Distance Learning Facilitation- Train the Trainer Session
Vital Information for This Program
Timing/Delivery3 Day Virtual Classroom Training- 6.5 classroom hours per day
*Trainee’s will virtually attend the classroom through web-cam. Screen share through Microsoft Lync with an open IM Chat for the class will be used.
Daily Agenda
Email daily to all participants
9:00-10:45 Classroom Time
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-1:00 Classroom Time
1:00-2:00 Lunch
2:00-3:45 Classroom Time
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Classroom Time
Administrative needs
Checklist
Email Facilitators Guide to participants
Email Accompanying PowerPoint Presentation to participants
Audience
This training program is meant for the following audience:
Corporate trainers who have been in the classroom facilitation role for over a year and are looking to boost their career development by running virtual training sessions.
These participants have experience facilitating to a live audience; however, they have no prior experience in facilitating to a virtual audience
Participants in this program have attended virtual trainings within their job role, but have never facilitated them.
Goals
By the end of this program, participants will be able to:
Describe the skills that successful online facilitators use in the virtual classroom
Demonstrate the ability to navigate the technology used to create a virtual classroom
Develop Classroom management techniques in a virtual training environment
Identify ways to keep a virtual classroom engaged in the course material
Give examples of different forums from which they could facilitate virtual training
Objectives
Day 1 –Facilitator Skills and Instructional Materials
Identify the skills needed to become an effective distance learning facilitator through discussion
Define the phases of development for distance learning facilitators by completing research activity
Describe how different theories of distance learning can translate into the classroom through teach back activity
Identify ways to engage distance learners by creating a storyboard of examples
Day 2 – Management and Technology Tools
After watching training video, Describe the importance of a mentoring program through create your own activity
Given a list of goals, successfully create a mentoring program assessment and evaluation packet given a sample program
Demonstrate a minimum of three different technology tools on your assigned learning platform through presentation to class
Using a list of media and technology tools, Describe through classroom teach back activity, how technology and media tools engage learners
Day 3 – Issues and Classroom Management
Describe the different types of distance learners through group research activity and presentation
Given examples of possible issues with online classroom management, identify solutions and share with the class
Prepare a facilitation guide for both a synchronous and asynchronous learning environment, given a topic
Assessments
This training program has the following summative assessments:
Exit Ticket Assessment at the end of each day. 5 Question Knowledge Check
Cumulative on-line exam- 40 questions. Must score 80% or above to be marked complete for the course. 2 attempts will be given.
Program and facilitator success will be measured by 85% or higher passing the exam on the first attempt.
In addition all participants will fill out an after course survey, attached to their cumulative exam once completed, prior to getting credit for course completion. Facilitator must score 4 or higher out of 5 on question categories pertaining to the trainer.
Day 1- Facilitator Skills and Instructional Material
Beginning of Day 1Welcome & Introduction / Timing
SLIDE 1:
Say: Welcome to the Distance Learning Facilitation Train the Trainer session. Over the course of the next few days we will be embarking on an adventure into the future of our profession. Distance learning is becoming more common as our company grows and expands across the world.
SLIDE 2:
Say: I would like to take a moment to introduce myself to you and I will be calling on you one by one to introduce yourself to me. Please be prepared with a brief statement about how long you have been in the organization and what brings you to the training today.
SLIDE 3:
By the end of this training you will be able to:
· Describe the skills that successful online facilitators use in the virtual classroom
· Demonstrate the ability to navigate the technology used to create a virtual classroom
· Develop Classroom management techniques in a virtual training environment
· Identify ways to keep a virtual classroom engaged in the course material
· Give examples of different forums from which they could facilitate virtual training
Let’s start our journey!
SLIDE 4
Day 1 Objectives- By the end of today you will be able to:
· Identify the skills needed to become an effective distance learning facilitator through discussion
· Define the phases of development for distance learning facilitators by completing research activity
· Describe how different theories of distance learning can translate into the classroom through teach back activity
· Identify ways to engage distance learners by creating a storyboard of examples / 15 minutes
Objective: Identify the skills needed to become an effective distance learning facilitator through discussion / Timing
SLIDE 5:
Say: In order to create effective distance learning, there are certain skills that a facilitator must have.
Discuss:
· Establish presence
o Tells the class who you are
o Helps you make a social connection with your students
o As there is no face to face interaction, you must ensure that you show students you are involved
o Students need to feel cared for and not lost in the crowd
· Promote interactivity
o Develop good discussion questions to get students to talk to each other
o Provide timely and constructive feedback often and encourage students to contact you if needed
· Actively engaged
o Respond frequently to posts within the forums used to communicate
o Encourage students to share their opinion
o Create a safe environment where students are not afraid of repercussions of their personal opinions
· Respect students as partners and create community
o Make sure students feel their opinion is valued
o Reduces the feeling of isolation among students
o Learn with the students
· Effectively facilitate another's creation
o One does not always deliver content they design; therefore, it is important to be comfortable with facilitating content that you did not design
o Preparation is key – being prepared by reading through the programs facilitators guide and practicing how activities will run in the classroom environment
o Make it your own – you determine how the course is best delivered and make the activities into ones you feel will work best for the environment you are using.
· Lead by example
o Treat others as you wish to be treated when posting and communicating. This can mean that you meet your deadlines, respond promptly to inquiries, etc.
· Flexibility
o Remember that not everyone is as familiar with the subject as you are. They also may not be as familiar with technology used in the classroom.
o Be prepared with a back-up plan if a planned activity does not go correctly.
