How to Facilitate Online Learning

This is a quick read about facilitating an online course.  As I read it I said to myself several times "This seems like common sense. Of course you would do this."  Then I remembered that common sense is not so common and we have all experienced online facilitators that did not do some of the points they made.  I have no idea what it is like to teach an online course.  While I am sure there are similarities to teaching face-to-face.  I am sure there are big differences as well.  They recommended five major points for the facilitators to keep in mind. 
1.  Have a base of operations.  If you will facilitate from home you should organize a home office.
2.  Establish course policies and procedures.  Work with the university to identify what they already have in place and add what you need.
3.  Regularly contact students.  Because you are not seeing the student on a regular basis it is important to make yourself accessible.  Answer emails within 24 hours.  Have regularly scheduled office hours for phone calls or chats.  Post to the discussion board so students know you are monitoring. 
4.  Provide grade feedback in a timely fashion.  Not only provide the letter grade, but also some commentary so students know if they are on the right track. 
5.  Take the diversity of students into consideration.  Students can range from traditional college students to working students.  They can be first-time students or continuing their education.  They will very in age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds.  Students are individuals and need to be treated as such.
Like I said earlier I do not think this info is going to surprise anyone, but it is a good reminder for what good teachers should do.  After being part of a learning community, I truly understand why the above five points are important.  I know how I feel when I have a teacher who does not have the same kind of methods as explained above.  This can make the difference in the learning community.



http://www.ehow.com/how_5072558_facilitate-online-learning.

Exploring Faculty Learning Communities: Building Connections among Teachering, Learning, and Technology

 This article discussed the role of digital technology in shaping the teaching and learning landscape of higher education.  Since 20% of children between the ages of five and eight are using computers, one can see why they bring the expectation of being engaged with new digitally mediated approaches to learning with them to school.  And with a vast array of technology out there to choose from one can see why teachers need to make informed decisions about digital technology in their classrooms.  Faculty at all levels needs support and training in how to use technology, but also in how to select technology that would be the best suited for their learning goals.  Research indicates that learning occurs most effectively in a community, this article explored the impact of a faculty learning community (FLC) at a large urban university.  This FLC consisted of eight faculty members form various departments across the university.  Their goal was to explore the use of technology as an instructional tool and its ability to support learning in the classroom.  The FLC attended bi-weekly meetings and distinguished ways in which what they were learning and practicing could be used in their own pedagogical practices.  In addition to meeting face-to-face they also posted notes and comments to a online blackboard to float ideas.  
I found this article interesting because it was addressing issues that we face daily in the elementary and high school level, but at the university level.  It was interesting to see what they are doing in higher education to combat the technology gap that is occurring between teachers and students.  For many teachers fear of change and new things limits their desire to change.  The assumption that today's students are technologically savvy often deters teachers form taking risks and exploring new options.  It was nice to see what was happening at the college level and what the faculty does there on top of the other expectations they have to keep themselves current within their profession.  Their ability to interact and discuss the role of the technology in their specific areas, along with critiques of specific technology they tried, with the success and failure of the implementation was central to the function of their FLC.  This lead most of them to continue for an additional year.  Their success also lead to the development of three more FLC within the university.     




 The link is automatically popping the PDF up on my computer - Let me know if you are having a problem with that...sorry.
www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/articleView.cfm?id=379