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Digital Facilitation is comfortable and feels like home
For me digital facilitation feels like working from home in comfortable clothes, sun streaming through a window, with a cat purring at your side. When I’m facilitating online I find it easier to be prepared, more likely to include diverse learners (including those who are not located in proximity to my company’s office in Southwestern Ontario), and easier to replicate their digital-first work environment as most of our employees work from home the majority of the time.
Digital Facilitation as an evolving practice
I’m always trying to push myself out of comfortable spaces, into ones where I’m uncomfortable so that I continue to grow and develop my skills. With that in mind, here are thoughts I have about the evolving nature of digital facilitation today:
- I’m worried that digital facilitation will go away with a hurried “return to office”
This point needs a bit of context. Since 2020 I have personally seen digital facilitation occur far more often in my organization than it did before, and I believe that has benefited both participants and facilitators in a number of ways, including greater access to employment opportunities (especially for people with disabilities), improved work-life balance, and a greater awareness of psychological safety. I’ve also seen colleagues being more mindful about how they teach, which I believe has netted an overall improvement in the quality of our corporate learning courses. - I’m concerned that poor online learning experiences have contributed to a large population of resistors
I know some people who say they will never give online learning a chance after poor experiences with emergency remote learning during the pandemic. I’m worried that these learners could miss out on life-long learning opportunities if we don’t do more to meet their needs. - eLearning is not the same as digital facilitation, and we’re not doing enough to socialize the difference
I find that a lot of leaders and subject matter experts think the only options for learning are eLearning or instructor-led in-person training, when there are lots of other options to consider included blended learning, self-directed autonomous learning, moderated digital facilitation, and more. There are so many options, and so much we can do with this practice that customization for the specific learning problem faced is a must!
Questions which keep me learning and growing
The top questions I have right now about digital facilitation are:
- What sorts of activities or learning can be supported by Generative AI tools to enhance the overall learning experience in digital learning?
- As new digital learning tools and strategies are introduced, how can we continue to keep accessibility front-of-mind and not introduce any unintended barriers for learners with disabilities and learners with neurodivergence?
I look forward to exploring these questions and ideas more with the whole class as we embark on LRNT528!
Andrea I share your concerns about keeping accessibility front and centre. Do you think AI will help or hinder those efforts?
Hi Mary! Sorry, I just realized now I had a couple of messages waiting for approval, including your own.
Regarding how AI may help or hinder digital facilitation, in my dreams about the future I imagine that AI can help open up access to those who may have barriers to accessing face-to-face learning opportunities, such as people with disabilities, mental health issues, multi-lingual individuals who may not speak the language of instructor, or individuals in rural communities without the resources or ability to relocate closer to campuses. I imagine a world where AI translators (such as those I see everyday in global WebEx meetings I attend for work, where I can now attend webinars and activities which are not held in the languages I speak!) help us to remove some of the barriers based on language. I imagine a future where AI helps individuals with disabilites affecting their cognitive abilities or reading skills to simplify course materials to a level that is understandable, or a future where AI tutors help individuals who are having difficulty with a subject to catch up.
However, I also worry that AI will become overly-commercial, restricted to those individuals or institutions who can afford to purchase AI-driven solutions from companies who control the language models. I also worrry about the biases deeply embeded into algorithms or affected by data sets which are not diverse enough to capture the experiences of people from diverse populations.
Essentially, to answer you’re question I’m not really sure yet. But I sure do hope that my wishes for AI allowing more accessibility and inclusivity comes true!
Hey Andrea,
I really resonate with the sentiment in your blog. I completely agree that poor experiences and the failure to differentiate digital facilitation from e-learning have significantly impacted perceptions. However, I have a slightly different view on its future. Rather than disappearing with a return to the office, I believe we’ll see an increased demand for skilled digital facilitators. The flexibility and accessibility offered by digital platforms are too valuable to discard entirely.
Reflecting on all the readings, tips, and tools we’ve encountered in this course, I can’t help but feel a twinge of regret that we didn’t get this knowledge sooner. I think almost every instructor we’ve had could have benefited from a workshop based on this course content, and I think that MAry has applied it well. It really highlights the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in our field.
Your questions about the future of digital facilitation are spot-on. I’m particularly intrigued by your point about accessibility as we introduce new tools and strategies. Given your experience, what do you think are the most critical considerations for ensuring digital facilitation remains accessible and inclusive, especially as we incorporate more advanced technologies?
Looking forward to exploring these ideas further as we progress through LRNT528!