Full Circle Associates

Barbara (who writes amazing blog posts!) doesn't use the term facilitation, but that is what I thought as I read this bit about commenting on student's blogs.

bgblogging: A Recent Conversation on Blogging for The Vermont State Colleges: "After they have posted new work (be it draft or final), I am almost never the first to leave a comment. If I comment too soon, then the rest of the class feels it isn’t quite so necessary to comment, and they will wait around for me to respond. I would reinforce my special status as ultimate expert, perhaps inadvertently preserving the factory-model of education. Too much teacherly presence too soon effectively shuts down the conversation.

If, rather, I wait a bit and let others comment first, I can join the conversation instead of dictating it. And as in this example, when students do not leave particularly helpful feedback, I can model a comment and then show it to the class. (And I can show them how commenting works on my blog to push my thinking and writing).

Sometimes I do not comment at all during the process, letting my comments come outside of the blog so as not to dominate it."

It is not just what we do, but what we choose not to do, that matters in facilitating online engagement.

Tags: onlinefacilitation