Module 1: Facilitator Skills and Instructional Materials

Skills needed for effective online distance learning facilitators

Presence: A facilitator needs to show presence online with distance education because the
students need to know that they are there for the learners. Distance learners online will be
online at different times, so logging on consistently is helpful. The facilitator cannot be
online 24/7; checking the website and emails regularly is helpful for learners in different time
zones. The facilitator sets a good example with presence if they are on often, so this
encourages the distance online learners to care more about showing their presence online too,
(Pelletier, 2013). Presence is the most important aspect of online distance education because
it is so helpful. The learners will be more apt to being engaged and excited about learning in
your online classroom environment.
o Strategy: Focus on the concept of a Social Butterfly to assist facilitators in learning
the information on presence, (Bull, 2013). Online learning can be isolating, and
creating a positive and engaging environment while instructing facilitators helps.
Communication: A facilitator needs to show presence because the students need to
communicate or ask questions sometimes. Distance online learners need to have the contact
information of their facilitator, so they can contact the facilitator at anytime. Knowing how to
communicate effectively will help to make sure that there are not any miscommunications.
Paying attention to the tone of voice during communication with the learner because
communication can be misinterpreted. The facilitator does not have the nonverbal cues that
they would be able to use in person, (Pelletier, 2013). Communication with the learners
should happen as soon as possible if they send a message because the longer the wait the
more discouraged the learner can become. The facilitator should reread all message replies,
so they know the message will be communicated in a welcoming manner.
o Strategy: Focus on the concept of a Cheerleader to assist facilitators learning the
information on communication, (Bull, 2013). Showing the facilitator how they can
succeed in communication with encouragement and feedback on their communication
skills will help the facilitators improve.
Discussion: The distance online educational University website should have a place for
discussion posts. The facilitator should make sure to post as soon as they can each week to
get the discussions going. It is recommended that you respond to at least three student
responses to the discussion assignment on four different days during the assignment week.,
(Pelletier, 2013). It is always a good idea to post as often as the facilitator is able to. The
facilitator should respond to a learners post with a comment or questions to further the
conversation. Always make sure to respond to their replies and other learners replies if they
respond to your post. The facilitator needs to interact with each student at some point through
the class, so none of the learners feel like they are being ignored. The problem of the learner

feeling ignored will make them feel like their posts are not good or have a feeling of
exclusion. Facilitators should always stay positive in discussion areas.
o Strategy: Focus on the concept of a Tour Guide to help facilitators learn about how
they should participate in discussions, (Bull, 2013). Leading the facilitators through
the process of how to participate and stay present in discussions is important. In turn
this will show the facilitator how to be a Tour Guide during discussions in their
own distance learning classrooms, (Bull, 2013). The facilitators need to know how to
keep the discussion going, and to help it progress as the discussions continue.
Constructive Feedback: Facilitators need to offer constructive feedback when grading
assignments for the online distance learners. Using the sandwich method when grading
assignments is good for the learners to stay positive, (Pelletier, 2013). The facilitator should
offer good comments, then some topics to work on, and then followed by positive feedback
again. The method helps the learners from getting discouraged while reading the feedback of
their assignments. Make sure to use their name while grading, so they know it is personalized
for the specific learner, (Pelletier, 2013). Using their name gives the feedback a more positive
and comforting way for the learner to read feedback. Make sure the learners always know
their deadlines ahead of time, and get their grades back to them before the next assignment is
due. The timely feedback will help the distance learners fix any issues they may have used in
their next assignment. Have the information organized in a grading rubric for the distance
learner to easily read.
o Strategy: Focus on the concept of Individual and Group Mirror to help facilitators
learn how to give constructive feedback to a distance learner, (Bull, 2013). The
concept helps facilitators by giving them feedback, and this mirrors how they will
need to think of constructive feedback for their distance learners.
Phases of development for online distance learning facilitators

