Arvon at Home FAQs
Online Masterclass
Will the session be recorded?
All our masterclasses are recorded, so if you are unable to attend live, you will have access to the recording afterwards. You will receive an email with a link to the recording the day after the event, and you will also be able to access it in your Arvon account. Masterclass recordings are available without a time limit.
Will the session have captions and transcripts?
All our online events have zoom auto-captions enabled. You can turn these on or off yourself during the session. You can also access the transcript during the session or on the recording. Please see our access page for more information on accessibility.
How interactive are the sessions?
The sessions are in zoom webinar format, which means that your camera and microphone will be off, and your name will not be visible to other participants. No one will be able to see or hear you, so it’s a relaxed event that you can take at your own pace. You can join the event at any time and leave if you need to. You will be able to interact with the tutors and other participants via the chat, and ask questions by typing them in the Q&A facility. Your Arvon host will explain this at the start of the session.
How can I access a copy of the course materials?
If the course materials have been shared, you will be able to access them in your Arvon account. Find the course under My Bookings, click on More Details and you should see a Course Materials button, which will take you to a page where you can view and download the materials.
If the tutor has shared course materials before the masterclass, you will also receive an email with the link.
If you need the course materials in advance for access reasons, please email arvonathome@arvon.org
Online Writing Week/Month
How many participants do online courses have?
Our online writing weeks/months have up to 14 participants.
I am interested in booking an online writing week/writing month but will have to miss one/some of the workshops. Is it still possible to join?
If you can attend all the sessions that would be ideal, but missing just one workshop is generally not a problem. Although the sessions are not recorded for confidentiality reasons, tutors usually make course materials and exercises available, and we would do our best to help you catch up. To get the most out of the course, we would not recommend missing more than one workshop.
Can 1-1 tutorials be arranged at a time that suits me?
Tutorials for writing weeks usually take place in the afternoons between 14.00-16.00, and for writing months on Monday evenings between 17.00-20.10. If you have any unavoidable conflicts you would like us to consider when scheduling tutorials, please let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to accommodate you. However, we usually won’t be able to schedule tutorials outside these time slots.
Can I join a writing week/writing month from a different time zone?
We regularly have international participants joining our online courses. You are very welcome to join from anywhere in the world.
I don’t feel confident with technology, can I join an online course?
The sessions take place on Zoom and we use Padlet as a landing page for course resources. You don’t need technical knowledge to participate, just access to a computer and internet. We do recommend that you download the zoom app and familiarise yourself with it before the course. We are happy to arrange a short test call, please get in touch if you would like this. We will go through how Padlet works at the beginning of the course. If you have any concerns about using it, or any access requirements, please email us on arvonathome@arvon.org
Online Writing Day
Will the session be recorded?
All our writing days are recorded, so if you are unable to attend live, you will have access to the recording afterwards. You will receive an email with a link to the recording the day after the event, and you will also be able to access it in your Arvon account. Writing Day recordings are available for a month after the event.
Will the session have captions and transcripts?
All our online events have zoom auto-captions enabled. You can turn these on or off yourself during the session. You can also access the transcript during the session or on the recording. Please see our access page for more information on accessibility.
How interactive are the sessions?
Writing Days are in zoom meeting format. You have the option to have your camera on or off as you prefer. If invited by the tutor, you can ask questions or contribute to the discussion on audio. We ask everyone to keep themselves muted when not speaking. You can also use the chat to interact with the tutor and other participants. There is a Q&A facility to where you can type your questions during the final Q&A session.
How can I access a copy of the course materials?
If the course materials have been shared, you will be able to access them in your Arvon account. Find the course under My Bookings, click on More Details and you should see a Course Materials button, which will take you to a page where you can view and download the materials.
If the tutor has shared course materials before the masterclass, you will also receive an email with the link.
If you need the course materials in advance for access reasons, please email arvonathome@arvon.org
How many participants do writing days have?
Writing days have up to 50 participants.
Under 18s
Arvon’s Online Writing Weeks, Online Writing Months and Online Writing Days are only open to people aged 18 and over. By booking on a course you confirm that the participant named in the booking is aged 18 or over. Find out more about our work with under-18s here or email learning@arvon.org.
We welcome over 16s on our Online Masterclasses, which are in webinar format, meaning that participants can’t be seen or heard and interaction with the tutor is via the chat function. Please note that Masterclasses are designed with adults in mind so not all content may be suitable for U18s, and we recommend that an adult joins the young person for the session, or watches the recording to ensure you are happy of its suitability.
We also welcome over 16s to join our Saturday Writing Club but please note that the club is designed with adults in mind so not all content may be suitable for U18s. We recommend that an adult joins the young person for the session.
A note on the use of AI and recording
Due to concerns around privacy, we do not allow the use of external AI transcription services during our online events and courses. Auto-captioning is available across all of our online courses, and the transcript can be viewed during the session. For recorded events (Masterclasses, How I Write sessions and Online Writing Days), the auto-captions, transcript and chatbox can be viewed alongside the recording. Please get in touch via access@arvon.org if you would like to discuss this further.