Session+One

= __**​​SESSION ONE: REFLECTION ON LEARNING COMMUNITY**__ =

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Think back to a course you have facilitated in the past in which you felt a quality learning community developed. Describe a scene or aspect of your course that demonstrates either social, teaching, or cognitive presence in the course. If you did not feel you ever achieved an effective learning community, describe what you felt was lacking. =====

I have been a facilitator since the opportunity first became available to WV educators. I am so proud of our state. Including higher level thinking questions in response to postings seems to encourage a lot of good discussion. Asking questions about the content involves participants. Bringing in NEW ideas about the content gets a lot of interest going as well. Irene Murphy

Why is it that we always remember the not so successful instead of the successful? Anyway, my most successful online course memory is the first course I facilitated, Web Resources. The group blended early on and was very active. They were so active I could hardly keep up. Everyone had energy you could just feel even though we weren't face to face. There was lots of sharing of ideas and websites. Even though I was the facilitator I learned a lot and gained lots of new resources. It was wonderful. I have kind of measured other couses by this one. I have been disappointed some times when I couldn't get participates to that activity level of this first course.-Mary Humphreys  I was facilitating a course about Special Students in Regular Classrooms recently. Several of the participants really started complaining about all the testing that is now required. A couple of the participants were very vocal about how all we are doing is testing kids, not teaching them, etc. Since I have been in this business for about 30 years, I was able to provide some perspective on the use of the tests that we are now doing. We started a lively thread about formative and summative assessment, holding special education teachers accountable for student progress, expectations for students with special needs in regular classrooms, and more. Several students emailed me after the course was over and said they were shifting their thinking about special education students, testing, etc. I felt as though my years as a special ed teacher back in the 1970s and 1980s and my role as a regular education teacher through the 90s and 2000s allowed me to help these teachers look at current practice with a view of the bigger picture and thus started a discussion that was interesting and thought provoking.  Claudia Zimarowski

I am thinking about the interface of online learning, and I can think of examples that would fit into each thread of the social, cognitive and teaching presence. First, I had a wonderful experience in my co-facilitation class with Irene Murphy. I learned as much as the participants. I was highly dependent on Irene Murphy, for her expertise, information, feedback and guidance. So, without the ability to interact with her, I would have struggled. Interaction with the instructor is very important for success! Next, the interaction with peers in a course is invaluable. I love to share my stories and read experiences from others. The interaction provides such a wide array of knowledge and practice. How can one not grow and learn? Third, the content is current and useful for participants. I am so proud of our state leaders who provide us with professional development that purposefully and strategically engage us. Thanks Donna for your leadership!

~Melissa Boothe

  A couple of years ago I facilitated a class on Digital Portfolios for the Library Media TIS group. They really came together during the course. The discussions were lively and they were very supportive of each other. Since they came from similar backgrounds, they understood the trials and tribulations their classmates were facing as part of their jobs. This social connection really improved the class interaction as a whole. They felt comfortable expressing their ideas and were very willing to help each other. Since I'm also a librarian, I was able to really connect with them too. This was one class I never had to encourage people to participate in the discussion. The discussion really sounded like a conversation being held in a classroom rather than an asynchronous discussion board. Sandy Wisema n

**I am fairly new to facilitating online courses, however an effective learning community requires trust. Members of the PLC must have a certain amount of trust to be able to open up and thoughtfully share ideas. As discussed in our discussion board for session one, building and creating a positive climate will assist with developing a trust among each other. //"The growth of any craft depends on shared practice and honest dialogue among the people who do it. We grow by private trial and error, to be sure -- but our willingness to try, and fail, as individuals is severely limited when we are not supported by a community that encourages such risks."// -- //The Courage to Teach//; Palmer, 1998, p. 144 Stephanie Haynes**