Copyright: Rena Palloff, 2014

There are five phases of development for online distance learning for facilitators. The facilitators
do not have to go through all five phases, and they can stay at a certain phase for as long as they
would like. The facilitator chooses how far they would like to develop their online distance
learning. The five phases are as followed:
Visitor: The facilitator has a mild curiosity using technology, but they have not tried to
integrate technology into their classes consistently. The facilitator may have posted a
syllabus or assignments online or used email for assignment completion, (Palloff & Pratt,
2011). The facilitator is not utilizing technology in a manner that gives them technology
experience for online. The facilitators at this stage seems like they are not very interested.
Their research, integration, and interest are not apparent in this stage.
o There may or may not have transitioned to this phase. Some start as Novices instead
of Visitors because it is up to the facilitator on how interested they are in distance
education.
Novice: The facilitator has left the visitor phase, or they have jumped in at this novice stage
because they want to use some technology in their classrooms. The facilitator has not taught
an online course, but they may have taken an online course, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The
facilitator does utilize posting a syllabus online, and encourages communication in a
technology and online environment for the students, (Palloff, & Pratt, 2011). The novice is

interested in the use of technology, but they are just experimenting and taking it slow. The
facilitator seems to want to take distance learning step-by-step, so they can get used to each
part that goes into distance online facilitating.
o The Novice is gaining some experience, but they have not taught an online class.
They can transition to an Apprentice at any time, but some facilitators are very
interested in the beginning, and start as Apprentices.
Apprentice: The facilitator is finally trying out facilitating in a distance online environment
for learners. To be an apprentice they should have at least facilitated online for one or two
terms, but they may have facilitated more than one online class in one or each terms, (Palloff,
& Pratt, 2011). The apprentice is gaining the knowledge and experience of online distance
facilitating, and they are getting an idea of if they enjoy the environment. The facilitator has
done personal research to help understand the technology and concepts needed. Their
experience is limited because they are still in the practice and deciding phase of online
distance facilitating. The apprentice phase should show the facilitator if they are interested in
furthering this concept and environment for facilitating.
o The Apprentice is getting the idea of distance facilitating, and gaining knowledge to
go further if they choose. The Apprentice must be in this stage to get experience
before they move to be an Insider because it is all about how much experience they
have attained.
Insider: The facilitator is more interested and serious about facilitating in an online distance
learning environment. The facilitator should have at least facilitated course(s) online for two
semesters, and more than one class for each term, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The facilitator has
gained experience, and they are less intimidated about online distance facilitating. They are
comfortable and enjoy the different environment, and they notice the benefits and/or prefer
the environment more than face-to-face classes. They may have designed one or more
online courses., (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The experience with technology and facilitating
distance learners has expanded, and they are more likely to want to stay in this facilitating
environment.
o The Insider must have an abundance of experience to move and be labeled as a
Master. The Insider just needs to keep facilitating courses online for distance learners,
and integrate new technologies into the environment. The more the Insider knows
about the skills and technology the easier it is to become a Master. They must have
more experience to move to the Master phase, and it is more difficult to move to the
last phase as a Master.
Master: The facilitator has, taught online for multiple terms and have designed several
online courses, (Palloff & Pratt, 2011). The Master facilitator has extensive knowledge of
the technology needed to facilitate distance online courses. They feel a strong sense of
comfort in the online environment, they know how to use the technology, and they do

