Session+One

= __**SESSION ONE: REFLECTION ON LEARNING COMMUNITY**__ =

=
Think back to a course you have facilitated in the past in which you felt a quality learning community developed. Describe a scene or aspect of your course that demonstrates either social, teaching, or cognitive presence in the course. If you did not feel you ever achieved an effective learning community, describe what you felt was lacking.I've felt like this was achieved in 2 different classes.===== (Peggy) With all the different courses I have facilitated, I usually have a variety of grade levels. Since many of these courses dealt with math, it is great to see the discourse that evolves over the six-week period. I have high school algebra teachers discussing topics with primary teachers. It is amazing to see a high school teacher make suggestions to a first grade teacher and vice versa. They come to respect the role of each grade-level teacher, and many leave the class with a deep respect for the other levels. So I think the social presence is the prominent factor in the majority of my mathematics courses.

=
(Janet) When I read this topic, the first experience that came to mind happened in a recent WebTop course that I facilitated. All participants did a great job, and I felt that all learned a lot and were motivated to implement changes in their classrooms (typical experience); however, in that course one participant dared each week to utilize advanced features of the tools and share how he had used those tools with students...and post example and videos. A few inspired participants began to ask more questions and actually created advanced examples themselves, and actually used them - that week, in their classrooms or shared with their staff! They went beyond abstract hopes and plans to implement that discussions typically involve. They challenged themselves beyond the basic assignments - and were so excited about the changes they were seeing at their schools. The threads in discussion were lengthy, and everyone posted many times, but the support and enthusiasm were a dream come true for a facilitator. =====

=
(Brandy) I am a first time course facilitator. I currently feel that my participants could be achieving a better social presence in the course. I have three different content areas in my course: Dance, Health, and Physical Education. The participants interact very well in the discussion board but, have not been using the three (optional) separate content specific discussion boards I have set up for them to use. I have suggested using them to share resources and I have even posted in them to get them started. I feel that if I could promote these it would create some unity among the same-content participants. =====

=
(Kathy) In one course that I facilitated, several leaders or experts emerged. One participant that I remember worked in Jefferson County where the experience with English Language Learners is quite different from someone in a low incidence county. She was able to share her perspective with the group and then others explained their unique situations. In this way, the course content became adapted or more relevant to all course participants by allowing them to see how it applied in differing situations. In this course I was able to watch so many connections develop and help extend the content to a variety of needs. One other time, several of the participants had lived in foreign countries and had attended schools there, thus becoming non-native language learners themselves. These folks provided great insight into how some of our English Language Learners feel and what is most helpful to them. ===== To respond to the prompt: I was fortunate to facilitate "Digital Storytelling" The participants came up with some great projects and during the discussions they were able to provide additional suggestions to enhance each others projects...I felt they became a working community...they worked on their own Digital Story while collaborating on each others in a positive way. **
 * (Tyann) I was one of the lesser experienced participants in that course. You did an excellent job facilitating the course and I learned a lot from you lead that I would like to used. I also was challenged to use some of the advanced options..However, I still am not able to produce some of the quality that I enjoyed in that course.

=
(Patsy) I've felt like this was achieved in 2 different classes. I facilitated an APTA class several times but only once did I feel like we had an actually working learning community. During this time the participants were sharing ideas not only about class related items but about other ways to work with these types of students. It was a real sharing but they also were looking at the content of the class and weighing in on that. It was a great class. That also was the case in the last class I facilitated - Classroom Assessment Enhanced by Technology. Many of them developed a strong community geared by the content. I think the content is very important but you have to have participants who are willing to share to have a successful learning community.=====

