LITERATURE REVIEW
2.3 WEB FACILITATORS
2.3.2 Web facilitators’ experience, knowledge and skills
For effectiveness in Web-Based Teaching and Learning (WBTL), the literature on facilitators suggests that the following knowledge and skills are crucial in designing Web learning (White, 1999).
2.3.2.1 Knowledge Base (knows/skilled in...) (White & Weight, 2000)
• Adult learning principles: involves theories like Transformative Learning Theory and many other pedagogical issues;
• Communication styles: involves any interaction between facilitators and students or students with other students;
• Learning styles: involves the three schools of thought (behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism) among other things;
• Cultural competency: involve the way the Web learning groups interact;
• Group and interpersonal dynamics: involves how the Web groups interpret and communicate their issues;
• Group facilitation: involves the management of the Web learning so that learning can take place;
• Knowledge of assessment of audience: involves the way in which the Web facilitators understand the Web community;
• Subject and content matter expertise: involves the way in which the Web facilitators understand their subject areas in terms of teaching and learning and;
• Teaching and training: involves the way in which the Web facilitators educate their students.
2.3.2.2 Facilitation Skills (White and Weight, 2000)
• Active or effective listener: involves a good understanding of theories that deal with active students;
• Encouraging open communication: involves the ways in which facilitators encourage students to participate by contributing when learning is taking place;
• Feedback skills: involves methods used by the Web facilitators to give feedback to their students;
• Being attentive to when participants are or aren't "walking the talk":
involves the ways in which the Web facilitators read and understand their students;
• Questioning (as opposed to telling) skills: involves asking questions that will lead to insight, asking provocative questions, using problems or questions, tools and other means to stir the mind and body to learn.
Students need not be provided with answers;
• Clarify experiences for additional insights: involves the use of students experiences to help them to learn new information;
• Create or nurture constructive conflict or "creative abrasion": involves creating a situation that will help one’s students to transform from being passive to become active students;
• Focus -- keeping the discussion on track: involves using methods that help students to have a direction on how to achieve the outcomes;
• Listening from a non-judgmental place: involves listening to students from a neutral position in order to judge them guided by the context from which they are coming;
• Listen for understanding and context: involves listening with a good understanding of students’ culture;
• Maximise gaining of knowledge and skill in the time available by controlling students’ interaction during the process of learning to avoid unnecessary time wasted;
• Observation skills: involves noticing patterns in group interaction and bringing it up to the group for exploration. Notice what is NOT said and what is said, as well as observe and listen for opportunities and actualities of learning;
• Pacing skills --change the level of the discussion at the appropriate time from brainstorming to evaluation to decision to action planning, or from thinking to feeling;
• Presentation skill: involves the use of different methods of presentation and the tools (including low and high technology such as over-head projector and computer presentation software);
• Problem solving: involves managing the conflict and other related problems of Web learning;
• Ability to extract positive outcomes from difficult situations: involves working with different levels of outcomes (critical outcomes, learning area outcomes and lesson / specific outcomes);
• Ability to read not only individuals, but also interaction between individuals, and the subtleties of the group;
• Resume or restart groups: involves working and motivating Web learning groups of students;
• Steer group in a positive direction: involves division of labour and guiding students to achieve the outcomes;
• Summarisation skills: involves succinct, accurate and non-judgmental summaries;
• At appropriate times use out-going participants to get the discussion rolling and encourage the quiet ones and;
• Writing skills: involves using computer software to type and format documents.
2.3.2.3 Technology Skills (Carliner, 2000)
• Electronic mail (Email);
• Email list software (i.e. "listservs");
• Threaded discussion tools where facilitators and students exchange documents for group discussion purposes;
• Linear discussion tools where certain facilitators or students exchange documents with certain individuals not in a group form;
• Instant Messaging (IM) tools;
• Chat tools [Internet Relay Chat (IRC), java, voice];
• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML);
• Web page publishing;
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and;
• Group discussion tools: involve software that can also read the email.
If facilitators are using all tools, it indicates that they are operating at the third level of AT (Engestrom, Miettenin & Punamaki, 1999)and use the rings of ‘The Tree Three Rings’ effectively (see Figure 2.1 above).
2.3.2.4 Online Interaction Experience (White and Weight, 2000)
• Social online communities: involves facilitators, students, Web technical support members and other Web specialists;
• Chat and live events (synchronous);
• Email lists;
• Virtual teams / virtual workgroups;
• Cross cultural groups involves groups with different interest, but who are all trying to follow one Web learning culture in order to learn and;
• Distance education / training: involves teaching online using Web learning.
The issues bulleted above build facilitators’ frames of reference and suggest that when the facilitators are involved in WBTL, they should assume a role of becoming constructivists as they are promoting the learner-centred approach (Herrington, Reeves & Oliver, 2004). Anderson and Elloumi (2004) emphasises that facilitators can not run away from using the strength of the other two schools of thought (behaviourism and cognitivism), even if they are using the constructivist approach. It is therefore expedient that a certain portion of WBTL is better served by the two schools of thought. If facilitators consider only the above issues in their WBTL, they may deny themselves an opportunity to develop other important issues that are important in terms of building the frames of reference for the other two schools of thought as discussed in the next section of Web objects.
Cummings and Bonk (2002) recommended the use of the scaffolding method in using WBTL. Cummings and Bonk (2002) conducted an online survey to determine a most successful online learning method. They found that the most scaled and successful online courses used the scaffolding method. Roblyer and Edwards (2000) define scaffolding as a way of gradually moving from short-term needs to longer term needs (from behaviourism to constructivist approach).
Laurillard (2002, p.77) argues that constructivism “has focused more on the [facilitator-student] interaction but without a detailed link between [facilitating, learner activities] and interaction with the subject.” This implies that constructivism cannot go unchallenged. This study hopes to open the discourse with the aim of trying to establish what should be done in order to achieve WBTL with relevant learning theories.
Most studies on WBTL have been involving facilitators’ frames of reference. As a result Taylor (1998) believes that too much emphasis has been placed on the role of the facilitator at the expense of the role of the student. Although it is difficult for learning to occur without the facilitator playing a key role, students also have a responsibility for creating the learning environment. As part of a community of knowers, students share the responsibility for constructing and
creating the conditions under which learning can occur. Thus the main aim has to be about transforming the role of the student from information receiver to navigator, active student, information interpreter, and implementer of knowledge.