Reflecting on my mini-conference event

I want to reflect here on my mini-conference event - all in all a very positive experience for me that went very smoothly.

The first thing in getting ready for the mini-conference was to work through the FO2010 course to build my knowledge and confidence and get to the stage where I could facilitate by myself. My first experience of facilitating was with a shared responsibility - Coach Carole guided me through my first session way back in August and acted as a mentor for me as we co-facilitated a session. At that stage that is what I needed - the security of having someone there who was already experienced, not only at facilitating online, but also with the technical know-how.

In stark contrast to today, I wanted to have the responsibility and feel I had gained enough experience to be able to facilitate and manage the session on my own. That said, it would not have been possible without the support of my guest speaker for the session, Kate Timms-Dean, nor without the active participation of those who came along.

Of course I felt nervous just prior to the session, but my methodical planning meant I was prepared and ready. I had planned a run sheet for the event and it worked a treat!

The session itself went really well, Elluminate worked fine, with only one minor audio hitch - Kate's headset was causing a fuzzy noise, but she changed it without any problem and the sound quality improved instantly. My contingency plan of moving to Skype was not needed. The timing was all good and the recording worked well (available here).

My planning and promotion of the event could have started a bit earlier by a week or so, but due to other long standing work commitments, it was not possible. I used some of the tools we learned during the course to promote the event - my blog, the wiki and Twitter, the google group as well as promoting to my face to face networks.

Unfortunately I was restricted to when I could schedule the event due to other work commitments which meant the time zone was not ideal, particularly for those based in Northern Europe. The timing of the event could well have been a factor in why there was a small, but select turn out - was this something that affected your decision to attend or not? I had received replies from several students advising the time was not good for them and apologies for not being available to attend.

The content of the presentation was great, and although Kate talked about a specific Maori approach, the cultural framework she presented could be applied to many cultures. I chose this subject as hoping it was relevant to many - we are all from different cultures and backgrounds and it was great to have the variety of cultures in the classroom. Although perhaps the low turnout indicates it was not as popular a topic as I'd thought - keen to hear any comments.

The session was attended by only 4 other students, but each participated actively using audio and the chat box and provided instant feedback at the end of the session, although I will email each of them to ask for any further comments.

I have certainly learned from this event and when I do my next one, I will start planning earlier, promoting more and trying to accommodate time zones, although the fact the recording and slides are available after the event does help.

Feel free to make any comments below - I am always keen to learn and improve.

Thanks

Cultural Competency Recording and Slides

The recording from today's Facilitating Online mini-conference on Cultural Competency on the Online Environment can be found here.

You can also save the slides from the presentation by going to File - Save - Whiteboard - Current Screen Group - File Name - Save as Whiteboard PDF

Cultural Competence in the online environment

I will be facilitating a mini-conference event as part of my Facilitating Online 2010 course.

Thursday 11th November 2010, 2pm-3pm NZ time (World Clock)

The issues of "Cultural Competence in the online environment" will be addressed through a presentation by Kate Timms-Dean (pictured right) in the Elluminate virtual classroom.

Everyone Welcome.

For more details on how to access Elluminate visit the FO2010 WikiEducator page

Kate was born and raised in Dunedin and has a mixture of Scottish, English and Māori ancestry. Her iwi links are to Ngāti Raukawa ki Manawatu.

Kate studied Māori at the University of Otago and graduated with two undergraduate degrees in Māori Studies in the late 1990’s. She started working at Otago Polytechnic in 2007 and is currently employed as a senior lecturer in the Treaty Education and Training Unit and a programme developer in the Educational Development Centre.

Kate completed the Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Learning and Teaching (Level 7) by assessment of prior learning in 2007. She is currently completing her doctoral thesis in Māori Studies which focuses on the process of language revitalisation with reference to the Māori language in Aotearoa New Zealand and Scottish Gaelic in Alba Scotland.

Promoting my mini-conference event

My promotional plan for my mini-conference event is to start promoting it with my fellow learners on the FO2010 course as I feel it will interest many of them.

