SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION ON FACILITATORS ONLINE PRESENCE
This is the summary of the discussion on online presence of a facilitator, which took place on Thursday 15 November 2012, time between 12:34 and 12:1246pm.
The discussion kicked off by a welcoming comment from the admin Mr Moore, who posted the day’s discussion question i.e. to write up a facilitator’s presence strategy detailing what the facilitator is to add so that the users are aware of the facilitator and his/her role in the online experience.
Nthabiseng suggested the facilitator should be online throughout the discussion period, commenting now and then which Thulo Mosehle concurred but pointed out that the comments should be reserved towards the end of the forum to avoid facilitators influencing the discussion.
Suggestions to give activities such as quizzes or assignments were also pointed out. Use of group emails for participants in the course was favored to maintain cohesion and passing of important announcements, instructions and news.
A time table indicating the presence of the facilitator, timing for shifts in relation to chat session came out as the most outstanding strategy to be employed. Finally there was a suggestion to introduce audio visual devices for the purpose of introduction and to let participants know about how to access support services.