Dear Dr. Kelly Wilkinson,
I concur with you. We get to feel that the whole load is on our shoulders to support and guide our students, but often it helps to have others who can also support and guide the student. The students may even connect with this other person very well- such as a Learning Lab Facilitator or tutor.
Sincerely,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
Wearing the four different pairs of shoes you help the support each student in a personal one-on-one fashion, as many students have different needs. Some need help with time management, while others need help with how to study, and others need help with a specific assignment, and others are unclear about what to do next in the course.
Respectfully submitted,
Marjorie Thrall Moller
As online facilitators, we will be the first point of contact that comes to mind for a student whenever they might have questions or problems in a course. The four hats include our roles as: instructor, social director, program manager, and technical analyst. The role as instructor is the most obvious where we assist students with course content. Our role as social director requires us to foster good communication between students. As program manager, many facilitators play an important role in designing the content to make these online courses work. As technical analysts, we may be called upon to help walk students through some basic procedures such as how to post a comment to a discussion question or how to submit an assignment. All of these activities are important for successful implementation of an online course.
Carl,
That is a great point. You don't have to know all of the answers, just know where to get them!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Mahmoud,
It is more than that. Students don't know what they don't know.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Mahmoud,
But what functions do those shoes perform.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
William,
That is right. You have to also be the technical consultant and cheerleader.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Derek,
That is true. Many times, the online instructor is the only contact many students have to the institution.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
It is important for an online facilitator to wear four "pairs of shoes" because the students are sitting home alone while taking the online course and don't think they have anybody else to contact whenever there is a problem. The facilitator either has to correct whatever the problem is or find where to direct to student to get the problem resolved.
Hats of shoes, we need to understand our learners abilities.
The shoes of his students. That is many different shoes.
Hi
I would imagine that by saying “four pairs of shoes†you mean that an online facilitator has to be a little of everything. He/she must not encourage self-learning but also but also be ready to step into the role of mentor as well as teacher when the occasion arises.
Bill
Online facilitators have to meet all of the needs of their students. These include a wide variety of roles that the successful teacher must meet. Failing to meet needs in one area will have an effect in other areas as well.
Lyn ,
Yes, it is up to the individual student to interact with the instructor to determine need. It is so nice to use the technology to develop differentiated learning plans for students without increasing instructor workload.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hi everyone,
Students want to do well in any class they take. A facilitator is there to assist students with that goal, and this usually means being flexible to meet the needs of different students.
I have some students that work almost independently through my classes, reading the text, using the guidance I post in announcements, paticipating in the dicussions, listening to the recorded class chats etc. They submit assignments on time and have few questions.
Others students need more help and interaction with me or possibly with classmates to help reach success. They have many questions or need confirmation that they are moving in the right direction.
Wearing four pairs of shoes, or many hats, means to me that facilitation will depend on the content and individual students. Lyn
Dawn,
That is true. The instructor isn't just looked at as the content person, they should know everything.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
A facilitator needs to wear a lot of shoes, because each student has a different skill set as well as different learning methods. Plus, facilitators need to be a subject matter expert, IT troubleshooters, guidance counselors, a shoulder to lean on both in personal and scholastic issues, and etc. Facilitators are no looked at as just an instructor when it comes to dealing with adult learners.
Have a good day!
Dawn
May-Lin,
True, but then good teaching always takes time and effort doesn't it. I think at times we have given f2f teaching a pass regarding quality. I do know hard work regarding teaching online always improves f2f teaching.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
As this last section described, an online facilitator wears four pairs of shoes in that they are an instructor, social director, program manager, and technical assistant.
You have to possess a variety of skills and be knowledgeable about several areas to meet the requirements to allow you to wear these "four shoes".
This requirements extensive planning and dedication to be an effective facilitator. You have to know the products you are using, know the content of the course, be able to effectively communicate with your students and motivate them, and be there when the student has a question.
Online instruction is not as easy as it might appear from the outside.
Nitin,
Which one challenges you the most?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
