Last week I took part as a student in my first ever online class (via Illuminate). ..really good to experience an environment like that as a learner, before needing to manage it as a faciliator for oneself.
My reference in the title to a hunter or gatherer is about personalities. The online facilitator must maintain a number of balls in the air at once. Would this mean that this style of delivery might be more suited to personalities who are natural multi-taskers, and that a focused personality (a very useful skill to have indeed in certain situations) might not manage as adroitly as Sarah does? Keeping tabs with who is entering the classroom at various times, as well as maintaining the thread of the lesson, back-tracking to fill-in a late comer, technical trouble-shooting for participants finding their way around, delivering the content of the lesson, and keeping up with student input on the screen. Whew!
What are you?... a hunter or a gatherer, and how does that impact on the way you manage your synchronous e-classroom environment?
What does this mean for teacher training? (Putting myself on the line here to suggest that teacher trainees need an apprenticeship with an experienced mentor to learn to teach online)
Tacit protocols... Turn-taking and timing: Was wondering about different ways that a faciliator might manage turn-taking. In such an environment it's easy to imagine that some participants might not get an equal opportunity to participate, especially if they come from a more circumspect culture where timing between utterances is longer than we might be comfortable with here, or think is reasonable considering the contraints of a timetable. Do these protocols need to be discussed openly in a class... how much direction as a facilitator do you employ to maintain even participation?
Ideas about this anybody?
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2 comments:
I don't know if you need any kind of personality as such. What I think you need is lots of practice. Don't forget, I have been doing this for a few years now...and might add...I am still learning :)
I think you have to be prepared to put yourself out there and not be afraid to make mistakes in front of an audience.
As for how you manage the issue of giving people equal amounts of time...let me know when you find the secret to that one because I do struggle with it :)
Hi Kath,
Good question! :) I have found with my online facilitation that I don't tend to have major issues in regards to turn taking, although that is relative as to how "chatty" your audience is!
I have made a habit in my own synchronous delivery to build enough interaction in to allow everyone to take turns when responding. That may be through virtual whiteboards (everyone writing their ideas on the one page, which you as a facilitator drawing the disparate parts together for the topic at hand.) Or polls that require people to click on something to give a response to a question posed.
The other great area to ensure everyone is able to contribute is the virtual classroom's "backchannel" in Elluminate this would be the 'chat' area where the shy members of your class could type their questions/contributions/feedback etc.
The important point is to be aware of whats happening in the chat so you can address them as required.
I have found these three things really assist in keeping participants feeling they are contributing equally.
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