Module 8: Course Management. August 15th August 20th 2016.

Here we are at the end of the Collaborative Communities course. Thanks to Dr.
Kay Lehmann and the two interns Jennifer Staidl and Judith Peterson for facilitating and
guiding us through this course. Looking back at each module during this course I saw
how building collaborative communities serve as a building block and essential part of
online learning and teaching.
My overall learning during this course centered on facilitation, critical thinking, and time
management. I found the use of personality test in grouping students for discussion and
online project to be of great benefit in managing and monitoring discussion forum
effectively.
Practicing facilitation during this course is a step towards working as an online facilitator.
My experience gave me an insight into the challenges facing facilitators in the online
forum. I found that having a strategy in place and effective time management are some
of the things I will take with me for effective facilitation. Another area that I will continue
to work on is crafting questions and providing constructive feedback. Building and
organizing all my resources and tools during this course also gave me the opportunity
to sharpened my organization skill.

Module 7: Development of Critical Thinking Encourage Critical Thinking using

EASyR. August 8th August 14th 2016.
Module 7 is different from previous module in some aspects. This module
focused on critical thinking and learning how to deepen the conversation.
I found creating PER (Prompt, Extender and Redirect) very important. As a facilitator, I
used the prompt to initiate the discussion and to help the student think deeper and dig
through the resources. As they are expressing their thoughts/ideas, I introduced the
extender to deepen the discussion and used the redirect to help students stay on track
and
stay focus on the topic.
Converting face to face lesson plan to online lesson plan is challenging but very
interesting using the EASy technique. After working on both face-to-face and
online version of a learning objective, I found face-to-face to be more
instructor focused and the online, more student focused. Presenting hands
on procedure is difficult in the online forum than classroom based forum
whereby the students are able to complete return demonstration. The
online/new format is more interactive. The students were able to offer peerto-peer feedbacks to help them stay focus and improve on the required
activities. The new version addressed all the major areas of EASy.
More reflective thoughts focus on growing and learning as a facilitator. Incorporating all
these technique into my teaching practice will allow me to be an efficient online
facilitator.

Module 6: When Everything is Going Well Facilitation Techniques and Tips.

August 1st - - August 7th 2016.

I love the title for this module, When everything is going well. People tend to
relax when things are going very well. Preparing for possible events and the unknown is
very important to actually keep things running smoothly.
I am taking a lot with me this week. Let me start with Time Management Strategies for
Online Instructor. After reading the Time Management article, I found all the tips
crucial for effective time management as an online facilitator. Two tips from this article
that I will definitely use as an online instructor are, Get Organized and Stay focused. I
found all the tips listed in these two sections very important. My aha moments came
when I saw these two ideas; All documents for a class should be in one folder on
the computer; each section should have its own folder; each
week/assignment its own folder, and also Emails from students should be
required to have a signature line with the student's full name. The instructor
will not know, and probably doesn't want to know who hottie2@g eneric.com
is. Besides it is more professional to include a full signature. These 2 tips will
allow me to manage my time better, help reduce clutter and confusion.
Other reflective moment in this module was the introduction of the Replies
only technique in the large group discussion forum. Exploring this technique
and sharing ideas allow me to experience the benefits of this technique.
Finally, another reflective moment is my experience as a practice facilitator. The
thought provoking questions in this forum allow us to discuss challenges facing online
learners/facilitators and ways to deal with these issues in the online learning
environment. Instructors/Facilitators are better prepared when they have a contingency
plan in place to deal with these issues.
Also, I have the opportunity to practice some of the best practices of a good online
facilitator. I look forward to using the good online facilitator ideas listed in the large
discussion forum and some of the contingency plan and activities discussed in the small
group forum. I really enjoy all the activities in this module. Great experience!

Module 5: The 70 30 Rule. July 25th July 31st 2016

This is my first time learning about the 70-30 rule. Lehmann and Chamberlain in
their book Making the Move to e-learning: Putting your course online emphasized the
importance of preparation and communication especially during the pre-course through
the First week period.
I envision that the 70 -30 rule will greatly impact my future online facilitation. I am
schedule to facilitate the small group in module 6, but from my experience and future
plan to work with adult learners, I believe the 70 -30 rule will work effectively with this
group learners.
Adult learners already have a set goal and probably pursuing their career for some
specific reasons, so they are excited and motivated to learn. The First Week of class is
very crucial in learning about the learners. I will spend more time (70 percent), on how
to use various activities in teaching and achieving the course objectives. For example,

coming up with introduction and ice-breaker activities require planning and presentation
is also crucial to create a lasting and interesting experience for the learners or students.
In the discussion forum allowing the students to engage more in talking and discussing
(70 percent) is very important to give them the opportunity of sharing ideas. As a
facilitator I will use my listening skill and try to listen 30 percent of the time.
I love the fact that I was able to craft my Introduction, class email and getting to know
you ice-breaker for my first day of class. It is a little time consuming putting all these
things together in preparation for the First Week of class, but worth all the efforts.
One challenging issue in this module is responding to a grouchy, unhappy student who
is stirring up trouble. I put a lot of time into thinking of ways to approach this situation
and from the responses in our small group discussion forum; we are all able to approach
this situation using various techniques. We all share ideas and I learn what to do if face
similar situation in future.
Great week