(Jim) I was going to wait until all the more experienced facilitators posted, but I decided I didn't want all the good colors to be taken. I think my recent facilitation of the Approaches and Tools for Developing Web-Enhanced Lessons hit on all cylinders for the most part, including social, teaching, and cognitive presence. With perhaps two exceptions, all participants were "critically engaged." Thinking this had to do more with their motivation and skill sets than in my facilitation. In short, they were not high maintenance, and pretty much successfully moderated the discussion themselves. The content of the course seemed to create many "wow" moments for participants, particularly those exploring what was to them new technology options. I received some nice heartfelt messages of thanks after the course, which for a new facilitator is kind of neat. Moreover, many first time WV Learns participants said the course encouraged them to take more. Now, in my current course (21st Century Learning and Teaching in Career and Technical Education), I am still trying to motivate a large number of participants to post by Sunday and I have a few that are consistently behind and the quality of posts are dismal. As I do not know them personally or professionally, I am thinking I have several students who need the certification hours and they will not be seen in an online course again until they need to renew. These are the "task oriented, give me a complete already" students who use the quantitative requirements of discussion and the two-session rule (fall behind two sessions and get drop) to keep themselves in the game. But if they are a week behind in discussion, who are they discussing with if everyone else has moved on to the next session and discussion? Plus, I think they have figured out that just opening another's post scores it as read. Today, I sent out an update with the session discussion checklist they are to use attached, along with a discussion rubric. I tried in a nice way to encourage them to get into the discussion. So for this class, some soul searching and a review of content, teaching, and social are clearly in order.

(Connie ) ​ My experience as a course facilitator has been very positive most of the time. My favorite course so far is Finding the Best Educational Resources on the Web. The sessions are usually filled with discussions listing new discoveries as the participants try out the various search techniques and discover things that they can actually use the next day in their classrooms. In most cases the discussion becomes a mix of I found this great tool or site and helpful response postings, often containing a link intended to help someone experiencing a problem locating materials. I have been fortunate to have a great mix of people who form a learning community over the first 2 or three sessions. The last session I facilitated had at least 7 people new to Online learning and several new to computer use. I have always checked in on the course discussions every day but this course was particularly challenging. The current winter also proved to be a real problem. Over the course of the sessions I had participants with no electricity for days, no Internet for even longer but they were a resourceful group. I received email and discussion postings from one person who drove 30 minutes to Bob Evans and sat, drinking coffee, reading and completing assignments thanks to the free Internet connection in the restaurant. Participants in the group would offer suggestions and give computer advice, at times before I could even post an answer. I have also experienced some problems with product, as Jim described, and late postings. Gentle encouragement and reminders (frequent communication) has usually proven successful but at least one participant has been of the "I put something give me my complete" variety. Communication between the facilitator and the participants as well as interaction specific to the course content is essential to the success of online courses.

​(Nona) I have facilitated several courses in which I felt that active discussion and learning were taking place. In several courses there was a combination of participant groups- teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals. The mixture gave a good over-view of teaching/learning from different view points. The paraprofessionals were able to weigh in as constant observers who work with students with specific disabilities. They have contributed some unique ideas for modifying/accommodating strategies for use with disabled students. I particularly like groups in which participants take the presented materials, use them in their classrooms and report back with what worked and changes that they have made to customize for their students. I think that this extension outside of the online learning environment is what creates a quality learning community. Material may be pertinent and well presented, but with use and discussion they become valuable.

(Barb) I currently facilitate //Cyber Safety for Educators// for the fourth round. I believe that the development of a comfortable social atmosphere early in the course provides a foundation to enable participants to focus on topics, questions and postings relative to the intense content and to the use of PhotoStory3 as the medium for their final project as the course proceeds. Most participants came to the course with some understanding of cyber safety issues; few came with knowledge or experience with PhotoStory3. As the course content has focused on specific topics supported by readings and activities, participants have expressed their amazement at their new learning and shared concerns and plans to teach their audiences about these possible dangers. Additionally, many questions, trials/ errors, and difficult experiences have arisen related to the use of PS3. We have set up, in addition to the "help" topic in discussions, a topic for "photostory3 tips" and one for sharing "assessment questions" to accompany the video presentation. Participants readily share their ideas, plans and concerns with colleagues. Additionally, the use of peer reviews during Session 3 (mid-course check) produced very robust discussions, asking peer-to-peer questions, and sharing of "how did you do that" strategies and tips. ​Some of our participants are less technology-adept than others and their successful completion of courses that contain 21st Century tools is dependent not only on our facilitation, provision of tutorials, etc, but also on the development of a collegial atmosphere within the course. This collegiality promotes learning of course content as participants develop skills with tools.

