1. Effective Facilitators
Krista Jackson
CUR/532
October 4, 2015
Professor Melinda Medina

2. Phases of Development as a Facilitator
Visitor
Novice
Apprentice
Insider
Master
Phases of Development as a Facilitator:
There are five phases an online facilitator must go through to complete their development:
Visitor: They are just experimenting with the idea of integrating technology into their in class setting. They have been just thinking about the idea, and maybe posting something online as a test. They already use with students, but the facilitator does not realize they are already using technology in some way. The order of skills as a visitor are pedagogy, technology, content, and personal, (Palloff, 2011).
Novice: The facilitator is new to online teaching and has no experience except if they took an online class for their degree. Either way they do not have an idea of online facilitating. It is common for the facilitator to use technology with their syllabus by posting it online. They are also starting to experiment with different ways to try to use technology in their in class setting. Some facilitators are interested and want to try online instructing, and some are just curious and do not want to pursue this form. The order of skills as a novice are personal, pedagogy, technology, and content, (Palloff, 2011).
Apprentice: The facilitator has started the online facilitating, but they have only been in the environment for a couple courses or semesters. The facilitator is getting used to the environment and more comfortable, but they still have a lot to learn about online facilitating. The facilitator has not developed their own style yet as an instructor because this takes years. They are interested in online facilitating, and they are more serious about it than a visitor or novice. The order of skills as an apprentice are pedagogy, technology, content and personal, (Palloff, 2011).
Insider: The facilitator has more experience instructing online classes, and they are know what they are doing. The technology is not a problem, and they know how to operate the system and their classes. They have more of an idea of their teaching style online and in general. The insider is serious about online facilitating, and staying up with the technology with online classes. Some insiders have created their own courses to fit their teaching style, which creates a better atmosphere for the students. The order of skills as an insider are pedagogy, content, technology, and personal, (Palloff, 2011).
Master: These facilitators are extremely experienced in the online facilitating environment. They are serious and committed to not just teaching, but the online facilitating. The masters have facilitated many courses and have developed many of their courses. Masters have the understanding of the technology with the online environment and embrace it, and they concentrate on new technology and ways to integrate them into their online classes. They are mentors and people to look up to or ask questions. The order of skills as a master are technology, content, pedagogy, and personal, (Palloff, 2011).

3. Important Skills as an Online Facilitator
Personal
Pedagogy
Content
Technology
Important Developmental Skills as an Online Facilitator:
There are four developmental skills that are focused on for an online facilitator in the development phases, (Palloff, 2011):
Personal: A facilitator should have personal skills for students, for instance, presence, communication, engaging, and developing their own teaching style to assist students. They need empathy, understanding, and open minds while dealing with such diverse students in online education. The personal skill is what makes the teacher who they are, and how the students will do in their class. The facilitator’s personality may come out, or they may have a different personal style for being a facilitator.
Pedagogy: The facilitator as a teacher focusing on their teaching style. Research of different pedagogy theories versus andragogy theories can help the facilitator know more about instructing and knowing their learners. It is how the facilitator instructs their online classroom. The facilitator chooses how they want their online class, but different techniques should be looked into if their choices are not working.
Content: The facilitator needs to focus on content skills for their students. Content is what helps the students learn, and a good facilitator keeps up with anything new to add to the content. Having your own teaching style will help with how you deliver your content. The facilitator needs to know the subject of the class, and it just takes time and research for content.
Technology: A facilitator cannot instruct students online without knowing the technology. Certain institutions like the University of Phoenix may have systems already set up. It is still good for the instructor to stay current with technology especially with the delivery of materials and assignments. Technology is what makes online education possible.
The two important skills focused on in this presentation of Effective Facilitators are Personal and Technology. Personal is the first important skill to start developing because it will define you as an effective facilitator. Technology is the sole reason for online education, and effective facilitators master this important skill, but it takes years and continuous research throughout life.

