Forum+summaries

= Forum summaries = Summaries of your forum discussion will be placed on this page so that you can look back on the learnings that occurred during your time with the eLF course. Hopefully the learning will be applied in your own elearning environments!

(Des Osborn) || There were lots of mixed thoughts around the use of icebreakers - some thought they were worthwhile but others thought they were a waste of time (if they were merely being used as a game and not for anything productive). Most contributors thought that they are important for sttling new online learners in and making them feel comfortable and included. In the 15 mins of FAME forum there was a suggestion that quieter learners could feel a bit initimidated by having to 'create' a post of their own right at the start - maybe the facilitator could provide the 5 questions to lesson this feeling of being overwhelmed and the learner could use them or make up their own. There were also a few comments around the 'facelessness' of online learning so here's my photo. But seriously, maybe facilitators should be encouraging the upload of photos into profile areas more and using the Camera pod in the Connect room. Key points: make time for introductions at the start of the online course; provide choice for the shy learners and take small steps at first. || the 'on' button || Similarly we all expressed the struggle we have experienced ourselves as students who find it difficult to keep the on button 'on'., e.g., avoiding distractions, creating the right environment for the learning were common areas. We had some suggestions as to how we might make e learning more engaging for students. As students ourselves, it appears to help us become better/more empathetic facilitators when we understand how motivation levels can vary from student to student and activity to activity. As facilitators we seem to share similar opinions about the importance of choosing strategies which suit our students and help with their engagement. || Judy Drane || The question "Can online learning encourage even shy learners?' was asked in the forum. Most participants agreed that online learning can provide a platform which encourages shy learners who may not otherwise communicate readily with a group. The facilitator must still be aware of the barriers a learner may experience (such as poor literacy skills) and address these if need be. The danger can be that online learning may be viewed as 'one size fits all'. Those who had delivered online felt the environment established by the facilitator was most important to encourage all learners, regardless of age or computer literacy skills. The forum showed good facilitors apply the same skills regardless of the learning environment to establish effective engagement with students. ||
 * **Name of forum or discussion thread (+ name of moderator)** || **Summary of learning** ||
 * Icebreaker / Induction forums
 * Facilitating online (Cathy Zajac) || Lots of good points came up on how to deal with students who make inappropriate comments. The main one was that we, as facilitators, can monitor and moderate forums and chat and have the right to warn, or ban, inappropriate behaviour. Private messages through chat, mobiles and emails will be difficult to control. But then that happens with offline learning as well. Students may give out their mobile numbers and email accounts without us knowing. ||
 * Alicia Turley
 * Listening Online (Helen Shepherd) || I asked the participants to create an acronym using LISTEN with their own keywords, in the same manner as Judy... To my surprise, there was substantial concern in our group about effectively listening online. Having said that, participants came up with very good and unique acronyms for Listening Online. Some points of discussion resulting from the "create and acronym exercise" included how to keep the students engaged, how to successfully throw some humour in using an online medium, discouraging inappropriate judgmental behaviour, multi-tasking (is it any different online as opposed to face to face) and the merits of convenience with learning online. Ultimately, not everyone likes to learn in the same way, so after reading everyone's posts, it was a good introductory exercise for the following weeks activities on learning styles. ||
 * Online communication tools