FAQ | Link online learners

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can sign up for Link Online Learner video chats?

Any young person aged between 10-21 + is welcome to join our global meet-ups. If you are aged 10-18, you’ll be a Youth Member. 19 to 21 year olds are our Youth Mentors. Adult Volunteers are aged 22+.

How does it work?

You sign up to become a member, using the link on our home page.

This will give you access to Our activities page, and other restricted pages.

Here you will find the times for the sessions. Be sure to check what time the four sessions are at in your local time zone.

When it’s time, press the link, and it will take you to the waiting room where our host will let you in.

If you don’t already have the zoom.us app, it will ask you to download it, so you can join.

We have a “waiting room” for you before the meeting starts. Just wait there until our host opens the meeting and invites you in.

Who will I meet?

You will meet young people from a variety of different countries.

These are the people who inspire the breakout room discussions and projects.

You will also meet members of the Link Online Learners team. These are trained adults who volunteer to host our Chats.

We always make sure that there is an adult present with all groups.

The role of the adults on LOL Chats is to welcome you, help you with any questions or tech problems you may have.

They will help the conversation along when needed, making sure everyone gets a chance to speak.

The well-being of our participants is very important to us. We try to create a positive experience for all.

Do I need my parents' / guardian's permission to participate?

If you are under 18 we need your parents or guardians consent.

They will do this as part of the member joining process.

By doing so, they release Link Online Learners from all claims related to your participation and allow the use or re-use of material from these meetings in whatever format or medium.

Why do you record the chats?

We record all Chat sessions for a few reasons:

– We use the sessions for training new Chat hosts.

– We always debrief to see what we can learn and improve.

– We want to document our activities to be able to put together stories of Link Online Learners at a later point for communication and sharing purposes. Sometimes we take screen shots from our Chats to share updates with our Link Online Learners community.

The archive of raw recordings and screen shots is only accessible to the Link Online Learners team.

Is it free to participate?

Yes, it is free to participate.

We set up Link Online Learners during the COVID-19 pandemic to help young people connect, even though we were all in isolation.

We are excited that we have built something really special and want to see it continue as the world opens up.

Can I sign up to volunteer?

We will need more volunteers as the global family of Link Online Learners grow in size.

As Link Online Learners builds momentum around the globe, the LOL team is looking for great people to join us.

The minimum commitment is from two hours a week in one or more of the following roles:

Weekly session hosts and moderators – Lively or thoughtful? Always encouraging? Great with kids?

Zoom tech support hosts – Experienced on Zoom? Pretty unflappable? Good eye for detail?

Back office volunteers – Methodical? Good at getting stuff done? Team player?

Media and comms support – Good with words? Tip top at TikTok? Great at reaching a global audience?

To find out more and start the process visit the Volunteer page.

Are there chats for languages other than English?

Currently all chats are in English. It is the language that all volunteers and founders have in common.

With time and growth of our volunteer team, we may be able to expand to other languages.

Why am I being asked to show my face?

We ask all members and volunteers to turn on their video/camera for a couple reasons:

We want to make sure that you are who you say you are. We cater for participation by young people aged 10-18 with vetted adults and youth mentors as volunteers. We do this to protect the other participants.

We believe that open, engaging and interesting conversation is more powerful when we can see who we are talking to. Speaking (even virtually) face-to-face helps us understand one another.

If you have concerns or are nervous about this, please just send us an email as info@linkonlinelearners.com and we will walk you through the process.

What if my internet bandwidth is not very strong?

Email us ahead of a chat session and we can make accommodations for you.

What are the expectations for participating?

Ultimately, we hope that participants will engage in interesting and thoughtful conversations with young people from around the world.

We want everyone to feel comfortable to share their knowledge and understanding of their own culture, country, and community.

We ask questions of other young people and the volunteers to promote global mindedness, empathy, and build new friendships.

But, there is no rush to achieve all of those things!

We understand that you may feel a bit shy or nervous joining these chats and speaking with your new friends, so just take your time.

The video below helps understand what it’s like to participate also. It covers things like:

Be kind, patient and respectful to one another
Use appropriate language, remember we have a wide range of ages on the call
Speak slowly and don’t be afraid to get close to the camera
Raise your hand if you’d like to speak
Most importantly, have have fun! We are all in this together

If you have any questions or concerns before or after any LOL session, you can send us an email at info@linkonlinelearners.org.

How do you help keep everyone safe during sessions?

The video below shares about the ways we interact with each other during the live sessions. It covers things like:

Be kind, patient and respectful to one another
Use appropriate language, remember we have a wide range of ages on the call
Speak slowly and don’t be afraid to get close to the camera
Raise your hand if you’d like to speak
Most importantly, have have fun! We are all in this together

By following this as a guide, everyone feels safe, respected and appreciated for their views, perspective and ideas.

The adult volunteers and youth mentors go through a vetting process to be sure we know who they are and the experience they have working with children. Most adult volunteers are licensed educators.

For more information on our commitment to keep everyone safe, visit our Safeguarding page.

I am a teacher, can I join with my class?

Yes! Teachers are welcome to join LOL with their classes. Participating while remote or hybrid is encouraged. Each person should register and be one to one device or one device to a few learners during sessions.

Teachers are encourage to get in touch with us to learn more and access our teacher pack with assistance with email and instructions for students and families.

Visit our Teachers page to find out more.

Email info@linkonlinelearners.org if you have any questions.