The issues around "Cultural Competence" have cropped up in several of our online class sessions and seemed to be a topic warranting further discussion.

As well as loading the event information on to the Wiki page I have emailed an invitation to the FO2010 Google Group (181 people!)

I will also have a blog post with the event information and details of the guest speaker.

In addition I will start to Tweet daily about the event from w/c 8 Nov.

Mini Conference Planning

At last planning is underway for my mini-conference as part of the FO2010 course.

I've chosen the topic of cultural competency in the online environment as it is one that has come up several times during the course with our group of students being from many varied backgrounds, cultures and countries.

With Sarah's help I'm excited to have secured a guest presenter, Kate Timms-Dean, a senior lecturer from the Treaty Education & Training Unit within the Educational Development Centre at Otago Polytechnic.

The mini-conference has been set for Thursday 11th November 2010, from 2pm-3pm NZ time (World Clock) and will take place in the Elluminate Meeting Room.

Now I need to start planning the promotion of the event and providing details for how folks can join in.

More to follow in due course.

Twitter to date...

I signed up to Twitter in May this year and after watching how it works for a while, I eventually took the plunge and started to tweet. I'm now at the stage of tweeting fairly regularly (for me that is still only 2-3 times a week) which of course pales into insignificance compared to some Tweeters!

I tweet from my own account (@SharonSchindler) and also on occasion from my work account (@csp_otago). And I'm feeling part of an online community.

Just when I thought I was getting to grips with it, they launched a new version with more stuff for me to grasp - once again it is about lifelong learning and adapting to new ways.

I find it great as a quick and easy way to follow headlines and hot topics, but not so great if those you want to hear about are not using it.

I've more or less mastered using lists on there which I find great for following specific groups of people/businesses. The same applies to hashtags for easy real time results and up to date news for specific interest areas.

I did join in the FO2010 Twitter class session, but found it a challenge to follow who was talking to who and if anyone was actually answering the questions posed, it was a little hectic and hard to follow and probably not a platform I would consider using at this stage for online meetings.

I think I've now added the Twitter widget to my blog post!

Tools, tactics and tips for communicating in an online world

This Google Doc spreadsheet is available publicly on the web for anyone to view and edit. It was a resource developed by Robin Gurney from Altex Internet Marketing and a group of conference delegates at the European Ecotourism Conference in Estonia

Thanks to my social media course tutor Tom Walter for bringing it to my attention. Now you can add to it if you wish and download as a reference tool.

Content, content, content

After reading the Introduction to Blogging by Wordpress Codex, I instantly thought of the old adage often applied to real estate of "location, location, location", but in the blogging sense it is definitely "content, content, content"...

Making it together

I just liked this post from Seth's Blog on Your ecosystem. To me it is all about making it together... And this FO2010 course really attempts to do just that.

AWOL

I'm back on-line with FO2010 after a bit of AWOL time. Spending this glorious sunny Arrowtown afternoon in front of my computer rather than getting the garden ready for spring, but if I don't catch up today, then when???

The good news is I feel it has been time well spent. I've been catching up on others blog posts through my blog reading list (I subscribe to 5 blogs) and although frustrating with the lengthy times it seems to take to load them up and then post comments, I've enjoyed the posts.

I signed up to a Social Media for Business short course a few weeks ago and am realising how much cross referencing there is between it and this FO2010 course. Still loads to learn, and am working through one little step at a time, e.g. simple things like today I added my location to the map on WikiEducator and yesterday got a webcam so I can use the video function on Skype. Already I can see how much has come together for me and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is time to start thinking about the mini-conference...

Dim Dim

"You get what you pay for" - that was my initial thought after my first experience of Dim Dim on Friday's session of FO2010.

We paid nothing and got not a lot; that said the experience was valuable and provided the opportunity to try a free platform. As much as I would love to be supporting free and open sources like this, I feel there needs to be more development of them before they work efficiently.