Module 4: Interaction and Communication. July 18th July 24th 2016

After module 3, I am so excited about module 4. The interesting activities in
module 3 spilled into this module and I continue to learn and explore more web 2.0
tools. I was amazed by the number of tools available to online learners and facilitators
in interacting and building a strong learning environment.
So many great tools! , but the interaction and ideas shared during the small and large
groups discussion gave me an insight into some new tools. I explored some of these
and other tools and I narrow my selection down to the important tools for my online
teaching and learning environment. I am so much ready to start looking for the new
opportunity.
Here comes my aha moment, its time to organize and build my community matrix. I
picked the most relevant tools that I envision in using as an online facilitator. After
building my community matrix, I found out I can easily select my tools without sieving
through piles of tools. Hmm, what a relieve!

Module 3: Facilitating the Online Community. July 11th July 17th 2016
I am now ready for module three. Last week was very busy for me at work. I
was overwhelmed and I forgot to respond to some of my peers posting in the small
group discussion forum in module 2. So easy to do when you have so many things
going on, with a tight work schedule. Anyway, its time to put time management and
organization skill back to work. Thanks Dr. Kay Lehmann for some suggestions in
helping me back on track.
What an interesting topic week to see facilitating in both large and small groups. The
facilitator played a big role in the discussion forum. The facilitator kept the discussion
alive by asking a thought provoking questions. The discussion in the small group forum
is very robust and the focus is on how the facilitator might promote substantive and
constructive feedback and ways to encourage students who have slipped into the habit
of only answering with I agree or me too. I learned how to encourage and get the
best out of all students including the quiet and introverts who are scared, shy or new in

the online learning environment. The importance of constructive feedback and the use
of PIP/Sandwich method of peer to peer feedback were also emphasized.
The scenarios in the large group discussion are the most intriguing things I learned. I
learned g how to respond to students in various scenarios. I will surely borrow from
these great ideas and suggestions.
Finally I continue to build my Personal Learning Environment. I create a graphic of tools I
use regularly, the tools that I am currently exploring and the tools I plan to use in future.
I have a lot to learn in future and I hope to explore more tools to help my students in my
future online teaching career.

Module 2: Creating Collaborative Communities Theories - July 3rd July 10th 2016
After Independence Day celebration, its time to get back to module 2 activities.
The required readings from our text focused more on the importance of interaction and
the collaborative nature of learning especially among adult learners in the online
learning environment. We shared articles on Social Constructivism in the discussion
forum and we are able to interact and discuss the use of social media and use of
various collaborative tools. After discussing and sharing ideas on this topic, I found out
that interaction is the backbone of learning (face-to-face, bended or online) and learners
must collaborate and work together as a team.
The second part of module 2 activities started with small groups. At the beginning of the
course we took a personality test and the result led to creating small group for group
discussion. For this module, we have to locate an Online Personality Inventory or Test
and I found this activity very interesting. I chose Color-code Personality Test because
unlike other personality tests, Color code test not only identify what you do, but why
you do it and this help with better interaction in the education environment and
corporate world. I will definitely adopt the use of various personality tests for completing
group project. One thing I will do differently is to put like personality together to
decrease friction among the group. People with same personality tend to interact on the
same level and work better together. Im looking forward to see the benefits of
personality tests in my future online career.
I continue to learn how to work with others in completing a group project (creating
tutorial/collaborative cheat sheet. We are working together to execute this project. We
are up to a good start. I will update you on the project. Keep on following!

Module 1: Creating Collaborative Communities - June 27th July 3rd 2016

The Collaborative Communities in E-learning was introduced with a
warm ice breaking introduction in the discussion forum titled 'Miscommputer-unication - introductions'. The idea is to share the most embarrassing
communications mishap using computer. Working with technology for
communication or completing a project is somehow challenging. Sharing
other peoples embarrassing moment in this forum is a great idea. I learned
from others computer glitches stories and embarrassing moments.

After completing the reading activities for module 1, we are assigned to 2

different group and we are required to share an instance where a one good
practice was used in a face-to-face or online course.
The discussion forum is rich and full of great ideas. We all share our
experiences both positive and negatives, but mostly positive. The discussion
centered around Chickering and Gamsons seven principles of Good Practice
and we were able to share our ideas on the following good practices,
encourages contacts between students and faculty, gives prompt feedback,
communicates high expectations, uses active learning techniques, develops
reciprocity and cooperation among students, emphasizes time on task, and
respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
The first week is already loaded with assignments. I am gradually peeling off
the layers of assignments to be completed before the due dates,
introduction, participating in the discussion forum, completing the survey,
quiz, e-portfolio and creating contact information. Taking classes during
summer time is somehow tough for someone busy all day in surgery, but
working together to build a collaborative community for e-learning is exciting
and as an online course facilitator, I am looking forward to adopt the seven
principles of good practice as a guide in my future online classes. All the
seven principles are important to be successful in the online teaching and
learning environment.
Now, its time to proceed to module 2 and continue to add more to my
feathers of knowledge.