Facilitating Learning as Oppposed to Giving the Answers

As I was looking at everything we have learned in this course, I have come to realize that I still have a lot to learn. We learned about the different learning styles and the different teaching strategies. I discovered that I am definitely hands on and more visually oriented. My teaching style is that of a Facilitator, which tends to focus on activities and is student-centered. That was great I would create great learning objects, with detailed instructions. I would help my students discover their true potential.

And then:

It was when we were looking for resources’ available on the web that we could incorporate or modify for use in our subject areas that I realized I would have a problem to overcome. Every time someone would post that they were having trouble finding resources, my initial response was to find the answers for them. Would that be really helpful? Yes, for that moment; but not if they wanted to find more resources in the future. They would have no idea how I found them.

Then I stopped and looked at what I do and have done everyday at work for the last 14 years. I find answers and resources for students. I tell them how to fix things in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. I don't always have time to show them step by step how to do something. Am I doing them a disservice, probably? The problem is solved for that moment; will they be able to do it on their own, maybe?

What does this have to do with my future with online courses? Would I want to provide all the answers everytime someone had a problem? Yes. Would I create such detailed directions that they wouldn't feel a sense of accomplishment when they finally accomplished the task or mastered the new technology? Definitely. Would this benefit the students? No.

I will have to work on my tendency to overdue my directions and help. Does this mean I won't help, no it just means that I will have be careful not to do the work for them. It means that instead of creating directions a two year old can follow, I will create directions that are specific and to the point. It means that I will give them resources that will enable them to learn and feel the sense of excitement as they discover things. To give them too much help would be robbing them of the journey that we call learning.

When they ask for help, I will give the information that is needed to find the answers. I will not give them the answers no matter how much I want. If they are having a difficult time I will help them through it, but I have to realize that as much as I want to fix everything it isn't possible. To do anything else would be a disservice.

Reflections, 2nd half of class

The second half of the course was truly a learning experience. I studied the 7 Principles of Good Practice and thought about how I would put it into practice.

I had to stop and really think about how I would:

Encourage Contact: would it be by chat rooms? email? text messaging? What would I use and why?
Develop Reciprocity and cooperation among students: would I encourage group projects? encourage discussion where questions can be freely asked and answered?
Encourage Active learning: hands on assignments? ask for input?

These are just a few of things I had to consider and I discovered that there is no one sure answer. It will take a combination of things, a willingness to learn, and the ability to admit when something is not working.

I also had to consider if I was Teacher centered or Student Centered. I believe that I am Student Centered. I want the students to not just learn but to have fun while they learn. I don't want to create courses that students take just because they have to. I want them to look forward to their classes. But it is going to take an effort on my part. I can't just sit back, I will have to take an active role to accomplish this goal.

That wasn't all, there was still more to learn. I learned that creating a Learning Unit is not easy. It will take research and thought. Do I want to include multimedia? Do I want to include podcasting? Am I including things just for the sake of says that my course is cutting edge. Anybody can add all the bells and whistles, but you have to ask yourself why. Am I doing it for the right reason? If I can answer yes then I am on target, if I can't then I need to reconsider. I need to make sure that I have substance to my course before I think about adding the "fun" or "cool" stuff.

And let's not forget group projects, wiki's and using resources already available on the web. Group projects are not easy, they require an effort on every member of the group. So when planning group projects, I will need to consider the students themselves. Are they the first ones to post or the last? How will the students interact? It is not as easy as going down an alphabetical list and just breaking them up every 4 or 5. Not if I want the groups to work.

To sum it up, there is no magic format for creating an online course. There are many things to consider, learn about myself, and finally put together as best as I can. This is the beginning of a journey of discovery for me, hopefully in the end I will be able wisely put to use everything that I learn.