Getting Over the Hump

OK, We just are finishing up Week 4 of an 8 week class which has a metacognitive paper due after teh class finishes (worth 40%) and I'm starting to think about the role of feedback in motivating people, in keeping everyone on track, in getting folks up to speed with expectations, and in establishing a real presence in the online forum..

One of my pet peeves as a student in online classes has been absentee faculty members who treat the course almost as a self-study course - and at the graduate level, I have often said that feedback is critical - that is where the learning happens - without this, I am just talking to myself basically, so how can I grow or be stretched without that outside, more experienced voice calling me to move forward...

So now that I am in the driver's seat I have to laugh, because the temptation is there to not do as diligent a time as I know I should with feedback because it takes so bloody long... but then I hear my own voice scolding me and so far, I've been able to keep going - because I really believe it is true that feedback is critical... so it becomes a matter of integrity - if I believe it, then I need to toe the line and do it!

Where I am struggling with feedback right now is my next growing edge... I feel I am doing a good job responding to them in discussions, and in their learning logs... I am pulling out the major contributions and points, reiterating them and continuing the conversation, in a sense, with what they have written, adding my own thoughts and related experiences... What I haven't yet been able to do is spot the place where they don't get it and draw them forward - This might be because I am not as familiar with the content as I'd like to be - so I wonder if the next time around will be better in this aspect -I'd like to find some resources on facilitation and online feedback that might also give me some ideas.

Week One is Finished: Supporting a New Class

My initial posts to this blog were more informational in nature, based on my limited experience and lots of book learning....and now that I am in the thick of things, teaching my own course, I'd like to post "lessons learned" as I go along..

We just finished Week One (Sunday) and I opened up Week Two on Saturday, so those working faster could get started and have the weekend to work - but also to try to keep everyone pretty much together too - so the discussions would be more meaningful.

I spent a lot of time in Week One - feeling that if I got everyone off to a good start in terms of how to navigate the course activities and course space, expectations for discussions and other assignments, and starting to build the learning community, that the rest of the course would run more smoothly.

To reach those goals, here are some of the things I did... (comments here by other practitioners would be GREAT!! Please jump in!!)

• Sent a welcome e-mail to the group - both in the course e-mail system and to the personal e-mails provided - letting them know how to contact me with questions, a little about myself, the syllabus and course time line, directions and expectations for the first week of class as well as a broad overview of timing for the entire course.
• 2 Discussions areas were set-up - one for introductions and one to start to talk about how they'll incorporate the reflection process into their busy schedules (reflection and application are a big part of the course)
• As people started posting, I took notes about each person on a spread sheet, so I could start to internalize who each person was, their teaching experience and online learning experience, and their goals for the course
• I welcomed each person as they posted and reiterated that they could contact me at any time with questions
• This course is made up of graduate students - all working teachers - some new to teaching, some mid-career. Most were new to online learning, so I knew I would need to do more coaching about the paradigm shift, and I wanted to right away set the stage for meaningful and substantive postings.
• I sent them a detailed description of the activities for Week One and the time frame for completion. They have a detailed Learning Guide for the entire course, so a simple table with descriptions was enough with notes to refer to the Learning Guide.
  
• I could see that most folks were starting to post, but by Tuesday, I contacted the office to let them know who had not - They contacted the students directly and by mid-week, everyone was on and seemed to be OK.
  
• I held live office hours via the course chat mid-week to make sure everyone was OK - They were...
• I posted an FAQ discussion for process questions that others might also have. 10 postings there during the week - so that seemed to work well.
• Every e-mail during week one went to both personal and course e-mail with a message towards week's end that I would transition to only the course site by week 2. This course site also has a place for "Message of the Day" which I also used to make the message available in many locations.
  
• During the week, I monitored the discussion postings and worked to expand the conversation through questioning, spring boarding, sharing my own experiences, and devil's advocate.. I talked about the strategies explicitly and sent out tips for creating substantive discussions so they can also use the strategies. Part of their grade is discussion postings - and they have the rubric and my tips.
  
• By Friday of Week One, I went through all the discussion postings and sent detailed feedback (using a provided discussion rubric) and suggestions to each student individually - so they knew where they stood and where they could improve before the week closed out on Sunday. Many took advantage of this and were thankful for the feedback. My big concern was encouraging meaningful and substantive postings that would build on the conversation and share concrete details of practice with each other - not just "Nice post" or "Good idea!"
• By weeks end, I sent an e-mail with thoughts about Week One so far, general tips for creating substantive discussions, and Week Two info about what they'll be doing next.
  
• I posted their grades for Week One activities
• Finally, I added a discussion wrap-up, summarizing the main points of the discussion that week and invited additions, comments etc... (Normally, I would like them to take turns doing this role - but for this company, the assignments are all programmed, so I cannot add anything - I can invite, but I can't make it a requirement...)

So by the end of Week One - I was TIRED, but I feel like we got off to a really good and positive start. Since most were new to online learning, I wanted them to feel supported and confident that they can be successful - but I also wanted to set the bar high for contributions and make it clear that we were building a learning community - that contributions to the discussions help us all to learn - so we'll get out of the process, what we put into it.

Now with week 2 underway, I feel like I can step back a bit and let them jump in more.

The number one realization this week is THANK GOODNESS this course is already designed - the details above just describe the requirements for the facilitator - I can't imagine if I were also responsible for content in this course at this point.

LESSONS for me:

• you need TIME to develop a quality course AND facilitate meaningfully
• the flow of an online course is much different F2F and online - I was online more - checking e-mail, discussions, FAQs and providing feedback. This should slow down in some ways as we go forward, but I don't foresee me being less invested in some ways either.
  

Facilitation: Being There!

When it comes to facilitation, being there is key!!

Students need to know that there is a real person on the other end of the computer - They need to feel connected and involved - otherwise, research shows they just drop-out...

Set reasonable guidelines for you and your students about checking-in - at least three times per week is a good place to start - Remember, you never see them, so your communication and feedback in prompt and meaningful ways is critical.

Build a communication plan into your syllabus:

• How should students contact you for help - via e-mail - in ANGEL - through a FAQ discussion thread - other?
• What's the time frame for them to expect you to answer - 24 hours during the week? Longer on weekends?
• How will you communicate announcements to them?
  

All of that and more needs to be decided before the class gets underway...

You can see already that the rhythm and pace of online learning is very different from F2F.

What you can expect? A lot of work before class getting things just right - Different kind of work once class gets underway - you'll be more of a facilitator and coach than formal instructor... so what resources can help you to be an effective facilitator? More to come...