Reflections

Reflection Sample from Building Collaborative Communities

Module 7:
I enjoyed the facilitation in this module.  I couldn't have asked for a better group to work with or a better type of interaction to utilize.  The chat was a great medium for me and I enjoyed it.  Admittedly, when I first saw that I had a co-facilitator and that I was not going to be facilitating on the discussion board like everyone else I wasn’t sure what to think.  My fellow student and co-facilitator, Aaron was awesome and the chat was real good.  It flowed nicely (or as nicely as Stout's chat tool would allow) and it seemed like those that were skeptical really found it to be valuable.  I did as well.

In the discussion on the chat we discussed question number 2 related to the readings and if they helped in writing good prompts, extenders and redirectors...Everyone was in agreement that there really wasn't anything there to help.  Most of us just jumped in to try it out and some waited to see what others had done to take some direction that way.  It turned out to be interesting in the way that people came up with their questions.  People definitely saw that extenders and prompts could be interchangeable.  Many, including myself, sought other sources to get more information and potential question samples.

Related to last week's "Replies Only."  By the very nature of the name of the activity, it is indicating that there are only replies to the post needed (wanted?) and no further discussion to ensue.  Another name for it?  I still need to think on that one because nothing strikes me at the moment, but it seems like a synonym to the word "list" should be a part of the title.  Just my thought.

Module 6:
"Replies Only" - this activity was initially confusing.  For me, I think it is because I don't feel the title really associates with the valuable information that comes out of the activity.  The activity itself, once we got going, was really quite good.  I like the ability to share and make lists.  The lists, and the topics discussed within the lists, have definitely been helpful. 

Time Management piece: I think the two most important for me will be "handle it once" and "organizing the discussion forums."  The handling it once scenario is more about organization for me from the get-go...if I have my system in place and I follow my own "rules" on handling then I, ideally, should only handle items once and the process will be streamlined and save me time.  Organizing the discussion forums is crucial, especially in the newbie years.  I know that I will need to focus this part for my workshop.  Given my compressed timeframe there won't be room for error in many areas, but especially this one.