Final Post for Online Facilitation

This class has been quite a great experience, and I'm sad to see it end (I'm not sad, or apologizing for the three week break however).  I've learned many valuable skills that I can relay to my students, along with becoming better educated in online learning (just in general).

From this class, I have learned how to deal with teaching in an online setting, along with figuring out the 21st century skills that will make my students successful.  Such skills include, but are not limited to collaboration, synthezing information, and effecient use of current technology. 

As far as becoming better educated about online learning, taking a look at the Virtual School's Legislation (which is what I was most excited about learning in this module) was a great way to familiarize myself with the rules/regulations that govern the online schools of Wisconsin.  However, as I look at this legislation, I can't help but feel like it's a tad on the restrictive side.  Although, as this efficient means of educating isn't going anywhere, I have complete faith that the legislation will adapt properly in the near future.

When it comes to my district's involvement with online learning, we do offer a lit bit.  Our students have the option to take online classes if there is a schedule conflict, but few take advantage of it.  I think as we continue to expand our computer labs and course loads, more students will be taking advantage of this 21st century learning tool.

Overall, this was a great class that helped me gain a lot of experience with how to conduct an online class.  Thanks for everything Ken and Greg!

Week 5 of Online Facilitation

This week in class there was a large focus on online collaboration.  My experience with online communities is that they are a great way to utilize the collective knowledge of a group.  I found that working in groups in this particular cohort has proved quite beneficial, as I've gained both socialization and technological skills.  The biggest benefit that I've found with group collaboration is the efficiency.  What I mean by this is that when group roles are properly allocated, using motivated group members, it is amazing to see how fast a task can be completed.  To me, this type of success is proof of how we as humans work much better together.  One challenge that I've found with group collaboration is finding a common meeting time.  With adult learners, it can be especially difficult to combine agendas that involve kids, jobs, and other organizations.  In the larger picture however, I see social networking as a solution to this conundrum.  As anyone can be connected via a tweet, a text, or a Facebook message, groups can meet on the fly, during periods of time that were previously deemed "inconvenient."  I truly believe that much business in the future will be conducted asynchronously, or though some social medium other than face-to-face interaction.

Week 4 of Online Facilitation

This week was very interesting, particularly due to the fact that I was in charge of a synchronous and asynchronous facilitation.  This was quite the eye-opening experience, having to be on the other end of the online classroom.  I thought that the preparation aspect of the presentation went very well, as with anything, the more prepared you are, the better off you'll be.  However, once the presentation actually began, the nerves set in.  At first I was very nervous, not sure if anyone would actually participate.  Although, as my students (typically peers) did a great job of fostering the conversation, the classroom pretty much ran itself.  The one thing that I was much more aware of, being on the facilitator side, was that time flies.  I had my own ideas of how to relegate the conversation, based on certain time checkpoints, but my class had such good ideas, it was hard to stop them from expressing their ideas.

As far as the asynchronous facilitation is concerned, I believe that so far, things are going very well.  I have been trying to make sure that I keep up with all of the comments on a day-by-day basis (for the most part), which makes it easy for me to monitor the flow of the conversation.  It's quite interesting to see how all of the different perspectives create a cornucopia of diverse ideas.

This exercise was certainly a great way to experience what it is to facilitate in an online setting.