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Workshop with a Difference
(The Virtual Workshop on Introduction to online Communities)
Introduction
The Virtual Workshop on Introduction to Communities was organised by the Food and
Agricultural Organisation (FAO) for potential and present Online Community facilitators.
Facilitators for the workshop were Luca Servo of the FAO and based in Rome and Nancy
White based in Seattle, USA.
Participants, by way of learners, were twenty-six (26) and drawn from all over the world.
A majority of participants were based in Rome. Clara was the only African participant.
There were two participants from Asia and there was a participant from Brazil and
another from Belgium.
We were sponsored by the International Institute for Communication Development in the
workshop in line with efforts to better the activities of the Community of Internet Trainers,
a community in which we have been acting as facilitators with no formal training.
Resources Used for the Workshop
A moodle space was created with the following resources
1. Community Cafe
This was a place for us to introduce ourselves, and for the more informal and off-topic
conversations. There were also spaces for Help, Questions and Suggestions and the
Workshop Notice Board. The Notice Board was where the facilitators posted all
assignments, updates and information about the workshop. Although other resources
could be subscribed optionally, (so we got an email announcement each time there was a
new post in that resource) this resource, by default had everybody subscribed.
2. Purpose Checklist Wikis
The Purpose Checklist helped us to start thinking about and designing our own groups. A
series of wiki spaces which we could name and use to organize and record your thoughts
about your groups were put. We claimed one and named it the "The Community of
Trainers (I-Trainers)".
3. Learning Logs
The learning Logs was place for reflection, gathering workshop ideas, and smaller
conversations between ourselves. It was a place to help us 'make sense' of what we were
learning.
4. Case Studies Wiki
This was a collection of some Online Community websites from which we would later
select one for use in our evaluation of Online Communities
5. Cybrary
This was a collection of some additional resources that were of use in our work; designing,
facilitating and evaluating online groups and networks. As you click into these files - don't
worry. The material was downloadable.
6. Glossary
Our glossary included terms we use online that may or may not be familiar from our
offline work. Participants were given the right to add new entries.
In addition to this, individual weeks had specific resources.
Pre Conference Week
Participating individuals were encouraged to log into the moodle space created for the
workshop to acquaint ourselves with its functionalities and features. We introduced
ourselves to everybody else in the Community Cafe and that started the ball rolling.
Other tools that participants were introduced to were the Learning Profile survey using
Survey Monkey. In this participants answered various questions pertaining to themselves
upon which Survey Monkey returned results on the individual's learning styles and
thought processes. Participants were urged to share the results in their Learning Log
During the preparation week, workshop agenda and tips were also made available to
participants.
The pre conference week activities in our opinion made potential participants feel at ease
and felt recognised. This was probably due to Nancy's and Luca's response to every post
made by participants. It obviously added to our confidence that we were not out of place
and our thoughts did matter.
Activities
Per week, participants participated in activities that gave them an insight into online
community tools. Activities were in the form of assignments, discussions, IMARK learning
lessons and the Friday live meetings via Elluminate.
Assignments
All participants were encouraged to participate in the weekly assignments. Three
assignments according to the number of weeks of the workshop were available.
Assignment 1: Visit and evaluate another network
As part of this assignment, participants visited other online networks and assessed them
in terms of purpose, operations and activities. We visited some suggested existing
communities where, based on a Purpose Checklist made available in the moodle space.
Participants had the option to do the evaluation in teams or as individuals.
The outcome of the evaluation was submitted by way of claiming one of a few wiki spaces
provided in the moodle space. I evaluated the Africa Source II list whilst Ms
Clare Sempebwa evaluated the social software research community.
Assignment 2
This assignment which came in the second week offered participants two choices;
Option 1: for those who wanted to explore tools and technology used in online
communities, the "Tool Treasure Hunt" was available. In this a quick look at a few
technologies and how they can be of use was taken. Both of us took this option.
Option 2: was meant for those participants who had already had the tools set and would
want to focus on training community members on how to use the technology. The
Assignment was to create a training resource for the group and then share it in the
Discussion Forum in the Moodle space.
Prizes
After participation in option 1 where we got the experience of using some Web 2.0 tools;
blogs, del.icio.us, wikis and bookmarking (in association with del.icio.us) we, with a few
other participants got an online “chocolate” treat in addition to a citation which will be
included in the certificate of participation to be mailed to participants.
