Am I a 'facilitator extraordinaire'?

Hello All.

Well I am writing this well in retrospect but I acutally facilitated an online event! It was quite a learning curve and something that I'm really glad I did. Sometimes all of this new technology and new learning is overwhelming and I just want to bury my head in the sand and hope it will all go away. But in hindsight I'm so greatful of having the opportunity. It really has increased my understanding and learning about what online facilitation is all about.

With a little bit of encouraging from my lecturer Sarah Stewart I eventually assigned myself and put my name to an event. It was on 'second life'. I thought this must be some kind of spiritual or personal development tool..gosh was I wrong. I looked into it so that I could have some input if required or at least ask a semi intelligent question regarding it but I was so confused with the actual concept. It appeared second life is a virtual world where one can form an avatar for themselves and roam a virtual world. Of course there are specific communities and avatars with common interest but I was blown away. However after talking to Sarah she informs me not to worry about being an expert in the content and that one should be able to facilitate well in any content. Phew, I take a deep breathe.

I really like being a beginner with online facilitation via elluminate. No one can see my stress and anxiety. No one can see the scrolls of disorganised paperwork and notes I have... I'm hoping my voice is great at bluffing.

Anyway the event went well I think. I found it hard to concentrate on what the presenter was saying as I was always thinking about what to do next. It was very reassuring to have Sarah there just in case. I was watching the chat and the time and occassionally chatting to my lecturer about certain things. Why was a yellow box showing on one attendee? Things like that. Then my poker voice was sprung when she asked me to give some feedback on the topic. Arrggh. I think the more practice I have with facilitating the more relaxed I will be which will then enable me to listen more attentively.

Following this event I also had to present a session for students on elluminate as well. This was the first time for me to do this. Fortunately for me, I was able to catch up personally with Sarah Stewart when down in Dunedin. She was a very helpful and showed me how to create sessions, advertise the link and lots of nifty elluminate tools. I especially like the one when as a staff member I can remove the microphone from people! That is great, I could sensor all the comments I don't like!! No, seriously it came in handy when for some reason speakers were talking away and couldn't be heard. I simply was able to remove the microphone. I learnt however that I needed to then give it back to them or they would be forever silenced.

So I was a facilitator. Hardly a facilitator extraordinaire however.

So next on the agenda is facilitating my mini conference. Since I found the elluminate session and tips so great and informative I thought I would get a colleaguge to present a session on engaging students on elluminate. There are so many tools that can be utilised. Any takers? I will advertise the event soon.

Jade