research to integrate new technologies into their online environment. The Masters stay up to
date with new technologies that could benefit their online distance learners and online
classroom environments. They are more likely to mentor and assist facilitators that are not as
experienced and need training or help with any issues. The facilitators are active in the online
learning environment and community to help push the online distance education further. The
Masters are lifelong learners with online distance education and technology.
Theories of distance learning
There are many theories of distance learning:
Transactional Distance: The theory is looked at as a pedagogical concept with three
variables: dialogue, program structure, and learner autonomy, (Haythornthwaite & Andrews,
2011). The theory consists of interaction in learning that results in knowledge and
conclusions of the material the learners are learning. The theory is focused on the fact that the
distance is not necessarily how far away a learner is, but that the learning does not happen
face-to-face. The distance is because the learning takes place online to reach the knowledge
and conclusions for their education. The dialogue happens online or other forms that do not
consist of face-to-face dialogue between the facilitators and learners, and the dialogue
between learners and learners. The structure of the online environment helps the fact that the
learning is all happening online helping the idea of distance. The learner autonomy is how
the distance learner is independent in their learning because they have to take control with
the content being in an online environment.
Multimodality: The theory shows that learning can take place in many different methods in
distance learning. The way the learner access the information to the way the learner
communicates comes in different modes. The learner has many different technologies they
can use to learning and complete assignments. The learner can also communicate in various
ways with the facilitator or other learners. Everything with distance learning can be done in
many different ways, so this makes the learning diverse and multimodal. Transduction is the
more specific term used to denote the modal shift from one set of resources to another.,
(Haythornthwaite & Andrews, 2011). The idea also brings in the idea of transformation
because the learners are using different methods of learning to transform their way of
thinking and understanding information. The diversity in how everything can be used in
different ways to assist in distance learning is multimodal.
Intrinsic Motivation: The theory is how learners are intrinsically motivated, so they are
internally motivated. For the learner be successful they have to motivate themselves, and
have a drive and determination inside instead of outside factors that could motivate them.
The learners have to be self-motivated to complete their tasks and learning endeavors or they
will have trouble succeeding in an online distance environment. In an environment with faceto-face interaction with individuals, whether it is educational or work, the motivation is not
as intensely intrinsically motivated. Online distance learning requires more internal
motivation because of the idea of being isolated in the sense of people being around you in

person, (Haythornthwaite, & Andrews, 2011). Every learner is not able to do education this
way, but with internal rules and routines for themselves the learner can succeed.
Social Informatics: The theory focuses on how learners use information processing that is
social. In the online environment this can be expanded because of the fact that there is more
information that learners can gather in a social and electronic atmosphere. The idea brings
into question if there need to be a different learning theory because of the online environment
and online distance learning. Social informatics is an interdisciplinary body of theory that
includes consideration of the design, uses and affordances of information and communication
technologies, particularly in social, institutional and cultural contexts., (Haythornthwaite &
Andrews, 2011).
Digital Media Theory: The theory focuses on how learners are learning in the digital world.
This particular body of theory tends to accentuate the visual, concentrating on still and
moving images., (Haythornthwaite & Andrews, 2011). There terms of modality the learners
have the choice of using different forms of technology (computers, tablets, mobile devices).
There is not a lot of room for different ways of learning when digital media is just focused
upon in theory. The concentration of visuals does help assist visual learners, and there is the
choice of audio too for the learners in some situations. Digital Media Theory does assist
learners in distance education with attaining information, and it can be helpful in the sense of
the learner is not just reading text to learn and take in knowledge.
Theories for engaging distance learners
Get to know your students: Have learners post a bio about themselves the first day, and the
facilitator should post their bio as well, (Jones, 2013). Knowing more about the learners in
the facilitators class is beneficial for the facilitator and the learners.
Know the classroom mechanics of the online course: The facilitator should know how to
navigate their own classroom, (Jones, 2013). The students may have questions, and the
facilitator should know as much as they can to assist the students. In some situations the
student needs to contact tech support, and the facilitator should have the phone number
available for the student.
Be accessible and respond in a timely manner: Make sure the learners have the contact
information, and the facilitator should respond as quickly as possible, (Jones, 2013). The
facilitator should check the online class frequently, and have email notifications turned on for
their phone. Facilitator should give distance learners numerous ways to stay in contact with
them.
Post a brief weekly announcement: Facilitators should post reminders, check on students,
email students if you see them having possible issues, and offer feedback or help, (Jones,
2013).

 Provide substantive feedback and positive critique: Always give feedback to students and use
the sandwich method. Positive feedback, constructive feedback, and then positive feedback
again will help keep the student happy and engaged, (Jones, 2013).
Inject some fun into the environment: Post fun content, responses, videos, or anything that
can get the students engaged and interested in the online distance class, (Jones, 2013).
Unit Objectives:

Define skills that are needed for facilitators to be effective in distance learning.
Describe the phases of development for facilitators in distance learning.
Reflect on the theories of distance learning.
Reflect on how to use the theories for engaging distance learners.

Assignment:
Write a 1,000 2,000 word paper that focuses on one of the unit objective above. Make sure
to include the information that you learned, personal outside research, and your views and
perceptions on the unit objective that you chose. The paper will be due on Day 2 after the
lecture is over, and you may stay for an extra three hours to finish if needed.