The Foxy Facilitators

Here is the link to the video presentation that Michelle, Janee and I worked on. We determined to do this in a conversational manner, which closely matches the conversations we had as we worked through this project. Thanks to Michelle for her technological expertise!

Getting Lucky

Group assignments are often a crap shoot and sometimes you get lucky and other times you do not. I got lucky this time. Michelle and Janee have been great partners in this project. Each person has unique talents and we all are interested in presenting a superior project.
Here is an example. Janee took the initiative and clearly the responsibility of taking our pieces and parts to write a cohesive paper. She sent a draft then I made some comments. Not knowing each other well, I apologized in advance if I had taken too much liberty. In her response she said it best; “there is no pride in ownership, we are a team.” I knew well before that comment that we had a good group and this simply validated my thoughts.
Another example was when Michelle offered to do a video tape as part of the presentation. Michelle is creative, enthusiastic and not afraid of anything. I’m sure the unedited version is posted on her blog or will be soon. I appreciated her confidence on how this would work.
As for me, I got things started. Each of us took responsibility for a part of the project and took pride in what we did.
Did we get lucky? Maybe. Whether is was luck or another force at work, we make a good team.

Connecting the Dots

In our recent group meeting for the FIT project we came up with a question that the three of us had a challenge answering. How does R2D2 and Salmon's 5 Stages really fit together? At first we struggled a bit with what each is on its own, then a brief discussion of how they fit together. We may have surprised ourselves because we didn't have a clear answer. The conversation was brief and came at the end of a productive two and a half hour review of our FIT experience and some good ideas for activities. Later in the week when I was working on the activities I realized the question went unanswered!

Here is my attempt at the response from the perspective if someone asked; what are you learning in your course this semester? I am learning about online and FTF facilitation, primarily two models that fit together for instructional design and learning styles of attendees. The models are R2D2, which addresses various learning styles and Gilly Salmon's 5 Stage Model which speaks to the stages learners and facilitators move through while learning online. Sounds simple, right? Not so when you are facilitating an online discussion of individuals you have never met and are unfamiliar with or only vaguely familiar with the topics they are discussing. A challenge that has been frustrating and exhilarating all at once. I believe I am learning!

My next challenge is to apply more of this to my workplace. I am looking forward to creating a train the trainer for my face to face and online faciltators in the very near future. In addition, the goal for the next quarter is to create a "real" program with scheduled topics for the Sales staff and the Specialists and working staff members who are interested in taking a bigger role in training. Thanks Dr. Zhang!

Mostly Ups

This has been a semester of peaks and valleys (not very low ones) in activity. Early in the semester I was very excited to learn about online facilitation and have not been disappointed. Much of what I have learned has validated what I am doing in my workplace. I can also see places where my approach can be improved. We have approach our blended online learning with observation and then doing while on the phone with the entire training group. I was happy to know that the approach is tried and true in research, as well. Another example, I had a 'feeling' that my groups go through stages of comfort while learning online or through teleconferences and Salmon's 5-stage model has given me a name for those stages. Our group has requested PowerPoint presentations and they love them, however, I think they will tire of soon, so I am thinking of other activities to help them learn.

During the first FIT experience I felt as if there were not enough hours in the day along with the need to check on to my group everyday. The group seemed to be off to a good start, staying on topic and providing substantive comments, it was great. However, I felt I should be doing more. As it turns out, I did have a very good group and they received a compliment from the professor on their discussion. I plan to offer more resources in the next discussion.

Dr. Keller's presentation was exceptional. It was exciting to hear from one of the greats in motivation research. I have yet to look up some of the information he offered, which is planned for December, once the semester is over.

I have found the readings to provide depth to the information found in B & K and Salmon's texts. The article about Two Kinds of Scaffolding offered specifics that will help me in instructional design efforts. For example, I typically work from a generalized perspective and move toward authentic with practical examples through scenarios, but seldom work from the other direction. With Dr. Keller's input and this article I plan to look at some of the existing trainings in my organization to see what I can do to add a little more interest and help the information stick.

A Lot Going On

It seems there has been a lot going on the past two weeks. My first project for face to face facilitation is done, there has been much to read and absorb, I did my first class session with Wimba and my first experience with online facilitation. The face to face facilitation was a little more challenging than I thought at first. The presentation went well and I had no problem filling 30 minutes, but was a bit disappointed that I did speak more then I prefer. I did stir some interest because three class mates asked for a copy of the articles I offered, which helped me realize that they were listening. I do so much with teleconferences at work that I have lost a bit of my ability to read the face to face audience. Is that possible?
It's been a challenge keeping up with the reading and absorbing all the great material that is offered. I have been able to apply much of what I have read to my workplace. For example, there is a facilitator who is accustomed to face to face work in the field with Sales Representatives and she is challenged by losing her visual clues. She also missed the mark on building rapport, Salmon's first step, but I am able to give her some tactics to use and relate what she needs to do to her selling situations.
It was great to hear directly from Dr Keller about the ARCS model. I have a better understanding of what it is and plan to read more, after the semester is over.
My first online facilitation felt clunky, as if I was a pink elephant in the room. It is challenging reading all the posts and weaving, as well. I am hoping I will feel more comfortable on the next one.

Perfect Timing

The timing for this course is perfect because of the projects I am working on in my workplace. I am coordinating a training series across our 7 branches with our Payroll Specialists and there is recruiting to be done. This training series will accomplish a few goals:

• Provide a development opportunity for those who are interested in facilitation
• Coordinate the training effort on a national basis which will connect people in other branches
  
• Standardize the training effort. In other works, information will be delivered in a consistent manner with standardized material and instruction.

The topic of this past week's course stimulated thoughts for a session I will facilitate to train those who are interested in training. Many on the staff like the idea of training, but facilitation is a different game for them to play. This week's information along with the reading I have done has provided me with a foundation to begin this effort. In addition, if the outline is acceptable I will use this for my Special Topic presentation.

This is the first undertaking of this kind in my organization and I am fortunate to have the opportunity. This opportunity is unique in other aspects, as well. First, we use a hybrid of online learning where we combine teleconferencing via Go To Meeting. The Support / IT team has been great in working through any technical issues in our environment. Many of the issues are related to networking challenges with Citrix, which goes over my head. I am grateful to have this support.

The second unique challenge is working with staff members who are accustomed to face to face facilitation and being lectured where the exchange of ideas is often limited. This is understandable since the environment they work in is compliance and process driven. My effort to get past this will be to work with them to share some of the skills of an e-moderator along with how to use the Go To Meeting application effectively.

Here is the rough outline for the session to train the trainers or train the facilitators:
Introduce myself - an advantage is I have met most of them face to face. A big plus with building rapport.
Ask if there are any reservations from the start - I am thinking they will be somewhat open since most are excited about the opportunity.
Facilitate a discussion about what they feel makes a good facilitator, what will be different about this type of facilitation versus in their local branches, was does learner centered mean and some hints to keep the session moving.
I will follow this with the support they will receive from me and our IT support team, my expectations of them and finally, a demonstration to Go To Meeting features.

This session will have happened the Wednesday before my presentation so I will have some initial results for the Special Topics presentation the following Monday.

Just Beginning

The purpose of this blog is for IT 7130 an online and face to face learning course at Wayne State University. This will hold reflections on my learning experiences throughout the semester. One of my goals is to experience learning technology and the tools available and apply those tools at my workplace.