Slides for online session given during JISC innovating e-learning online conference activity week, Novermber 2011

1. Towards learner informed guidelines
for virtual classroom facilitators
Sarah Cornelius and Carole Gordon
16 November 2011

2. Using Elluminate during this session
Please interact with us and each other!
– Tick/cross
– Emoticons
– Chat box
– ‘Hands up’ for spoken questions

3. The Plan
• Why ‘learner-informed’ recommendations?
• The context and our research approach
• The recommendations for facilitators
• Your suggestions and comments

4. Best http://www.jisc.ac.uk/elluminateguidance
Practice
Guides
http://onlignment.com/live-online-learning-a-facilitators-guide/
http://repository.alt.ac.uk/803/

5. Elesig.ning.com

8. Group interview
All participants with
40 hours Virtual Classroom experience

9. Research approach
• Collation of a rich data set of stories and
experiences
• Analysis to look for themes and guidance
• Some expected categories, some unexpected
9 recommendations drafted

10. The draft guidelines
Recommendations
① Prepare learners for learning in the virtual classroom
② Establish etiquette and adopt a set of protocols
③ Use icebreakers to welcome and familiarise learners
with tools
④ Use breakout rooms for small group activities
⑤ Provide a variety of activities to meet different learning
preferences
⑥ Foster student-tutor and student-student relationships
⑦ Identify and manage those who participate minimally
⑧ Use the media to suit the situation
⑨ Reassure, encourage, keep things simple

11. Recommendation 5:
Provide a variety of activities to meet different
learning preferences
• Do all you can to accommodate different thinking and
learning styles
• Respect learners’ privacy, in terms of what you ask of
them

12. Recommendation 4. Breakout rooms
Breakout rooms are an excellent
tool…when we log on initially, we
get a small idea of what is to come
by seeing the breakout rooms and I do look at the breakout
what they are called – builds the rooms and see what they
anticipation are named…I wonder what
it is
Sub-recommendation 1:
Choose names for breakout rooms that allow for helpful learner anticipation

13. I hope you never use the
‘team captains’ approach.. I remember being in a
That would dredge up breakout room and no-one
memories of the gym class else being there…feels lonely
It is fairly easy to get into the
I think [allowing participants to
breakout rooms although …I
move themselves to rooms] gives
sometimes wait until the rush is
participants autonomy as well, to
over and then drag my name into
know that you can do that
the room
yourself, instead of someone
taking you
Sub-recommendation 2:
Select optimum numbers for breakout rooms and
allow learners to move in and out of rooms as appropriate

14. I didn’t notice [when the
I was aware of tutors
tutor dropped into a
entering but didn’t feel the
breakout room]
need to interrupt the flow of
discussion to acknowledge
their presence
Sometimes it can be easier to ask
a question when in a breakout It gives an opportunity to ask
room as opposed to asking in the questions when the tutor ‘pops
main room in’ if anyone is nervous about
that kind of thing
Sub-recommendation 3:
Facilitate group work by moving between the rooms judiciously

15. Recommendation 7. Minimalists
It creates a level of
It was just
stress that possibly
annoying
you [tutors] aren’t
aware of
This has probably There were some
been the most people, like me, who
stressful part of the [were] quite happy to
course for me…we talk all the time, but
make plans, they there were others who
don’t turn up weren’t…they didn’t
seem to want to
participant
Sub-recommendation 1:
Be aware that those who participate minimally have a negative effect
on their peers and consider ways to manage this

16. Recommendation 5. Diversity
Don’t put me on I don’t like being put on
the spot with an the spot with a difficult
academic question, question (I must have
my mind goes blank sounded like the King’s
speech) but then the
good thing was no-one
could see my red face
I don’t like giving out
personal information in
a public forum, e.g.
what I did on my
holidays…I felt under
pressure to join in and
this turned me off in
Sub-recommendation 2:
terms of participation
Respect learners’ privacy

17. Discussion questions
• Are these
recommendations
helpful in your context?
• Do they reflect your
own experiences?
• Do you have other
evidence/stories that
add to the examples
provided?

18. What next?
• Full report on study forthcoming – check ELESIG
website
• Wider research into learners’ experiences needed
• Links with other current research into teachers’
experiences
Sarah Cornelius s.cornelius@abdn.ac.uk
Carole Gordon c.a.gordon@abdn.ac.uk