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The 5 Most Significant Responsibilities of the Online Facilitator

1.       Differentiate- Know the students

Create opportunities for getting to know the students: their interests, their learning preferences, their past experiences in traditional school and online environments, their tech savvy. Make the course personal for students in a way that is difficult to do in a traditional classroom.

2.       Set the tone- Ease tension by making a good first impression

Make the first experiences students have with the course positive. Send an introductory email that gives students a clear picture of expectations and requirements for the course, but personalize the first email and module so students get to know you as a person. Make sure they are aware that you are available any time.

3.       Be available- Provide feedback and respond promptly to concerns

Do what you say you’ll do. When a student sends a question, answer it as soon as possible. Check many times per day. Provide feedback as immediately as possible. Make sure the feedback is specific and helps the student understand how to improve and what to continue doing.

4.       Know the content- Be an expert in the information

Be well-versed in the content prior to class beginning and have a variety of professional contacts and information to access in case a question comes up that you cannot answer. Online classes offer students to opportunity to learn from anyone. Give the impression that you are the BEST person for students to learn from by knowing more than the person who may be teaching the traditional course.

5.       Be a good teacher- Utilize the best of traditional pedagogy, but adapt for an online environment

Use time-honored techniques from teaching in a regular classroom (see above), but also adapt to the online environment by trouble-shooting things like technology glitches and ethical issues. Utilize opportunities that online learning gives students and teachers that traditional classrooms would not be able to benefit from (such as asynchronous communication, videos, Skyping, etc.)

My Brain Hurts

Do you ever have the feeling your brain is so full that it can't possibly take another bit of information? I'm having that feeling this morning.

In the past 2 months, I have learned more than I have learned in the past 2 decades. I have read more books, blogs, and articles than I have in a lifetime (at least professionally), and I have had more in-depth, intellectual conversation in 2 weeks than I have had in my career.

It's awesome.

This is what it's about, this "innovation" thing you always hear about. It doesn't feel top-down because my colleagues are real people, with the hearts of teachers, trying to do right by kids in a way that will change our school system in a lasting way, not just to make themselves look good.

I clipped this article byAllan Kelsey from www.leadingleaders.net after an excruciating committee meeting where 16 people were expected to work as a team to write a unit using the UbD framework without dividing up any part of the work. I googled "idea group size" in a passive-aggressive attempt to make myself feel better about the futility of the project. Rereading that article today while looking for something else, a quote struck me:

"Perhaps it is at 5 that the feeling of “team” really begins. At 5 to 8 people, you can have a meeting where everyone can speak out about what the entire group is doing, and everyone feels highly empowered."

While my team of 8 is often divided in a variety of combinations of 2-8 people, the feeling of the 8 meeting together and working together to solve the problems of the world, is pretty amazing.

One of my current favorite professional reads...

... begins the final chapter with this line: "The best educational leaders are in love- in love with the work they do, with the purpose their work serves, and with the people they lead and serve."

I'm definitely in love, but my brain hurts today. Thank goodness I'm headed to a school for a learning walk this afternoon at: