Elearning 2009!

So, I'm now enrolled in "Evaluations of eLearning for Best Practice" my fifth paper of the Graduate Certificate in Applied eLearning. (only one more to go...) Great to see Kay and Joy here, old classmates from 2008...

I'm a lecturer in tourism and travel consultancy at UCOL, a tertiary provider (polytechnic) in Palmerston North, New Zealand. I have been teaching here for 15 years (that is scary!) after doing my degree in Tourism and Hotel Management from the University of Ulster (I am originally from Northern Ireland). I have worked as a travel consultant, have run a Visitor Information Centre in N.Ireland and have also worked for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board as an intern. I became interested in eLearning as many of our students need to study National qualifications in tourism and travel but need to work as well. I wanted to see how I could meet their needs. I have developed programmes in Blackboard and am just playing with Moodle now, and look forward to developing my knowledge in that medium further.

Unfortunately the week before this course began I suffered some health problems and it turns out I have to have an operation this Thursday 12th March. I will be in hospital about 5 days but hope to catch up on the course while recuperating - with the laptop on my knee! I was all raring to go three weeks ago but have been off work since and to be honest study has been the last thing on my mind! So bear with me... I might be a week or two behind for a wee while, but I intend to catch up!

Sorry to have missed the Elluminate sessions so far, again I'll listen to them and try to join in later on once things settle down.

I hope to learn lots about evaluation and its importance in the eLearning field.

PS I began to write this post before all the medical drama, but today is 10th March even though the date at the top says Feburary!

I have had the most enjoyable 6 weeks off work that you could imagine - the combination of a lovely Xmas and New Year and fantastic weather! Being back at work is a bit of a shock to the system though...

Anyway, at the end of last year the facilitator for the course Leigh Blackall asked that we give some feedback on the FOC 08 course. Sorry its a bit late Leigh, but I deliberately stayed away from computers over the Xmas break, I needed to get away from it all for a while!

So here are some of my thoughts on FOC 08...

What were the most enjoyable aspects of this course?

The fun of discovering so many unknown technologies out there! As someone not "au fait" as such with these, I had a ball investigating Second Life, Facebook, etc. Getting to chat to people from all over the world was great too, seeing how many people from so many walks of life together in one forum was excellent.

What were the most challenging aspects of this course?

At the beginning when I felt so very lost and "amateur". I got completely overwhelmed with the email forum, finding out about RSS Feeds, and of course being new to blogs as a whole. I'm glad to see Leigh has said he is thinking of reviewing how the course begins. As I said in a previous post, I almost dropped out before it really got started through severe feelings of inadequacy!

I have to admit I did feel a little abandoned towards the end of the course when Leigh went overseas for 2 weeks and we didn't hear from him - no comments on our blogs etc. Those comments helped motivate me to continue on to the next week!

Did the course meet your expectations? How or how not?

I didn't really have many expectations to be honest. So much of this elearning qualification is new to me so I was just hoping I could cope! Eventually I did :-)

What improvements would you suggest?

I've read through Leigh's blog post giving his thoughts on how the course went (obviously many others have posted their comments already) and I like the improvements he has suggested such as changing the "intensity" at the beginning of the course and the YouTube video link to help introduce us to the topic.

It is so difficult to get people to participate in online activities such as the Elluminate sessions but I think these are really vital to see how a facilitator works. But then again Leigh very correctly said it just takes the "a ha" (I call it the lightbulb over the head switching on) for it all to start making sense. Some may take longer than others to get that lightbulb working! So maybe strongly encouraging more participation in these sessions (don't ask me how) would be advantageous.

Any other comments?

I think Leigh, you did a wonderful job. I enjoyed the course (eventually!) and was challenged by the format (away from Blackboard) and the content. I'm sure you will do an even better job this year. I will try to keep an eye on the email forum in semester 2 to see how it goes.

PS. Just to say I got an "A" for FOC 08. I was so delighted - the stress and late nights paid off. Thanks Leigh :-)

FOC 08 Final Post...

Well, FOC 08 is over. I made it!

At the beginning I really thought I wouldn't. It was just so over my head. I was scared literally from day one in July. Looking at the wikieducator site for the first time, having to set up a blog, figure out what RSS Feeds were, and then try and read what seemed like hundreds of introductions from people from all over the world who seemed to know so much more than me. I was terrified, what had I got myself into this time?

The very week the course began, I had just heard my job was on the line - of the three of us in our little section at the tertiary institute I work at, one of us was going to be made redundant, so my motivation/interest was at an all time low. As it turned out one of the others took voluntary redundancy, but with that came the added stress of having to take over subjects I had never taught before as well as my own (for other teachers reading this you can appreciate the extra prep now that was required etc.) To be frank it was a nightmare...

Luckily I had Kay Lewis to help me along. Kay also works at the same institute but in a different area. We decided to buddy up from Day 1 as we were both feeling very out of our depth. If it wasn't for Kay I probably would have pulled out in about week 3.

So in this very public arena - thanks Kay. You were my rock over this semseter, I really could not have done this without your gentle nudging to meet each week to see what had to be done, or what was coming up. I know in the end I also helped you along too, but you were the initial booster to get me working on this. My heartfelt thanks and appreciation Kay :-)

What have I got out of FOC 08?