(Linda) I have almost exclusively facilitated the digital portfolio course (one time I co-facilitated classroom assessment). I think most of the times I have facilitated the majority of the participants were completely on board with regard to discussions and the project. I think there will always be a few who are in it just for the grad credit and do the minimum, but it seems like most teachers get into developing a project they will really use in their classrooms. Most seem to be willing to really help someone else in the class that is struggling with some part of the project. I feel like one of the reasons I have felt off with the course sometimes are when I haven’t facilitated the course for a session or two and content was changed and I was playing catch up while also doing all the other facilitator stuff. Also, the time we had the TIS’s take the course and we had to make changes as we got to each session to make it work for their portfolio requirement instead of for students was a challenge. I think the portfolio course lends itself to a usable project that teachers can incorporate into their classes, and I think the lesson plan template sections going session by session help participants complete small parts each week and builds their confidence. I try to let them know it is a work in progress and can be changed as the course progresses, which relieves some stress. I don’t want them to be stressed out, but on the other hand their concern shows me they care about the course and the quality of their work. I want them, as well as the students I teach during the school year, to know that they can ask for help, that I am not bothered or annoyed by their questions- that it’s what I am there for!

(Tina) With the exception of a few sessions, I have always facilitated Designing a Virtual Field Trip. Although some sessions are tougher than others, I always feel blessed to have been part of the learning community that develops. The social presence that naturally arises as part of this course is wonderful. During the six-week course, participants are asked to develop a virtual field trip, aligned to the WV CSOs that they can implement in their classrooms. Everyone is always so helpful with providing Internet links that they find and helping each other to develop the best possible trips to share with their students. At first, many participants were unsure what type of projects they were expected to create - the Internet examples in the readings were so advanced. After facilitating several sessions and feeling the participants' frustrations, I decided to obtain permission to share some exemplars from the past. This was a wonderful decision. Not only did this give participants some ideas, but they were always so excited to find a "bank" of projects that they had permission to share with their students. Now, each session I gather many examples from those granting permission to share and have developed a vast library of trips to share with participants and colleagues. I even have past participants to contact me to ask if any new trips have been developed on their topic of interest.

(Debbie) I have facilitated several courses, but the one that is my favorite and that I have facilitated most is // Using Handheld Computers in the Classroom ( // recently updated and renamed // Cell Phones as Learning Tools). // I feel that a quality learning community has developed each time the course is facilitated. Perhaps one of the reasons is that there is a wide range of technical difficulties that arise based on the particular handheld computer or phone the participant owns or has access to. This demands a level of support from everyone in order for participants to problem-solve in addition to learning skills and ways to use the tech tool with students. I learned in the first course I facilitated that there needed to be a Teacher's Coffee Shop where resources and requests for ideas could be posted. This was needed in addition to the Help Discussion. When the // Handheld // course evolved into the // Cell Phone // course I thought some of this self-moderating would subside. However, the social presence that takes place as the participants come to rely on one another now that they must post podcasts, emails, and make other drops to a networking drop website requre more support from one another than the // Using Handhelds // course did when their handhelds crashed because of software installations that were not compatible with a particular handheld! Each individual participant brings a level of capability to the course and I silently pray that someone else will have the same cell phone they have so they can help one another troubleshoot- there is no way I can have access to every kind of phone the participants have!

(Katie) My best experience with Social Presence was when I facilitated a session for online math tools/games. The participants in the class were diverse. All grade levels, tech literacy, math confidence were represented with teachers and paraprofessionals. The class members reached out to each other and provided phenomenal supports throughout the course. My role was support, the individuals provided answers to questions as each of them encountered problems. When I was in my classroom, I encouraged students to ask 3 before me. Even though I didn't do this with the online class, participants learned to depend on each other - not me! With this climate, students were more engaged and learning as well as discussion was rich.

=
(Rhonda) Overall my experiences as a course facilitator have been very positive in regards to social and cognitive presence. I think it is especially important to reply to each participant's original post to set the tone and create a welcoming atmosphere. My goal is to relieve any anxieties regarding technoogy and make them feel it is a doable experience where they will have lots of support fom myself as well as their fellow colleagues. During the Orientation Session I have tried to make a professional and personal connection with each participant. This creates a safe, secure setting where participants begin building that supportive learning community. That sense of "comunity" that develops early in the course has always had a direct impact on how participants have interacted with the course content in the remaining weeks. I have seen participants get excited about some aspect of the content and pose additional questions which has led to the sharing of personal success stories. As the discussions continue you sense the validation that teachers feel for all the good things they do in their classrooms as well as the reflection that is taking place as they examine some of their instructional practices. It's rewarding to be a part of any change that could open new doors of understanding for the children in each particpant's classroom. =====