Week 8 Discussion Summary: Practicing Online Facilitation

This week, alongside the work on our Team’s Facilitation Plan we individually practiced online facilitation. Joni and Dave posted challenging situations that we had to respond to. These included posts from students who couldn’t seem to grasp what the process was; who preferred to work alone rather than in a team; who are overwhelmed with the coursework. For good measure, examples of messages from students who do not follow instructions and who post vague responses were also thrown in. I have had my share of facilitation experiences but these scenarios were tough.

Being Asian in a class of mostly American students, I had to assess whether my understanding of the situation was accurate with limited resources. Online interaction poses innate difficulties due to the absence of visual cues which I have come to rely on as a matter of habit. This was magnified with the delay in response owing to the asynchronous nature of the discussion. The way I phrase my responses was also a concern for me. In our part of the world, how you say something counts as much as, if not even more than, what you say. With this recognition, I often wondered whether I was too verbose in compensating for the lack of facial and vocal expressions which would normally complete my message.

Despite the challenges, I thought it was good practice. Based on the responses of classmates, facilitation in any medium requires certain competencies that cannot be compromised: sensitivity to other people, openness to collaboration, and the art of asking the right questions. I found myself thinking of the situations throughout the day, and debating with myself as to the best way of responding. By reading others’ responses, I had a better grasp of what would be acceptable or more appropriate.

Judging from the feedback I got, I think my best contribution was my response to the “overwhelmed student.” It demonstrated giving importance to the student’s point of view, and encouraged her to work with me to improve the situation. Of course, I realize that what works for one person may not work for another. It is the coming together of various elements that determine the appropriate response. And such is the challenge of facilitation: reading the interplay of those elements, even when the online environment renders you partially blind.