IMHO

Welcome!

Over the past few weeks I have developed more of an understanding of what online facilitating actually is. It is not necessarily and soley focussed on teaching. It has been described as being the 'conductor'. Almost like a chairperson in a business meeting.

A great facilitator listens, supports, summarises, keeps time, creates a safe environment online and encourages participation.

To build an online community one needs to first develop a plan, a goal and an aim. Then consider the software or online tool that will best meet this need. For example if I simply want to keep in touch with the students and discuss specific learning attainments, then a discussion board may be appropriate. Once I advertise and motivate the students regarding this, then this will in turn create the community. Really it is about creating the place and the community follows. Hopefully the students will then take ownership. I have also learnt some tips to get students engaging appropriately on discussion boards and forums.

Although I am not lecturing face to face and the current move is away from the tradition teacher centered model this does not mean that 'teachers' or 'facilitators' are now obsolete. I have learnt that the facilitator holds the key to sucess by the way in which they structure the learning experiences.

I have learnt some things about appropriate nettiquette too. Such as;

BTW, THIS MEANS I"M SHOUTING, but if it sounds like I am being hostile I could always add a to show I am happy or smiling and a to show I am angry. If you say something funny and I respond that I am ROTFL that might be appropriate.
I will not want to say anything that might cause offense as I might start a flame war and that would be .
Thanks guys, I will BRB.
Jade

On line quiz disaster

Hi there again!!!

It has been a very busy few weeks for me. I have been on holiday briefly up to Taupo and Auckland, which was great and just what I needed. I have worked my two hospital shifts at the beginning of the week and have had to sort a bit of a mess out with my other job at Otago. And tried to fit in somewhere being a mum and a partner..

I am the course coordinator for a nutrition paper that had an online quiz as part of the assessment. It was a complete disaster....The students went into the quiz to then find that they could actually have multiple attempts to get the right answer. As I am very new to the quiz set up and moodle I had to lump this problem onto other colleagues. The quiz ended up being stopped and a resit date had to be established. However with the help of the IT dept. it ran smoothly the next time. I have learnt however now a lot more about loading questions onto moodle and how the adaption mode needs to on no to prevent this from happening again...Phew.

Therefore with dealing with all of this, my study got put a little bit on the back burner, but hopefully I'm back on track now. I have had so much fun (and spent so much time) playing on line. I have now subscribed and downloaded Skype (wasted half an hour taking and retaking photos of myself), created a twitter and myspace account and having been playing with google toolbars. All loads of fun. I need to remember that I should be applying this to online learning, but sometimes it just is so fun to muck about..(couldn't think of anyone to follow on twitter, so choose Pink as she had made a comment about NZ wine..) Contemplated following Justin Beiber before thankfully sanity caught up with me.

Although I haven't managed to get onto the elluminate meetings I have listened to the recorded posts and worked through the videos for the weeks activity. I feel like I now understand much more on what facilitating these meetings entails and the 7 skills for being an online facilitator. Initially when Sarah asked me to facilitate an online meeting I thought I needed to know all about the topic but now thankfully I see my goal is quite different. A facilitator is much more like a conductor, to ensure the outcome is achieved, to provide a safe environment, to summarise and problem solve a little What I found great in the elluminate session was when it all went wrong! When all of this scretchy noise occurred and then Sarah explaining what she did to correct it! That was great. I hope I could have the skills to know how to do this for my students in the future. I just need more experience. So I should really take up Sarah's offer to facilitate a meeting. Hopefully she will hold my hand.

I need to know more about elluminate though. How to upload photos and files quickly and easily,
how to set up multiple talkers, how to create and clear polls, how to record the session?

Anyway enough for now, must go and catch up with what Pink is tweeting about!
Jade