Assignment 3 – Community engagement strategy
Emphasis was placed on facilitation, particularly how to engage people in online groups.
One important thing was the ability of the workshop to highlight differences between face
to face and online communities. The differences were looked at particularly in relation to
how to make the task of facilitating online an easier and more productive task.
Participants were then encouraged to develop 2 different engagement activities for their
groups or networks after the weeks lessons. The activities were to be posted in the week's
Discussion forum.
Resources Used: IMARK e-learning lessons
These were to the core of the workshop's activities. Participants read them at their own
convenience. A significant thing was the tying of time to each lesson; average time
required to read through was indicated against each lesson's title. This in our opinion was
an encouragement to the readers to read as it made it easy to budget time. Over the three
weeks a total of 12 IMARK lesson were tackled in increasing numbers as shown below.
Week 1: 3 IMARK e-learning lessons
- Skills and resources for an online community
- Assessing the user's needs
- Barriers to electronic networking
Week 2: 4 IMARK e-learning lessons
The emphasis of these lessons was on the exploration of tool, however, for those who did
not need to explore these they were encouraged to focus on the first and last lessons in the
order below.
- · Introducing online communication in your work
- · Overview of technical options
- · Making the right technical choices
- · Training for a successful online community
Week 3: 5 IMARK e-learning lessons
- · The role of the facilitator
- · Face-to-face and online facilitation
- Developing your online community culture
- · Preparing and organizing online discussions
- · Marketing your online community
Discussions
Alongside the lessons and assignments various discussions concurrently took place. These
were not as structured although the topics for discussion were proposed facilitators.
Discussion were usually in all three discussions took place, each per week.
Discussion 1: Getting Started with Online Communities
In this discussion, we looked at the big picture of online groups and communities.
Attention was paid to among other things;
· How and why are they useful in our work?
· Defining the PURPOSE of our groups...
· Understanding who might participate and identifying their needs.
Discussion 2: Identifying activities and picking tools
This discussion took us into the more of the practical "how-to's" for our online groups. A
clear outcome was the identification of the fact that there is usually a high temptation to
just look at tools when it comes to online communities. The discussions mainly gave the
feature lists of such tools. The treasure hunt earlier mentioned was boarded by this
discussion. One of the activities undertaken by participants was the listing of activities that
would be undertaken by their groups and tools necessary to ensure things would be
properly done.
Discussion 3: How we encourage participation and engagement
This discussion was based on the premises that the first two weeks laid the "cornerstones"
of successful online groups, thinking about the purpose (clear, inviting, relevant to the
participants), the activities and tools to support those activities. These had been identified
as the key design issues. This week's discussion got more into the process issues,
specifically online.
Towards the end of the third week, we begun reflecting on our experiences in the
workshop, identify ongoing learning opportunities and completed a survey.
There was the opportunity to participate in a live After Action Review in our Elluminate
room.
There were live Friday meetings in the Elluminate room. The difficulty with the Friday
meeting was with the time differences. However, some of the sessions were recorded and
made available to members who could not participate.
Conclusion
At the end of the event, participants gave their opinions and suggestions about the
workshop.
As is the case with online conferences, some invitees preferred to be quiet and just observe
during the event. Nonetheless, the majority participated actively.
The post-workshop survey showed that most participants enjoyed working electronically
and would like to use this format again. Although most people prefer face-to-face
meetings, it was generally felt that the electronic workshop allowed and stimulated
decision-making and the exchange of information among a group of globally dispersed
people without incurring travel costs.
A few other advantages associated with holding an electronic conference were noted: it
can be organized with relatively short notice; participants who are traveling can still take
part; participation doesn’t require a full day’s commitment; and people who normally
don’t speak up at face-to-face meetings usually contribute actively.
On the downside, it is easy to avoid or put off participating; certain time zones can make
participation a little inconvenient; and more time might be needed for building online
relationships. To minimize these disadvantages, it is important to provide good facilitation
during an event.
It was felt that the I-Mark training material made an important contribution to the
workshop. They also proved to be a useful and enjoyable way of studying collaboratively.
Since online events are becoming more and more a platform of choice, the I-Mark group
should provide more tools, tips and training on how to run and participate in online
workshops, meetings and conferences so as to make people adapt to doing things online.
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