1 Running Head: My Philosophy of Online Facilitation/Learning

My Philosophy of Online Facilitation/Learning

Marieke Holtkamp
Vancouver Island University

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My Philosophy of Online Facilitation/Learning
My Philosophy of Online Facilitation/Learning
I believe and understand that learning should be personalized, deep, project based, integrated,
and global. It should involve constructing meaning and developing relationships. I believe that
learners are teachers too, and facilitators need to guide learners to finding the way they learn
best, and aid them in experiencing authentic and meaningful learning activities. There is often a
misconception in online learning that a facilitator will create the content, present it and then
leave the learner to fumble their way through.
Effective online teachers take on the role as a facilitator of learning rather than an
instructor who conveys information through directed instruction. That is, they become
more of a guide-on- the-side rather than the sage-on-the-stage. However, this clich
can be taken to extremes; there is a fine line between being a guide on the side and being
absent. (Anderson, 2004).
As a teacher of a blended program, I have two classrooms, the virtual one and the face to face
one. Course topics, goals, timelines and expectations for work at home are communicated
through our online d2l classroom and reinforced when we meet face to face. There has been
some difficulty in finding the right medium to communicate with learners and families. Learners
are facilitated at home by their parents so communication with the home facilitator is vital.
Information is communicated through d2l, email and on a class blog to ensure that everybody
involved with the learners progress has access to the information required. One of our
assignments in OLTD 501 was to create our own design model for online learning. I discovered
that the theories of Constructivism and Connectivism spoke to me the most. Constructivism has
brought the learner to the forefront and changed the view of the instructor from teacher to

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My Philosophy of Online Facilitation/Learning
facilitator. Wendy Drexler (2010) states that Connectivism theory means learning occurs as a
part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties. When looking at creating courses
for learners today, especially online learners, it is critical to recognize that learning happens in
many different ways and that different ways of presenting content are required to reach all
learners. Core critical skills are needed in order to be able to learn in an online environment
successfully. There is a sense of autonomy that needs to be present as learners are working
independently to some degree and communication is integral to success. At the end of her video,
The Networked Student, Wendy Drexler (2008) lists the roles a 21
st
century teacher fulfills:
Learning Architect, Modeler, Learning Concierge, Change Agent, Connected Learning
Incubator, Network Sherpa, and Synthesizer. In online learning, these roles along with the tools
we have at hand allow us to promote the construction of knowledge, conversation, collaboration
and reflection. I am mostly inspired by the students themselves, I learn just as much, if not more
from them. In my classroom, my philosophy shows through in the ways that I communicate with
my students and their families. I am fortunate that my current job allows me to teach in a way
that fits my beliefs. I am able to work with the whole student. I am able to find out who my
learners really are and allow them to bring their passions and sparks into the classroom in order
to enable them to learn in way that is meaningful and relevant to them.
In a blended course, the online portion is not vital since there is also a face-to-face
component where community can occur naturally through visual cues and interpersonal
skills. Therefore, to ensure that the online community thrives, it needs to be integral to
the course. (Educause, Diaz & Strickland, 2009)
According to Jane Livingston (Educause, Diaz & Strickland, 2009), it is more difficult for
instructors to maintain community in a blended program than in face to face or entirely online. It

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My Philosophy of Online Facilitation/Learning
is definitely challenging to keep a sense of community going in both places. We have been
successful with blogging as we use the blog during our face to face days and learners continue to
use it through the days they are at home, keeping connected with each other by commenting on
each others posts. I can definitely see that the online environment can be neglected if there is
time to communicate face to face and know that I need to put more time into the online part of
my classroom.
building a community of learners is important to incorporate legitimate academic tasks
and not just focus on personal and social issues. Community continues to build as we
attend to the academic goals of the course. Cognitive presence is created as we inquire
into the course content in a systematic and meaningful manner. (Garrison, 2006)
I think we often tend to separate the academic from the social instead of realizing that they
really are tied together and if content is presented in meaningful ways and learners are engaged
with the instructor and each other, then this can only foster the building of community.








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My Philosophy of Online Facilitation/Learning
References
Anderson, T. (2004). Teaching in an online learning context. In T. Anderson & F.
Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning (pp. 273-294). Athabasca:
Athabasca University.
Drexler, W. (2008, November 30). [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://teachweb2.blogspot.ca/search?q=networked student
Drexler, W. (2010). The networked student model for construction of personal learning
environments: Balancing teacher control and student autonomy. Australasian Journal of
Educational Technology, 26(3), 369-385.
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet26/drexler.html
Educause, Diaz, V., & Strickland, J. (2009). Unit 3: Building community and collaboration.
Retrieved from (n.d.). Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library
Garrison, D. R. (2006). Online collaboration principles. Journal of Asynchronous Learning
Networks, 10(1), 25-34. http://www.sloan-
c.org/publications/jaln/v10n1/v10n1_3garrison_member.asp