I fully appreciate now why there is the need for a paper about facilitation of online communities - at the beginning I did not appreciate really what a facilitator was. After the event I facilitated with Kay however, I certainly did! Appreciating that difference between the teaching role that I currently hold with the very different facilitation role that I have witnessed Leigh hold (and what I briefly did for a scary 30 minute period!) has been an eye opener.

I said as a comment in Joy's blog that:

"the practice was so much better than any theory could have done. What better way
to find out what a facilitator does than to try and be one!"

That says it all really. Leigh really wanted us to appreciate the difference between teachers, facilitators and moderators and having to do it in reality really was the best way for us to learn I believe. The terrifying thought and anticipation of being the facilitator was, on reflection, much worse than the reality (even though as I have already said I could have been much better prepared).

What else did I learn? The different online communities such as Second Life, Facebook and LinkedIn, blogospheres and online forums such as Travelblog have opened a new world of opportunity to me. Ideas fly through my head now as to what I could do for my students in my current blended delivery classes, (and for the fully online students I hope to teach in the future).

I know my downfall through the paper was not reading enough of others blogs, making comments and creating a network even after FOC 08 has finished. However I have endeavoured to comment on some other blogs over the last couple of weeks (after gentle prodding from Leigh). I know I have not done enough in this area, my only excuse being lack of time to get on to it, focussing on "what had to be done", over "what would be good to do if only there was more time".

Thanks finally to Leigh. I know I have not been the easiest student to "facilitate". He would ring my cell phone and I would hardly ever be in a position to talk to him! Either in class or unable to answer because I was in the car picking up one of the kids, or in the middle of the supermarket with my 20 month old in tow, not a great time to talk as you can imagine :-) The lovely detailed messages he would leave me however, making sure I knew what was expected of me in the coming weeks, really did keep me focussed. I think you did a great job Leigh, from someone who really wasn't that motivated at the beginning, your help and guidance turned me around!

Now I wait to hear if I have "passed" this paper to add to the three others I have already completed towards my Graduate Certificate in Applied eLearning. If I get this one I only have two more papers to go. At least then I can say I'm over half way there now.

For those who may be continuing on this eLearning journey: Kay, Joy etc, I'll see you next year!

Week 13 - Facilitating an online event - Reflection

The online event is over - phew!

For the second assignment for FOC 08 paper we had to facilitate an online event. Kay Lewis and I decided to collaborate on this. Our event occurred on Friday Nov 7th 11.30 - 12 noon (NZ time). The topic was Think, Learn, Create (TLC) using Mind Mapping. We used Elluminate for the venue. We had discussed using Skype but in the end decided Elluminate was an easier venue and could be recorded - although Leigh had to help us with that one.

The chat recording shows how that part of it went (I was the Staff Member). You can also hear the voice recording of the event.

Reflections - how did it go?

I found the experience quite stressful - but mostly for personal reasons! Having been away on a UCOL student trip the four days previous to the event, I felt completely unprepared on the Friday morning when I joined Kay in her office to make final preparations. I had only arrived back late the evening before, and was still exhausted from taking my tourism and travel students around Taupo and Rotorua, visiting and experiencing what these major destinations have to offer in terms of attractions and activities. Photos on my Facebook site will show the fun we had! A definite perk of my job I have to say!!!

Anyway, back to the event. The worst part for me was when our guest speaker dropped out at literally the last minute, (due to her internet crashing from home). This meant that our whole schedule changed dramatically from both Kay and I being facilitators, to Kay having to become the guest speaker. We had a plan which had just got thrown out the window!

So thrown into a tailspin we reverted to our contingency plan of Kay being the guest speaker but we did not think it through far enough in that Kay then was not able to show her facilitation skills...

Despite all the added stress, in the end on reflection I realise I did enjoy the facilitation side of it. It was good to let the "guest speaker" (Kay) take over the content side of the event, leaving me to be the "host". I almost felt like an MC at a conference or wedding; welcoming members, latecomers, providing comment to the chat, trying to keep control of the schedule etc.

I would like to say the difference between the role of a teacher and a facilitator was made abundantly clear to me through this exercise. I had no real knowledge of Mind Mapping (ie I do not consider I have sufficient knowledge to teach the subject) however I was able to facilitate the session (I hope to a relatively good degree) - making sure the members knew I was there, keeping the session on track etc. A facilitator needs to know the objectives/outcomes required of the session. A facilitator is there to guide (control is too strong a word) the session. I hope I achieved these requirements of a facilitator. But on reflection there was so much more I should have done...

What could have been done differently?

I wish we had thought of doing a dry (practice) run before the real thing actually occurred. It may have prepared us more. Although Elluminate is not exactly difficult to navigate, I needed Leigh to help with the recording etc. I had listened in on other events to see how things worked. Kay had managed to sort out the mind map picture on the Elluminate whiteboard which I have to admit looked really impressive when you logged on, (picture shown on right), but we were really not sure what was going to happen once people showed up - and of course apart from Leigh, no one did for a while. Leigh invited others in his networks to come and so some did, thank goodness! Lesson learned, the amount of promotion we did could have been a lot more. No excuses - we thought that people on the FOC course would come, if they'd read the Wikieducator page, why wouldn't they??? Leigh in his most recent post commented on this very point.

