Facilitator Training Program
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Module One
Becoming and Effective Facilitator
What is a facilitator? As defined by the University of Virginia, "The 'facilitator' is a guide or 'discussion leader' for the group. The process of facilitation is a way of providing leadership without taking the reigns. Before beginning this module, please read the following article about facilitation by clicking here.
The first step in becoming an effective facilitator is getting to know your audience or the individuals you will be instructing or facilitating. With that in mind by using the form to the right -------------------->
Please provide your name, email address, and a brief message that tells a little about yourself. Please include your interests, hobbies, and a brief summary explaining why you are attending this training program.
The first step in becoming an effective facilitator is getting to know your audience or the individuals you will be instructing or facilitating. With that in mind by using the form to the right -------------------->
Please provide your name, email address, and a brief message that tells a little about yourself. Please include your interests, hobbies, and a brief summary explaining why you are attending this training program.
Traits of an Effective Facilitator
Positive traits of an effective facilitator are -
- Be an effective communicator
- Having a strong presence
- Be a positive motivator
- Be a positive role model
You may now be wondering "How do I put these pieces together to be an effective facilitator?" Lets take a look at each trait -
Effective Communication
Mastering the art of effective communication is perhaps the single most important trait of an effective online facilitator. Distance education or online facilitation, at its foundation, is born of pure communication. Having an understanding and ability to effectively communicate with the learners in your training program are a set of skills that are critical as an online facilitator.
Please watch the following video about being an effective communicator in an online environment.
Please watch the following video about being an effective communicator in an online environment.
Having a Strong Presence
Having a Strong Presence
As you may understand by now, online education is strictly virtual. There is no face to face interaction, and all communication takes place through whatever electronic means is chosen. Due to the lack of physical presence, establishing an online presence is a key factor in building a solid learning experience for the online student. Please read the following article that discusses some ideas and theories about establishing a presence on line - You can access the article by clicking here.
Being a Positive Motivator and Role Model
The obvious objective and coinciding goals of facilitating and online learning environment is to create and environment that will motivate the students to learn the material at hand. Some of the easiest, but important, things to consider in an online environment are once again communication, positive interaction, setting expectations, establishing a learning community, and leading by example. (We will look further into learning communities in Module Two). The following short video will touch on some of the strategies used to motivate students.
Get to know your students
Get to know your students
Earlier in this module getting to know your students was mentioned. As a facilitator, having an understanding of who your students are and especially any previous knowledge of the subject being learned is valuable information to have. Information gathered at the beginning of a training program to help you as a facilitator gain this understanding will aid in future course design and interaction with the student. One tool that can be used to gain an understanding of the learners understanding of the topic being taught is a KWL chart. KWL stands for what I KNOW, what I WANT to know, and what I have LEARNED about the subject being taught. In the following picture is an example of a completed KWL chart that discusses theories of distance learning -
(The graphic above was derived from the University of Phoenix MAET CUR532 week two assignment)
The example above is an infographic version of a KWL chart. By clicking the link below you will be taken to a KWL Chart created in Microsoft Word online. Using the information you have learned thus far in this training program, fill in the information in the KWL Chart and save the file with a unique name. Include your name in the file name, Here is an example ---> yourname_kwlchart
Click here to go to the KWL Chart
Click here to go to the KWL Chart
Engaging Online Students
Up to this point in the training program, you have learned what it takes to be an effective online facilitator, and some of the principles involved. You have learned that communication, motivation, leading by example, and getting to know your students are an important part of being and online facilitator. Another key element that is equally if not more important to distance education is keeping students interested in the material of the program, or engaging the online student. One way to to keep the content of your training program interesting is by using some of the technology that is available in today's vast expanse of online tools and information. In the graphic below, some of these tools are discussed as it pertains to distance education.
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(The infographic above was derived from the University of Phoenix MAET CUR532 week two team assignment)
Listed below are the web addresses for access to the above mentioned tools.
Skype can be found at http://www.skype.com/en/
YouTube is found at https://www.youtube.com/
Wiki is found at http://www.wiki.com/
Skype can be found at http://www.skype.com/en/
YouTube is found at https://www.youtube.com/
Wiki is found at http://www.wiki.com/
After you have had a moment to study the above infographic and related web addresses, please read the following article about engaging online students. The article can be accessed by clicking here (By clicking this link you will be directed to a new page. To navigate back to this page after reading the article please click your browsers back button)
This concludes Module One. Please click the button below to proceed to the end of module evaluation blog. (Before entering the evaluation, please watch the video below that describes the necessary steps to use the evaluation blog)In the blog you will find a category labeled Module One. Navigate to Module One in the blog and answer the two questions found in this category. Upon completion of the evaluation questions navigate to Module Two by clicking the Module Two button found at the top of the page.
Below you will find a tutorial on how to use the blog portion of this training program. Please view this video before entering the Module One Evaluation.
For a copy of a manuscript of the dialogue for the tutorial video please click here. Use your browser back button once you have viewed the manuscript.