Facilitator Training Program

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Module Two

Faculty Development

Online Community

As has been mentioned more than once through this program, perhaps the most important component of an online program is communication. Communication in one fashion or another is the lifeblood of distance education. As adult learners, a key part of communication is having a sense of belonging - to a common goal, a greater good, or just simply feeling like they are not alone. In distance education this is referred to as an online community.


As a facilitator it is important to help students to understand they are part of a learning community. It is also important as a facilitator to have a presence and understanding of the online communities that are available for instructors and trainers. Through collaboration, these online communities are established and supported. Whether it be a asynchronous corporate training program, or a synchronous online classroom, establishing a positive online community with learners is an important part of distance education. Below is a video that discusses the use of online communities, and theories and principles that help to engage students in an online learning environment, and how it will help build the sense of an online community for learners.


In a corporate training environment, as a future facilitator, you may be wondering how you will establish an online community with your learners. In module one we touched on some tools that can be used for collaboration and to help establish communication with learners. One of those tools that will function well in establishing an online community is the use of a platform that will allow learners to communicate thoughts and ideas with you as the facilitator, as well as fellow learners. One common tool in distance education that serves as a discussion platform is the use of a discussion post or blog. In Module One you had the opportunity to use the blog provided in this program to answer two questions for the end of module evaluation. We will now return to that blog to share ideas and open lines of discussion. Please enter the blog by clicking here. Once you have navigated to the blog page navigate to the category labeled Module Discussions. In there you will find some discussions that were started for Module Two. Please add your response to these discussions. (Please refer to the tutorial at the end of module one if you need assistance in accessing the blog)

The above video addressed some theories and principles of an online community for the student. Equally important is an online community for facilitators. In the world of education and training, there are many resources for you as a facilitator, trainer, or educator, that serve as an online community. One website called the United Federation of Teachers serves as a launching pad to many different resources for educators. The website is located at http://www.uft.org/linking-learning/online-teacher-communities. One website in particular featured on the UFT website is called teachers teaching teachers. It is a website that provides educators an opportunity to share and discuss ideas and offer input to one another. It is found at http://www.teachersteachingteachers.org/. Please take some time to look through each of these websites and get to know some of the resources available that help to create an online community for fellow educators.

Mentoring Programs

As a continuation of the idea of an online learning community, it is important for you as a facilitator of learning that you are not alone, and are not expected to know how to do everything on your own. Another concept in support of an online community is that of mentoring programs. Most educational institutions, especially in higher education, offer a mentoring program for faculty and educators. In some cases this mentor could be a more experienced educator, or as found in some models of mentoring, some experienced students may fill the shoes of a mentor to new faculty members. 

For a more in depth look at models of mentoring programs please read the following article by clicking here.(the document contained in the preceding link was derived from the University of Phoenix MAED CUR532 program as part of the week three reading assignment).

Listed below is an article that suggests the top five characteristics  of a successful online mentoring progam -

Top Five Characteristics of Effective Online Mentoring Programs

What is an online mentoring program? It is a program that helps new instructors or instructors that have never taught online acclimate to the online learning environment. It is a program or series of programs that offers a mentor or experienced online instructor to the new or unexperienced instructor that will guide them and help them with the online learning experience. For an online mentoring program to be effective, there are certain characteristics that need to be contained in that mentoring program. Here is a list of the top five with accompanying descriptions –

  1. Perception of Technology – One of the largest hurdles for online facilitators to overcome is the use of technology online. A good mentoring program will help the online instructor understand the use of technology, and even more importantly, gain an understanding of the many different types and uses of technology that is available.
  2. Individual Support for Technology – Along with understanding what technologies are available, it is also important for a mentoring program to provide guidance to help the online instructor learn and understand those technologies. As most online programs offer self-paced, individualized learning and instruction, so should the online instructor have the same resources available to him or her. Mentoring the online instructor through the learning curve of the new technologies is a key component of the online mentoring program.
  3. Breaking Down Hierarchical Structure - An inherent characteristic of the mentor/mentee relationship is that the mentor immediately gains a perception of superiority due to the experience and knowledge that is brought into the relationship by the mentor. For an online mentoring relationship to be effective, this hierarchical structure needs to be removed. One common way to achieve this is to offer a knowledgeable student as a mentor. In this relationship the hierarchical structure is removed and the inherent perception by both the mentee and the mentor is of more equal footing. Another method to removing this hierarchical structure is to offer mentors to mentees in a group setting. In a group setting, mentees are more prone to seek different subjects from different mentors, and by doing so, removing any potential power imbalances.
  4. Open Dialogue/Collaboration – Once nonhierarchical relationships are achieved in the mentoring model, it becomes easier for the mentor and mentee to communicate. With this open dialogue comes collaboration, and often mentor/mentee establish lasting relationships that open doors to future collaborative activities. As research indicates, some of these activities include co-teaching, coauthoring, and co-presenting at conferences.
  5. Online Learning Community – All of the previous elements of a mentoring program – Understanding and using technology, breaking down hierarchical structure, and collaboration, all lead to one greater element- establishing an online learning community. Establishing a learning community through mentoring relationships will be a valuable part of any mentoring program. Since online education is singular in nature, it is perceived as somewhat lonely and can make the instructor and the students’ alike feel disconnected. An online learning community will create a sense of belonging and part of the greater good, and will benefit the instructor and the learner to feel as if they belong to the community of learners or mentors.

     Ultimately any online educational environment will add great value to the success of the online instructor or facilitator. The implementation of a mentoring program that includes these top five elements will create a valuable learning environment for the potential online instructor and will set the foundation for the future success of those instructors and those they teach.


(This article was referenced from the week three submitted assignment from the Uniiversity of Phoenix MAED CUR532 program)



As corporate trainers, mentoring programs from your place of business may not be available. If this is the case help and assistance can be found at any of the organizations listed on the previous section about online communities for faculty. If at anytime you have questions or need assistance you can reach the facilitator of this training program by clicking the button below. This will open your computers default email handling program. If for some reason this link does not work you may also reach the facilitator at email address [email protected]

Probject Based Learning

Yet another approach in establishing an online community is the collaborative use of project based learning. What you might ask is project based learning? As defined by a website called bie.org, "Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge"  (2015, What is). Also provided by Buck Institute for Education (BIE) is the following video that illustrates the concept of project based learning.
As described above, project based learning is putting students or learners together in an environment where they work on a common project based on a scenario given to them by a facilitator. Once again there are many tools online that make this possible in an asynchronous or synchronous online learning environment. The graphic below illustrates some of these tools and how they can be used in a PBL learning environment.
(The graphic above was derived from the University of Phoenix CUR532 week four assignment)
In reference to the above chart, the use of the tool called screencast-o-matic was demonstrated in the blog tutorial at the end of module one. In each of the graphical representations of the tools is a web url that is listed to access each one of the tools. Please take some time to examine each of the tools and gather an understanding of how they may be beneficial to your training program. As you have studied these tools you may have gotten the impression that these tools would be better served in a synchronous real-time environment. This is not necessarily the case. Keep in mind that even though the tools have some real time capabilities built in, problems and scenarios can still be presented to the learners and each member of the project based environment can contribute to his or her portion of the collaborative assignment or project. One last item that will help you gain and understanding of project based learning an an asynchronous learning environment is a document on the subject found at this link. Please read the article and return to this page when you are finished by click on your browsers back button.
You have reached the end of Module Two. Please proceed to the end of module evaluation by clicking the button below. Navigate to the Module Two Evaluation Category and proceed to the associated questions in that category.