When it comes to facilitating a class, the anticipation is definitely worse than the reality. I actually enjoyed facilitating a lot and was glad to have picked building community, an aspect of online teaching I find most challenging and relevant. Studies have shown that building a sense of community within a course really helps students succeed in the online environment and I hope we helped demonstrate that during our week. I especially liked pulling together the synchronous Wimba presentation. From the first time I attended a live Wimba discussion in the intro class, I have really been fascinated by it. Not only does it help bring the class together, but you have a chance to branch out from the routine of reading and discussion posts.
As part of the facilitation, I prepared my very first Power Point presentation. What fun! Although it's not necessarily a skill taught in the course, it's an important step for me to learn new programs and technology. Although my teammate and I received positive feedback on our presentation and discussion responses, I can't help but feel that in our presentation I was still in "sage on the stage" mode. It will be a real challenge to transition to being a "guide on the side." I felt that the discussion post responses allowed me to offer guidance and feedback, but as soon as I had a class in the Wimba session it felt very similar to lecturing in front of a live class. I don't think taking a leadership role is a bad thing, necessarily, but in an environment where the student has taken ownership of his or her learning it's not really necessary. I'll be working on shedding that habit in the coming months.
The other challenge we have addressed is competencies and keeping up with the eJones when it comes to training. Staying current on the trends in my own field of journalism is tough enough these days. But staying abreast of the trends in technology and online teaching seems impossible. I believe it is a case where you do the best you can. Authors in our readings stressed the importance of learning your own university's learning management system and trying new things periodically. I will do that, but I do not plan to pull my hair out learning every new program that comes along. That would be a certain path to an ulcer.
As an aside, however, I wonder specifically how adjunct faculty can keep up. Some schools offer training or funding for staff development for adjuncts. Others do not. I've read that adjuncts teach about 50 percent of the courses at American universities these days (yes, it's true!). With the growth of online courses I believe this trend will only increase in the future. Hopefully, schools will increase funding for training for adjuncts to make sure students in online courses have access to the most current and relevant information and technology. Although working with this new technology is tough for me, I really want my future online students to have access to the same quality of information that other students have across the country whether I'm an adjunct or a full-time faculty member. I'm glad GSU has made a commitment to training adjuncts with the scholarship for the certificate program.
Which brings me to the current bane of my existence - HTML. Surely, there has got to be an easier way to make web sites and course content look good! My brain feels so full that the HTML lessons are not sinking in and I'm struggling. I suspect there are ways to simply type in what you want and the underlying HTML code magically appears. If no one has invented that program yet, I'm going to figure it out and give Steve Jobs and Bill Gates a run for their money. Then I'll be able to afford all the ongoing training I need to keep up with all the new technology!