4. Personal
Skills and Phases

5. Why are Personal Skills Important
Presence
Communication
Engaging
Belief in one’s self
Style
Why are Personal Skills Important?
There are a few strengths in expertise that are the reason Personal skills are one of the most important developmental skills:
Presence: A facilitator has to be present and often because the students can have questions, need feedback, and interaction that they are not getting in an in class setting. The facilitator’s presence helps ensure the learners that the instructor cares about their learning. Effective ways to show presence are being a “cheerleader” to give them encouragement. They should be a “social butterfly” because it is all about presence and being involved in the learning process online, (Bernard Bull, 2013). Motivation is heightened when the learners know the facilitator is there and wants to help the learners.
Communication: A facilitator’s personal skills need to include being able to interact and communicate with students. Their tone of voice and words should be chosen carefully if the communication is through technology, which is very likely. A student needs to know they can communicate and come to the facilitator for questions, so one or message could drop their motivation if worded in the wrong manner.
Engaging: A facilitator needs to engage their students in class as an important personal skill. Engaging the students can be difficult at times because of the diverse learners that are in the classroom. Engaging the students in thinking more and dig deeper into a topic helps the students learn. Engaging the students is also a form of presence and communication, and this brings motivation because the student knows the facilitator is interested in their ideas.
Belief in one’s self: One reason personal skills are important is because they are the pertinent aspects an instructor should have. At first, a lack of confidence is expected because the new environment or even new to being an instructor. Personal skills are called personal because they embody the teacher and who they are and who they will become. Gaining the certainty in a facilitator’s abilities is an important part of becoming an online facilitator.
Teaching style: A facilitator will go through many phases of development, but their personal teaching style starts at the beginning. The teaching style is an important personal skill because it will grow with time. The facilitator will develop new ideas, perspectives, research, theories, and information that will help them personalize their teaching style.
Personal skills start at the beginning of facilitating online, and they should grow in a positive manner for their students. All of the reasons listed show how personal skills are important to the facilitator and the students. The facilitators need to show dedication in their work to set an example to motivate their students to be a better learner. The best facilitators inspire their students, and most of the inspiration is because of the facilitator’s personal skills they have developed.

6. Development Phases Visitor Novice The last three development phases:
Apprentice
Insider
Master
Development Phases:
Visitor: In the visitor development phase the personal skill is the last skill focused on because they need their teaching style and knowledge of technology first. Personal skills online are important, but as a visitor who is unsure of the online environment they are not ready to start with personal skills first. The instructors need to focus more on explaining the technology because they are unsure about the change.
Novice: In a novice development phase the personal skill is the first skill focused on because they are not just visiting. The online facilitators may have questions, but they are slightly personal, for instance, “How do I lecture online?”, (Palloff, 2011). They may already be facilitators, and they need to alter their teaching style to bring it into the online environment.
These three phases all have personal as the last skill focused on because that is part of their personality. The facilitators have found part of their teaching style as a visitor and a novice already, so they just keep working on their personal skills throughout the last three development phases.
The last three development phases:
Apprentice: The facilitator’s personal skills are still developing, and they are working on them, but they have a lot to figure out. Personal skills are still looked at, but the online facilitator already has some teaching style experience of their own. They are not confident yet with their personal skills, but they are a work in progress, and should not be a big stressor in this development phase.
Insider: An insider facilitator the personal skills are focused on last, but that is because personal skills and their own teaching style is something they have to figure out. During the insider development phase, the facilitator is more confident than an apprentice, and they are more comfortable with themselves as an online educator. The comfortability will help bring their personal skills out more because there is not as much pressure.
Master: The online facilitator’s personal skills are developed, and they have a learning style. The facilitators know what they are doing, and work to improve their own classes. Their personal teaching style is a big part of what makes the class successful. The facilitator has found who they are as a facilitator, and there is not fear anymore with online facilitating.

