Facilitator Training Program

Krista Jackson

11/9/2015

CUR/532

Professor Melinda Medina

Facilitator Training Program

Contact Information:

Name: Krista Jackson

Email:

Phone Number: 777-333-4444

Availability: Monday – Friday from 8am to 8pm Central Time. If the times are not helpful, then contact the email address, and a time will be set up to accommodate different schedules. After the training is over, emails and phone calls are still welcome during the availability times.

Introduction

Welcome to your 3-Day Training session for the new way of facilitating for our students. Online distance learning for students is growing every day, and almost as quickly as technology. Our school is going to start including online learning and distance education. Our main focus during this training is how to facilitate online learners. The training manual in your hands will help with learning how to facilitate learning online for distance learners.

v First training day (Module 1) will be about how to use Facilitator Skills and Instructional Materials for distance learners.

v Second training (Module 2) day focus on how to integrate Management and Technology Tools into education for distance learners.

v Third and last training day (Module 3) will be about Issues and Classroom Management, and how to use both in facilitating distance learners.

The 3-Day module is the first part of the transition of integrating facilitating online learning for distance students. There will be more training session to follow this one, but this is the introduction to the ideas of understanding facilitating online distance education for learners. The training on our new online platform will be in another training session. The training session right now is to help expand the ideas of facilitating learners to include distance learners. The training is extensive for three days, but it will bring knowledge, interest, and new concepts into the facilitating environment.

Reading

v Haythornthwaite, C., & Andrews, R. (2011). E-learning theory and practice. Los Angeles,

CA: Sage.

v Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2011). The excellent online instructor: Strategies for professional

development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Prerequisites

The training is for all of our faculty members and facilitators who are already experienced in instructing or facilitating student learners. The individuals should have taught at our University for at least two semesters. The individual’s should know how the University runs, their policies, and have experience as an instructor or facilitator for at least two semesters at the minimum. Trainees do not have to have prior knowledge of facilitating distant learners online. Some of the trainees may have experience taking online distance education or facilitating an online distance education class. All members must still go through the Universities’ training program that adheres to their institution.

Goals for the Training Program

Module 1

v Goal – Trainees will know what presence is and why it is so important.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 1, the trainees will be able to describe and explain what presence is in distance learning.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 1, the trainees will be able to give examples of why presence is important in distance learning.

v Goal – Trainees will know what phase of development as a facilitator they are at right now.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 1, the trainees will be able to explain the phases of development as a facilitator.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 1, the trainees will be able to identify what phase they are as a facilitator.

Module 2

v Goal – Trainees will know the process of a mentor.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 2, the trainees will be able to explain the process of a mentor.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 2, the trainees will be able to act out what a mentor would do.

v Goal – Trainees will know the different technology tools.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 2, the trainees will be able to identify different technology tools.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 2, the trainees will be able to explain and use the different technology tools.

Module 3

v Goal – Trainees will use different technology tools for collaboration.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 3, the trainees will be able to identify technology tools that help with collaboration.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 3, the trainees will be able to use technology tools for collaboration.

v Goal – Trainees will have knowledge of the ADA.

o Objective: Given the handout in Module 3, the trainees will be able to summarize what the ADA consists of.

Measurements of Success

v How the trainees success is measured:

o The trainees will have an assignment after each module to complete with due dates included. The trainees will have their grades and final score for the program two days after Day 3. The content, grammar/spelling, and references will be a part of the measurement of success. Content will count as 80%, grammar/spelling will count as 10%, and references will count as 10% with a final 100 total percentage.

v How the program success is measured:

o The trainees should have an 85% and up success rate for the training program. The trainees must make at least a B average to be successful in the program. The success rate will determine if the facilitator training program was successful.

Module 1: Facilitator Skills and Instructional Materials

Skills needed for effective online distance learning facilitators

v Presence: A facilitator needs to show presence online with distance education because the students need to know that they are there for the learners. Distance learners online will be online at different times, so logging on consistently is helpful. The facilitator cannot be online 24/7; checking the website and emails regularly is helpful for learners in different time zones. The facilitator sets a good example with presence if they are on often, so this encourages the distance online learners to care more about showing their presence online too, (Pelletier, 2013). Presence is the most important aspect of online distance education because it is so helpful. The learners will be more apt to being engaged and excited about learning in your online classroom environment.

o Strategy: Focus on the concept of a “Social Butterfly” to assist facilitators in learning the information on presence, (Bull, 2013). Online learning can be isolating, and creating a positive and engaging environment while instructing facilitators helps.

v Communication: A facilitator needs to show presence because the students need to communicate or ask questions sometimes. Distance online learners need to have the contact information of their facilitator, so they can contact the facilitator at anytime. Knowing how to communicate effectively will help to make sure that there are not any miscommunications. Paying attention to the tone of voice during communication with the learner because communication can be misinterpreted. The facilitator does not have the nonverbal cues that they would be able to use in person, (Pelletier, 2013). Communication with the learners should happen as soon as possible if they send a message because the longer the wait the more discouraged the learner can become. The facilitator should reread all message replies, so they know the message will be communicated in a welcoming manner.

