Being new to the world of teaching and online teaching, I've only just begun to understand what some of the methods of asynchronous facilitation consist of. To be honest, I never thought I would venture into online teaching. I'm not technologically adept or do I understand the technological lingo. So it was interesting for me to get a better understanding of what asynchronous facilitation was all about. I decided to narrow my research down to two areas of interest. They are what is facilitators' role in asynchronous learning and sustaining asynchronous discussions.
One of the most important aspects of asynchronous facilitation is the role of the facilitator(s). Basically, the facilitators play four interrelated roles: intellectual, social, managerial and technical, as shown below. Wang, Q. (2008).
Roles of facilitators in online discussions
1. The online facilitator needs to ensure all students can access and are supported in using the online interactive learning environment. Activities should be designed to welcome and encourage students.
2. The online facilitator needs to provide activities that help students to establish their online identities and provide opportunities to interact with others.
3. Online facilitator develops activities that provide students with opportunities to share module relevant information and a form of co-operation occurs, i.e. support for each person’s goals.
4. Group discussions occur, and the interaction between students becomes more collaborative. The Online Facilitator acts as a guide. The communication depends on the establishment of common understandings.
5. Participants look for more benefits from the online system to help them achieve personal goals, explore how to integrate learning into own context and workplace and reflect on the learning processes.
Furthermore, it's important to remember as the facilitator you need to be able to synthesize and integrate key issues into the end of the discussion. Another important role that needs to be considered is that of time management. The facilitator needs to keep the focus of the topic moving while moderating within time constraints.
The second area of asynchronous facilitation that I found to be interesting was that of sustaining discussions and participation among the group. "Basically, to sustain discussions, people have to decide to participate and contribute by reading and writing their ideas" H.-J. So (2009). According to Moore (1989), there are three types of interaction in online learning: learner-content interaction, learner-instructor interaction, and learner-learner interaction.
Having participated in asynchronous discussions, I too find it challenging to give examples, answer questions or give personal opinions on the topic, especially if I am not as familiar with the subject. For me its about possibly saying the wrong thing, making someone uncomfortable with my opinion, and voicing concerns that may be politically sensitive to others. "When a group consists of people who know little about each other, group members are likely to be formal and polite in their communication at the initial stage. Equally, it is possible that group members try to reveal information about themselves to get to know each other better, and such self-disclosing behaviors decrease as group members focus on their cognitive tasks" H.-J. So ( 2009).
Its also important to note what influenced participants to participate in the asynchronous online discussion were techniques such as “thanking others” and “encouraging contribution.” Encouraging contribution from other participants is important and could be achieved by addressing individuals by name in the asynchronous online discussion, but such posting should be concluded with a remark to include others. Examples of such remarks could be a simple “what do the rest of you think.” Ng, C. S., Cheung, W. S., & Hew, K. F. (2009).
REFERENCES:
Blended Learning Strategies - Skillsoft. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2017, from http://www.bing.com/cr?
Educational Technology Guidance. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2017, from https://sleguidance.atlassian.net/wiki/display/BL/Online facilitation techniques
Moore, M. G. (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-6.
Ng, C. S., Cheung, W. S., & Hew, K. F. (2009). Sustaining Asynchronous Online Discussions: Contributing Factors and Peer Facilitation Techniques. Journal of Educational Computing Research,41(4), 477-511. doi:10.2190/ec.41.4.e
So, H. (2009). When groups decide to use asynchronous online discussions: collaborative learning and social presence under a voluntary participation structure. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning,25(2), 143-160. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2008.00293.x
Wang, Q. (2008), Student-facilitators' roles in moderating online discussions. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39: 859–874. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00781.x
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