7. Training for Personal Skills
Showing how technology can be beneficial
Gaining knowledge through experiences and confidence
Using presence and communication
Leadership
Training for Personal Skills:
Showing how technology can be beneficial: To get a facilitator started on the idea of using technology for personal skills. Training will not be extensive in this area because they are just experimenting and seeing what technology has to offer. Many do not want to transition, but with the right trainer the facilitator could be convinced and move forward with their personal skills in technology. Start off small with the training, for instance having the facilitator put the syllabus online for the students to save paper. Training on starting to interact with students outside of the classroom would benefit the facilitator.
Learning knowledge through experiences and confidence: Personal skills the facilitator knows and has already can be brought out in training to help them understand. Any experience in education and technology will help with the training process. The trainers can train the facilitators by giving them a different type of experience they have not had, and all of the training will be building their confidence as an online facilitator. The trainer knowing some examples of experience the facilitator has had can help with developing training for that specific facilitator. When the trainer knows more about the instructor, it is easier to train them in ways that they will learn successfully.
Using presence and communication: Training should always include how to use presence and communication for personal skills. The facilitator needs to know what is expected of them with the idea of presence, and most do not understand how time-consuming an online environment can be for them. They need to be trained on how to communicate with the class, and not just giving assignments and readings and leaving them. The facilitator needs to know that presence and communication are what keeps the class learning. Post, replies, s, chats, and notifications should be stressed during their training, so the class does not get discouraged. The online facilitator needs to realize during training that they are important to an online environment because these learners need to know that that the facilitator cares and is there to help.
Leadership: Training for leadership as a facilitator seems like an obvious trait to have already, but not everyone has this trait, or it is not very apparent. Facilitators need to know during training that they are supposed to guide the learners, but they also are in control of the online classroom, and they are the leader. Leaders have wonderful qualities, for instance, support, organization, ability to teach and guide, and many more. Leadership qualities need to be addressed in the training, and it will show their confidence, and how far they have come.

8. Technology
Skills and Phases

9. Why are Technology Skills Important?
Not resistant to change
Advancements
Organization
Communication
Student’s future
Why are Technology Skills Important?
Not resistant to change: A facilitator needs to be open to change, and how technology is becoming everything people use. If a facilitator is resistant to changing to technology, then they are risking opportunities, and furthering their lifelong education. Even giving some technology a chance to see how it goes is better than refusing to use this tool. If the facilitator embraces the change, then they will have more options for delivering material, and knowing resources for tools in technology that students can learn and use. An example of these resources and tools “Support the development of word processing and presentation technologies such as Word or PowerPoint…”, (Palloff, 2011).
Advancements: A facilitator should have technology skills already in some way because technology will only advance. Technology is already advancing in such a quick manner. Some students studying technology will not have the knowledge they need when they graduate because of all of the changes made while attaining their degree. The facilitator’s technology skills should be constant researching for new tools, resources, materials, information, and anything that can help them facilitate and help the learners. Some type of technology will be in every classroom soon, so the facilitators need to be ready and stay knowledgeable about advancements.
Organization: A facilitator can use technology skills to organize their training materials and materials for students easily. At the University of Phoenix, each week is organized with what we are supposed to read, other learning materials, and our assignments. A facilitator must be able to use their technology skills to navigate the website, and organize the information the students need for each week. A facilitator needs to know how to organize with technology because it is an important skill they will need in the future. Learning the basics at least before online facilitating is a good idea.
Communication: A facilitator online relies on communicating with the learners through some form of technology. Messages, s, phone conversations can all be used. The facilitator needs to know how to operate s and any contact with students. If the facilitator cannot communicate with the students in an online environment and it can lead to many problems in the class. Students can misconstrue the lack of communication as a facilitator that is not dedicated or interested in their learners. Keeping active communication using technology can help solve many problems, and technology may be the only way to contact an instructor in the future in any class setting.
Student’s future: A facilitator’s lifelong education is important to the students because they depend on being proficient in the technology they will be using right after they graduate. Technology will only grow bigger, so depriving students of information will not benefit the student’s education. Advancements are made so often that the facilitator needs to take this into account. Online instructors need to stay current with technology changes because their students need this knowledge. Any technology learned in the facilitator’s class will help the students when they graduate, so a facilitator that embraces change, and encourages technology will help learners in the end.
Technology is the other most important developmental skill because there would not be online teaching or s without technology. When something grows so fast, like technology, it is something very important for facilitators to know. The more knowledge the facilitator has about technology, the more they can help the students in an online environment. Technology skills are meant to assist the facilitator and the student in many ways, and there will be more ways technology will assist in the future. As much as instructors want to resist using technology they will have to adapt or chose another profession.

