Week+3

=__Week 3__= =Facilitator: Maria= =Reporter: Hillary= =Coach: Erika= =Resources: Mark= = __**Week 3: Effective Online Communities**__ = = Hi Team, = = After the readings, please post a 1-2 paragraph response to this week's discussion points below: = 2/7 Maria-I started posting just a paragraph but I thought it might be easier for Hillary to combine our thoughts if they are separated as we've done in previous weeks. Please let me know if that works for you or if you would prefer we all write in paragraph form. Go Team, D! Thanks, Maria

2/9 Hilliary- This week has been crazy! I will complete my posts tomorrow night and then check back for any additions on Sunday before posting our summary.

2/12/12 Hilliary- I posted our summary this morning. Feel free to check it out and let me know if I need to add anything. There is plenty of time to make changes! Thank you! 2/7 Maria-As I think about setting up our online learning community, I am most concerned about its sustainability because participants won’t be “required” to join. We are hoping that they will see its value based on our community’s common goals, trust, and camaraderie. 2/8 Mark - I'm concerned about responsiveness in an online e-learning community. Without answers or input from the instructor and other students in a timely manner I think the sense of community will diminish greatly and this will impact the productivity and the interest of the students. I also think that openness is critical for an effective online learning community. If participants feel "safe" expressing their views and opinions then each member will be more forthcoming and this will lead to a deeper exchange of ideas.
 * //What two or three characteristics of effective online learning communities are most important to you, and why?//

2/8 Erika- In an online learning community I value trust between members, common goals, and processing. It is very difficult to work in a community where there are alot of questions floating around. If members can not trust one another to do their part or respond to assignments, alot of confusion and frustration can develop.

2/10 Hilliary- I agree with Erika that developing trust among group members is key. It can be frustrating and discouraging when group members don't do their part. I also think that camaraderie and common goals are important. These characteristics can help group members feel safe within the community and more willing to take risks.

2/7 Maria-Without and instructor presence, I foresee the community losing momentum. As mentioned in the JHU presentation, “Momentum sustains a community”. Instructors need to model the behaviors that they want from their students. Being proactive, positive, kind, and humorous are all ways in which an online instructor can model effective communication. 2/8 Mark- I think a learning community will suffer without a strong instructor presence. The instructor plays multiple roles and all of these are critical for a successful learning community to flourish. The instructor selects, organizes and designs the course content, activities and assessments as well as being the facilitator for the course. These skills require both social and managerial skills. Without a strong leader with these skills students may begin to feel uncertain about the direction of the course and uncertain about their own progress. They ask themselves "am I on the right track"? The community, especially at the beginning takes its cues from the instructor. If the instructor is engaged and responsive it is reassuring to the students and sets the tone for the entire class.
 * //What do you think happens in a community of learners where there is not a strong instructor presence?//

2/8 Erika- Maria, I completely agree. If the students do not feel a strong presence by the facilitator the community will lose momentum. If feedback is lacking, content is not delivered in a timely fashion, and communication is not be generated by the facilitator, the community members will not feel a strong sense of direction or expectation for the course. Members almost feel as if the class is not going to challenge them and the facilitator is not serious about the class. A facilitator helps to provide a sense of purpose. With a weak facilitator the purpose may be overlooked. 2/10 I agree that the community will lose momentum. The instructor sets the tone for the whole course. Participants need to see that the instructor cares or they can become unmotivated. I also think that regular feedback helps maintain momentum throughout a course and helps clear up any confusions. Without feedback, students can become confused about course expectations and questions their progress.Strong facilitators also help guide deeper critical thinking within disucssions Without instructor participation, students may only "skim the surface" of a topic and miss out on key learning opportunities.