The faciliators Claire & Malcolm had prepared the best they could, but the functionality of the platform was just not good enough to run a cohesive online meeting. The time delays were frustrating and not practical when so many of us are strapped for time and juggling at the best of times!

Claire & Malcolm are to be congratulated on giving this a go and the professionalism they showed by putting plan B into action and moving the meeting to the more familiar Elluminate room. Claire sharing her desktop for the slide show with Wayne was brilliant.

I'm not going to discount Dim Dim completley, but perhaps would consider it for a one-to-one meeting rather than a larger group.

Another network - LinkedIn

As per the FO2010 course activity, I've joined LinkedIn. At first glance it is hard to imagine using this one as much as some of the other social networking platforms because to me it looks like it is for people who want to be 'head-hunted' or to find new jobs, but I'll give it a go, explore a bit more and see where it gets me...promotion?? Further up a career ladder?? Who knows!

Network Weavers

I used to pride myself in having the ability to connect people together with common interests and put them in touch with each other; that was of course using the older techniques of introducing them face to face at business functions, social gatherings, etc, or in more recent years by sharing email messages with them.

I now realise the power and potential of using online methods to connect not only individual people, but entire networks and groups of people - the reach of the network is huge and geographical location need not be an issue. The level of support one can achieve as the network extends can way exceed expectations.

I need to brush up on my network weaving by transferring my face-to-face skills to the online environment. I used to take every opportunity to physically go to events and functions where I knew I could meet people and 'network'. Now I need to be a more active member of the online groups, blogs and tweets, etc, by joining in when I can and by using clear subject matters and maybe hashtags to complement individual needs and streamline the connections between networks.

Blog Comments & Followers

Reading Gina Trapani's guide to web blog comments has helped me understand a bit more, and her point on know when to comment and know when to email hit a chord.

Many of the comments I read on blogs are more like two-way conversations and don't necessarily contribute to a multi user discussion and I feel I am already guilty of the same sin. I've just commented on the FO2010 blog with a question to Sarah, something that was probably more relevant to drop in an email to her.

I am planning to actively follow some of my fellow learners' blogs, but for this to work for me I have to make it a weekly activity which I think will be made easier by using the Blogger Reading List . I just don't have time to read several blogs a day.

Skype

I've just had a play around on Skype and trying to add some of the other FO2010 learners to my contacts.

It was great to have a quick response from Jean who explained to me about using the little emotion buttons, thanks Jean, fun!

Having watched Sarah's quick YouTube video on how to set up a skype conference call, I'm keen to give that a go at some stage. It will be great to use with my work colleagues as the 3 of us are based in 3 different locations.

Just had a quick mini-conference call with Sarah and Malcolm, oh so easy, and because I don't have a webcam it helped they had their photos added to their profiles. Putting a face to a name helps me communicate better.

The next stage would be to try the skype video conference facility at some stage, but that would require investing in a webcam and since I've lost my investments in this weeks's collapse of Southern Canterbury Finance spending is off the agenda!

Its free tools only for me at the moment.

Learning to date

Here goes trying to summarise my learning to date... (I started this last week, but got distracted and had to save it instead of publish it unfinished!).

In a word 'heaps', but in the expectation of these posts being reflective I best try to reflect in a bit more detail, which immediately makes me realise how the course is designed for real participation rather than just a place for resources.

I am a relative newcomer to 'learning' in the online environment, never mind being a 'facilitator' in this same space. In retrospect it would have been great to have had more experience of being an online learner (to date I've had limited exposure to this medium) and then perhaps I would've had a better idea of the role of the online facilitator, however that said the participation and practical design of the course is lending itself to simultaneously learning both roles.

But one major lesson I've learned already from other facilitators is that as an online facilitator you are also a learner - every session I've attended so far has included the presenter and/or facilitator sharing the fact that they have learned something new.

The value of peer feedback is another lesson not to be underestimated and forums like the Google group and blogs are a great way to channel this information. However following others blogs and using the comments is still proving too much like a time consuming task so I need to work out a better system for this and find areas of common interest with the others on the course.