o Strategy: Focus on the concept of a “Cheerleader” to assist facilitators learning the information on communication, (Bull, 2013). Showing the facilitator how they can succeed in communication with encouragement and feedback on their communication skills will help the facilitators improve.

v Discussion: The distance online educational University website should have a place for discussion posts. The facilitator should make sure to post as soon as they can each week to get the discussions going. “It is recommended that you respond to at least three student responses to the discussion assignment on four different days during the assignment week.”, (Pelletier, 2013). It is always a good idea to post as often as the facilitator is able to. The facilitator should respond to a learners post with a comment or questions to further the conversation. Always make sure to respond to their replies and other learner’s replies if they respond to your post. The facilitator needs to interact with each student at some point through the class, so none of the learners feel like they are being ignored. The problem of the learner feeling ignored will make them feel like their posts are not good or have a feeling of exclusion. Facilitators should always stay positive in discussion areas.

o Strategy: Focus on the concept of a “Tour Guide” to help facilitators learn about how they should participate in discussions, (Bull, 2013). Leading the facilitators through the process of how to participate and stay present in discussions is important. In turn this will show the facilitator how to be a “Tour Guide” during discussions in their own distance learning classrooms, (Bull, 2013). The facilitators need to know how to keep the discussion going, and to help it progress as the discussions continue.

v Constructive Feedback: Facilitators need to offer constructive feedback when grading assignments for the online distance learners. Using the “sandwich” method when grading assignments is good for the learners to stay positive, (Pelletier, 2013). The facilitator should offer good comments, then some topics to work on, and then followed by positive feedback again. The method helps the learners from getting discouraged while reading the feedback of their assignments. Make sure to use their name while grading, so they know it is personalized for the specific learner, (Pelletier, 2013). Using their name gives the feedback a more positive and comforting way for the learner to read feedback. Make sure the learners always know their deadlines ahead of time, and get their grades back to them before the next assignment is due. The timely feedback will help the distance learners fix any issues they may have used in their next assignment. Have the information organized in a grading rubric for the distance learner to easily read.

o Strategy: Focus on the concept of “Individual and Group Mirror” to help facilitators learn how to give constructive feedback to a distance learner, (Bull, 2013). The concept helps facilitators by giving them feedback, and this mirrors how they will need to think of constructive feedback for their distance learners.

Phases of development for online distance learning facilitators

There are five phases of development for online distance learning for facilitators. The facilitators do not have to go through all five phases, and they can stay at a certain phase for as long as they would like. The facilitator chooses how far they would like to develop their online distance learning. The five phases are as followed:

v Visitor: The facilitator has a mild curiosity using technology, but they have not tried to integrate technology into their classes consistently. The facilitator may have “posted a syllabus or assignments online or used email for assignment completion”, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The facilitator is not utilizing technology in a manner that gives them technology experience for online. The facilitators at this stage seems like they are not very interested. Their research, integration, and interest are not apparent in this stage.

o There may or may not have transitioned to this phase. Some start as Novices instead of Visitors because it is up to the facilitator on how interested they are in distance education.

v Novice: The facilitator has left the visitor phase, or they have jumped in at this novice stage because they want to use some technology in their classrooms. The facilitator has not taught an online course, but they may have taken an online course, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The facilitator does utilize posting a syllabus online, and encourages communication in a technology and online environment for the students, (Palloff, & Pratt, 2011). The novice is interested in the use of technology, but they are just experimenting and taking it slow. The facilitator seems to want to take distance learning step-by-step, so they can get used to each part that goes into distance online facilitating.

o The Novice is gaining some experience, but they have not taught an online class. They can transition to an Apprentice at any time, but some facilitators are very interested in the beginning, and start as Apprentices.

v Apprentice: The facilitator is finally trying out facilitating in a distance online environment for learners. To be an apprentice they should have at least facilitated online for one or two terms, but they may have facilitated more than one online class in one or each terms, (Palloff, & Pratt, 2011). The apprentice is gaining the knowledge and experience of online distance facilitating, and they are getting an idea of if they enjoy the environment. The facilitator has done personal research to help understand the technology and concepts needed. Their experience is limited because they are still in the practice and deciding phase of online distance facilitating. The apprentice phase should show the facilitator if they are interested in furthering this concept and environment for facilitating.

o The Apprentice is getting the idea of distance facilitating, and gaining knowledge to go further if they choose. The Apprentice must be in this stage to get experience before they move to be an Insider because it is all about how much experience they have attained.

v Insider: The facilitator is more interested and serious about facilitating in an online distance learning environment. The facilitator should have at least facilitated course(s) online for two semesters, and more than one class for each term, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The facilitator has gained experience, and they are less intimidated about online distance facilitating. They are comfortable and enjoy the different environment, and they notice the benefits and/or prefer the environment more than face-to-face classes. “They may have designed one or more online courses.”, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The experience with technology and facilitating distance learners has expanded, and they are more likely to want to stay in this facilitating environment.

o The Insider must have an abundance of experience to move and be labeled as a Master. The Insider just needs to keep facilitating courses online for distance learners, and integrate new technologies into the environment. The more the Insider knows about the skills and technology the easier it is to become a Master. They must have more experience to move to the Master phase, and it is more difficult to move to the last phase as a Master.