2/7 Maria-The most significant challenge to teaching in an online environment is that you do not have a “captive” audience as you do in a f2f environment. There are many distractions, so online developers need to ensure that the programs are relevant and engaging. 2/8 Mark- I think setting up the course in an effective way can be difficult. As Maria touched on, making sure the content is engaging yet flexible, relevant and challenging. Also I think designing appropriate assessments that align with the activities and objectives is a big challenge because assignments are more flexible and open ended figuring out how to assess the work is trickier.
 * //What do you think are the most significant challenges when teaching in an online environment, and what kinds of tools or strategies might you use to overcome them?//

2/8- I think one of the challenges to being a facilitator would be the time that is put into responding, creating a presence, providing course materials, and interacting. A facilitator needs to be very "visual" online. They have to respond to everyone in the class. Make sure to provide feedback on all individual, whole group, and team assignments. It seems that the feedback could be very intensive. As a student in this course I feel somewhat overwhelmed at times due to my regular job and of other courses I am taking this semester. I can only imagine the time that is put into providing feedback, discussing, responding, posting and preparing course material for this online class.

2/10 I think one challenge would be maintaining momentum. As Maria said there are a lot of distractors out there. Facilitators need to be involved and provide regular feedback in order to keep students motivated, which can take a lot of time. I agree with Erika that providing feedback to each individual and teams and participating in all discussions could be overwhelming.

Throughout the week, engage in a discussion with your teammates about the similiarities and differences in your responses.

Our ** reporter, Hillary, **will post a summary of our discussion by Monday. Thanks, Maria

= __Team Facilitator's Planning__ =

We also need to start work on our Team Facilitator's Planning this week and come up with a topic. Please take a look at the suggestions in the Team Facilitator's Topics and think about what topic(s) you might be interested in facilitating. Hillary needs to email Donna our team's first, second and third choice of topics for approval. The sooner we make our selections, the better our chances of getting a topic that we really want! __Let's try to list our first, second, and third choices with one another by this Thursday__. Also, given the complexity of this project, do you all want to setup a f2f, Skype call, or GoToMeeting session? Please list your preferences below after your choices. Thanks again, Maria

=** 2/11 Hilliary- Podcasting is our topic!!! **=

I really like any of the choices under the Applications for e-Learning topics, but I am most interested in: I am available to meet either f2f or through Skype or GoToMeeting or we can just setup a time to chat online. Does it make to try to touch base this weekend? I am also available any evening. Please just let me know your preference. Thanks!
 * 2/7 Maria's Facilitator Topics **
 * Effective strategies for integrating e-learning into curriculum, instruction, communication with parents, etc. (K-12)
 * Considerations and challenges with implementing e-Learning initiatives (K-12)
 * Using e-Learning to differentiate instruction; Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in K-12
 * Tapping into the power of Social Networking and Social Learning (K-12)
 * Maria's Availability **

Here would be my top 3 choices (but any are OK): I can do f2f or chat online. I'm available any evening except Wednesdays (JHU class) and I'm available this weekend anytime. I'll investigate Skype andGoToMeeting today and see if I could use either and get back to everyone. I'm a luddite at heart. Can 4 of us be on Skype simultaneously? Haven't used it before but it looks easy to download and use.
 * 2/8 Mark's topics **
 * 1) Using Podcasting for online teaching and learning.
 * 2) Considerations and challenges with implementing e-learning initiatives (k-12)
 * 3) Tapping into the power of Social Networking and Social Learning (k-12)
 * Mark's availability: **

2/8 Erika Topic Picks: (Clearly, I'm open to anything the team decides) 1. Power of Social Networking 2.E-Learning to differentiate instruction and curriculum 3.Podcasting for teaching and learning (Honestly, this topic scares me and I have stayed away from it during my course work because I dont clearly understand podcasting but am trying to overcome my fear and go for it. So I put it on the list. I'm taking a risk here. :)

Erikas Availability: With notice I could meet f2f during the week Sun, Mon, Tues, or Thus. (Fri, Sat, and Wed. I'm no good) I can also meet at anytime except Wednesdays on a chat or Skype (would need to download skype, cause ive never used it)

2/8 I am good with any of the topics, but here are my top 3. 1. Effective strategies for integrating E-learning 2. E-learning to differentiate instruction 3.Power of social networking I'm with Erika that the podcasting is a little scary, but I'd be willing to try that out too! :)

Hilliary's availability: With notice I could meet F2F on Sunday afternoon, Tuesday or Thursday. I could meet online w/ Skype or Go to meeting any night except Wednesday. Monday it would have to be after 7:00.