**//The last course I facilitated seemed to have the extremes from both ends, as far as climate. It was the course of Virtual Field Trips. This group just really clicked - listened to each other - respected each others opinions. The projects were great - and from the final discussion board - I realized that this group was not finishing up with one project - but 2 or 3 - as they were borrowing and sharing. However, on the opposite end - there was one is this group - that was always late. You know the type - the ones who post just in time not to be dropped - but their postings are really not contributing anything to the course, to their peers - and they're receiving no benefit for their own project. And it showed. I never thought I'd refuse a final project - but I did. I sent it back with corrections that had to be made if he wanted credit - he was horrified. This is where I'm looking for some stradigies from this course - so that no participant finds themselves in that situation again - and as a facilitator, I don't find myself in that situaion again. It wasn't fun. --- Gilda Haddox

I have just co-facilitated one course in the past, so I will write about courses that I have taken.The first online facilitator course I took with Liz Farmer formed a fantastic online community. I think the participants were especially energetic, but also Liz was great at keeping the conversation going. She had a visible online presence for one thing-even if she did not reply to everyone every week, she did get around to everyone eventually. I imagine this made her able to create more in depth responses. She also pointed out strong discussion threads that she wanted us to check out. She also often ended a response with a question or played the devil's advocate to get us thinking critically about the post.

In other courses we didn't pass or fail-the grading was more like A, B, and Not Completed. This prompted me to work harder for an A! To get an A, you had to log in to the course multiple times throughout the week, not just the last three days or not three days in a row, and you had to incorporate the readings into your postings. I think the facilitator preferred quoting to paraphrasing and she even had us read up on proper citation for online sources. These additional requirements made us work harder and helped form a more serious learning community. Amber Garcia //**  =After reading Gilda's post I had to share a situation we ran into this week. We have two school administrators in a course this session. They both are falling behind. Numerous attempts have been made to assist the administrators: information has been placed in the gradebook, news items with course expectations have been posted, private e-mails have been sent. We do not wish to alienate the administrators. In fact --we want them to be "champions" for they course for which they are enrolled. It was decided that a call for asistance might prompt the desired course behaviors. What follows is a copy of the e-mail sent to the administrators earlier today: =

​ Administrator A and Administrator B (administrator names and course title have been omitted), Sorry to be this late in writing you two a personal message, but I’ve been out of town a good bit working on new coursework. I just want to thank you both for taking the _ __course and for setting an example for other administrators and teachers who are/ may be interested in__. We are very happy to have you and look forward to your comments and responses to our course as well as your products.

You two are in the unique positions of being able to provide us with some very valuable and useful feedback about this course as it would pertain to being offered to school groups. For example: in the Orientation content: As we work through the sessions, it would be helpful to know whether you feel the readings and activities are directly applicable to your (teachers’) use in the classroom. Already, we’ve had several participants share ideas and plans for sharing their presentations with students, parents, administrators and – hopefully, colleagues and members of the community. What a wonderful opportunity you each have to launch your presentation for a wide range of audiences – you may each want to target a different group.
 * 1) Is enough information provided to enable teachers to easily navigate the course environment (login to course, select course title, select  from upper menu bar, select  and then read content and click on links to access noted sites for information, open any links in Activities and complete each component.)? If not, what additional information would be helpful?
 * 2) Files are provided on posting, useful software downloads, etc. Are other “how-to’s” needed? If so, what?

Are there additional areas you would like to see addressed in this course? Would you recommend groups of teachers from a specific school take the course together? What about groups of administrators from a county?

I know you encounter difficulties and scenarios that classroom teachers may /may not face and we appreciate your sharing information that’s informative and relative to our course.

Again, I want to thank you for taking our course and to let you know that I’m available to help in any way that I can to enable you to maximize teaching and learning in this course. Just drop me a note or give me a call!

We hope this encourages the administrators to become active course participants.

