Online Facilitation Models and Facilitation Tools

 Online Facilitation Models 

Arguable the most important role of an online instructor is modelling effective teaching, contributing insights and maintaining group cohesion. Berge (1995) categories four conditions necessary for successful online tutoring. The four areas are: pedagogical, social, manegerial and technical. The diagram below is a summary of these areas. 

Online Facilitation Tools 

Online facilitation tools or digital facilitation tools are used to accommodate worksops, webinars or lessons in the online space. The use of these tools have grown eponentially in the last decade and bascically eploded with the advent of the global pandemic. 

Skype was one of the first widely known video-conferencing tool. Its popularity has since shifted to zoom. The following images show zoom being used to facilitate virtual events. 

I previously mentioned that classes were thrust into the online space as a result of the global pandemic. Most schools in Jamaica used Google Suite while some schools utilied Microsoft Teams. My school used Google; mainly Google Classroom and Google Meets. Google Meets is very similar to zoom. It allowed me to have synchronous communication with my students. 

References

Berge, Z. L. (1995). The role of the online instructor/facilitator. Educational technology, 35(1), 22-30.