Saturday 10 July 2010

Facilitating Online 2010 Course

I'm feeling very excited! The Facilitating Online Course 2010 being run again by the wonderful Sarah Stewart, of The International Day of the Midwife fame, is starting soon.


I'm really looking forward to learning all the elements of online facilitation that Sarah has thoughtfully put together. There are people from different parts of the world, in various occupations who have signed up with Sarah.

Sarah says:


"Facilitation is a rare and valuable skill to have. It is a service that is often used in conferences, debates, panels and tutorials, or simply where groups of people are meeting and need someone to help negotiate meaning and understanding, and to keep everyone engaged and on task.

This online course is designed to help people to access and interpret models, research, and develop professional expertise in online facilitation"
As part of the course, we are expected to keep a reflective blog, so stay tuned for evidence of my learning and development in the field of online facilitation.  Participation in the course is free, but if anyone wants personalised attention and a certificate for completion, fees apply. The program starts on July 19th 2010 and runs until November 26th. If you are interested in learning and exploring online facilitation, contact Sarah Stewart who will be delighted to help you get started.

Item 4 of what we have to do at the beginning of the course is: Make a plan for what you want to learn and explore, and write it up (or present in another way eg mindmap, video recording) on your blog. Answer these questions.
  • What do you want to learn to facilitate?
  • What are you doing now in terms of online facilitation?
  • What would you like to achieve, change or do more of?
  • What do you need to do or make happen to achieve your goal?
I'll have to spend some time thinking about these questions and work out a creative way to answer them!

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Carolyn, you are an amazing woman and mentor. Congratulations to you and I am so excited for the women who are able to join the course.

Thinkbirth said...

Thanks Lisa, that's a kind and lovely thing to say. However it is Sarah Stewart who is the amazing woman and mentor providing this interesting and dynamic course and yes, there are both men and women enrolled so anyone who wants to learn online facilitation can join in. You too Lisa if that idea appeals to you. I've no doubt that Sarah will have us working well and hard on this course. :-)
Thanks again Lisa for your comments and feedback.

Sarah Stewart said...

Hi Carolyn, thank you very much for your kind words. I hope the course lives up to the hype :)

How do you see yourself using online facilitation skills in your midwifery practice?

Thinkbirth said...

Sarah, I'm hoping the course will give me more ideas for teaching midwifery as I'm now full time at the University. Our Bachelor of Midwifery starts next year and our students will be quite widespread. Finding creative, useful ways to engage and educate them is very important. I see online facilitation skills as a very important aspect of that role.

Jillian Clarke said...

Hi Carolyn, my name is Jillian Clarke and I have just enrolled in the course as part of my Masters in Midwifery. I am doing a 'professional internship' unit and have decided to complete this unit as part of my learning, with Sarah being my mentor. I am a midwifery educator and feel this course would also enhance my students learning. I am wanting to know how to design an online package for obstetric emergencies. I look forward to cathing up with you throughout the unit.

Thinkbirth said...

Hello Jillian, lovely to 'meet' you. Your idea for a package to learn obstetric emergencies online sounds great! I look forward to working with you too! Thanks for dropping by and saying hello.

Sarah Stewart said...

I don't know what kind of package you're wanting to develop, Jillian, but here is the link to some online modules:

http://www.cetl.org.uk/learning/tutorials.html

Jillian Clarke said...

Thanks Sarah, that's exactly what I'm wanting to design myself. They had shoulder dystocia and breech and I would like to include PPH,Pre-eclampsia management and basic neonatal resus. Great website. WIll I have the skills to design one of those audio/visual learning packsges? I am also looking to include some mini assessments in the package - along the lines of crosswords, fill in the blanks and maybe??? some second life sort of things that might include (in the shoulder dystocia package)the student clicking on the women and it puts her into McRoberts or you click a button and turn her over or click on a pair of scissors to cut an episiotomy. I might be getting a head of myself but this is what I envisage so that it is a multi disciplinary learning tool and rural and remote health professionals can use it as well.

Sarah Stewart said...

Jillian: you've certainly set yourself a task! I'll have a think about what tools/skills might help you.

What I would ask is that you think about putting a Creative Commons licence on the work so that people can share and use the resources:

www.creativecommons.org.au