=~Donna = = = =<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I have faciliated a few classes and all of them have been different. The one that stands out the most to me was one of my first, Creating Virtual Field Trips. At this time, virtual field trips were fairly new. One person that was in the class let me know of her fears very early. It was her first online class and she felt very uncomfortable with the whole idea of taking the class. She considered not going through with it but I was able to calm her fears so she could continue. After the first assignment she was very worried about if she did it correctly. I had to give her instant feedback about the assignment which was good work. After every assignment she would email me and I would reply back letting her know. When the final assignment was near, she panicked and wanted to drop out even more from the class. After all is said and done, she had the best final product. She did require more reinforcement than the others in the class but was very successful. I really didn't think she was going to make it to the end. I think that with her experience she was able to take other classes and be more confident doing so. = =<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">Julie Cooley = = = =<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">In the last course I facilitated (Finding the Best Resources in the Web), every participant had a different strength which created a social/cognitive presence in the course. I always create a “Help!” forum for people to post questions that other participants may be able to answer before I might get there. I encourage everyone to answer if they can. It was amazing! The people who were good with technology were able to answer questions for those who needed help. The people who were good organizers gave assistance to those who were less organized. The people who had really kind hearts were the cheerleaders when some of the new WVLearners began to feel overwhelmed. This happened because the group was very social but also because many of them were teachers who loved to share their knowledge and help others grow. I also like to think that I played a small part by encouraging them to take ownership of the course and creating a warm climate. = = Tisha Paree =

I have now facilitated about seven different courses. My goal is to ensure that all the participants have equal access to the information and understand the expectations for the weeks of the course. Typically the participants are genuinely interested in the course content and I have seen some excellent learning and sharing of information. At times, however, there have been those participants who, for whatever reason, choose not to work diligently and do as little as possible to get a C for complete. I have worked with both types, and I think in the majority of instances, both types of participants exist in all the courses. Even though this is the norm, it is always important to create a valuable learning atmosphere for those participants who desire the true online learning that takes place when the participants feel as if they are valued as a member of the learning community. I think each course that I have facilitated has been a unique experience where the giving and taking of ideas, experiences and informaiton has caused them to be valuable learning experiences for the majority of participants. I think that our success can be measured when we hear stories of how the information that was learned is used to make classroom learning improved or that students gained knowledge and skills because the course information was applied in the classroom. I get excited by these types of stories from the participants. Jackie


 * I have facilitated a few courses,but my first one sticks out as the most successful as far as building a strong learning community. I co-facilitated with another person, and what one of us didn't think of, the other did, so we built off of each other's strengths, and assisted the other's weaknesses. Not only was this beneficial to us, but to the participants as well. By each of us taking a component of the course that we felt better with, we were able to draw the participants into a deeper learning. There was a strong participation on the discussion boards that gave higher order responses - with very few "I agree / disagrees" . Each facilitator had an expertise in various areas, so that when one could not respond with experience to the participants, the other could. And, there were times when we both could respond and add to the discussion so that most particiants could benefit.** In addition to the disucussion boards being stronger with active involvement, we were able to use our individual strenghts to help participants who were struggling with lack of partricipation, lack of tech savvy, or confusions with assignments. Sara

**Approximately a year ago, I had an older participant call me before the opening of the course. She was very nervous as she was not computer savvy at all, but desperately needed the course to begin renewing her certificate. She had been a teacher many, many years ago but quit to raise her children and work with her husband. They had two auto dealerships, but were forced to close them due to the economy. I gave her all the information about the course and assured her that she would be able to complete it with help and encouragement from me and the other participants. For the first couple of weeks, I talked to her on the phone several times a week and received numerous e-mails from her. She had a lot of difficulty understanding the format of the class. At one point she gave me her password so that I could check to see that some of the functions in the class were actually working for her (they were). Everyone continued to encourage her and eventually she had the “aha moment.” She turned out to be one of the most knowledgeable and interesting participants I have had. At the end of the course, she asked me to recommend a second e-learns class for her to take. The teaching profession really gained an excellent teacher when she returned to the classroom**
 * I also feel we also have quality learning when we take our facilitator’s courses. When I took the Facilitator 2 Course, I really doubted that I could set up a wiki. I was seriously thinking of withdrawing from the course. Another facilitator encouraged me and once I started working with it, found it to be a lot of fun.**
 * Carolyn Coo k **

