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.