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.