Reflecting on my efforts over the last 6 weeks:

I was overwhelmed with all the information and potential tools out there and thought 'what have I got myself in for', but completing the straight forward activities one step at a time provided the motivation to carry on. Saying that I thought adding details to the Wiki Participants page was a bit confusing.

I chose to use Blogger other than Wordpress based on the fact I had never heard of Wordpress, but I had used Blogger a few years ago to record my experiences as a volunteer in South Africa. In the meantime I have also been exposed to Wordpress through the blog my department set up: http://www.sustainable-practice.com/. So far they're pretty much of a muchness, but it's great to build my experience with both so I can be better informed to advise others.

I managed to listen to a recorded Elluminate session which gave me an idea of how it works - impressive! I thought I'd set up my computer to be able to attend the online meetings, but it wasn't until actually trying to to join in on 6th August that I realised I had a few technology issues. The IT dept at OP came to the rescue and got me up and running.

It was in the deep end then and sharing the facilitators role with Coach Carole for Nancy's session - hands-on learning. The importance of preparing a run sheet for the session in advance and having a plan B in place are fundamental to the session's success and reduces the risk of forgetting things. Some of the text language and abbreviations used in the session were new to me, so good to learn those as well as the general netiquette protocol.

Signing in as a staff member to Elluminate gives me moderator status so it was good to sign in as a guest during Greg Walker's session to see the difference.

Other online tools that I've started to 'play' around with include TweetDeck, Survey Monkey and Skype. TweetDeck was too much so I've kind of abandoned that one for the time being, and just signing into my Twitter account as normal. The jury is still out on Survey Monkey and I will have to try Sarah's recommendations of Google Forms for surveys or Echo Fon for a comparison. Skype is great and keeps calling costs down.

Hashtags and hyperlinks are appearing everywhere and seem to be standard practice for many

My online tool box is starting to bulge... Bit like my waist line! Sitting in front of a computer for too long is not doing any good for my fitness levels!!!

I've yet to investigate i-Google, how to load clips onto You Tube and still not sure whether Facebook is a medium for me or my work. Still need lots of practice with Elluminate too, but making progress.

Onwards and upwards....

Learning in Chaos

Well I survived my first role as an online facilitator, thanks to the help and support from Sarah, Coach Carole and Nancy.

To be honest it was overwhelming, although I didn't want to dare admit that at the time because I wanted to maintain some sort of professional ability throughout the session.

I have very little 'hands-on' experience of Elluminate. In fact prior to Saturday's session, I had only joined one live session and listened to a couple of recordings. So when Nancy opened it up so that all participants could have moderator/facilitator privileges I felt somewhat redundant and not needed. For me everybody was getting the chance to see what a facilitator can do without having the pressure on them to do it.

Of course in retrospect this 'free form' session probably provided me (and the other participants) with a more diverse way of learning than we would have had from a more structured session. I loved the 'show and tell' style format of everyone sharing with each other, but the chaos was hard for me to handle. I like to have a level of control - and that was something that was common between several of the other participants too.

When I'm given a role of responsibility I take it seriously and in this instance, because I didn't have much experience in actually using Elluminate, felt I couldn't contribute as much as I would've liked during the actual session. But then of course my role as a facilitator is not so much to contribute and participate myself, but to ensure others are included and that they are learning.

The planning session with Coach Carole using Skype was fundamental to my learning - her experience, recommendations and guidance were invaluable.

All in all as I explained to Sarah I would've loved to have had more time to prepare and gain more experience in Elluminate before taking on the role of facilitator, but at the same time it was a great opportunity to have hands-on learning.

Facilitating Online

Today at 10am New Zealand time will be my first attempt to co-facilitate a virtual class meeting through an Elluminate Live Session.

I'm excited and nervous, but comforted by the fact I am sharing the role with Coach Carole who so far I can say is a great mentor. Of course Sarah Stewart, the course tutor for FO2010 will be there to lend a hand too which is like a security blanket for me. And Nancy White, our presenter today, is a pro at this!

