Facilitating Online Communities

Hi, just a quick introduction to the Facilitating Online Communities course participants. This is my second paper I am taking as part of the Graduate Certificate in Applied eLearning, I am also taking Technical Appreciation of eLearning Tools at the same time. The reason for me taking this course is to learn about how to better facilitate online courses.

I look forward to meeting, working and learning with you all.

My final post

My evaluation of elearning for Best Practice journey is complete. Although this was my first elearning paper I have enjoyed my learning experience. I am looking forward to my next papers. Hopefully this link will allow you to look at my final needs assessment.

http://docs.google.com/ViewDoc?docid=dghwppcg_1dpc9pvd9

This blog will now be used for my next paper Facilitating Online Communities.

Interview information

I have shared my interview information - I am now in the process of drawing out the themes. I interviewed an educational expert and then three people involved in elearning (3 different colours).

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dghwppcg_0hmbxfhf9&hl=en

Week 16

I was hoping to have completed more of my evaluation plan this weekend, I took all my work home with me, but left my memory stick at work. In some ways I can see why Google docs is so useful as you access your work from anywhere! So I had to make do with the information I had on Google docs (limited) and my handwritten notes.

The feedback from Bronwyn and others has been very useful as I try to bring everything together now in one document. Tyring to be creative with my analysis to cut down the word count, getting my head round frequencies, means etc (I knew there was a reason why I prefer qualitative work!) and trying to keep to the timeline.

Pleased to have been involved with the course, as I have to have a course up and running for online learning sooner than I thought! Ready for next semester, only a few weeks away! Back to my analysis and discussion.

Week 13 continued

I have shared with you my initial analysis of student feedback from the survey.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dghwppcg_48q9mgbgk&hl=en

Week 13

This stage of the course has been really good as it is the practical part of the evaluation plan. Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity in interviewing an educational expert and also three lecturers that are already involved in elearning at the Polytechnic. I chose lecturers that had different levels of experience with elearning and also from three different areas which has also made it more interesting, but also valuable in terms of seeing whether or not they had the same views on some of my questions.

Within my original evaluation plan, I had said that I would look at documentation and carry out the interviews and would survey students in the future due to the short timeframe allocated for the course. However, I decided last week that I would survey students as I felt that I was missing a key link in my evaluation plan if I did not do that at the same time. Although my sample size was small (eleven students), I still think that it has been beneficial to have their views of technology and education.

I have collated the information from the students, which I will post as a separate document. This has not been fully analysed, but it is a start!

Week 12

Slightly behind the course guideline, but on track on my evaluation plan timeline! I have just completed two of my interviews, one with an educational expert (although they prefer not to have that title!) and the other from a lecturer that has just become more involved with elearning.

My interview, with the "educational expert", was very interesting and probably very different than I had anticipated. It has made me consider my own f2f teaching and my personal reflective practice of my current teaching.

I think the key things at the moment is that it is all about "small chunks" - you do not have to think that you have to take a "whole course" and put it on-line, but you can make headway, by breaking it down, running with it, seeing how it works for you as lecturer and the student and then reflecting on it.

I look forward to my next two interviews and then getting my head stuck into the "documentation" I have said that I will analyse.

May have more time to do this if we get snowed in! Looking pretty bleak outside.