10. Development Phases Visitor Novice Apprentice Insider Master
Visitor: A facilitator in the development phase will focus on technology secondly, but it is the main focus as a visitor. Visitors are nervous and unsure what to think about integrating technology into the class, let alone teach in an online environment. During this phase, the facilitator is just being introduced or looking into the idea of technology. Technology stays the main focus because they want visitors to start to use the technology that is available. Technology is the most important aspect of online teaching, or the facilitators could not do a lot because they need the technology.
Novice: A facilitator in the novice development phase will focus on technology as a third skill. The personal and pedagogy are focused on because they are beginning to be facilitators online as a trial phase. The technology is what they are learning, so they will be able to continue with online facilitating if they choose that path. A novice facilitator does not know a lot about online facilitating, but this development phase gets them ready.
Apprentice: A facilitator is more dedicated to becoming an online facilitator, and their technology skills have increased. Technology is the second skill focused on after pedagogy because they are learning how to teach and use theories, and how to put them into an online environment. The facilitator is learning the teaching method and the technology to go along with it in this development phase. A facilitator in this phase should start researching different ways to use technology to get a start on new ideas.
Insider: A facilitator focuses on technology third in this development phase because their focus on teaching and their content is important. The online facilitators use the technology in this development phase for their content for the learners. They are focused more on the aspect of teaching and content, so they are ready to put it into the technology. The focus on teaching and content is good before the online facilitator puts everything together for the technology the students will use.
Master: An online facilitator in the Master development phase focuses on technology first because they are already a well-established facilitator. The facilitator is knowledgeable in personal, pedagogy, and content, and they continue to focus on these skills, but technology is the main skill to focus on in this phase. They should be learning anything new with technology that would help learners, and they are experienced enough to know how to do this easily. The master can help mentor other facilitators in a lower development phase because they have an abundance of experience.

11. Training for Technology Skills
Beginning with technology, , and chat
Learn the course management system
Resources and tools
Adding new technologies and approaches to assist
Training for Technology skills:
Beginning with technology, , and chat: When facilitators first start toying with the idea of technology in their classrooms, they are on their start to at least trying technology out in their class. A fellow colleague can help adjust the facilitator to and chat to begin with to get a feel of technology being used. Training will help the facilitators know how to communicate through technology, and what is effective in helping them. Other forms of technology may be addressed by the colleague, but in the beginning it is just to give the facilitator a small idea of online facilitating.
Learn the course management system: If the University or course already has a course management system set up, then the facilitator will need to be trained in all areas to understand the system. Training on the course management system will need to include any information they will need to know when starting off with technology. Having a system set up in the beginning for short introduction would be helpful, so the facilitator is not overwhelmed right at the beginning. The facilitator will learn the technology at their own pace because some will understand the information and system well, and others will be confused and lost at first and need extra time. The course management system training is one of the most important training from the list because it will assist them in everything they use with the learners.
Resources and tools: Training should include resources and tools to assist the facilitator in training, and they should be researching during their training to gain further knowledge. The facilitators should examine the course management system during training, so they know how to assist and direct learners to their own resources and tools. The facilitator should also learn how to gather and give out more resources and tools for new ideas for the facilitator and students. The resources and tools will change with time, and during training it should be expressed that the facilitator should stay focused on learning any new resources and tools that are new.
Adding new technologies and approaches to assist: After training for the beginning technology skills the facilitator will be more advanced. When they reach this level, they need to start training on new technologies and approaches to their student’s learning. They will be trained on how to use new approaches to the technology they have, and with new technologies that are in the future. Training on how to use different approaches to assist the learners is important with technology since it is an online environment.

12. Conclusion
The four important skills to have as an online facilitator are all important, but the personal and technology skills need more focus than the other two. Personal skills help the facilitator and the learners with their teaching style and empathy. Technology skills are the whole reason behind online teaching because without technology there would not be online facilitating. Both of these skills together represent a knowledgeable and understanding facilitator. All of the skills are still just as important to make a successful online facilitator.

13. References
Bernard Bull, E. (2013, June 3). Eight Roles of an Effective Online Teacher.
Retrieved 2015, from Faculty Focus
roles-
of-an-effective-online-teacher/
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2011). The excellent online instructor: Strategies
or professional development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.