Wish me luck!

Technology Overload

My brain is bursting today with new technology tools that I need to integrate into my day to day work - Moodle, TweetDeck, Twitter and Blogs to name but a few.

Multi-tasking Online

I no longer lay any claims to be a multi-tasker. I think I used to in my earlier career and actually enjoyed the challenge of loads going on, but now I much prefer to do one thing at a time and do it well with 100% concentration.

Today's Elluminate Live session made me realise I need to try and juggle a load of things at once - getting to grips with the online forum for starters, working out how to be part of the room, listening to whoever is speaking, watching what is coming up in the text boxes, typing in the text boxes and keeping track of the white board, deciding if I should speak or text; never mind having suggested blogs/websites to visit and constant email notifications popping up - if that is not multi tasking then I don't know what is!

There is so much going on 'on screen' that I found it difficult to follow and at times like a pig's breakfast. Like anything, I'm sure practice will help.

Reliance on technology

Although I really enjoyed my first Elluminate Live session today and felt somewhat empowered, it made me realise the dependence we have on technology today for communicating.

We have grown to expect instant responses and answers when we use these online tools and when we don't we get frustrated. This is going to be a huge issue for online facilitators because without the technology performing on demand the session can fall apart. At least in the classroom or face-to-face you can have a paper back up to discuss, but what do you do in an online environment when no-one in your group can hear you or see you???

Creative Action Partnerships and Grouping

I'm not so sure about using the Creative Action Partnerships (CAP) and grouping facility suggested on the Participants page of the Wiki Educator.

At this stage I only want to network about the course, not any of my other interests outside this learning medium. But of course I want to take the learnings I develop here and be able to apply them at a later stage for other interests, whether business groups or groups of personal friends.

I think at this stage I prefer to network with those who I might meet through the Elluminate Live sessions and/or the Google email group. I already belong to a couple of Google email groups.

I'm not going to join up to the Action Partnership for Creative Facilitation yet.

Elluminate Live Recordings

I've just listened in to the first Elluminate Live session from 28th July - great stuff and and what a fantastic platform for sharing and learning. I'm really looking forward to joining one soon.

Plan to Learn

I think the first thing I want to learn is how to organise my online presence! I want to be able to incorporate online events into the sustainable business workshop programme I coordinate.

At the moment I'm trying to get to grips with the various online communication tools - blogging for one and Twitter for another. I've yet to investigate Facebook, but at this stage only want to consider it for business purposes, not as a personal tool.

I'd like to have the confidence to know how best to use the tools and the knowledge to be able to pass on to others. I want to keep up with the fast pace of a changing world of communication.

My first step is dedicating time to 'play around' with the tools out there, I then need to schedule in weekly time to learn and build my capability. I need discipline!

Subscribing to Blogs

I'm note sure about subscribing to too many blogs as I'm worried about being inundated with updates. I think I need to work out a more organised system so I can keep my learning stuff separate from my day to day work stuff. Perhaps the i-Google that I've seen Sarah refer to might be an option.

I'm sure the sooner I get a system set up the more organised I will be.

So many blogs, so little time

While catching up with the course activities, I'm wondering how am I going to decide which blogs from all the other participants I should visit and introduce myself - there are so many, over 60 now!

I think I'll just pick a couple at random and leave comments to see how this whole thing works.

Elluminate now working

Too late to join this morning's session, but IT pulled through and fixed the problem. I'm looking forward to being part of the next scheduled virtual classroom experience.

Elluminate

Trying to join my first Elluminate session, but can't get it to connect, HELP!!!

Why Facilitating Online 2010?

Why not???

Surely online learning is the way forward so if I am to be a learner and/or teacher then this is the way to go...

Plus this contributes as a course within my Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Learning & Teaching.

First Post

My first post in relation to the Facilitating Online course - lots to learn, I've only just managed to add my details as a participant on Wikieducator. More to follow I hope...