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.

Week 3 of Online Facilitation

As I have not yet experienced what it is to be an online facilitator, I can only speculate as to what would be the most difficult challenge of this profession.  If I had to wager an educated guess; I would say getting used to interacting with my students in a different form would be most difficult.  It is certainly not impossible to interact with students in an online setting; but I imagine that it has more to deal with emailing, once a week conversations, and digital participation.  This would be challenging for me considering that I am used to interacting with students by talking with them on a daily basis, or reading their non-verbal cues.

However, since I am going to be facilitating both a synchronous and asynchronous discussion there are some things that I need to consider.  As far as my synchronous discussion is concerned, I feel it is of the utmost importance to be prepared.  Preparation can help calm anxiety, anticipate previously unforeseen problems, and make the flow of discussion run smoothly.  I think having access to an Elluminate classroom will help tremendously with my preparation.  In terms of the asynchronous discussion, I think the best way to ensure that the conversation runs well is to establish very clear parameters.  By taking away the guess work of what I am expecting, the students can easily meet any established criteria while simultaneously creating a discussion worthy of participation.

My topic for consideration for the asynchronous/synchronous discussions is the Authenticity of Submitting Online Assignments.  I chose this particular topic because it was very interesting.  I feel there is much gray area with this topic, making for a great conversation starter.

Finally, when constructing my rubrics for both the synchronous and asynchronous plans, I truly tried my best to make rubrics that lacked ambiguity.  I figured that when I do an assignment, I like the directions to be as straight-forward and objective as possible.  Now, I understand that there is typically a degree of subjectivity when it comes to any assessment, but keeping that to a minimum (I believe), allows students to know exactly how to preform the task at hand.

"Hands on Learning" in Week 2

Whereas this class discusses a lot of topics that we have used in the past, it differs in the sense that we are much more active.  Starting with the Elluminate session that we had last night, we are trying to practice what we preach.  By being split into groups, with each member having a specific role, it was quite eye-opening to feel what it is like to be the teacher in charge of an online classroom.  It was also interesting to be the recorder, trying to utilize the "whiteboard," and its capabilities.  As far as the work for the week was concerned, it was nice to be able start off by taking a little quiz.  This helped me realize that were still some aspects of this particular week's content that I had not mastered.  I also like the way that we are running our ideas for initial class announcements by the rest of our classmates.  As we all have different backgrounds, this should be a great way to gain some insight from a previously hidden perspective.  Finally, this class has truly broadened my horizons in terms of learning about an asynchronous vs. synchronous online environment.  I think that in the asynchronous environment, where meetings don't match up, it is essential to utilize tools such as message boards and emailing (or a common space to check for class updates, such as a website, or wiki).  This type of environment, albeit non-traditional can very efficient due to the progresses of technology.  Conversely, a synchronous environment (where most meetings take place face-to-face) benefits also from the use of message boards, but most importantly from real-time classroom discussion and conversation.

Brand New Class

The first week of our new class was certainly a good one.  As we are using a different site (Brain Honey), I have already learned how to navigate an alternate hosting site (as opposed to the Stritch site, or a wiki), which has expanded my technological horizons.  I also think that it's pretty innovative to have two instructors, both of whom seem to have something unique to bring to the table, in terms of technological "know how."  The exercise during class that I enjoyed the most was the Elluminate tutorial (from the perspective of the moderator).  We've been using this web tool for over a year now, but it wasn't until last week that we finally got a chance to use some of its most useful features.  Finally, the readings/work for the first week of class was a good refresher.  It was beneficial to not only read about benefits of online learning, but also to think about it affects my classroom.  I am very interested to see what we learn about in the forthcoming weeks!

Most Feasible, Efficient Classroom Tool of 535

There were several technological tools from this class that could be useful in my, or any classroom.  However, I feel utilizing video casts will be most beneficial for me.  To describe my plan for implementation, I will use the SMART goal plan, per Dr. Loeffer's request (I used this acronym a couple of times before, and I think it is a very straight-laced way of thinking about how to implement a concept):

Specific---I will be creating video casts for each of my 3 lessons on advanced sequences and series.  I will then post these videos to my school website, and instruct my students to "learn at their own pace," asking me questions as needed along the way.

Measurable---At the end of the unit exam on these three lessons, I will give my students an exam, as usual.  To measure the success of my idea, I will compare their scores on these exams to those of their previous ones, looking for any type of improvement (or lack there of).

Attainable---As I have two computers at my disposal, along with several hours a week dedicated to technology inservice time, I should be able to get these casts made with little to no difficulty.  Also, because I am only doing three lessons, it is very feasible for me to finish in a timely fashion.

Realistic---Because I am only doing three lessons, this technology goal is very realistic.  However, should I find this to be a success, I will certainly dedicate some summer time to making additional videocasts.

Timely---This will be completed before the unit begins, which will start in April.

I believe that this plan is feasible and attainable.  Thank you for the great tools and ideas Dr. Loeffler!

Week 5 of 535

This week saw us examine some new tools, and work with some previously mentioned tools as well.  The  first activity we did was recapping Will Richardson's book, providing a summary in the form of an Eyejot.  We then were supposed to explore a web application that we previously didn't have any experience using.  I found this to be quite "eye-opening," helping me realize that there are many beneficial applications on the web.  We also had to continue work on our websites, along with setting up a shared collections folder.  Finally, in our groups we were to recap all of the aforementioned activities, along with exploring a couple of new articles. 

As far as those activities that can help me in my professional life, I can see myself utilizing the website and Eyejot emails.  Considering the fact that the website I am creating deals specifically with helping students/parents, the tie here to my professional life is rather obvious.  Since I am creating helpful links for students/parents to use, they can simply access my website if they feel they need additional assistance, or simply want some additional practice.  In regards to the Eyejots, I believe they'll directly correlate to my professional life due to their simplicity alone.  It is so much easier to just talk, versus typing up a long email; I've started sending these to colleagues, students, and parents.  Efficient tools simply can't be ignored.