As I began to facilitate elearning courses I felt nervous about whether participants would participate or not. I tried to model what the facilitators of my prep courses did and find my own voice in encouraging them. For the most part each session, I fel,t developed fairly well. But, it seemed in all of the courses there was one or two that I couldn't get to full participation. Many participants were online early and often (as described in the welcome letter,) but others would be predictable that every Sat. morning and sometimes even Monday evening to complete the minimum posts and they weren't heard of any more the rest of the week. I would prompt them with personal emails to be a bit more responsive. I would post questions to their posts to encourage another response. It seemed they were not in it for the community but the information. I'm not sure how to combat that attitude. But, most of the participants would appear online several times during the week to keep up with their own postings and feed others ideas. Jane Meador

First, let it be said, I am still a novice. I have not yet facilliatated on my own. I learned a great deal from Julie Benacosa in the 21st Century Social Studies course. One of the key aspects was that the content really challenged some of the teachers who were not familiar with 21st century methods and those who were not familiar with online learning. Several participants e-mailed the technical questions and I was able to support their use and help them get more comfortable with the platform. However, as a facillitator, my job helping them tie in the content to their classroom was a bit more difficult. Many of the projects submitted at mid-term, showed social studies content, but many lacked incorporation of the course material into their units. I found that going back and pointing them into the direction of ideas they and other participants had added to the discussion board helped. Again, until the content was necessary t tie into the project, there was resistance. I believe that creating the social and teaching presence links really moved the participants into the right direction. Until that point, it seemed as if the components were acting together but not cohesively.

Shawn Hawkins

<span style="color: #9d00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I have facilitated several courses, and each of these courses have been different because of the "class chemistry." One particular course that I facilitated was composed of full-time teachers, part-time teachers, substitute teachers, aids, and even bus drivers all in a course entitled 21st Teaching and Learning in Language Arts. Believe me, the Orientation Session painted a picture of a class with participants from all realms of education, and I wasn't quite sure if everyone would be on the same page; however, with the use of personal emails, encouragement, and support evryone was able to successfully complete the final project. I firmly believe that one-on-one emails will build confidence and foster trust with just about any level of participant that you might have. I have also learned that if I don't know the answer to a technical question or if I get "stuck" with an issue, I amup front with the participants that I will need to seek help from the WVDE staff. Honesty has its merits!! I have so enjoyed facilitating courses as well as designing them. It never ceases to amaze me the level of communication and networking that enable us to learn! -JoAnn Nuzum

The Venn Diagram discussion opened my eyes to how lucky I was with my first facilitating experience. The participants were positive and encouraging in the discussion postings. I think the mix of experienced on-line class participants and new ones is good in the classes. As I think it happens in many classes, the new participants begin slowly, even hesitantly and wait to read others discussion post before they post during the first weeks of the class. The experience participants know the expectations of the online discussion and get right to it. I think I was lucky and the experienced participants were good influences to the new ones and this was part of the reason for the positive atmosphere.

I like that our class offerings are a mix of experience, including this one. As a new facilitator I learn so much from what everyone has to say and their experiences. Nanette

===<span style="color: #4e0f75; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">I’m still heavily (pun intended) into bread making, so I’ll use an analogy from that activity to illustrate my experience with cognitive, teacher, and social presence. When I make bread, I really don’t know how much flour it will take to make the perfect dough; so many other factors (temperature, humidity, composition of the flour itself, etc.) influence the right mix. So has it been with facilitating my classes. Sometimes the “right mix” has required a greater teacher presence on my part; other times, the social presence has been a controlling component. This variance can occur not only from class to class but also from week to week in the same class. Just as I constantly monitor the different aspects of my physical classroom to achieve the right mix, I’ve learned to monitor – and adjust – the different aspects of my online classroom. Pam ===

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**In the course-Science 2.0, using web tools to promote inquiry, I feel that the cognitive presence helped us to reach community. The material was so interesting that everyone wanted to try each web 2.o tool that we looked at. Most of the participants were science teachers or going to be, so this was really applicable to their class right now. some even tried some of the sites and tools while we were in the class. This then helped out socially, because everyone was willing to share a variety of sites and ideas**. Sally