3.1 Getting learners talking
The first task of a facilitator is to motivate learners to join the conversation.
After introducing yourself, and explaining your role and that of any other team members involved in supporting the online course, your first job will be to post messages to encourage learners to introduce themselves and foster a sense of community rather than of competition.
You could ask learners:
- where they are from
- what their interests are
- about their experiences of education.
You could consider other ‘icebreakers’ (light hearted activities to get people engaged and confident in posting messages online). For example, you could invite them to share a particular unusual talent they have, tell others what is their favourite book or song or holiday place, or share a photo of their home town or village. This all helps to create a sense of community, where students and facilitator get to know a little bit about each other.
Your messages should provide basic information about the purpose of the comments and should encourage people to join in. They should be:
- well-placed and easily seen
- friendly and concise, encouraging people to join in.
Profiles
Many online learning platforms have an area where you can provide information about yourself. This is called a profile. Sharing personal profiles offers the opportunity to find out a little about each person, and is another way to get a sense of who they are and build the community. In your profile you will need a brief note about yourself, your specialisms, the area you live in, your hobbies, etc.
It is not intended to provide a full and detailed history, so it is best to keep it short and sweet. Providing a photo isn’t obligatory, but it can help people feel that they are communicating with a real person and so create a friendly atmosphere online. You should not, however, provide any personal information such as your address or telephone number, as this may lead to unwanted contact and even lead to you feeling unsafe.
Tone and standards
Throughout your conversations with students your tone should be friendly and welcoming. Be clear about the standards you expect in the conversation, such as respect of other learners opinions and no bad language. There may be a code of conduct for the platform you are working on that you could refer to.
3 Moderating an online conversation