3-2-1 Facilitation!

3 – The facilitator should take an active role in socializing with students in a casual environment (shout out to Clint); This sets an obtainable presence and reached a larger audience, avoiding possible feelings of “domination” (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2013).

2 – Strategies provided through the principles of facilitation can be applied to different areas within the world of online teaching and individual classroom environments. For example, social presence strategies could be applied when facilitating questions, participation and discussions between the instructor and students. Cognitive presence could be more useful for dealing with an individual on a personal level, and leaning more on mentoring and coaching.

1- With the goal of being an effective, informative and successful facilitator, creation of an immersive collaborative community is essential. Using encouragement and open discussion platforms can create an effective experience which will hopefully promote lifelong learning though a community of inquiry (Vaughan et all., 2013).

2 – Is it possible to reach both face-to-face and online synchronously?

1- How do we engage and excite both the facilitator and the student with the material?

1 – Successful facilitation is like gardening;  By creating a nurturing environment, different methods and approaches are applied and through trial and error we can observe what blooms.

Image retrieved: https://www.pinterest.ca/sollecito/gardening-humor/

References

Vaughan, N. D., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Garrison, D. R. (2013). Teaching in blended learning environments: Creating and sustaining communities of inquiry. Athabasca University Press. Chapter 3: Facilitation (pp. 45-61).