FLO – Fundamentals

Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) – Fundamentals

FLO Fundamentals
  • Length: 5 weeks
  • Mode: Online – primarily asynchronous, with scheduled synchronous sessions
  • Pre-requisite:
    none
  • Time commitment:
    Participants should expect to spend 6-13 hours during each of the five weeks. Those with no prior online teaching and learning experience can expect to invest more time. Continuous, active participation is necessary to make this course successful for everyone.
  • Fees: Free

Course Description & Learning Goals:

The Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) introduces research-based adult and online learning concepts, principles and strategies that can make online facilitating fun and effective. This course will help you enhance skills needed to confidently and effectively facilitate online learning.

The course is designed to provide you with:

  • the experience of being in the online learner’s shoes;
  • the opportunity to think about, practice and develop your online facilitation skills with other new and experienced online facilitators;
  • the opportunity to deepen your learning as you synthesize your observations, reading and online activities in your journal.

In this course, you will:

  • facilitate, or co-facilitate, a learning activity on a pre-assigned topic;
  • integrate adult and online learning theories and principles into activities you facilitate;
  • experiment with a variety of learning-facilitation techniques and strategies;
  • give and receive constructive feedback;
  • work in online teams;
  • Reflect on, and plan how to apply, what you have learned to other courses and contexts.

Registration

  1. Check the BCcampus calendar for upcoming FLO offerings.
  2. Complete the registration form for the FLO that fits your schedule.
  3. You will be given access to the course prior to the start date.

Course Completion

A certificate of completion will be awarded to individuals who:

  • facilitate a mini-session
  • complete the facilitation reflection activity
  • participate in mini-sessions facilitated by others
  • provide feedback to fellow mini-session teams
  • contribute to the weekly journal nuggets
  • complete a final “looking back, looking forward” activity

Course Context and Purpose

The course builds on the fundamental principles of the face-to-face Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW). These principles include:

  • participatory and learner-centred — participants form a learning community and support each other’s learning
  • a safe, respectful learning environment — you will be encouraged to take risks, be creative, and learn from your mistakes
  • feedback-rich — you will be encouraged to give and receive feedback with fellow participants
  • reflective practice — you will analyze and critically reflect on the art of facilitation and your facilitation skills
  • relevant and meaningful — you will explore the future application and transferability of your learning in this course

In FLO-fundamentals you will facilitate a learning activity (“mini-session“) for your fellow participants. Facilitation is typically done in small groups and involve forums, wikis, polls, or other tools. Important differences between the ISW and the FLO:

  • The FLO is about online activity design, facilitation, and learning,  whereas the ISW is about those things in face-to-face settings.
  • The topics you will be facilitating in FLO are about teaching and learning, whereas ISW lessons are on a self-selected topic.

Feedback from past FLO – fundamentals participants indicates that this hands-on practice was key to their enjoyment of the course and the synthesis of their learning. We hope the same holds true for you!