time and cost spent travelling round the world to present in person.
Apply to create online courses with Physioplus
A new skillset with support and coaching from Physioplus
When talented clinicians decide to work with Physioplus their journey to transfer their existing skills to becoming expert online course Instructors begins. It’s all about collaboration – the Physioplus team, who are all clinicians as well, provide comprehensive support and coaching throughout the course development process. The goal of the process is that Instructors finish making their online courses feeling upskilled and confident to take their new knowledge onto future projects.
So did Helene successfully make the transition to online teaching? The hundreds of clinicians that have done her courses and regularly keep them trending on Physioplus certainly think so!
Helene is truly fantastic! She is an expert in teaching with humility but a great understanding of her field. And I know she has built the course on years of real-life patient exposure, and now her knowledge is so useful to all of us – participant of the Assessment of the Ankle course
With 8 courses now under her belt, Helene reflects on some of the tips she learnt along the way – a must-watch for any would-be Instructors!
Helene articulates so clearly! She builds a trust with her audience that she knows what she is talking about. Helene has an enthusiastic and fun approach to explaining relevant biomechanics – participant of Functional Anatomy of the Ankle course
Read more about Helene and check out her very popular Understanding the Ankle programme of courses – and look out for the launch of her latest series of courses on Understanding the Foot – coming soon!