"It is a false idea to think that "if we build it they will come".

As I said, an important lesson learned. Promotion is key and not to be taken for granted!

As a facilitator I think you really need to take the "bull by the horns" so to speak. I remember thinking about half way through that perhaps I should stop Kay during her talk at more frequent intervals to allow for questions, but I thought that would have appeared rude! I hate people who interrupt me when I'm in full flow so did not want to do the same to Kay! However I know that as a result it became more of a lecture instead of a facilitation session. As the facilitator I realise it was not my responsibility to answer the questions which cropped up during the chat session but I know now I should have made Kay aware of these questions as soon as they arose instead of letting her finish her session first. Lack of confidence would be my reasoning here, would I appear inept to the group if I interrupted the "guest speaker" or would I make her feel as if she hadn't been paying enough attention?

As soon as the event ended we immediately acknowledged to each other that we should have decided at the start that Kay should talk about one branch of the mind map at a time, then stop for discussion, questions etc. instead of continuing on without a break.

One point I will note and it is a fault on my part - I still struggle to multi task! I can do it as a wife and mother but I've found I cannot follow chat conversations and listen to someone else talking at the same time! I was so intent on following the chat, thinking about when or if I should speak, looking to see if new people had entered or left the session, that I heard probably only half of what Kay said as the guest speaker.

Do facilitators need to be able to follow every aspect of a session? No I don't think so. As a teacher I am used to control of my class, and I swiftly intervene if there is a part I become aware I am not in control of. I realise now that facilitators cannot possibly follow all the paths that an online community could take. Blogs, chat, email, wikis, I think it would take an enormous effort to keep up with every single one. I think a facilitator has to learn to trust their group - more than a teacher would - to let them find their own learning paths with just some guidance from you.

Finally I would like to apologise to the others in the FOC 08 group whose sessions I was not able to attend. The timing could not have been worse for me in terms of work taking precedence over study. Being nowhere near a computer for those 4 days was unfortunate but unavoidable. I hear that many of the sessions were well worth attending and I will endeavour to listen to as many recordings as I can over the next couple of weeks.

Conclusion

I learned that facilitating an online event is no piece of cake, that's for sure! It takes preparation, skill and quite a lot of multi tasking. It involves promotion, patience and the ability to step back and let the session members find their own path. Guidance is the key, not control.

Would I be comfortable facilitating another online session - yes probably! Would I be more prepared for one - yes definitely! :-)

Week 11 - Social Networking Platforms

This week at least I had some prior knowledge of the topic (for a change!)

Social Networking platforms are incredibly popular. I think they are great for those of us who move away from our home countries and as a result are apt to lose touch quickly with those we grew up with! Another excellent site I use frequently is Friends Reunited which is a UK based site where I have found many old friends and classmates.

Description of my experience in Facebook

I have been a member of Facebook for several months now. It was recommended to me by an old work colleague. Since then I have loved finding old friends and colleagues; for some old school friends its been over 20 years since we've been in touch. I've joined groups such as NZ parents and Ex pats from Northern Ireland and have even found other old friends through these groups. I like the fact I can see who's online when I am and have a quick "chat" with them, or post a message to their wall. I would log on each morning in anticipation of who had answered or contacted me overnight.

So it was not a surprise when I found that many of my students are addicted to sites such as Facebook - until that is the tertiary institute I work at banned the site in July of this year as it was "not conducive to effective learning"! I have to say that many times I have had to tell students to get off the site to continue with an assignment instead of looking at the photos of last weekend's party, so in a way I could understand the reasoning behind the decision to make it unavailable! I was told it was one rule for all and that staff would be banned from the site as well as students - unfortunately. I had to plead for the site to be re-instated to use again for this FOC study but I believe it will be taken off again at the end of the semester :-(

Ideas on how facilitation would work in Facebook

I could not find an "educational" group in Facebook which looked like a group involved in learning requiring the need for a facilitator. However I don't see why it couldn't be used for such a reason, but I would think that one drawback is that students as I mentioned earlier get hooked on the social side and may find it hard to motivate themselves to stick to the eduational side!

In the article Schools' Web 2.0 ban contributes to social exclusion it was stated that:

"participating in online networks provided the research participants with a
way to develop and sustain their personal social networks"

and that

"Online networks provided these students with ways to participate in society
that were social, cultural, civic, economic and educative".

What a difference from my days at school where the only social networks were built in the playground or after school walking to the bus stop!

In the article Networks, Connections and Community: Learning with Social Software it was stated that social software could:

"offer learning opportunities to learner groups previously unable to
participate, eg some disabled, disengaged and remote learners not previously
learning in traditional classroom environments".

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement but I don't think a site like Facebook is the correct forum to do it in. With my students I found that they valued the social networking side although I would question the educational value of them! Certainly in an educational environment such as where I work where such sites are blocked, being able to use them would be impossible until the educational value could be proven to those who make such decisions.