· Commit to using technology for learning
o Ensure that you are using the technology to your advantage
o Commit yourself to the online learning environment
Activity: Each participant will be assigned one skill that has been discussed (some will have the same skill as another in the class), participants have 20 minutes to come up with a list of strategies you think could be used to build the skill as a virtual facilitator. Place your strategies in a presentation tool of your choice and be ready to present it virtually to the classroom. Presentation should be no longer than 3 minutes.
Discussion: COLD CALL participants
· What strategies stuck out to you?
· How did it feel to present virtually for the first time?
· Is there anything you would change the next time around? / 1 hour 30 minutes
BREAK- 15 Minutes
Objective: Define the phases of development for distance learning facilitators by completing research activity / Timing
Slide 6:
Say: There are stages to developing the skills we talked about.
· Five Phases (Palloff & Pratt, 2011)
1. Visitor
a. Play with the idea of technology and have used it minimally in their classes in the past
2. Novice
a. Consistently uses technology in their classes but has never taught or learned in an online setting
3. Apprentice
a. Newcomers in the online teaching world. Have taught once or twice online and are beginning to develop their skills
4. Insider
a. Veterans of the online teaching environment who are beginning to step into designing online courses
5. Master
a. Experts that have not only taught but designed multiple courses and mentor those starting out in the world of online facilitation
Everyone here is starting out as either a Visitor or a Novice as you have never taught an online class before. By walking into this training you have now move to the Apprentice stage. In order to develop further we move through four categories of learning for each stage.
· Four Categories of training needs for each stage (Palloff & Pratt, 2011)
1. Personal- How to establish presence and build confidence in abilities to teach
2. Pedagogy- Developing skills, understanding, and techniques to enhance online teaching skills
3. Content- Making sure the content is delivered clearly based on the class topic
4. Technology- Making sure technology meets course objectives and are incorporated in teaching
Reference: Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2011). The excellent online instructor: Strategies for professional development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Activity: Research Activity: Each participant will take 20 minutes to research online ways to begin to move through the apprentice stage and into the insider stage based on the four categories of training needs. They will then join an assigned partner through a Microsoft Lync conference call to work together and create brief list of findings. Each group will present their findings to the class using a Lync whiteboard. / 2 hours
LUNCH- 1 Hour
Objective: Describe how different theories of distance learning can translate into the classroom through teach back activity / Timing
SLIDE 7:
Say: There are many different theories associated to distance learning. Each focuses on a different aspect of technology in relation to learners that cannot be present in the classroom.
· Transactional Distance
o Separation between students and their facilitators requires special teaching and learning techniques
o Example: Teleconferencing connects students and teachers that are otherwise too far away to meet face to face.
· Multimodality
o Learning is more than just language it is technology and media used by a changing society
o Example: A webpage is usually made up of several modes. It has words (verbal mode), it has icons indicating where to find things (iconic mode) and it has pictures (visual mode).
· Intrinsic Motivation
o Learning requires the student to be engaged and contribute to the experience
o Example: Online Gaming requires people to connect and become engaged with others from around the world. In today’s world you are a virtual team and rely on the other people you are connecting with to get the job done.
· Social Informatics
o The relationship between technology and communication and social interaction
o Example: The decision to call someone on the phone or to send them an email. If you are looking for immediate interaction with the person you may choose the phone if they are notorious for not checking their email. This could also be seen in texting someone a quick piece of information instead for calling them on the phone.
· Digital Media Theory
o Focuses on the many media devices that can convey information and accessibility.
o Example: This is best summed up as if someone says to you: use technology, I don’t care how you use it or what form of it you use, but you must use it. It is the opposite of Multimodality.
Activity: TEACHBACK. Each student is assigned one of the above topics. They have 20 minutes to come up with a scenario that exemplifies the theory in action. They will then present their example to the class with a brief description as to why it demonstrates their theory. / 1 hour 45 minutes
BREAK- 15 Minutes
Objective: Identify ways to engage distance learners by creating a storyboard of examples / Timing
SLIDE 8:
Say: There are many different ways to engage learners in a virtual classroom
· Online Communities
o Allow students to get to know each other and learn from one another
o You also get to participate and learn along with the students
· Posting for participation
o Make sure that students are contributing to learning discussions
§ Can be various levels of participation from those who lurk in the background and only post when they have to, to participants that contribute multiple times daily because they want to.
· Cold Call Participants
o During classroom time, cold call participants in order to keep them on their toes.
§ Make sure you set the expectation and ask the question, pause and call the person’s name. This allows the learners processing time.
· Give time for reflection
o Make them think and reflect on the course material. Give them brief activities to reflect on the topic and have them participate in the learning
· Stay engaged yourself
o As a facilitator your students rely on you for feedback. As you are not in a face to face environment you will need to try and stay as close to the classroom as possible. This helps student’s feel cared for and eliminates feelings of being lost. In short model the behavior you expect to receive from your students.
Activity: Story Board: Each participant is assigned one method of engagement listed on the provided slide. They have 10 minutes to create a three block comic strip/storyboard using clipart and images they can find online to illustrate the method of engagement. They will then share with the class through taking over control of a virtual whiteboard in Microsoft Lync. / 50 minutes
Objective: Knowledge Check Exit Ticket / Timing
POST Exit ticket for the day with the following 5 questions on screen share. As participants to email you the answers prior to the end of class. / 10 minutes
END OF DAY 1
Day 2- Management and Technology Tools