2/8-Maria-Thanks everyone for your quick responses! Hillary, will you please send our top 3 choices to Donna? I feel like we are all open to similar topics. I would be fine with podcasting too if that makes it easier. Thanks! I will email our choices to Donna. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong...it looks like our top 3 choices are: 1. Podcasting for teaching and learning 2. The power of social networking 3. Using E-learning to differentiate instruction Also, you will all be happy to know that I choose Skype for my presentation this week! You can be on a Skype call with more than one person. For this week, why don't we try a Skype call and then we can determine for the following week if it makes sense to meet f2f. It looks like everyone is free on Sunday. I would prefer to Skype Sunday anytime between the hours of 10am - 3pm. After you download Skype, I'll setup a group for us, please send me your Skype name and email address that you used to setup your account. Let's also figure out the best location for us to meet next week depending on where everyone lives/works. I setup a chart below to keep us organized:

2/9 Mark- OK, I'll download Skype today and respond HERE with my Skype name and e-mail address. Sunday between 10 and 3 is good for me to Skype.

Best time to Skype on Sunday: Maria (Sunday anytime btwn10am-3pm), Mark (Sunday anytime btwn 10am-3pm) Erika(Sunday 12:00 noon or after works) Sunday after 2:00 works- I have used Skype before, but through my husband's account. I will set up my own account and post the info here by tomorrow!

Skype Name and Email address: Maria (prmjohnson/mjohnson@mcdonogh.org), Erikac282 Erikac282@Yahoo.com Mark - Mark.drummeter __mdrumme1@jhu.edu__ Hilliary- Hil2724 Hil2724@yahoo.com

Meeting Location: (Maria) Finksburg, Carroll County, Owings Mills, Hunt Valley or Columbia, (Mark) Columbia (I work and live in southern PG county which is probably really far from everyone else) Erika- I live in Gaithersburg, I work in Silver Spring, I would be fine with meeting in Columbia. If we meet during the week, the sooner we meet after im done work would be better for me so I dont have to travel all the way home and then all the way back to Colmbia. I'm done work at 4. PS-Skype is another scary thing to me because I have never used it :) I will tackle the set up tonight. :)

Hilliary- I live and work in Frederick, MD- I could meet in Columbia, but the earliest I could get there would be 5 during the week.

2/9 (Maria) Hi Erika, please don't be afraid of Skype. Honestly, this is the perfect opportunity for you to try it ut with no stres. There are so many amazing things you can do with Skype in your classroom. It will really open up a whole new world for you. And, if anyone runs into any trouble, please just call me on my cell and I'll walk you through it! 410-299-5930. Thanks, Maria!  2/10 (Maria) OK, team, **we will Skype this Sunday at 2pm to discuss our team project. Just make sure you are online and I will setup a group and call you all.**

Also, I am fine with the list Hillary. I think the differentiated instruction is taken, so if you haven't already emailed Donna, you may want to add Effective Strategies for Integrating E-Learning. (I think we should be fine though since there's only 4 teams). Just let us know when you've emailed Donna or CC us on your message. Thanks so much!

2/10 (Mark). OK, I've downloaded Skype (you're right Maria it's really easy). I've posted my name and e-mail above. My name has a period (.) in it if you look closely. I've added Maria and Erika to my contacts list and it found you both. I'll be online at 2 p.m. sunday so you can call me. thanks a bunch.

2-10 Erika-Im fine with the list too Hillary. I will be online at 2pm sunday. This will be my first encounter with Skyping!!

2-10 I posted my username above. I emailed Donna and our topic is podcasting. (In case you didn't see above!) I will be online and ready to go at 2:00. Thanks!!